Is it permissible to pray behind a sorcerer, or one who believes in sorcery?
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Question: Is it permissible to pray behind a sorcerer, or one who believes in sorcery? And is it permissible to break sorcery with sorcery if no other means is available?
Answer: Sorcery is among the greatest of major sins,As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: to the end of the hadith.
So sorcery is counted among the destructive sins, and it comes after associating partners with Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
And sorcery is disbelief; because Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) mentioned regarding the Jews that they replaced the Book of Allah with sorcery,As Allah the Exalted said: [al-Baqarah: 101, 102] , so sorcery is the act of the jinn and it is disbelief,And in the verse, He (Glorified and Exalted is He) says: [al-Baqarah: 102] , so this indicates that teaching sorcery is disbelief,And at the end of the verse, He said: [al-Baqarah: 102] .Meaning: of a share.
So this indicates that if the sorcerer does not repent to Allah, he has no share in the Hereafter, and this is the disbeliever. So sorcery is disbelief, and accordingly, prayer behind the sorcerer is not valid unless he repents to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), abandons sorcery, and repents with a valid repentance. And so is the one who believes in sorcery ... this is his ruling, may Allah protect us from it.
So the conclusion is that sorcery is the greatest of major sins after shirk (associating partners with Allah), and it is disbelief in Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and it is the companion of shirk; because it is disbelief in Allah (Mighty and Majestic) as Allah mentioned in His noble Book. So the sorcerer and the one who believes in sorcery are both the same.
As for the issue of breaking sorcery with similar sorcery, the correct of the scholars' opinions is that it is not permissible; because treatment is only with what is lawful and permissible, and Allah has not made the healing of the Muslims in what He has forbidden them.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Abi Dawud 3874Da'if (Al-Albani) ،And from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) he said:Bulugh al-Maram 10:50 , and among the greatest of forbidden things is sorcery, so it is not permissible to treat with it, nor to break sorcery with it. Rather, sorcery is broken with permissible medicines, and with Qur'anic verses and narrated supplications. This is what is permissible for breaking sorcery: permissible medicines, and supplications and Qur'anic verses, and this is sufficient for the Muslim.
Question: The belief in sorcery that you mentioned and said that the one who believes in it is like the doer, belief in it from which aspect? Is it from the aspect of its reality, or from the aspect of the sorcerer's ability to do things that are not within the limits of human ability?
Answer: The intended belief that is considered prohibited and whose ruling is the ruling of the sorcerer is his belief that it is true.
The one who believes that it is true, and that it is permissible, or that it is a good deed, the one who considers sorcery permissible and believes that it is true and that it is a good deed, and that it is a permissible craft, this is what we mean in our speech.
As for believing in the occurrence of sorcery and its reality, this is necessary; because sorcery has a reality and it is a real matter, and it kills and causes illness, and separates a person from his wife, so it is a real occurrence, and it is not correct to deny it ever. And this does not fall under what is prohibited, so believing in its occurrence and its harm does not fall under what is prohibited; because Allah informed about it, and informed about its harm, so whoever denies it and rejects it is a liar to Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
The one who denies,And he says: that there is no sorcery, and sorcery has no reality, and the like of that, this is a liar to what came in the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
Question: Does belief include believing in the act of sorcery or the permissibility of its ruling?
Answer: Belief may mean believing in the reality of sorcery, its existence, its harm, and that it is a real thing,This is what we said: it is necessary to acknowledge the occurrence of sorcery and its existence and that it is harmful and that it is disbelief, and to believe that it is disbelief and misguidance.
Question: The prohibited belief,It is as you said: Belief in the permissibility of practicing it or engaging in what it claims?
Answer: Yes, believing the sorcerer in what he claims of knowledge of the unseen, or that it is a good thing, or a permissible thing, or a craft among crafts.
Answer: Sorcery is among the greatest of major sins,As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Avoid the seven destructive sins. They said: What are they, O Messenger of Allah? He said: Associating partners with Allah, and sorcery, and killing the soul ...
