As-Sihr (Sorcery)
Sorcery is one of the seven moobiqaat (fatal sins or "destroyers").
These are perhaps the seven most heinous of the major sins or kabaa'ir.
The Prophet (sas) mentioned them in the following hadith:
"Ijtaniboo as-sab'a al-moobiqaat" Qaaloo: Ya rasoolu Allahi wa ma
hunna? Qaala: "Ash-shirku billahi wa as-sihru wa qatlu an-nafsa allatiy
harrama Allahu illa bil haqqi wa akla ar-ribaa wa akla maali al-yateemi wa at-tawalli
yauma az-zahfi wa qadhfu al-muhsanaati al-ghaafilaati al-mu'minaati."
"Stay away from the seven destroyers." They said: O Messenger
of Allah and what are they? He said: "Associating with Allah in worship,
sorcery, the taking of a life which Allah has sanctified except rightfully,
consuming interest, consuming the property of an orphan, fleeing on the day of
intense battle and slandering innocent, unknowing, believing women."
Muslim & Bukhari
Every Muslim needs to contemplate these seven "deadly sins". The proportion
of things is as Allah and His messenger have defined, not as we perceive or as
we judge. Consider that Allah has put these seven in the deadliest category of
sins:
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Shirk
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Sorcery
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Murder
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Interest
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Consuming some wealth which belongs to an orphan under you care (failing
to put the boundary between his/her property and your)
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Fleeing from battle
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Careless and slanderous talk about Muslim women
Are these seven equally obvious to you? Most will understand shirk and
murder and perhaps fleeing from battle. Many do not understand the magnitude of
interest, sorcery and fortunetelling, slander or consuming other wealth.
Probably the majority of Muslims are immersed in riba. To date, I know of no
Muslim country which has even attempted to rid itself of this plague. Even
Taliban, who claim to intend to implement the Shari'a 100% were recently quoted
as saying that they wish to get loans from the IMF!
I have seen right here in this country among those who claim to be quite
serious about their Islam those who have indulged in the property of orphans
(e.g., someone who marries a woman with children whose husband died without
bothering to assign the deceased husband's property to the woman and her
children according to inheritance laws and preserve the children's portion until
they grow up) even after being warned. And how many of us have been careless
with regard to slanderous statements without proof about Muslim women?
The meaning of as-sihr in Arabic is that which is subtle and whose
cause is not apparent. It is used to mean all things of unknown cause or that
which is perceived as other than its reality by means of deception. This
includes the traditional practices of sorcery which Islam has forbidden.
At the time of the Prophet (sas), many of the Jews rejected the message of
Muhammad (sas) and stuck to their sorcery which they claimed to be from the
teachings of Sulaiman (as). Allah rejected their claim in the following verses:
{Wa lamma jaa'ahum rasoolun min 'indi Allahi musaddiqun
lima ma'ahum nabadha fareequn min alladhina utoo al-kitaaba kitaaba Allahi
waraa'a dhuhoorihim ka'annahum la ya'lamoon (101) Wa ittaba'oo ma tatloo ash-shayaateenu
'alaa mulki Sulaimana wa ma kafara Sulaimanu wa lakinna ash-shayaateenu
kafaroo yu'allimoona an-naasa as-sihra wa maa unzila 'alaa al-malakaini bi
baabila haaroota wa maatoota wa maa yu'allimani min ahadin hattaa yaqoolaa
innama nahnu fitnatun falaa takfur fa yata'allamoona minhumaa maa yufarriqoona
bihi baina al-mar'i wa zaujihi wa maa hum bi dhaarreena bihi min ahadin illa
bi idhni Allahi wa yatallamoona ma yadhurruhum wa laa yanfa'uhum wa laqad 'alimoo
laman ishtaraahu la lahu fiy al-aakhirati min khalaaqin wa la bi'sa ma sharau
bihi anfusahum lau kaanoo ya'lamoona.}
{And, whan a messenger came to them
confirming that which was in their possession, a group of those who were given
the book cast the Book of Allah behind their backs as if they didn't know.
