The Story of Haaroot and Maaroot – II

Magic is a reality and not mere illusion; some people consider tricks
of the hand or deceptions of the eye to be magic, but magic is much
more than that; it is a reality, and could lead one to hate what he
used to love, such as the case which Allaah informs us of in the
abovementioned verse where it can separate man from his wife. Indeed
the goal that the devil strives hardest to achieve is to separate man
from his wife, as in the narration of Jaabir ibn 'Abdullaah who stated
that the Prophet said: "Satan places his throne on the water, then he
sends his troops to people; the closest devil in position to him isthe
one who causes the most mischief and trials amongst people. One of
them (i.e., from his troops) comes to him andsays: `I continued to
whisper to so and so until he committed such and such a sin.` Satan
responds: `I swear by Allaah! You have not done much.` (This process
continues) until one (devil) comes and says: `I continued to whisper
to him until I made him separate from his wife.` Thereupon, Satan
brings him close to him and hugs him, saying: `Yes! You are the one.`"
[Muslim] Meaning, that he is the one who has achieved the
greatestaccomplishment. This separation is caused by either magic or
by any other means.
Some magicians use magic to bewitch the eyes of people and make them
believe that they are seeing something that they are not, as Allaah
says regarding the magicians of Pharaoh what means: "…And they
presented a great [feat] of magic." [Quran 7: 116] People thought, as
a result of their magic, thatthey were seeing snakes instead of ropes
and sticks.
Some people claim that there is a prophetic narration that is as
follows: "Learn magic butdo not teach it to others."This is a
fabrication; such words were never uttered by the Prophet .
The Islamic ruling regarding the magician is that he is to be
beheaded, as the Prophetsaid: "The punishment for the magician is that
he must be beheaded." [At-Tirmithi & Al-Haakim] This is because such a
person is an apostate, even if he fasts, prays and claims that he is a
Muslim, because his practice of magic invalidates any good deeds he
may perform.
There are two ways of being relieved from the effects of magic:
- The incorrect way is to go to magicians for this purpose; this is
prohibited because the Prophet said: "He who approaches a magician and
believes what he says will have his prayers rejected for forty days."
[Muslim] Thus, it is prohibited to approach them or to seek their
assistance in removing the effect of magic done on one by others.
- The correct way is by reciting the legislated Ruqyah (i.e. the Quran
and certain prophetic supplications). Examples of this would be the
Chapters Al-Faatihah, Al-Ikhlaas, Al-Falaq, An-Naas and the Verse of
the Throne, or Ayat Al-Kursi, which is the two-hundred and fifty fifth
verse of Chapter Al-Baqarah. An example of a prophetic supplication
that is usefulin this regard is: "Allaahumma Rabban-naas,
athhibil-ba's, wash'fi, Antash-Shaafi, laa shifaa'a illaa shifaa'uka,
shifaa'n laa yughaadiru saqama [O Allaah! The Lord of mankind! Remove
this disease and cure (him or her). You are the Great Curer. There is
no cure but through You, which leaves behind no disease]."
[Al-Bukhaari]
One may also recite Quranic verses in water and add to it seven dried
and crushed Lote-tree leaves. This method is confirmed to have been
practiced by some of the Salaf such as Wahb ibn Munabbih .
Some people recite the verses that address the issue of magic, like
those found in Chapters Al-A'raaf, Yoonus, and TaaHaa over this water
and then add the crushed leaves to it, then they recite Chapters
Al-Ikhlaas,Al-Falaq, An-Naas and some authentic Propheticsupplications
over it. They then wash their body with this water. This is a method
that has been proven to be beneficial by experience.
The Prophet was bewitched by Labeed ibnAl-A'sam, who had
strongrelations with the Jews, and the Jews requested his assistance
due to him being renowned for his experience in magic.
The Prophet was afflictedby this magic for six months. He would think
that he was sleeping with his wives while in fact he was not. He
persevered through this period, and when he feared that it would
affect his zeal for worship, he supplicated to Allaah, asking Him to
remove it from him.
'Aa'ishah narrated: "Magic was done on the Prophet so he began to
think that he was doing things that he was not actually doing. One
day, he invoked (Allaah) for a long period and then said: "I feel that
Allaah has inspired me as how to cure myself. Two persons came to me
(in a dream) and sat down, one by my head and the other by my feet.