اجتنبوا السبع الموبقات، قالوا: وما هن يا رسول الله؟ قال: الشرك بالله، والسحر، وقتل النفس ...So sorcery is counted among the destructive sins, and it comes after associating partners with Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
And sorcery is disbelief; because Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) mentioned regarding the Jews that they replaced the Book of Allah with sorcery,As Allah the Exalted said:
(101) And when a messenger from Allah came to them confirming that which was with them, a party of those who had been given the Scripture threw the Scripture of Allah behind their backs as if they did not know [what it contained]. (102) And they followed [instead] what the devils had recited during the reign of Solomon. It was not Solomon who disbelieved, but the devils disbelieved, teaching people magic and that which was revealed to the two angels at Babylon, Harut and Marut. But the two angels do not teach anyone unless they say, "We are a trial, so do not disbelieve [by practicing magic]." And [yet] they learn from them that by which they cause separation between a man and his wife. But they do not harm anyone through it except by permission of Allah. And the people learn what harms them and does not benefit them. But the Children of Israel certainly knew that whoever purchased the magic would not have in the Hereafter any share. And wretched is that for which they sold themselves, if they only knew.
وَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ رَسُولٌ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ مُصَدِّقٌ لِمَا مَعَهُمْ نَبَذَ فَرِيقٌ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِهِمْ كَأَنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ وَاتَّبَعُوا مَا تَتْلُو الشَّيَاطِينُ عَلَى مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَانَ وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَانُ وَلَكِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ كَفَرُوا يُعَلِّمُونَ النَّاسَ السِّحْرَBut the two angels do not teach anyone unless they say, "We are a trial, so do not disbelieve
وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ حَتَّى يَقُولَا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ فَلَا تَكْفُرْBut the Children of Israel certainly knew that whoever purchased the magic would not have in the Hereafter any share
وَلَقَدْ عَلِمُوا لَمَنِ اشْتَرَاهُ مَا لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَاقٍSo this indicates that if the sorcerer does not repent to Allah, he has no share in the Hereafter, and this is the disbeliever. So sorcery is disbelief, and accordingly, prayer behind the sorcerer is not valid unless he repents to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), abandons sorcery, and repents with a valid repentance. And so is the one who believes in sorcery ... this is his ruling, may Allah protect us from it.
So the conclusion is that sorcery is the greatest of major sins after shirk (associating partners with Allah), and it is disbelief in Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and it is the companion of shirk; because it is disbelief in Allah (Mighty and Majestic) as Allah mentioned in His noble Book. So the sorcerer and the one who believes in sorcery are both the same.
As for the issue of breaking sorcery with similar sorcery, the correct of the scholars' opinions is that it is not permissible; because treatment is only with what is lawful and permissible, and Allah has not made the healing of the Muslims in what He has forbidden them.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
so treat yourselves medically, but use nothing unlawful.
تداووا ولا تداووا بحرامAllah did not make your cure in what He made Haram (unlawful) to you.
إن الله لم يجعل شفاءكم فيما حرم عليكمQuestion: The belief in sorcery that you mentioned and said that the one who believes in it is like the doer, belief in it from which aspect? Is it from the aspect of its reality, or from the aspect of the sorcerer's ability to do things that are not within the limits of human ability?
Answer: The intended belief that is considered prohibited and whose ruling is the ruling of the sorcerer is his belief that it is true.
The one who believes that it is true, and that it is permissible, or that it is a good deed, the one who considers sorcery permissible and believes that it is true and that it is a good deed, and that it is a permissible craft, this is what we mean in our speech.
As for believing in the occurrence of sorcery and its reality, this is necessary; because sorcery has a reality and it is a real matter, and it kills and causes illness, and separates a person from his wife, so it is a real occurrence, and it is not correct to deny it ever. And this does not fall under what is prohibited, so believing in its occurrence and its harm does not fall under what is prohibited; because Allah informed about it, and informed about its harm, so whoever denies it and rejects it is a liar to Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
The one who denies,And he says: that there is no sorcery, and sorcery has no reality, and the like of that, this is a liar to what came in the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
Question: Does belief include believing in the act of sorcery or the permissibility of its ruling?
Answer: Belief may mean believing in the reality of sorcery, its existence, its harm, and that it is a real thing,This is what we said: it is necessary to acknowledge the occurrence of sorcery and its existence and that it is harmful and that it is disbelief, and to believe that it is disbelief and misguidance.
Question: The prohibited belief,It is as you said: Belief in the permissibility of practicing it or engaging in what it claims?
Answer: Yes, believing the sorcerer in what he claims of knowledge of the unseen, or that it is a good thing, or a permissible thing, or a craft among crafts.