Risala fi Hukm al-Sihr wa al-Kahana ma Baad al-Fatawa al-Muhimma

Risala fi Hukm al-Sihr wa al-Kahana ma Baad al-Fatawa al-Muhimma (A Treatise on the Ruling on Magic and Divination, with Some Important Fatwas) is a short doctrinal and legal treatise by the Saudi scholar Ibn Baz (d. 1420 AH / 1999 CE) addressing the Islamic legal rulings on sorcery, soothsaying, and related occult practices, along with permissible methods of spiritual treatment Risala fi Hukm al-Sihr wa…+1.

Background and Purpose

Ibn Baz composed the treatise in response to the rise of charlatans who claimed medical skill and treated illnesses through sorcery (sihr) and divination (kahana), exploiting the naive and the uneducated in various regions Risala fi Hukm al-Sihr wa…. He presented the work as counsel (nasiha) to warn Muslims against the spiritual dangers of these practices, which involve reliance on other than God and direct violation of the Quran and the Sunnah Risala fi Hukm al-Sihr wa….

Content and Structure

The work begins by establishing that seeking conventional medical treatment from physicians is permissible by scholarly consensus and does not contradict reliance upon God (tawakkul) Risala fi Hukm al-Sihr wa…. It then systematically addresses several key topics:

• Rulings on Sorcerers and Diviners: The text affirms the strict prohibition of consulting soothsayers (kuhhan), diviners ('arrafun), and practitioners of magic Risala fi Hukm al-Sihr wa…+1. It cites prophetic traditions warning that consulting a diviner invalidates the reward of forty days of prayer, while believing one who claims knowledge of the unseen constitutes disbelief in what was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ Risala fi Hukm al-Sihr wa…+1. It also rules that sorcery and divination constitute disbelief (kufr) and idolatry (shirk) because their practitioners attain their ends by worshiping and serving the jinn Risala fi Hukm al-Sihr wa….
• Preventative Spiritual Practices: The treatise outlines methods to guard against magic before it occurs, emphasizing the regular recitation of canonical remembrances and Quranic passages, including Ayat al-Kursi ( اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ ; Quran 2:255), the three concluding chapters of the Quran (Surat al-Ikhlas, Surat al-Falaq, and Surat al-Nas), and the final two verses of Surat al-Baqarah (Quran 2:285–286), as well as prophetic supplications for protection Risala fi Hukm al-Sihr wa…+1.
• Remedies for Magic: For treating afflicted individuals, the treatise describes permissible remedies, including reciting legitimate incantations (ruqyah), supplicating for healing, locating and destroying hidden physical charms, and preparing water infused with seven crushed green lotus (sidr) leaves over which specific Quranic passages are recited (including verses addressing magic in Surahs al-A'raf, Yunus, and Ta-Ha) for drinking and washing Risala fi Hukm al-Sihr wa…+1. It distinguishes lawful ruqyah from the prohibited pre-Islamic practice of nushrah, which involved dispelling magic with another act of sorcery or by seeking aid from the jinn Risala fi Hukm al-Sihr wa….
• Supplementary Fatwas: The publication includes practical legal questions and answers regarding treating possession and bewitchment, writing Quranic verses in saffron on clean plates to wash and drink, and the legal status of wearing or hanging amulets (tama'im) and charms, including a ruling on amulets by Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin Risala fi Hukm al-Sihr wa…+1.

Publication History

The treatise was issued as an independent booklet by the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta in Riyadh in 1408 AH, and was reprinted in 1414 AH and 1415 AH, among other editions Al-Ifham fi Sharh Umdat a…+1. Parts or the entirety of the text were also published in Saudi periodicals such as Majallat al-Yamama and Majallat al-Buhuth al-Islamiyya, and incorporated into the third volume of Ibn Baz's collected essays and legal rulings, Majmu' Fatawa wa Maqalat Mutanawwi'a Hukm al-Sihr wa al-Kahana….