" They
followed what the devils gave out against the power of
Sulaiman: Sulaiman did not blaspheme, but the devils
did blaspheme, teaching the people sorcery and such
things as came down at Babylon to Haroot and Maroot.
But neither of these taught anyone [such things]
without saying: "We are but a trial; so
do not blaspheme." They learnt from them
the means to sow discord between man and wife. But
they could not thus 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 Hereafter. And
miserable was the price for which they sold their
souls, if only they knew!" (Qur'an 2:102)
Allah (swt
), Most High, informs us in this verse that the Jews and
Christians turned away from the Book of Allah (swt ) and
instead devoted themselves to the study of sorcery which
the devils claimed was from the time of Sulaiman (as )
and they further falsely claimed that they had learnt it
from Sulaiman (as ) himself; but Allah (swt ) makes it
clear that Prophet Sulaiman (as ) did not commit an act
of disbelief as they claimed, but it was the devils who
blasphemed by their teaching the people sorcery. Then He
says that one of the objects of those who taught magic
was to cause discord between men and their wives, but
that there can be no result from the machinations of the
magician unless Allah (swt ) permits it and that whoever
abandons his Religion in favour of magic will have no
reward on the Day of Resurrection and wretched will be
the lot which he has purchased for himself by his
actions, if only he knew it.
Benefits
Derived From This Verse
1. That
sorcery is one of the works of the devils.
2. That
Sulaiman was innocent of practising magic.
3. That
learning magic and teaching it are acts of disbelief.
4. Proof
that magic has no effect unless Allah Wills it.
5. That
there is no benefit in magic.
6. The
vileness and wretchedness of the sorceror.
Relevance
of This Verse to the Subject of the Chapter
That the
verse proves that practising magic is an act of
disbelief.
Relevance
of This Verse to the Subject of Tawheed
That the
verse warns against practising magic which cannot be
performed without committing shirk, and shirk is
a negation of Tawheed.
Important
Note
(a) The
Arabic word sihr (سحر)
linguistically means: That which its cause is hidden. In
Islamic terms, it means: The practice of writing spells
on paper, or tying knots which effect the heart and the
body until the person becomes ill and dies, or it means
to cause a rift between a man and his wife.
(b)
According to Imam Ahmad, Malik and Abu Haneefah, magic
is an act of disbelief.
..ooOOoo..
Allah (swt
) says:
" Do
you not see those who were given a portion of the
Book? They believe in Al-Jibt and At-Taghoot
and they say to the unbelievers that they are better
guided than the believers!" (Qur'an 4:51)
Allah (swt
) directs the attention of the Muslims, in particular,
the Messenger of Allah (saas ) to the practices of some
of the People of the Book which deviate from the Truth
such as their preferring magic and obedience to Satan to
the Book of Allah (swt ) and the knowledge and guidance
it contains, and their lying assertion that the
polytheists are better than the Muslims and closer to
the Straight Path.
Benefits
Derived From This Verse
1.
Evidence that some of the People of the Book were
astray.
2. The
presence of magic among the People of the Book.
3. That
flattery, lies and hypocrisy are among the
characteristics of the Jews.
Relevance
of This Verse to the Subject of the Chapter
That the
verse proves the forbiddance of practising magic and
censures those who do so.
Relevance
of This Verse to the Subject of Tawheed
That it
proves that engaging in magic is an act of disbelief,
because its origin is in shirk.1
Note
Muhammad
Ibn `Abdul Wahhab said: "`Umar (ra ) said: "Al-Jibt
(here) means magic and At-Taaghoot means the
devil." Jabir said: "At-Tawagheet2
are fortune-tellers to whom the devils used to descend,
one to every neighbourhood."
..ooOOoo..
It is
reported on the authority of Abu Hurairah (ra ) that the
Messenger of Allah (saas ) said:
"Avoid
the seven destroyers." They (the Companions)
asked: "Oh, Messenger of Allah (saas )! What are
they?" He (saas ) replied: "Shirk
(associating partners) with Allah (swt ), sorcery,
taking the life which has been prohibited by Allah (swt
), except in truth (i.e. in accordance with Islamic
Law), devouring usury, consuming the property of the
orphans, running away on the day of battle and making
false charges against the chaste, unmindful
Because
sins are the cause of loss and destruction, the
Messenger of Allah (saas ) has commanded his Ummah
to avoid the following major sins which cause the
destruction of their perpetrators in this life and in
the Hereafter:
1. Shirk
(Associating partners with Allah swt ): This is
because it ensnares a person in that which debases him
- the worship of other created beings.
2.
