The word "Superstition" literally means standing over or standing still at a thing in fear and awe. One important reason for anyone to be a victim of superstition is the fear of failure or the anxiety about the outcome. Superstition is the religion of feeble minds. At one time or other, everyone must have been a victim of such a baseless conviction, even in this age of science and scientific thinking.
Superstition is a thing of darkness; it cannot stand the light. Even in civilized countries today, superstition produces narrow-mindedness, bigotry and needless mental suffering.
Belief in omens, and oracles, servile attachment to ritual usage form of words and seeing the supernatural in every incident of life all those come under the shadow of superstition. In some cases, superstitious beliefs are very deep rooted. In spite of all evidence to the contrary, people continue to hold fast to them and allow their lives to be regulated by them.
Superstitions are a legacy from the Stone and Wood ages. The origin of superstitions can be traced to the element of fear (which is anti rationalistic), the urge for security and material welfare. Human beings cherish a deep seated wish for their physical wellbeing. They would go to any length to ward off, real or imaginary, danger to their bodies and falling prey to diseases and death. Also the desire for success in projects-involving material welfare is so great in human beings that even the thought of failure unnerves them. They, therefore, believe in certain superstitions.
Some of the superstitions involve either positively doing certain things or avoiding certain situations or happenings. The primitive men then did not understand a large part of the natural phenomena. Their reason was not highly developed. They attributed their success or failure or physical condition to irrational beliefs.
Superstitions came into vogue through repeated coincidences. For example, if a person often met a particular type of animal, while going out on a mission, and each time he was unsuccessful, he began to regard that animal as a bad omen. Or conversely, success associated with a series of coincidental happenings also created a superstition.
In the Western civilization, one of the most well-known superstitions is the ill- luck number thirteen is supposed to bring. A person getting number thirteen for his car will shudder to drive his vehicle for fear of accidents. A house with this number will fill the inmate with fear of disease and death. Also, in the West, passing under a ladder is considered unlucky. A black cat is one of the worst omens, if a black cat runs across someone's path, it is believed he either fails in his job or meets with an accident.
There is, however, a long list of superstitions which are prevalent in Afghanistan. It is bad luck to cut your nails at night. Some say hunger and poverty will enter a house if someone cuts their nails at night. Also, it is bad luck to cut your toe nails and finger nails on the same day. Others say that it is bad luck to cut your nails at night, as well as cutting both finger and toe nails right after each other because you will always have all happy events in your life happen at the same time that sad things happen to you. In other words your life will always be bittersweet.
It's not good to let someone compliment one's child or other loved one too much, because they may become ill-fated and bad luck may fall on them. For example, if you say a child is beautiful, the child may become sick. You can ward this off by either saying or by reciting a Surah from the Quran.
Water is thrown on the floor where the person just walked, when a person leaves the to go on a long trip. This is done so the person will have a safe and pleasant trip, and return unharmed. Particular people are regarded as ill-omened just because a death or a serious crippling accident took place to a family member after they appeared on the scene.
At times, superstitions are stretched too far. The digit 39 is generally associated with pimps, most Afghans avoid accepting a mobile number, car number plate and other numbers containing the digit. Some university professors and spiritual leaders demand disbanding of the traditional Loya Jirga's committee No 39 to avoid pimp taunts raising questions about the merits of delegates' recommendations. Some members of the body chose to stay away from a scheduled meeting to avoid being branded as pimps.
Consequently, heads and representatives of the working committees presented their recommendations to the Loya Jirga, assign another number. If this regretful state of affairs persists, the people who have the number 39 in their official documents will not be able to move around the city for fear of being branded as pimps. They may be forced to sell their vehicles at dirt-cheap prices; it will deal them an economic blow.
A strange phenomenon about superstitions is that even when in actual life many of the superstitions do not come true, people continue to cling to them. The fact is that superstitions are stuck in that part of the mind which is beyond reason and logic. Superstitions are irrational and, therefore no amount of reasoning can refute them. This is the case even today.
When man has landed on the moon, superstitions are still currents.
Superstitions, to say the least, affect human conduct. They fill men with unnecessary anxiety and fear, which lead to nervous strain. They reduce the capability of men to perform certain tasks or delay the accomplishment of jobs. Many a man returns home because they have encountered some ill omen.
Since most of the superstitions hinder positive action, the elders can play a crucial role in freeing the youngsters from the yoke of superstitions. They can explain to them the futility of believing in them. Also they can set an example by themselves not falling victim to superstitious beliefs.
The world today is governed by science. Science has made life easy and man has advanced a lot. Superstitions have no applications in today's life. So we should not follow the superstitions that were passed on to us by our ancestors. We should follow only the ones which have scientific and logical basis. A person believing in superstitions is always haunted by unknown fears and anxieties. He loses self-confidence.
Education is one factor that can wipe out superstitions to some extent. A scientific outlook and temper should be cultivated to do away with superstitions. The purpose of education is to reduce the area of darkness and instill among people courage, self-confidence, and thereby free the society from the tyranny of superstitions.