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The effect of sihr on the marital relationship
The saahir (person who practises sihr) does
things by which he affects people with sihr. Sometimes this is by illusion or
making things appear to be something else, as Allaah said concerning the
sorcerers of Pharaoh (interpretation of the meaning):
“and their sticks, by their magic, appeared to
him as though they moved fast” [Ta-Ha 20:66]
They do actions that change how things look in people’s eyes, so that they see
things other than they really are, as Allaah says in Soorat al-A’raaf
(interpretation of the meaning): “So when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of
the people, and struck terror into them, and they displayed a great magic”
[al-A’raaf 7:116]
So they do things to bewitch people’s eyes, so
that they see a rope as a snake or a stick as a moving snake, when it is not a
snake at all but only a stick or a rope.
They may also bewitch people in other ways, so
that a man becomes hateful to his wife, or vice versa. They may do this by
bewitching their eyes, or by giving them evil potions which they get from the
shayaateen, or by tying knots on which they blow and pray to the shayaateen
instead of to Allaah, and seek their help in harming people. So a man may
imagine that his wife is not the wife he knows, and she may appear ugly or
hateful to him, or a wife may imagine that her husband is not the husband that
she knows, and she sees him as something ugly and terrifying, because of what
these criminals have done. So their sihr may be of two types, one of which
involves illusions and tricking the eyes, so that they do not see things as they
really are.
The other kind includes that which is called
al-sarf and al-‘atf (spells aimed at creating hatred or love), which is done by
tying knots and blowing on them, and using potions which they make by
inspiration of the shayaateen. This second kind may make a man love or hate his
wife, or a woman love or hate her husband. It may also affect a person's
relationship with people other than his or her spouse. Hence Allaah has
commanded us to seek refuge with Him from the evil of those who blow onto knots,
and to seek refuge with Him from every evil.
Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah li Samaahat al-Shaykh al-‘Allaamah
‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him), vol. 8,
p. 80
It is possible for witchcraft to come between a man and his wife?
Praise be to Allaah.
The correct view according to the majority of Ahl al-Sunnah is that
witchcraft or magic is real and that it can have an effect – if Allaah wills and
decrees it – on the body of the one against whom it is directed, and it could
even kill him.
Imaam al-Quraafi said: “Witchcraft is real and the person against whom it is
directed could die, or his mood and habits could be changed… This was also the
view of al-Shaafa’i and Ibn Hanbal…” (al-Furooq, 4/149)
The Mu’tazilah and Qadariyyah did not agree with this… but that is of no
significance. Al-Quraafi and others mentioned that the Sahaabah agreed that it
(witchcraft) is real, before there emerged anybody who denied this.
Among the evidence of Ahl al-Sunnah is:
1. The aayah (interpretation of the meaning):
“but the Shayaateen (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic and such
things that came down at Babylon to the two angels, Haaroot and Maaroot, but
neither of these two (angels) taught anyone (such things) till they had
said, “We are for trial, so disbelieve not (by learning this magic from
us).” And from these (angels) people learn that by which they cause
separation between man and his wife, but they could not thus harm anyone
except by Allaah’s Leave. And they learn that which harms them and profits
them not.” [al-Baqarah 2:102]
This aayah clearly indicates what is being asked about here, which is
that witchcraft is real and that the practitioner of witchcraft can cause
separation between a man and his wife and that he can cause harm to people
by his witchcraft – if that is decreed by the universal will of Allaah.
2. The aayah (interpretation of the meaning):
“And from the evil of the witchrafts when they blow in the knots”
[al-Falaq 113:4]
‘the witchcrafts when they blow in the knots’ refers to witches or female
practitioners of witchcraft who tie knots as part of their magic and blow on
them. If witchcraft were not real, Allaah would not have commanded us to
seek refuge from it.
3. Further proof is to be seen in the fact that witchcraft was directed
against the Prophet SAW
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) by the Jew Labeed ibn al-A’sam.
This is a saheeh hadeeth which was narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim.