Magic: This is because it leads to many sicknesses in
society such as swindling of gullible people,
superstition and ignorance, fraud and cheating people
out of their money by lying and deception.
3.
Taking the life which Allah (swt ) has forbidden: This
is because willful murder leads to a state of chaos
and disorder and breakdown of law and order, causing
the people to exist in a state of fear and insecurity.
4.
Devouring Usury (Ribaa): This is because the
presence of usury, or interest4
in society causes loss of the peoples wealth and
property, as greedy and unscupulous money-lenders rook
people of their honestly earned money, growing fat at
the expense of hard-working people, with no benefit to
the society but only to themselves.
5.
Usurping the property of the orphan: This is because
such behavour constitutes injustice against one who is
a minor, without any who can help him or support him
except Allah (swt ).
6.
Running away from the enemy without cause or reason:
This is because such an act of betrayal to ones Muslim
brothers, weakening their forces and breaking their
morale.
7.
Unjustly accusing chaste women of adultery: This is
because it destroys their reputations and results in
loss of trust in them and sows doubts concerning the
paternity of their children.
Benefits
Derived From This Verse
1. That
sins cause destruction and loss to the perpetrator.
2. The
prohibiton of associating partners with Allah, for it is
the greatest sin against Allah.
3. The
forbiddance of learning and teaching magic.
4. The
prohibition of taking a life which has not been
sanctioned by Allah.
5. The
forbiddance of devouring usury.
6. The
prohibition of appropriating the property of the orphan.
7. The
forbiddance of running away from the field of battle
unless there is a valid reason such as to deceive the
enemy, or lend aid on another front etc.
8. The
prohibition of slandering chaste women, whether be
maidens or married women.
Relevance
of This Hadith to the Subject of the Chapter
That the
Hadith proves the prohibition of learning and teaching
magic.
Relevance
of This Hadith to the Subject of Tawheed
That
magic is forbidden because it is based upon shirk.
..ooOOoo..
It is
reported from Jundub (ra ) in a marfoo'5
form: "The punishment for the magician is that he
be struck (i.e. beheaded) by the sword."6
Because
magic is such a serious problem for society, indeed a
sickness from which results all manner of corruption and
evil, such as killing, stealing, cheating, fraud,
discord between spouses etc., Allah (swt ) has provided
a drastic cure for it which is the execution by
beheading of the magician so that society may be freed
from the evil which results from his actions.
Benefits
Derived From This Hadith
1. The
prohibition of learning sorcery and of teaching it.
2. That
the punishment for practising magic is death by
beheading.
Relevance
of This Hadith to the Subject of the Chapter
That the
Hadith proves that the punishment for sorcery is
beheading, which shows that it is forbidden.
Relevance
of This Hadith to the Subject of Tawheed
That the
Hadith proves that learning and teaching magic is
forbidden, because it is built upon a foundation of
shirk.
..ooOOoo..
It is
narrated by Bukhari, on the authority of Bajalah Ibn `Ubadah,
that he said: "`Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (ra ) wrote:
"Execute every sorceror and sorceress."
"So, continued Bajalah," we executed three
sorcerors."
And it is
reported authentically from Hafsah (may Allah be pleased
with her) that she ordered the execution of her slave
for practising magic upon her, and she was executed.
Such an event has also been reported from Jundub (ra ).
According to Imam Ahmad, execution of sorcerors is
authentically reported from three Companions (i.e. `Umar,
Hafsah and Jundub ra ).
Relevance
of These Narration to the Subject of the Chapter
The
writer (Muhammad Ibn `Abdul Wahhab) has mentioned these
narrations in this chapter in order to make it clear
that the opinion of the above-mentioned Companions was
that the magician be killed.
Footnotes
1.
This is because the magician places his faith not in
Allah (swt), but in the devils among the jinn whom he
supplicates.
4.
There is no difference between these two terms; the idea
propagated by some Muslim "modernists" that
ribaa means excessive interest rates, and that moderate
interest is therefore permissible, is totally without
foundation and is in contradiction with the Qur'an, the
Sunnah and the confirmed practices of the Companions who
were the best people after the Prophet (saas) in
understanding the Sunnah and who used to avoid even
those permissible transactions that in any way resembled
ribaa.
5.
Marfoo': A report from one of the Companions which
suggests, without explicitly saying so, that he heard it
from the Prophet (saas), such as the above report of
Jundub (ra), in the which he states the punishment for a
certain crime, for it is not possible that he would have
used his own judgement in such a matter.
6.
Narrated by At-Tirmizi, who said: "The correct
saying is that it is mawqoof (i.e. a saying of Jundub)."
- and Allah (swt) knows best.
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