Answer
Short Answer: First of all one needs to remember that no harm can touch a person until and unless Allah has willed it for him. At the same time one must not forget the seriousness of the matter. Magic can cause severe harm to a person to the extent that a person can even die from it! If one perceives how magic causes havoc on people’s lives then one would understand that the punishment must be very grave indeed. Also when others witness the magnitude of the punishment it will be a deterrent for them to even think of committing such a horrible sin.
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Walaikumassalam warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu. Jazakallahu khair for approaching us with this serious concern. May Allah help make all things good for you and your family. Ameen.
All human beings are constructed with different components. It is the inside character of a person that distinguishes him from another. As humans we are brimming with emotions, however Allah has taught us in many different ways how to deal with our emotions. Many times people harbor the feeling of jealousy within themselves and instead of choosing the right method by which to channel it through some people resort to harming others. One of the ways they can seriously harm another person is through magic.
Is practicing magic a crime?
Yes it is! Magic is a heinous act which leads to destroying not only others, but a person who practices it himself, drowns in this destruction.
People who practice these types of behavior have serious consequences. To perform magic a person basically destroys his faith, because he is calling upon satan for help! The person has to carry out a variable of sins and obey satan instead of Allah to gain a status of magician.
With the magic he learns, he will do many things that are wrong such as separation between a couple and so forth. According to an ijma (unanimous agreement) of scholars such a person is a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah) because he has taken Shaytan as a partner with Allah and also according to many verses of the Quran he is also a disbeliever:
“Sulaymaan did not disbelieve, but the Shayaateen (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic” [Quran 2:102]
Is magic successful?
First of all, one needs to remember that no harm can touch a person until and unless Allah has willed it for him. At the same time, one must not forget the seriousness of the matter. Magic can cause severe harm to a person to the extent that a person can even die from it!
According to scholars such as Ibn Qudama if the magic kills a person then the magician should be killed as well. This fatwa shows that magic can actually kill an individual. Ibn Qudamah said in Mughni, “The sixth kind: if he killed him by means of a kind of sihr (magic) that usually kills, then he has to be executed because he has killed by means of something that usually kills, like killing by use of a knife.
Magic can and does affect people. Even our beloved Prophet Muhammad was afflicted with magic, which was the reason behind the revelation of the muwadathain. Yes, one can treat magic but not with casting another spell on a person, because evil cannot extinguish evil. Even though magic is an ailment Allah has prescribed medicine for it through which one can heal themselves i.e quranic verses of ruqiya (healing verses).
It was narrated in a sahih(authentic) report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“For every disease there is a medicine, and if that medicine is applied to the disease, he will recover by Allah’s Leave.” And he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah has not sent down any disease but He has also sent down the cure; the one who knows it knows it and the one who does not know it does not know it.”
Are the magicians punished in this world?
If one perceives how magic causes havoc on people’s lives then one would understand that the punishment must be very grave indeed. Also when others witness the magnitude of the punishment it will be a deterrent for them to even think of committing such a horrible sin.
The magicians are given a serious punishment not only in this world but the Hereafter as well. During the Prophet Muhammad’s time, anyone who practiced magic was to be executed. It was also commanded that the practitioner of magic should be executed, because of the hadith:
“The hadd (prescribed punishment) for the practitioner of magic is a blow with the sword (i.e., execution).” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 1460; al-Daaraqutni, 3/114; al-Haakim, 4/360; al-Bayhaqi, 8/136; see al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah, 3/641, no. 1446)
As we discussed earlier that the scholars agree to the fact that a person who practices magic ends up leaving the folds of Islam, hence becoming a kaafir (rejecter). Also by obeying satan the individual has become a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah).
Sadly, there is no respite other than the hellfire for such a person, until and unless he abandons this terrible sin and turns back to Allah in sincere repentance. As Allah says in the Quran that He forgives all sins except for shirk.
“Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him (in worship)” [Quran 4:48]
And Allah knows best.
I hope this helps.
Salam and please keep in touch.
(From Ask About Islam archives)
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