Hukm al-Sihr wa al-Kahana wa ma yataallaq biha
- Author died
- 1420 AH
- Editions
- The book is published on the website of the Saudi Ministry of Awqaf without publication details
Hukm al-Sihr wa al-Kahana wa ma yata'allaq biha (The Ruling on Sorcery, Soothsaying, and What Pertains to Them) is a legal treatise by Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz (d. 1420 AH / 1999 CE) addressing the Islamic rulings on magic, divination, and lawful spiritual remedies.
Background and Purpose
Ibn Baz wrote the treatise as an advisory counsel (nasiha) following the spread of charlatans who claimed medical expertise and treated people through sorcery and divination. He noted that these practitioners exploited gullible and uneducated individuals in various lands, posing a severe danger to Muslims by encouraging reliance on entities other than God and leading them into disobedience to divine commands.
Content and Themes
Lawful Medicine and Divination
The treatise begins by affirming the consensus on the permissibility of seeking medical treatment (al-tadawi). A Muslim may consult physicians in internal medicine, surgery, or neurology, and use lawful medications, as utilizing ordinary means does not contradict trust in God (tawakkul).
In contrast, Ibn Baz prohibits visiting soothsayers (kuhhan) or diviners ('urrafun) who claim knowledge of the unseen or summon jinn to diagnose illnesses or predict future events, such as marriage prospects or marital harmony and discord. He cites prophetic traditions warning against approaching or believing diviners, noting that claiming knowledge of the unseen constitutes disbelief and error.
Ruling on Sorcery
The author categorizes sorcery (sihr) as an act of disbelief (kufr), citing the Quranic verse regarding the two angels in Surat al-Baqarah ( وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ حَتَّى يَقُولَا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ فَلَا تَكْفُرْ , "Yet neither of them taught anyone without saying, 'We are only a test, so do not disbelieve'" [2:102]). He emphasizes that sorcery has no inherent power to harm or benefit on its own, but operates only by God's universal decree (al-idhn al-kawni al-qadari). Learning sorcery harms practitioners without offering benefit, causing severe loss in this life and the hereafter.
Prevention and Lawful Remedies
The treatise outlines lawful measures for both preventing and treating sorcery:
- Preventive measures: Regular recitation of Quranic passages and transmitted supplications, including Ayat al-Kursi (Quran 2:255) after every obligatory prayer and before sleeping; Surat al-Ikhlas, Surat al-Falaq, and Surat al-Nas after obligatory prayers and thrice at dawn, dusk, and bedtime; and the last two verses of Surat al-Baqarah (2:285–286) at night. It also recommends daily morning and evening invocations, such as seeking refuge in God's perfect words and invoking God's name against harm.
- Curative treatments: Lawful incantations (ruqyah) using prophetic prayers, such as اللهم رب الناس أذهب البأس واشف أنت الشافي لا شفاء إلا شفاؤك شفاء لا يغادر سقمًا ("O God, Lord of mankind, remove the harm and heal; You are the Healer, there is no cure except Your cure, a cure that leaves no illness behind"), and the formula used by Gabriel over the Prophet ﷺ.
- Remedy for physical impediment: For a man prevented from intimacy with his wife, Ibn Baz details preparing seven crushed green lotus leaves (sidr) in water, reciting over it Ayat al-Kursi, Surat al-Kafirun, Surat al-Ikhlas, the two protective surahs (al-Falaq and al-Nas), and the verses on sorcery from Surahs al-A'raf (7:117–119), Yunus (10:79–82), and Ta-Ha (20:65–69), after which the patient drinks three sips and washes with the remainder.
- Extraction of the charm: Searching for the physical location of the magic charm and destroying it, which he describes as one of the most effective remedies.
Publication History
The work was issued as a standalone pamphlet by the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta under the title Risala fi Hukm al-Sihr wa al-Kahana. It was also published in the periodicals Majallat al-Yamama and Majallat al-Buhuth al-Islamiyya, and sections of it were later incorporated into Ibn Baz's collected writings, Majmu' Fatawa wa Maqalat Mutanawwi'a.
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