One of them asked the other: 'What is the sickness of this man?' The
other replied: 'He has been bewitched.' The first asked: 'Who has
bewitched him?' The other replied: 'Labeed ibn Al-A'sam.' The first
one asked: 'What materials did he use?' The other replied: 'A comb,
the hair gathered on it, and the outer skin of the pollen of a male
date-palm.' The first asked: 'Where are they?' The other replied: 'In
the well of Tharwaan.'"
So the Prophet headed out towards the well. He later returned and said
tome: "The date-palms (i.e.,the ones on the well) are like the heads
of devils." Iasked: 'Did you take out those things with which the
magic was done?' He replied: "No, for I have been cured by Allaah, and
I am afraid that this action may spread evil amongst the people."
Later on the well was filled up with earth." [Al-Bukhaari]
The hair that was on the comb was taken, and a knot was made in which
the magic was placed; then, the hair that contained the magic was
placed inside the outer skin of the pollen of a male date-palm, and
this was placed under a rock, inside the well. When some Companions
went to remove this magic from the well, they foundthat its water was
the colour of Henna, due to the effect of magic on it.
The Prophet was inspiredby Allaah as to where the location of the
magic was; it was removed and the knot was undone, so the magic was
ruined.
The question of 'Aa'ishah was an indirect way of asking why the
Prophet did not punish the man who bewitched him, and he explained
why, saying: "I am afraid that this action may spread evil amongst the
people."Meaning, that since the punishment of being a magician is
execution by beheading, and because people did not know thathe
practiced such evil, nor did they witness him doing it on the Prophet
then punishing him would have encouraged people to accuse anyone of
doing magic, even if they were innocent, and justify it by quoting
this action of the Prophet .
He was very careful not to execute anyone whosecrime was not obvious
to everybody, and it is for this same reason he refrained from killing
IbnSalool, who was the headof hypocrites, despite him knowing that he
wasbeing a disbeliever, a liarand a hypocrite.
He did not kill him because it would not have been clear to people why
he killed him, due to this Ibn Salool pretending to be Muslim.
One may ask: "How could the Prophet be bewitched when he was conveying
the message?"
The answer is that the magic never affected anyaspect of his mind,
memory or mission; it only affected his relations with his wives.
Another question that might be asked is: "Does the fact that he was
bewitched not contradictbeing protected by Allaah? Allaah Says what
means: "…And Allaah will protect you from the people…" [Quran 5: 67]
The answer is that the protection referred to in this verse was
against certain matters only, suchas being killed before conveying the
message fully, or being prevented from conveying the message in any
way.
In fact, proof of the fact that such protection was limited is that he
was afflicted greatly by the disbelievers: they offended and beat him,
and besieged him and hisfollowers. He also suffered hunger and fell
into a pit that the disbelievers had dug for him. They did all these
things but were unable to prevent him from conveying the message of
Allaah.
Some magic is performedby blowing into knots and other materials which
magicians compile, which makes the bewitched person believe he is
performing actions that is not actually doing; another type makes a
person incapable of having sexual intercourse with his wife; another
type makes the wife imagine that her husband is a beast or a snake
whenever he tries to approach her sexually; there is another type
thatmakes the husband imagine that his wife hasa foul stench whenever
he attempts to approach her sexually, even thoughshe may be clean and
smell pleasant.
There are women who resort to magic in order to make their husbands
divorce his other wife or wives, so that she can have him all to
herself – and this is one of the greatest ways of oppressing others.
One may ask: "There are deadly types of magic; are they incurable?"
The answer is that they are curable, unless the effects of this magic
coincide with the designated time of the person's death. If that is
the case, then nothing can help him. Allaah Says what means: "But
never will Allaah delay a soul when its time has come. And Allaah is
Acquainted with what you do." [Quran 63: 11]
The one who bewitches others and thereby causes their death must be
sentenced to death, because such a person killed a soul intentionally
and without due right.
Some people wear amulets, claiming that they protect them from magic,
but they only add to the evil and make them weaker in faith.
In Islam, ends do not justify means; there are people who resort to
magic in order to reconcile, for example, between two disputing
people. This is prohibited, even if people claim that they have good
intentions and are only using it for a good purpose. This is refused
in Islam because the means used are evil, and regardless of the sought
result, using magic remains prohibited.