Ibn Bazz: The different kinds of sorcery

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The different kinds of sorcery 

Praise be to Allah. May Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon Allah's Messenger, his family, Companions and those who followed his guidance. 

Sorcery is one of the greatest crimes and it is a type of disbelief. It is affliction that befell the past and the present nations and during the period of Jahiliyyah (pre­Islamic time of ignorance) and the Muslim nation. Those who practice sorcery and witchcraft spread according to the increase of ignorance and the lack of knowledge and motivating factors of faith and authority. Sorcerers and witches are found in countries with the aim of gaining money, confusing people, or for other reasons. In places where knowledge prevails, faith in Allah (Exalted be He) and His Messenger (peace be upon him) increases and the Islamic authority is powerful, those wicked evildoers disappear and decrease or even move to other places where they find suitable locations to spread their falsehood and be able to practice their evil. 

The Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) elaborated on the kinds and the ruling of sorcery. 

Linguistically, Sihr (Sorcery) implies hiddenness as its causes are not known and sorcerers use certain concealed matters in order to deceive people, confuse them, play with their sight, harm them, plunder their money, and other than that using veiled means that are not recognized in most cases. On that account, the last period of the night is called Sahar (the early dawn), for it occupies a time when people are sleeping and calm and also the lung is called Sahar as it is concealed inside the body. 

Sihr is legally defined as the actions the sorcerers engage in of delusion and confusion which make those watching them believe that they are true in spite of the fact that they are untrue. Allah (Exalted be He) says about the magicians of Pharaoh, They said: "O Mûsâ (Moses)! Either you throw first or we be the first to throw?" [Mûsâ (Moses)] said: "Nay, throw you (first)!" Then behold! their ropes and their sticks, by their magic, appeared to him as though they moved fast. So Mûsâ (Moses) conceived fear in himself. We (Allâh) said: "Fear not! Surely, you will have the upper hand. "And throw that which is in your right hand! It will swallow up that which they have made. That which they have made is only a magician’s trick, and the magician will never be successful, to whatever amount (of skill) he may attain." 

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Magic may be carried out by certain practices done by the magicians and blowing air in knots in certain way. Allah (Exalted be He) says: "And from the evil of those who practise witchcraft when they blow in the knots, There are other ways to make sorcery, which magicians learn from devils. Sorcerers may make things that disturb one's mind, cause illness to him/her or lead to separation between a man and his wife by disfiguring the appearance of a wife in the sight of her husband and vise versa or other things that make husband hates his wife. However, sorcery is an explicit disbelief according to the Ayahs (Qur'anic Verses) of the Qur'an. Allah (may He be Exalted and Glorified) says: They followed what the Shayâtîn (devils) gave out (falsely of the magic) in the lifetime of Sulaimân (Solomon). Sulaimân did not disbelieve, but the Shayâtîn (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic Allah (Exalted be He) stated that devils are disbelievers owing teaching people magic and says after that: and such things that came down at Babylon to the two angels, Hârût and Mârût, but neither of these two (angels) taught anyone (such things) tilltheyhadsaid,“Weareonlyfortrial,sodisbelievenot(bylearningthismagicfromus).”ThenHe(GlorifiedbeHe)says: And from these (angels) people learn that by which they cause separation between man and his wife, but they could not thus harm anyoneexceptbyAllâh’sLeave. Allah(ExaltedbeHe)isreferringtomagic.Moreover,theAyahstatesthatallthe sorcery that gives birth to evil is predetermined by Allah (Exalted be He) and with His Will. Allah (may He be Exalted and Glorified) has an upper hand over everything and nothing takes place in His Dominion except what He wills and nothing happens in this life or the hereafter except 

