The Ruling on Seeking the Aid of the Jinn and the Dead

Question:
What is the ruling regarding some people who have become accustomed to this, or as some of the rabbis say, such as saying "take him" or "bring him"? And if the person is fully aware, what is the ruling in that case?

Answer:
We have answered this previously because it is not permissible, and it is shirk (associating partners with Allah). Seeking the aid of the jinn and calling upon them for help, and calling upon the dead and the absent to support one against one’s enemy or opponent, saying "take him, kill him, go to the end of it," this is shirk and is considered major shirk. The ignorant person is taught, and it is made clear to him that this is shirk. If he abandons it, praise be to Allah. If he persists in it after knowledge and clarification, he is ruled to be a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah). However, if he did it while ignorant, and then it was clarified to him and he abandoned it, Allah forgives what he did during his ignorance, if he repents to Allah, accepts the advice, and abandons this pre-Islamic custom. But if he persists after knowledge, he is held accountable for disbelief and shirk, because this is supplication to other than Allah, explicit supplication, and seeking aid from other than Allah, from the absent and the jinn. Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Baz has written a response on this, which is printed and available. I believe it is even included in the collection of letters and issues that have been printed and published recently.