The Reality of Sihr, the Sihr of the Prophet, and the Ruling on Going to Sorcerers and Fortune-Tellers

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, is sihr (sorcery) a reality, or is it merely illusions for people? Was the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) subjected to sihr? We hope you will clarify the ruling on sihr, and the ruling on going to sorcerers and fortune-tellers.

Answer:
Sihr is kufr (disbelief) that expels one from the religion, because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) mentioned that sihr is the work of the Jews, but also the work of the devils: . And He said regarding the Jews: “They cast the Book of Allah behind their backs, as if they did not know” , meaning sihr, because the devils were made subservient to Sulayman (peace be upon him), but they had sihr. They had sihr. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) informed us that sihr is the work of the devils and that they teach people sihr. And learning it and teaching it is kufr against Allah (Exalted is He). Therefore, sihr is not permissible, neither for learning, nor for teaching, nor for treatment. Whatever is used for treatment: Allah (Mighty and Majestic) did not send down a disease without sending down a cure for it; He gave knowledge of it to those He willed and kept it hidden from those He willed. Sihr is not a cure or a medicine, because it is kufr and harm. So it must be avoided and one must stay away from it. It is shirk (associating partners with Allah); whoever practices sihr has committed shirk.
Whoever practices sihr has committed shirk. “None of us is one who practices fortune-telling, or has fortune-telling done for him, or practices sihr, or has sihr done for him.” So one must avoid sihr and beware of it and its practitioners. It is of two types: real sihr, which is tying knots and blowing on them. The sorcerer ties knots and blows on them, believing he is seeking the aid of Satan. He blows and ties threads and seeks the aid of devils. This is the real type. This type causes illness, kills, separates a person from his wife, and creates enmity among people. The second type is illusory sihr, which is al-qamarah. Do you know al-qamarah? It is what makes things appear other than their reality. It inverts things before the eyes, other than their reality. It enchants the eyes. As He (Mighty and Majestic) said regarding the people of Pharaoh: “They enchanted the eyes of the people” . This is the sihr of al-qamarah and illusion. This is forbidden (muharram) and it falls under the greater sihr, which is real sihr. So it is obligatory for Muslims to avoid sihr in both its real and illusory forms.
Yes, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was subjected to sihr. A Jew named Labid ibn al-A'sam did it to him. So Allah (Exalted and Exalted is He) sent Jibril to him. He sent two angels to him, and they recited over him Surat al-Ikhlas and the two Mu'awwidhat (chapters of protection), and Allah (Exalted and Exalted is He) cured him. And He showed him the location of the sihr, because the sorcerer had hidden it in a place, and Allah showed him where it was. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent someone to extract it, burn it, and destroy it. So the treatment for sihr is with the Qur'an and supplications, and by destroying the sihr if it is found. This is its treatment. It is not treated with sihr like it, so it is not permissible to go to sorcerers or to be treated with kufr, because sihr is kufr. Yes.