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with a prior decree by Allah (Exalted be He) out of a consummate wisdom willed by Him (Glorified and Exalted be He). Allah (Exalted be He) may afflict some of His Slaves with undergoing sorcery, others with illness, others with murder and other things that befall a person. He (glory be to Him) has the consummate wisdom in what He foreordains or prescribes on His Slaves. He (Glorified be He) says: but they could not thus harmanyoneexceptbyAllâh’sLeave. Allah(glorybetoHim)refersby(Leave)heretotheuniversalpredetermined leave, not to the legal leave as He prohibits that but He let it happen with His predetermined leave i.e. with His Knowledge and Predestination. Allah (Exalted be He) may predestine that so and so will make sorcery, which affects so and so just as He may predestine that so and so will be killed, be stricken by certain disease, dies in certain place, be endowed with something, be poor or be rich. All of this happens with the Will of Allah and His Preordainment. Allah (Glorified be He) says: Verily, We have created all things with Qadar (Divine PreordainmentsofallthingsbeforetheircreationaswrittenintheBookofDecreesAl­LauhAl­Mahfûz).Allah(GlorifiedbeHe) also says: No calamity befalls on the earth or in yourselves but it is inscribed in the Book of Decrees (Al­Lauh Al­Mahfûz) before We bring it into existence. Verily, that is easy for Allâh. 

Allah (Exalted be He) is aware of the evils of the sorcerers for He knows every thing and nothing is hidden 

from Him (Glorified be He). He (Exalted be He) says, Verily, Allâh is the All­Knower of everything. Allah (Glorified be He) also says: that you may know that Allâh has power over all things, and that Allâh surrounds all things in (His) Knowledge. He (Glorified and Exalted be He) knows everything and nothing happens in His Dominion except what He 

wills but He has the consummate wisdom and the praised goals 

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in all that He destines and what happens to people including superiority, inferiority, the removal and coming of authority, illness, healthiness, magic and other things. 

This is based on the great principle that everything happens with the will and predestination of Allah (Exalted be He). As we said previously, magicians use imaginary matters as mentioned in Allah's Saying: They said: "O Mûsâ (Moses)! Either you throw first or we be the first to throw?" [Mûsâ (Moses)] said: "Nay, throw you (first)!" Then behold! their ropesandtheirsticks,bytheirmagic,appearedtohimasthoughtheymovedfast. Itappearedtotheviewersthatthesticks and ropes were snakes that moved fast in spite of the fact that they were just sticks and ropes but the magicians deceived people by the things they showed so they know what can make people see things in a different form from what they are in reality. Allah (Glorified be He) says: their sticks, by their magic, appeared to him as though they moved fast. He (Exalted be He) says in Surah­Al­A`raf: He [Mûsâ (Moses)] said: "Throw you (first)." Sowhentheythrew,theybewitchedtheeyesofthepeople,andstruckterrorintothem,andtheydisplayedagreatmagic.Infact, the ropes and sticks did not change but it was the sight of the people that changed owing to the sorcery so they thought that the sticks were snakes. This comes in consequence of the confusion done by magicians and this kind of sorcery is called Taqmir. Taqmir is a way of sorcery in which magicians do certain things that make people fail to realize the state of things as they are, because their seeing does not view things as they are and then things may be taken out of the store or house of the bewitched person while s/he does not feel that or he/she may see things in forms other than theirs such as a stone may appear to them like an egg and vise versa. This is because the reality of matters has changed in the sight of the bewitched person owing to magic and confusion of the sorcerers. 

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There are other things, which sorcerers use that make people behold things in a different form from its true one out of sorcery, which Allah (Exalted be He) described with greatness in His Saying in Surah­Al­A`raf: So when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people, and struck terror into them, and they displayed a great magic. 

However, according to the most preponderant of the opinions of scholars, a sorcerer should be killed without calling him/her for repentance owing to the great evil and corruption they cause but some scholars are of the opinion that a magician is to be called to repent like other disbelievers. However, the most correct view in this regard is that the sorcerers should not be called for repentance owing to their great evils and that they may hide their evil and disbelief or claim that they repent while they do not. That may lead to great harm. Therefore, the verifying scholars are of the opinion that if a person is proven to be a magician, he should be killed even if he/she claimed repentance and expressed regret and that he should not be trusted in what he says. 

It is reported that`Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) sent a message to the leaders of his armies to kill the sorcerers they found in order to avoid their evils. Abu `Uthman Al­Nahdysaid, "We killed three witches." This was narrated in Sahih of Al­Bukhary on the authority ofBajalah ibn `Abadah. Also, it is authentically reported that Hafsah killed a maid of hers when she (i.e. Hafsa) knew that the maid practiced magic. Moreover, it authentically reported that great companion of the Prophet (peace be upon him) Jundub ibn `Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) saw a magician deceive people cutting his head and return it again. Upon that, Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) draw near to the magician without his notice and killed him and said to him, "Then, return your head if you are truthful." 