(101) And they followed that which the devils recited during the time of
Sulaiman but Sulaiman did not disbelieve rather it was the devils who
disbelieved teaching the people sorcery and that which was sent to the two
angels at Babel Haroot and Maroot. Those two did not teach anyone before
first saying to them: "We are nothing but a test, so do not disbelieve." Then
they learned from those two that with which they separate man and wife and
they can never harm anyone with it except by Allah's permission. And they
learn that which harms them and does not benefit them and they have understood
that who every makes this exchange has nothing in the hereafter. How evil is
that for which they have sold themselves if they only knew.}
Al-Baqarah:101-102
From this verse, we see the following:
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Some of the Jews accepted the message of Muhammad.
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Those who didn't knew better.
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They claimed that their sorcery was taken from the teachings of Sulaiman -
a claim which Allah rejected.
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Shaitan is the source of sorcery and its promoter.
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Haroot and Maroot were tested by Allah by being put into human form and
they sinned and taught people sorcery.
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Sorcery is kufr.
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Sorcery is real and can affect people and their hearts with love or hate
toward another.
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No harm can come to you from sorcery except by Allah's permission
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Sorcery is pure harm and without benefit, so even the perceived
short-range benefits are illusory.
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Sorcery without repentence leads to the fire forever.
Proof of this last point is also found in the hadith:
"Thalaathatun laa yadkhuloona al-janna: mudminu khamrin wa qaati'u
rahmin wa musaddiqun bi as-sihri."
"Three will not enter Paradise: one addicted to alcohol, one who
breaks family ties and one who believes in sorcery." Ahmad
Fortunetelling and astrology are also forms of sihr which Islam has
forbidden.
"Man iqtabasa shu'batan min an-nujoomi faqad iqtabasa shu'batan min as-sihri,
zaada ma zaada."
"Whoever takes anything from reading the stars as taken something
of sorcery, this increases as that increases." Abu Daud
During the time of the Prophet (sas), one of the popular forms of sorcery was
to tie knots in a rope and then recite incantations over them to place "knots"
in the heart of the victim. Every Muslim who reads Al-Falaq seeks refuge from
this when saying: {Wa min sharri an-naffaathaati fiy al-'uqad.} (And
from the evil of those who whisper over the knots.) This form of
sorcery was done to the Prophet (sas) and it caused some anxiety in his (sas)
heart until the cause was revealed to him and disposed of. Allah did not allow
it to cause him (sas) any real harm. The Prophet (sas) stated that sorcery is
shirk in the following hadith:
"Man 'aqada 'uqdatan thumma nafatha feeha faqad sahara wa man sahara
faqad ashraka wa man ta'allaqa shai'an wukila ilaihi."
"Whoever tied a not and then said incantations over it has
committed sorcery and whoever committed sorcery has commited shirk and whoever
relied on something will be turned over to it." An-Nasaa'i
If sihr is real, then how does a Muslim defend him/herself against
it? Ibn Al-Qayyim said:
"An-nashra is the removal of the effects of sorcery from its
victim and it is of two types:
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Removal of sorcery with sorcery - this is from the works of shaitaan.
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Removal of sorcery with recitations, seeking refuge and lawful du'a
along with reliance on Allah - this is the lawful form.
Among the lawful forms of dhikr which can protect us from sihr
and other evils are the following:
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Recite Ayatul Kursiy after every prayer and after the other adhkaar
as well as before sleeping. It is the greatest verse in the Qur'an.
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Reciting surat al-ikhlaas and the two last suras three times each after
fajr and after maghrib.
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Reciting the last two verses of Al-Baqarah.
When sorcery befalls one, in addition to reciting the above and any other
verses of Qur'an over the victim, one may also recite the du'a of the Prophet (sas)
for curing this and other illnesses:
"Allahumma rabi an-naasi adh-hib al-ba'sa washfi anta ash-shaafiy laa
shifaa'a illa shifaa'uka shifaa'an laa yughaadiru saqaman."
"O Allah, Lord of mankind remove the harm and cure. You are the
Curer, there is no cure but your cure, a cure which leaves no illness."
"Bismillahi arqeeka min kulli sharri yu'dheeka wa min kulli nafsin au 'ainin
haasidin Allahu yashfeeka."
"In the name of Allah I seek your cure from every evil which
harms you and from every envious soul or eye. May Allah cure you."
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