Discussion with a wizard

Written by: Abdo Ali Al-Fahd

I took a day off work and arrived home at seven in the evening, carrying some vegetables, fruits, and sweets. My family greeted me warmly and with great hospitality. I had dinner with them, and we chatted and enjoyed each other's company. At ten o'clock, I went to my room with my wife. We slept, as usual, on the bed, in happiness and contentment. After the Fajr prayer, I went back to sleep and woke up at half-past eight, after hearing a buzzing sound in my head. I didn't pay much attention to it because it wasn't painful. I got out of bed and went to the courtyard, where I found some family members and sat with them. I said: "The weather today isn't clear; it's very foggy!" They looked at me in surprise: "The weather is clear and fresh, there's no fog." I rubbed my eyes twice, then closed one eye and opened the other. Unfortunately, nothing changed; the fog and haze remained. It felt like opening my eyes underwater while diving. I went back inside and didn't feel any vision problems. I went outside again and found the fog and haze reappeared as soon as I stepped out the door! I repeated rubbing my eyes and tapping my head with my hand. They looked at me in bewilderment, and I was even more astonished! I kept going in and out; I found that the problem was with my vision outside in the sunlight, while inside, my vision was clear. I decided to go back to bed and sleep, hoping the problem would go away. I slept until one in the afternoon; I went outside, but nothing changed, the fog remained. In the evening, I saw halos and fog around the street lights, difficulty watching TV, and couldn't distinguish people from five steps away. The next day, I went to the hospital, and they referred me to an eye specialist who conducted examinations and diagnosed the onset of cataracts. "How did this happen when you are still in your thirties! We usually see this in people in their sixties." They gave me medications and eye drops. I thought it was a passing problem, but months passed, and I was going back and forth to doctors and using medications with no improvement. I gave up on the medications and tried steam baths and volcanic baths. I felt healthy in all my body parts except for my eyes, which remained cloudy. I received various advice on what might have caused my condition: some said it was the evil eye, others said it was the wind, magic, or a curse. Some suggested fumigation with asafetida and sheep's wool, others said I should use kohl made of mouse tail, snake tail, and hot pepper. I tried all of these without delay, but there was no change. A relative from a nearby village visited me and suggested a new healer known for expelling spirits, breaking spells, and undoing curses. He gave me the healer's address. I decided to visit him. One Ramadan day, I reached the area and asked about the healer; they guided me to his place. I bought some qat, vegetables, and Iftar supplies. The house wasn't far from the road, located on a prominent hill away from the village, consisting of three rooms and a small courtyard built with concrete blocks and a pile of wood next to the house. I arrived before sunset; the place was almost deserted, with no children or people around. I knocked on the door timidly and waited for a moment. I knocked again, and the door opened; I greeted the man who welcomed me warmly. "Is this the healer's house?" "Yes! Come in!" I followed him inside; he was wearing slippers and a white robe, with dark skin covered in hair, beardless and bareheaded, in his sixties, with scattered and calcified teeth. I placed the items I was carrying, and he took them inside, then returned. I asked him where the healer was. He replied: "What do you want?" "I want to be treated!" "I am the healer; rest now, and we will start after Iftar." He led me to a small room, had me sit on a mat, and told me to relax there until the Maghrib call to prayer. He served us Iftar, and we ate alone after praying. While drinking tea, he asked me about my condition, so I explained what had happened. He stood up and said: "Follow me." He took me to a dimly lit room and told me to lie on the mat. After I laid down, he asked me to relax and stop moving any part of my body. I was to keep my eyes open and focus on one spot on the ceiling. He warned me sternly: "You must keep your eyes open and look at one spot on the ceiling without turning or closing your eyes." I did as he instructed, and he left the room. After about five minutes, he returned, sat beside me with a white handkerchief, muttering and waving the handkerchief over my face, saying: "Reveal and heal him, reveal and heal him, reveal his whole body, heal his eyes," and then left. After five minutes, he returned and repeated the same phrases. Then he said: "The healing session is over, get up." We returned to the room where we had Iftar, and he said: "Sit and wait until they bring the treatment." I asked: "Who are they?" "The doctors of the jinn." "Where will they bring the treatment from?" "From the mountain peaks, they gather herbs." He gave me half of the qat and took some for his wife, then returned. We chewed the qat and chatted. "Why are you alone in the house with your wife? Don't you have children?" "We were not blessed with children." "Why didn't you marry another?" "The reason for the infertility is due to me, not her fault." "What happened?" "I will explain what happened; a while ago, I had a fight with my brother over a piece of land. He held a rifle aimed at me, wanting to kill me, so I grabbed the other end. We wrestled with the rifle, and suddenly, two bullets were fired, hitting my brother's chest, and he died instantly. I was sentenced to death and spent seven years in prison. The village chief mediated with my brother's sons, and they pardoned me on the condition that I leave the village and give up my inheritance in the land. I agreed, and the village chief brought me here, gave me some