In fact, the evil of sorcerers is great and therefore they should be killed. This matter is assigned to the rulers to kill those who are known for magic when this is established for them by legal evidence 

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in order to ward off their evil and corruption. 

If a person is affected by sorcery, s/he is not permitted to seek treatment in sorcery; evil is not to be removed by evil nor disbelief is to be removed by disbelief but by good ways. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked about Al­Nashrah, he said,It is from the acts of Satan Al­Nashrah mentioned in the Hadith refers to a method of removing sorcery by sorcery. 

However, if this is done by the Qur'an and the allowable means, such as the legal Ruqyah (reciting Qur'an and saying supplications over the sick seeking healing), there is no harm in that. But to remove magic by the aid of magic is not permissible as we stated previously. This is because magic is based on worshipping Satan and the magic of a sorcerer does not take effect except by the worshipping and drawing near to the devils by what they want. If a person does what they order them, they will teach him/her sorcery. Praise be to Allah, there is no harm in treating the bewitched person with the Qur'an and legal supplications or the allowable medicines as in case of other illnesses. The bewitched person may not be healed just like any sick person as not all the sick are healed. S/he may be healed or not as other ill persons may be healed for their due term does not come yet or they may not be healed and die as a consequence in spite of submitting to treatment. When the due term of death comes, doctors, no matter how skilled they are, can do nothing. Allah (may He 

be Exalted and Glorified) says: And Allâh grants respite to none when his appointed time (death) comes. 

Treatment is only of use when the due term did not yet come and Allah (Exalted be He) predestined for the person that s/he will be treated from that disease. Likewise, Allah (Exalted be He) predestined recovery or no recovery for the one who is afflicted with sorcery so as to test their faith, for other reasons known only to Him (may He be Exalted and Glorified), or may be because the person who treats the bewitched person does not use the suitable remedy for that evil. It is authentically reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, 

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For every disease there is a medicine, so if the medicine comes upon the disease, it will be cured by the Leave of Allah, the Exalted and the Glorious.” The Prophet (may Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him) also says: There is no disease that Allah has created, except that He also has created its treatment which may be known to some people and unknown to others. 

Among the legal ways of treatment is to recite the Qur'an on the bewitched person, such as the greatest Surah of the Qur'an, namely, Al­Fatihah and repeat it on him. If this is done by a righteous believing person who believes that everything takes place by Allah's Predestination and that He (may He be Exalted and Glorified) is the One Who manages the affairs of people and if He says to something, "Be," it will be, magic may be removed. In fact, recitation gains its effect on condition that it is based on faith in Allah (Exalted be He), fear of Him and sincerity. This way magic may be removed and the bewitched is cured with the Leave of Allah (glory be to Him). 

Some Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them) passed by a group of people in the desert whose chieftain had been bitten and they did everything but their efforts were fruitless. They asked the Sahabah, "Is there among you any one who treats by Ruqyah?" The Sahabah answered in positive. Then, one of the Sahabah recited Surah­A l­Fatihah on the bitten chieftain and upon that he stood as if he had been released from a chain and Allah (Exalted be He) cured him from the harm of the snakebite. Moreover, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, There is no harm in the Ruqyahs, which do not contain any Shirk. He (peace be upon him) exorcised others and was exorcised. Accordingly, Al­Ruqyah has a great goodness and benefit. There are Surahs from the Qur'an such as Surah­Al­Fatihah, Al­Ikhlas, Al­Falaq and Al­Nas and other Ayahs such as Ayah­Al­Kursy as well as other supplications reported in the Hadiths of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Among them is what the Prophet (peace be upon him) said exorcising a sick person, O Lord of the people! Remove the difficulty and bringabouthealingasYouaretheHealer.ThereisnohealingbutYourHealing,ahealingthatwillleavenoailment.Herepeated it three times or more. Also, it is reported that He (peace be upon him) said, Gabriel said to the Prophet (peace be upon him): In the name of Allah, I exorcise you from everything and safeguard you from every evil that may harm you and from the eye of a jealous one. Allah would cure you and I invoke the name of Allah for you. He said that thrice. This is a great Ruqyah reported on the authority of the Prophet (peace be upon him). 

