Hirz, a Muslim amulet

07/01/2025

The Hirz or Herz is a written incantation, but it is better known as an amulet whose origins lie in the magical use of the verses of the Koran, for protective and beneficial purposes. For this reason they are also called "prayer boxes". The elongated container that contains this text is commonly known as hirz, but it is really the interior that holds true value. In fact, the word hirz implies a search for protection, since it means "fortification". It is a word, moreover, that does not appear in the Koran, but has been used in other narratives and prayers, by various Islamic communities and sects. Even the Imams often have a particular hirz, and there are those who suggest that the Prophet Muhammad made use of them, since they are mentioned in the texts of Anas ibn Malik, one of his companions. Wahhabism and Salafism prohibit its use, while the rest of the Islamic world considers that the traditional texts and narratives themselves support the use of hirz.

The preparation and use of hirz constitutes in itself a liturgical act. A correct hirz requires three parts: first, an exemplary legend or story, in which a good act is performed. Second, an incantation or daua, recited or written. Third, a djeduel or khatem, that is, a tablet where the magic of the legend and the daua is materialized in writing.

In the Islamic world, amulets and talismans were also influenced by the common symbols of moons, pentagrams, stars, etc., within Semitic magic, as well as other geometric shapes. However, their calligraphy led to a great use of the letter, and hence greater value is given to written magic. An example of this can be seen in the fact that many manuscripts and vessels included a brief protective blessing.

Since the hirz is a protective spell to be worn, it is known that in ancient times hirz could be written on one's own skin or clothing, and "magic shirts" existed. In the Amazigh world (commonly called Berber), many hirz are written on plates of lead or copper, white iron or silver, and are worn like a huge jewel set in it. The vessel that held the texts was undoubtedly a very discreet simplification. However, even today, the popular use of temporary tattoos, for example of henna, with talismanic prayers, normally with the names of archangels or liturgical phrases considered to be powerful, such as the Bismillah, continues.

Any hand-made hirz or herz will be much more valuable than one printed with stamps, or even printed with modern technology: it goes without saying that in magic, the magical act carried out by an expert, as here would be the taleb, is always more charming (never better said), than a generic one. However, printed hirz are the easiest to find, especially in tourist areas. Likewise, there are those written with saffron, soaked in rose water, etc., but the traditional one is simply written in black ink.

Depending on the length, the talisman can be made up of several pieces of cloth or paper, or even be a small notebook. On other occasions, it is written on leather or on copper or lead plates, although we know this from testimonies from antiquity, since nowadays they are not common due to their complexity.

This talisman is more common in North Africa, and is used mainly for the protection of children, who wear it around their necks, or of animals. Adults can also carry it for the same purposes, normally in the aforementioned silver tube, or in iron or copper, as these metals are traditionally great preservers of the power and virtues of spells, not only in the Muslim world, but also in the ancient Greco-Roman and medieval world. Or the papers can be carried folded in a leather or velvet bag. The cord with which the bag is hung or closed must be yellow or red, according to traditional belief.

An example of Hirz as an enchantment, that is, as a dauda, could be the Hirz of Imam Jawad, which, written on deerskin, says the following:

<< O light, O proof, O evident, O illuminator! Protect me from the evils and calamities of the age. I seek salvation from you on the Day of Judgment >>

In fact, any assimilable text can be used to make a good hirz. For example, for work or study purposes, one can write a prayer like this:

Or if one has a need, one can write: <<O Fattah, O Sustainer, O Generous.>>

The hirz of Sharaf Als-Shams, in yellow agate, contains the letters NMRJA, as a replacement for five of the names of God: Nur, Mu'min, Rahman, Jameel and Allah. The protective capacity of yellow agate is indicated in Arabic lapidaries. It is said that this hirz should be recited on the nineteenth day of pregnancy, because in the Persian-Iranian calendar, on the 19th day of the first month (Farvardin), the sun has a special position in the sky (this is a date that in the Western calendar varies between April 8 and 9). Even the perfect making of this hirz should be on this day, astrologically speaking.