building materials, and helped me build this house as an act of goodwill. He also went with me to my wife's family, who had waited for me all these years, and brought her here. We have lived here since, and I work as a guard for the chief's qat farms. "How did you learn to heal?" He leaned to the right, chewed some qat leaves, and said: "I was once guarding the chief's qat farms. I stopped to pray and saw two girls standing in front of me, watching me, while a third one joined them, and said: 'Take him, heal him.' In an instant, they carried me to a high mountain, where a door opened, and I entered a large hospital. They placed me before a machine that looked like a camel's neck, and I was passed through it, coming out the other side completely healed. My health had deteriorated in prison, and I suffered from kidney stones, inflammation, and rheumatism in all my organs. Now, as you can see, I am healthy." "Did they give you any treatment after you came out?" "They gave me two bags of herbs and put me back at the door." "How did you learn to heal?" He replied: "On the third day, I went to the same place in the valley, stood there at noon, and the same two girls appeared, throwing this dagger at me, saying: 'Whenever you want our presence, just lick this dagger, and we will come immediately.' I looked at him in amazement and asked: 'Do the jinn have hospitals and equipment?' 'Yes, they have advanced hospitals and equipment that surpass what humans have, including a machine that looks like a camel's neck; the patient goes in on one side and comes out the other completely healed.' "How do you conduct your healing?" "I lick this dagger, and a doctor and two nurses come at my command, examining and healing the patient instantly." At that moment, two small bags of herbs were thrown onto the floor. He said: "Here is your herbal treatment. Thank you, thank you, leave in peace." I was confused, not knowing if the bags came through the door or window. He gave me the bags and instructed me to mix them in a kohl container and apply them before sleeping. Just then, a car arrived. He went to open the door, and someone entered, greeting us, saying he had three women in the car for treatment. The healer said: "Bring them to my wife, I will treat them individually." The healer started his sessions, and I was about to leave as it was almost midnight. I asked the driver about the route he would take and found it to be the same as mine. I asked if I could wait and ride with him in his car. He agreed, so I waited until the treatments were done. It didn't take more than half an hour to treat them. The healer returned, and six bags of herbs fell onto the floor. He quickly picked them up, thanking them for bringing the treatments. He gave the driver the bags, two for each woman. The driver paid him for each woman. As I was about to pay, the healer interrupted me, saying: "You don't owe anything; you brought fruits and qat." We left, and I sat beside the driver, while the three women sat in theI took a day off work and arrived home at seven in the evening, carrying some vegetables, fruits, and sweets. My family greeted me warmly and with great hospitality. I had dinner with them, and we chatted and enjoyed each other's company. At ten o'clock, I went to my room with my wife. We slept, as usual, on the bed, in happiness and contentment. After the Fajr prayer, I went back to sleep and woke up at half-past eight, after hearing a buzzing sound in my head. I didn't pay much attention to it because it wasn't painful. I got out of bed and went to the courtyard, where I found some family members and sat with them. I said: "The weather today isn't clear; it's very foggy!" They looked at me in surprise: "The weather is clear and fresh, there's no fog." I rubbed my eyes twice, then closed one eye and opened the other. Unfortunately, nothing changed; the fog and haze remained. It felt like opening my eyes underwater while diving. I went back inside and didn't feel any vision problems. I went outside again and found the fog and haze reappeared as soon as I stepped out the door! I repeated rubbing my eyes and tapping my head with my hand. They looked at me in bewilderment, and I was even more astonished! I kept going in and out; I found that the problem was with my vision outside in the sunlight, while inside, my vision was clear. I decided to go back to bed and sleep, hoping the problem would go away. I slept until one in the afternoon; I went outside, but nothing changed, the fog remained. In the evening, I saw halos and fog around the street lights, difficulty watching TV, and couldn't distinguish people from five steps away. The next day, I went to the hospital, and they referred me to an eye specialist who conducted examinations and diagnosed the onset of cataracts. "How did this happen when you are still in your thirties! We usually see this in people in their sixties." They gave me medications and eye drops. I thought it was a passing problem, but months passed, and I was going back and forth to doctors and using medications with no improvement. I gave up on the medications and tried steam baths and volcanic baths. I felt healthy in all my body parts except for my eyes, which remained cloudy. I received various advice on what might have caused my condition: some said it was the evil eye, others said it was the wind, magic, or a curse. Some suggested fumigation with asafetida and sheep's wool, others said I should use kohl made of mouse tail, snake tail, and hot pepper. I tried all of these without delay, but there was no change. A relative from a nearby village visited me and suggested a new healer known for expelling spirits, breaking spells, and undoing curses. He gave me the healer's address. I decided to visit him. One Ramadan day, I reached the area and asked about the healer; they guided me to his place. I bought some qat, vegetables, and Iftar supplies. The house wasn't far from the road, located on a