4. Further evidence is to be seen in the real-life experiences of many
people, which cannot be overlooked.
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
the witchcraft which causes people to be sick or to feel
depressed, or which makes them love or hate, exists and is well known to all
people. Many people have experienced what it can do to them.” (al-Tafseer
al-Qayyim, p. 571).
Ibn Qudaamah said:
“It is well known among people that a man can be separated
from his wife (by witchcraft) when he gets married, so that he is unable to have
intercourse with her, but when the spell is lifted, then he is able to have
intercourse with her. This is so commonly known that it cannot be denied. There
are so many reports of witchcraft that it is inconceivable that so many people
would agree on a lie.” (al-Mughni, 8/151)
There are many ways of protecting oneself against witchcraft:
The best way is to fear Allaah, obey His commands, put one's trust in Him,
seek refuge with Allaah, and start each morning by eating seven dates. All of
these were narrated in saheeh ahaadeeth.
There are many ways of removing the effects of witchcraft, including:
1. Ruqyah [prayers, supplications], the best of which is supplications from
the Qur’aan, then du’aa’s narrated in saheeh haadeeth.
2. Finding the objects used for witchcraft purposes and doing something to
neutralize them.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: the Sunnah for
treating this sickness – two kinds were transmitted from him:
One of them – which is the best – is to locate and neutralize the object,
as it was reported in a saheeh hadeeth that he
SAW (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) asked his Lord about that, and He directed him to a well
where he found a comb, some hairs that had fallen when he combed his hair
….…. When he removed these things from the well, he felt better, as if he
had recovered from an illness. This is this is the best way of dealing with
this problem, and is like removing something bad from the body by expelling
it.
3. Cupping, induced vomiting and surgery.
Ibn al-Qayyim said – continuing what he said in the words quoted above:
“The second kind is by physically removing the place affected by the
witchcraft, because witchcraft has an effect on human nature and the bodily
humours, and can affect moods. If its effects are noted in any part if the
body and it is possible to remove the bad material, this will be very
beneficial.” (Zaad al-Ma’aad, 4/124, 125).
And Allaah knows best.
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
Wife practising witchcraft on her husband
Praise be to Allaah.
The answer is:
If your old wife admitted doing this or it is definitely proven that she did
it, then she has committed a great evil, indeed it is kufr and misguidance,
because what she did was forbidden sihr (witchcraft or magic), and the one who
does that is a kaafir, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“They followed what the Shayaateen (devils) gave out (falsely of the magic)
in the lifetime of Sulaymaan (Solomon). Sulaymaan did not disbelieve, but the
Shayaateen (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic and such things that came
down at Babylon to the two angels, Haaroot and Maaroot, but neither of these two
(angels) taught anyone (such things) till they had said, ‘We are for trial, so
disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us).’ And from these (angels) people
learn that by which they cause separation between man and his wife, but they
could not thus harm anyone except by Allaah’s Leave. And they learn that which
harms them and profits them not. And indeed they knew that the buyers of it
(magic) would have no share in the Hereafter. And how bad indeed was that for
which they sold their ownselves, if they but knew” [al-Baqarah 2:102]
This aayah indicates that witchcraft is kufr and that the one who practices
it is a kaafir. Those who practice witchcraft learn that which harms them and
does not benefit them. One of their aims is to separate man and wife, and they
will have chance before Allaah on the Day of Resurrection – i.e., they will have
no hope of salvation. According to a saheeh hadeeth narrated from the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him), he said, “Avoid the seven things which will lead to doom.” He was
asked, “What are they, O Messenger of Allaah?” He said: “Associating anything
with Allaah; witchcraft; killing a soul whom Allaah has forbidden us to kill
unlawfully; consuming riba (usury, interest); consuming the orphan’s wealth;
fleeing the battlefield; and slandering chaste but innocent believing women.”
With regard to the shaykh who gave you the remedy, it appears that he is a
practitioner of witchcraft like the woman, because no one knows about actions of
witchcraft except others who do the same. He is also one of the fortune-tellers
and soothsayers who are known for their claims to know many matters of the
unseen. The Muslim must beware of them and not believe their claims to know the
unseen, because the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever comes to a fortune-teller and
asks him about anything, his prayers will not be accepted for forty days.”
(Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh). And the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever comes to a
fortune-teller or soothsayer and believes what he says has disbelieved in that
which was revealed to Muhammad (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him).” So you have to repent and regret what you
have done, and tell the head of the organization and the head of the court about
this shaykh and your old wife, so that the court and organization will take
action to deter them. If something like this happens to you again then ask the
scholars of sharee’ah to tell you of the remedy prescribed in sharee’ah. If what
happened to you has now gone, then praise be to Allaah, otherwise let us know so
that we can tell you of the remedy prescribed in sharee’ah. May Allaah bless you
and us with understanding of Islam and steadfastness in our religion, and may He
keep us safe from that which goes against it, for He is the Most Generous, Most
Kind.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allaah and His blessings.
Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah li Samaahat al-Shaykh al-‘Allaamah
‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him), vol 4,
p. 431
Fighting witchcraft with witchcraft to solve marital problems
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Curing a person who have been bewitched or had a
spell cast on him, if it done by permissible means, comes under the heading of
the treatment of sickness and disease. It is one of the best of deeds if one
seeks the pleasure of Allaah thereby, especially if that is also for the purpose
of solving marital or family problems.
There are two scenarios that
may apply in curing one who has been bewitched:
1 – Lifting the spell by means
of further witchcraft, where the practitioner of witchcraft and the sick person
seek to draw close to the jinns and devils in order to cure the spell. This is
haraam and it is a great evil and the work of the Shaytaan, as it says in Musnad
Ahmad (3/294) and Sunan Abi Dawood (3868), where it is narrated that Jaabir ibn
‘Abd-Allaah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was asked about nushrah, and he
said, “It is the work of the Shaytaan.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in
Saheeh Abi Dawood, 3868.
Nushrah means curing a person who has been
bewitched. What is referred to here is the type of nushrah that was used during
the Jaahiliyyah, which is curing witchcraft by means of witchcraft or by using
the services of the devils.
See al-Qawl al-Mufeed ‘ala
Kitaab al-Tawheed, by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him).
The way in which this hadeeth
indicates that it is haraam is that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) described it as being the work of
the Shaytaan, and whatever is the work of the Shaytaan is haraam, for the
Shaytaan enjoins evil, immorality and saying of Allaah what one does not know.
2 – Lifting the spell by means
of the ruqyahs and prayers for refuge with Allaah that are prescribed in Islam,
and using permissible kinds of medicine. This is permissible and is a righteous
deed for which a person will be rewarded, so long as he observes the proper
etiquette of treatment and performing ruqyah.
Secondly:
Our advice to the who uses
witchcraft to fight witchcraft is to fear Allaah and to hasten to repent from
this action which poses a threat to his religious commitment and his Islam,
before the Angel of Death comes down to him and catches him unawares, whereupon
regret will be to no avail and there will be no turning back. The danger that
witchcraft poses to one's religious commitment is very real and very serious.
Allaah has told us in His Book that learning and teaching witchcraft is kufr as
He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“They followed what the
Shayaateen (devils) gave out (falsely of the magic) in the lifetime of Sulaymaan
(Solomon). Sulaymaan did not disbelieve, but the Shayaateen (devils)
disbelieved, teaching men magic and such things that came down at Babylon to the
two angels, Haaroot and Maaroot, but neither of these two (angels) taught anyone
(such things) till they had said, ‘We are for trial, so disbelieve not (by
learning this magic from us).’” [al-Baqarah 2:102]
So learning and teaching
witchcraft constitutes kufr or disbelief in Allaah. In al-Saheehayn it is
narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Avoid the seven (sins) that
doom a person to Hell.” They said: “O Messenger of Allaah, what are they?” He
said: “Associating others with Allaah (shirk), witchcraft, killing a soul whom
Allaah has forbidden killing, except in cases required by law, consuming riba,
consuming the orphan’s wealth, running away from the battlefield, and slandering
chaste and innocent believing women.”
