Good day, everyone. My name is Sammy and I am here to talk to you about beliefs in Iraq that you may be surprised still exist or ever really did. Iraq has a very rich history, one that goes thousands of years back, many religions and beliefs have come through it, therefore, it is not surprising that some beliefs (Crazy as they may seem to you) still exist. I will also try, the keyword is try, to explain them along the way. Shall we begin?
Don't Look at the Mirror at Night
Yeah, this one I actually believed until recently. It is heavily believed by some people in Iraq, perhaps even a million or so people that looking at the mirror at night brings bad luck. The idea stems from an old medical book, that's right, the originator of this idea is a doctor, the full quote from a book written by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya in one of his written sometime in 1300, roughly translates into
Whoever eats onion for forty days and got infected with melasma should only blame himself. And whoever looked into the mirror at night and became unlucky, should only blame himself
It is unknown what medical research led to each conclusion. However, whoever wasted their time reading that book like I did, should only blame himself.
Your Right Eye is Twitching? That Definitely Means You Are About to be Rich
Funny story, I actually found out about this while broke and I needed to research it on Google since I couldn't afford a doctor. You could only imagine my excitement as I was unemployed at the time. Luckily for me, my friend paid for my doctor's visit and I found out that it was just exhaustion.
To make this post I searched online to find the origin of this and wasn't lucky, however, my grandmother heavily believed it so I asked her, her answer as to why it meant good luck is "Because it does". So, folks, if your right eye is twitching, it means you are about to be rich.
Source: My Grandmother.
Don't Clip Your Toenails at Night, it is Forbidden
I am starting to believe old Iraqis were just lazy at night and didn't want to do any activities. Many Islamic scholars actually disagree with this one, although that didn't stop my grandma from only doing it before 5 PM. However, scholars also say that it is encouraged to do it on a Thursday. I am not making this up.
Only Eat Fish on Wednesdays
Eating fish on Wednesdays means that you are going to be rich as well. You eating fish on Wednesday means you are going to be rich is a cheat code that no one seems to be using. There are no real links to any books or events that could explain that type of thinking. However, according to my cousin, and I swear I am not making this up; Bill Gates became rich because he was eating fish while his right eye was twitching before he became rich.
Wherever You Throw Your Son's Navel, That Decides His Future
I am guessing mine was thrown in the trash. If you want to be a good student, throw his navel by a school, a doctor then by a hospital. If you want your son to be a diver then throw the navel by the sea, although God might misread that sign and drown him later in life.
This one actually originated as collateral damage to a belief which is that when mothers keep the navel with them, their sons will always love and obey them. So it is a hostage situation of sorts. But, due to the navel rotting it seemed better to just throw it, however, old-time people didn't want to do a single action without adding a cosmic effect to it, therefore, the navel decided the future.
My grandmother thinks this one is just a silly belief that has no real connection. And when the woman who sees a connection between the right eye twitching and becoming reach doesn't see the logic with what you're saying, you're officially crazy
The End
There are many more of these beliefs that I intend to talk about in the future. I hope you liked them. Which one is your favorite? And are there similar beliefs where you live?