prominent hill away from the village, consisting of three rooms and a small courtyard built with concrete blocks and a pile of wood next to the house. I arrived before sunset; the place was almost deserted, with no children or people around. I knocked on the door timidly and waited for a moment. I knocked again, and the door opened; I greeted the man who welcomed me warmly. "Is this the healer's house?" "Yes! Come in!" I followed him inside; he was wearing slippers and a white robe, with dark skin covered in hair, beardless and bareheaded, in his sixties, with scattered and calcified teeth. I placed the items I was carrying, and he took them inside, then returned. I asked him where the healer was. He replied: "What do you want?" "I want to be treated!" "I am the healer; rest now, and we will start after Iftar." He led me to a small room, had me sit on a mat, and told me to relax there until the Maghrib call to prayer. He served us Iftar, and we ate alone after praying. While drinking tea, he asked me about my condition, so I explained what had happened. He stood up and said: "Follow me." He took me to a dimly lit room and told me to lie on the mat. After I laid down, he asked me to relax and stop moving any part of my body. I was to keep my eyes open and focus on one spot on the ceiling. He warned me sternly: "You must keep your eyes open and look at one spot on the ceiling without turning or closing your eyes." I did as he instructed, and he left the room. After about five minutes, he returned, sat beside me with a white handkerchief, muttering and waving the handkerchief over my face, saying: "Reveal and heal him, reveal and heal him, reveal his whole body, heal his eyes," and then left. After five minutes, he returned and repeated the same phrases. Then he said: "The healing session is over, get up." We returned to the room where we had Iftar, and he said: "Sit and wait until they bring the treatment." I asked: "Who are they?" "The doctors of the jinn." "Where will they bring the treatment from?" "From the mountain peaks, they gather herbs." He gave me half of the qat and took some for his wife, then returned. We chewed the qat and chatted. "Why are you alone in the house with your wife? Don't you have children?" "We were not blessed with children." "Why didn't you marry another?" "The reason for the infertility is due to me, not her fault." "What happened?" "I will explain what happened; a while ago, I had a fight with my brother over a piece of land. He held a rifle aimed at me, wanting to kill me, so I grabbed the other end. We wrestled with the rifle, and suddenly, two bullets were fired, hitting my brother's chest, and he died instantly. I was sentenced to death and spent seven years in prison. The village chief mediated with my brother's sons, and they pardoned me on the condition that I leave the village and give up my inheritance in the land. I agreed, and the village chief brought me here, gave me some building materials, and helped me build this house as an act of goodwill. He also went with me to my wife's family, who had waited for me all these years, and brought her here. We have lived here since, and I work as a guard for the chief's qat farms. "How did you learn to heal?" He leaned to the right, chewed some qat leaves, and said: "I was once guarding the chief's qat farms. I stopped to pray and saw two girls standing in front of me, watching me, while a third one joined them, and said: 'Take him, heal him.' In an instant, they carried me to a high mountain, where a door opened, and I entered a large hospital. They placed me before a machine that looked like a camel's neck, and I was passed through it, coming out the other side completely healed. My health had deteriorated in prison, and I suffered from kidney stones, inflammation, and rheumatism in all my organs. Now, as you can see, I am healthy." "Did they give you any treatment after you came out?" "They gave me two bags of herbs and put me back at the door." "How did you learn to heal?" He replied: "On the third day, I went to the same place in the valley, stood there at noon, and the same two girls appeared, throwing this dagger at me, saying: 'Whenever you want our presence, just lick this dagger, and we will come immediately.' I looked at him in amazement and asked: 'Do the jinn have hospitals and equipment?' 'Yes, they have advanced hospitals and equipment that surpass what humans have, including a machine that looks like a camel's neck; the patient goes in on one side and comes out the other completely healed.' "How do you conduct your healing?" "I lick this dagger, and a doctor and two nurses come at my command, examining and healing the patient instantly." At that moment, two small bags of herbs were thrown onto the floor. He said: "Here is your herbal treatment. Thank you, thank you, leave in peace." I was confused, not knowing if the bags came through the door or window. He gave me the bags and instructed me to mix them in a kohl container and apply them before sleeping. Just then, a car arrived. He went to open the door, and someone entered, greeting us, saying he had three women in the car for treatment. The healer said: "Bring them to my wife, I will treat them individually." The healer started his sessions, and I was about to leave as it was almost midnight. I asked the driver about the route he would take and found it to be the same as mine. I asked if I could wait and ride with him in his car. He agreed, so I waited until the treatments were done. It didn't take more than half an hour to treat them. The healer returned, and six bags of herbs fell onto the floor. He quickly picked them up, thanking them for bringing the treatments. He gave the driver the bags, two for each woman. The driver paid him for each woman. As I was about to pay, the healer interrupted me, saying: "You don't owe anything; you brought fruits and qat." We left, and I sat beside the driver, while the three women sat in the