These are all sins which will
doom a person to Hell, so let this practitioner of witchcraft beware of the
wrath and punishment of Allaah, for His punishment is painful and severe. Let
him beware of the traps of the Shaytaan who makes this deed appear attractive
and makes him think that it is in the interests of the Muslims and a solution to
their problems, until he drags him to Hell and causes him to be thrown therein,
what a terrible end. Beware, for the matter is very serious, it is the matter of
eternal bliss or eternal misery; we seek refuge with Allaah from loss and utter
misery.
Thirdly:
Our advice to the sick person who has been
bewitched is to be patient and seek reward from Allaah. He should realize that
this is a test through which he may raise his status before Allaah if he is
patient and seeks reward. Al-Tirmidhi (2396) and Ibn Maajah (4031) narrated from
Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The greatest reward comes
with the greatest trial. When Allaah loves a people He tests them. Whoever
accepts that wins His pleasure but whoever is discontent with that earns His
wrath.” Classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 2396.
He should depend on Allaah
alone and put his trust in Him in all his affairs, as well as following the
means prescribed in sharee’ah and the permissible practical means of treating
his disease. He should turn to Allaah and beseech Him with du’aa’ at the end of
the night, and following each prayer, for Allaah is the One who removes harm and
relieves distress. He is merciful to His believing slaves and answers the du’aa’
of the one who is in difficulty.
“Is not He (better than your
gods) Who responds to the distressed one, when he calls on Him, and Who removes
the evil, and makes you inheritors of the earth, generations after generations?
Is there any ilaah (god) with Allaah? Little is that you remember!” [al-Naml 27:62]
Let him beware of approaching
the ways of witchcraft, soothsaying and fortunetelling, for they are a disease
and a malady which lead to certain doom. In Saheeh Muslim (2230) it is narrated
from one of the wives of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever goes to a fortune
teller and asks him about anything, his prayers will not accepted for forty
days.” In Musnad al-Imam Ahmad (9252) it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah and
al-Hasan (may Allaah be pleased with them) that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever goes to a soothsayer
or a fortune teller and believes what he says has disbelieved in that which was
revealed to Muhammad.” Classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh
al-Jaami’, 5939. So let the Muslim beware of asking them about anything or
believing them, in obedience to Allaah and His Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and so as to protect his religious
commitment and his belief (‘aqeedah), and out of fear of the punishment of
Allaah, and so as to avoid the things that lead to shirk and kufr, for whoever
dies in a state of shirk or kufr will have lost in this world and in the
Hereafter, and that is true loss.
See also Majmoo’ Fataawa wa
Maqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah by Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Baaz (may
Allaah have mercy on him), 3/280 and 8/144.
Her mother
told her that a fortune-teller said that her marriage will be miserable!
Question : My
mother recently went to a fortune teller (which she is definetly not
supposed to because it's haraam) and she was telling me that the fortune
teller said that i will have a bad life if i marry my soon-to-be husband
and that we will not stay together for more than 2 years.... i know that
only Allah knows the future but i've been really worried by what she
said....and what can i do to potentially "reverse"this from
happening.... really i'm so confused i don't know what to think
Awnser:
Firstly: may Allaah reward you for your belief that Allaah alone knows
the unseen – this is what we hope for you and for every sincere Muslim
woman – and this is one of the essentials of faith in Allaah Alone.
But we wonder how,
after saying this, you can be afraid of one who knows nothing of the
unseen?
You have to be assured
and put your trust completely in Allaah, for nothing will happen to you
except that which has been decreed by Allaah.
Secondly:
The ruling on
fortune-telling, i.e., soothsaying, and claiming to know the unseen, is
that these are actions which condemn a person to Hell and put him beyond
the pale of Islam.