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It is allowed to say it on the person who has been bitten, the bewitched person, and the sick person as well as other good supplications even if they are not established as having been said by the Prophet (peace be upon him) so long as they do not include a prohibited matter owing to the general saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him), There is no harm in the Ruqyahs that do not contain any Shirk. However, Allah (Exalted be He) may heal the ill and the bewitched without Ruqyah or other means of treatment, for He (Exalted be He) is Omnipotent over all things and has the perfect wisdom in every thing. He (Glorified be He) said in His Glorious Book, Verily, His Command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, "Be!" and it is! Praise and thanks are due to Him on all what He decrees and predestines. He has the consummate wisdom in every thing, may He be Glorified and Exalted! 

The sick person may not be cured for his term (time of death) has come and he is predetermined to die by that disease. Among the ways of treating the bewitched person is to recite the Ayahs of the Qur'an that deal with sorcery on water in a container, such as the Ayahs of Surah­Al­A`raf where Allah (Exalted be He) says: And We revealed to Mûsâ (Moses) (saying): "Throw your stick," and behold! It swallowed up straight away all the falsehoods which they showed. Thus truth was confirmed, and all that they did was made of no effect. So they were defeated there and returned disgraced. He (Exalted be He) also says in Surah­Yunus: And Fir‘aun (Pharaoh) said: "Bring me every well­versed sorcerer." to His Saying, "And Allâh will establish and make apparent the truth by His Words, however much the Mujrimûn (criminals, disbelievers, polytheists, sinners) may hate it." Similarly, Ayahs that deal with sorcery in Surah­Ta­Ha, They said: "O Mûsâ (Moses)! Either you throw first or we be the first to throw?" to His Saying, and the magician will never be successful, to whatever amount (of skill) he may attain. 

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These are among the Ayahs that are useful in curing magic with the Leave of Allah. If the reciter reads these Ayahs and Surah­Al­Fatihah, Ayah­Al­Kursy, Surah­Al­Ikhlas, Surah­Al­Falaq and Surah­Al­Nas in water and poured it on the person likely to suffer from black magic or cannot approach his wife because of magic, such a person will be healed with the Leave of Allah. It is more useful to put in the water seven leaves of green Sidr after crushing them according to Sheikh `Abdul­Rahman ibn Hasan (may Allah confer mercy upon him) who mentioned this in his book Fath Al­Majid about some scholars in the chapter of "the related matters concerning Al­Nashrah).

It is religiously recommended to repeat the recitation of the last three Surahs that begin with Say (O Muhammad صلى االله عليه وسلم): "He is Allâh, (the) One. Say: "I seek refuge with (Allâh), the Lord of the daybreak, Say: "I seek 

refugewith(Allâh)theLordofmankind,threetimes. 

These Ayahs and the like are among the things used in the treatment of this evil i.e. sorcery and also those who cannot approach their wives. They were used many times and proved to be useful by the Leave of Allah. The sick person may be treated with Surah­Al­Fatihah, the last three Surahs only and he is cured. 

However, it is of utmost importance that both the ill person and the reciter have sincere faith in Allah (Exalted be He) and confidence in Him and know that Allah (Exalted be He) is the One Who manage the affairs of people and that what Allah (Exalted be He) wills comes to pass and what He does not will, does not come to pass for every thing is under His Control. Indeed, with faith in Allah (Exalted be He) and sincerity to Him on the part of both the reciter and the sick person, illness is removed by the Leave of Allah in a short time and the moral and material medicines gain their fruits. 

We ask Allah to guide us to what pleases Him for He is All­Hearer, Ever Near. 

However, it is necessary that everyone is aware of rulings of the book of Allah (glory be to Him) and the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to teach people in his country and society and his family that knowledge so that they recognize these matters 

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and knowledge is spread. The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to say whenever he delivered a sermon to people and remind them with death and the hereafter, Those who are present should convey it (this information) to those who are absent, as the informed one might comprehend it (what I have said) better than the present audience who will convey it to him/her. He also says, Convey (my teachings) to the people even if it is a single sentence. 

It is necessary for the one who learns knowledge from scholars to convey to people the benefits he obtains and understands. He should avoid conveying things he does not understand for he may make a mistake so he might be regarded as a liar as well as causing harm to both the scholars they convey their knowledge and the receivers of the information. Therefore, conveying knowledge is not allowed except on the basis of comprehension, verification and insight with what one listens and knows without increase or decrease. 

May Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and Companions, and those who followed him rightfully to the Day of Judgment!