The hirz or herz are based on analogical magic, it is considered that carrying a legend with a specific ending will cause that in a similar situation the outcome will be the same as that of the legend. This produces different possibilities of hirz, some as protective amulets, and others, of a more profane use, destined for other less noble purposes. Let's look at a couple of examples.

The so-called Hirz Sebauhud, or Incantation of the Seven Covenants, tells a legend in which King Solomon encounters an old woman, who is none other than a malevolent djinn, Umm es Cibjan, in charge of causing abortions, sterility and killing small children. Solomon then, who has power over demons, restrains her and prevents her from escaping until she promises and agrees that she will stop doing such things. This hirz could serve as protection for both women and children, or even in general against encountering a djinn, by the grace of Solomon.

The Herz Mordiana has a legend with a more "magical" purpose, at least as we are used to understanding it. It is named after a concubine who, despite not being beautiful, was loved and protected by a king who wanted to see her even after she was dead. However, when he asked the washer of the dead to show him the corpse, he was surprised by the ugly appearance of the concubine. The washer of the dead had taken the herz amulet from her when cleaning her, and now that she was wearing it, the king focused his attention on her, despite being old, because he thought she was the most beautiful, and even married her. This legend may perhaps have a beauty or pleasure objective, from a partner to a professional meeting.

We know that there is the use of "edible" herz, written on bread cakes or written on paper with an edible material, such as saffron or cinnamon, which can be "washed" by pouring water on them, and then drinking it. These spells, however, do not seem to require the daua or the djeduel, or if they do, they must be recited.

Like all spells, hirz can also have an astrological influence. Although they were formerly used to find treasures, or to incite enemies to gamble in order to get their money, the most widely preserved are currently those intended to obtain wealth, love, good relationships, health, etc. To this end, both amulets made of precious stones or metals and hirz are prepared under specific astrological conditions, and thinking about their use also with specific celestial positions: for example, talismans made under Virgo (in the time of Virgo, or when the Moon and the Sun pass through one of its stars), promote prosperity in all aspects (money, health, love...), so if a hirz is made on these dates for these purposes, it will be more effective, but if it is used on the dates of Virgo, then its effectiveness will be double. Pisces is protective, Capricorn influences health, Leo influences travel… However, there are signs with a very marked positive and negative side, such as Gemini (half the time negative, half the time positive) or Scorpio (the head and the claws are positive, the tail and the sting are negative).

In this respect, together with the hirz there are the djedud or djeduel boards, or khatem, on which the spells are written. There is a division regarding the magical effectiveness of these wooden or paper boards, since, on the one hand, they tend to be larger and more striking, which is why many cannot be carried, and are usually used as decoration. However, they can also be made of cloth and paper and folded to carry with oneself. On the other hand, there are people for and against the written spell, since there are those who think that the effectiveness is in the spoken word, through repetition, and others who consider that the written text allows the conservation of the magical virtues and essences for a longer period of time, by fixing the spell.

The key to these "magic tables" is the complexity of the writing. They can be divided into several geometric parts, or can be written in a spiral or in a boustrophedon (continuous writing, without changing lines, as if it were a zigzag plow). Also, the different names of God and the archangels, verses from the Koran and magic numbers are usually included, either by tradition or extracted by numerology. Likewise, if it is a spell with a very personal purpose, the inclusion of the name of the person involved or the name of the person can be requested. The djeduel can be used as a spell or hirz in themselves. There are djeduel against demons or for wealth, and their codification gives an extra contribution of magic and protection, even if the djeduel is in sight.

If you want to hide the djduel's desire from sight, you opt for the geometrization of the distribution of words, that is, the distribution between geometric shapes of all the words that are part of the hirz, so that it is difficult to find out the correct order of them. Likewise, you can opt for a complete encryption: the mysterious does not affect magic, on the contrary, it enhances it.

Pietro V. Carracedo Ahumada – pietrocarracedo@gmail.com