Thirdly:
Fortune-tellers
cooperate with the jinn; they are liars who cooperate with the
shayaateen (devils), who do not help them except after they have changed
their religion, and whoever changes his religion [leaves Islam] is to be
executed. The ruling concerning those who go to them and believe them is
that they are guilty of kufr; if they do not believe them, their prayers
will still not be accepted from them for forty days.
The evidence (daleel)
for the former is the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah, according to which the
Prophet SAW (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Whoever goes to a fortune-teller and believes
what he says, has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad.”
(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 135; Abu Dawood, 3904; Ibn Maajah, 639; Ahmad,
9252. The hadeeth was classed as saheeh by al-Haakim (1/49), and
al-Dhahabi agreed with him. Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said, it has two
corroborating reports narrated by al-Bazzaar with good isnaads. See
al-Fath, 10/217)
The evidence (daleel)
for the latter is the report from one of the wives of the Prophet SAW
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who said:
the Messenger of Allaah SAW (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever goes to a fortune-teller and asks
him about anything, his prayers will not be accepted for forty days.”
(Narrated by Muslim, 2230).
Fourthly:
How the fortune-teller
gets his “information” was explained in the hadeeth narrated by Abu
Hurayrah, in which the Prophet SAW (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “When Allaah decrees a matter in
heaven, the angels beat their wings in submission to His words, making a
sound like a chain striking a rock. When the fear is banished from their
hearts, they say, What is it that your Lord has said? They say: The
truth, and He is the Most High, the Most Great. Then the one who is
listening out hears that, and those who are listening out are standing
one above the other” – Sufyaan [one of the narrators] demonstrated with
his hand, holding it vertically with the fingers outspread. – “So he
hears what is said and passes it on to the one below him, and that one
passes it to the one who is below him, and so on until it reaches the
lips of the soothsayer or fortune-teller. Maybe the meteor will hit him
before he can pass anything on, or maybe he will pass it on before he is
hit. He tells a hundred lies alongside it, but it will be said, Did he
not tell us that on such and such a day, such and such would happen? So
they believe him because of the one thing which was heard from heaven.”
(narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4424).
Fifthly:
When the Shaytaan
listens out to hear what the angels say to one another about the decree
of Allaah, this is part of the knowledge of the seen, it does not not
mean that the shayaateen have knowledge of the unseen. Then they add a
hundred lies to that word, such as when a fortune-teller says that So
and so will give birth to a boy, and the people see that he was right
about that so they believe in him, but he adds lies about the child,
saying that he will get married in such and such a year and will die in
such and such a year and other such details. So he gains a high stature
in people’s hearts and they seek to get close to him by bringing him
gifts and money, and he makes a profession out of these lies when the
people believe in him, and so he makes a living by haraam means.
Sixthly:
Not every
fortune-teller is a kaahin (soothsayer). He may be a geomancer or reader
of coffee-cups, because the kaahin, unlike the others, is one who
receives information from the jinn. The others are just liars, but the
same ruling applies to them, because they claim to have knowledge of the
unseen, although the kaahin who cooperates with the shayaateen is more
of a kaafir because the kufr of fortune-telling is compounded by the
kufr of his interacting with the shayaateen, who do not give him what he
wants until after he directed some acts of worship towards them in a
manner which takes him out of Islam.
Seventhly:
You have to advise
your mother not to go anywhere near these liars, lest she falls into sin
or her good deeds are wiped out. Do not give up the idea of marriage,
because marriage brings many benefits. It is an important matter which
is part of the fitrah (natural inclinations of man) and of the religion.
Your life will not be miserable, in sha Allaah; be optimistic and hope
for a good and happy life. We ask Allaah to join you with a husband who
is knowledgeable and righteous.
If something bad
happens, and you marry someone with whom you are miserable, this is
because of the decree of Allaah (qadaa’ and qadar), not because of what
the accursed fortune-teller said or because he knows the unseen. This
may happen as a test or trial. In any case, going ahead with the
marriage – in addition to its own great benefits – will be a way of
snubbing these liars and fortune-tellers, and those who believe in them.
May Allaah help us and you to do all that is good. May Allaah bless our
Prophet Muhammad.
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid |
