3) Sorcery
Sorcery is a major
sin because the sorcerer must necessarily disbelieve and the accursed Devil has
no other motive for teaching person witchcraft than that he might thereby
ascribe associates to Allah.
Allah, the Almighty,
says, {Solomon did not disbelieve but Satan disbelieved, teaching men
magic, and such things as came down at Babylon to the angels Harut and Marut.
But neither of these taught anyone (such things) without saying,
'We are only for trial,' so do not blaspheme.'
They learned from
them the means to sow discord between man and wife. But they could not harm
anyone except by Allah's permission. And they learned what harmed them, not
what profited them. And they knew that the buyers of (magic) would have no
share in the happiness of the Hereafter.} (AI- Baqarah: 102)
Thus, you might find
some people who are astray delving in learning sorcery and thinking that it is
just unlawful. Actually, they do not consider what they do as disbelief, but it
is! They embark on learning all kinds of sorcery: Pure sorcery, increasing or
decreasing the love between a man and a woman, making a man important and the
like.
All of these
practices are done by means of some unknown words, most of which lead to unbelief.
The penalty for a sorcerer is to be killed. This is because he is an
unbeliever. The Prophet (pbuh) said, "Avoid the seven heinous sins.”
And he mentioned sorcery.
"The
penalty for a sorcerer is the sword.” Reported by Imam Tirmithi. Bijalah Ibn Abah related, 'Umar (may Allah be
pleased with him) came to us one year before his death and said, "Kill
every sorcerer (male or female).” Reported by Abu Dawud.
Wahb Ibn Munabbih
said, "I read in a book: 'Allah the Almighty says, 'There is no god but
Me. He is not of Me who practices sorcery, or asks someone to practice with
him. The one who foretells or the foretold, the one who seeks an omen or for
whom an omen is sought.”
`Ali Ibn Abi Talib
(may Allah be pleased with him) said, A fortune teller is a sorcerer, a
sorcerer is a disbeliever."
Abu Musa AI-Ashari,
may Allah be pleased with him, related that the Prophet (pbuh) said, "The
drunkard, the one who severs the ties of kinship, and whoever believes in
sorcery will not enter Paradise.”
Ibn Mas'ud (may
Allah be pleased with him) related that the Prophet (pbuh) said, "Incantations,
amulets and spells are Shirk (polytheism).” These are treated as Shirk because
the ignorant believes that these things can affect what has been predetermined
by Allah. However, AIKhattabi said, "Incantations or healing words are
permitted if they consist of the Qur'an or the Most Beautiful Names of Allah."
The Prophet (pbuh) used to recite (incantation) AI-Hasan and AlHusain by
saying, "I seek refuge for you in Allah's Perfect Words from every
Devil, beast or envious.”