The Ruling on Practicing Sorcery and Visiting Sorcerers

Question: In this era, there is much practicing of sorcery and visiting of sorcerers. What is the ruling on that? And what is the permissible method for treating the one who has been subjected to sorcery?

Answer: Sorcery is among the greatest of the major sins that lead to destruction; indeed, it is among the nullifiers of Islam, as Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said in His noble Book: [Surat al-Baqarah: 102 - 103]. Thus, He (Glorified and Exalted is He) informed in these two verses that the devils teach people sorcery, and that they disbelieved because of it, and that the two angels do not teach anyone until they inform him that what they teach is disbelief and that they are a trial.
And He (Glorified and Exalted is He) informed that those who learn sorcery learn what harms them and does not benefit them, and that they have no share in the Hereafter, meaning they have no portion or share of good in the Hereafter.
And He (Glorified and Exalted is He) clarified that sorcerers separate a man from his wife with this sorcery, and that they do not harm anyone except by the permission of Allah. What is meant by this is His cosmic, decreed permission, not His legislative permission; because everything that occurs in existence occurs by His decreed permission, and nothing occurs in His dominion that He does not will cosmically and by decree. And He (Glorified and Exalted is He) clarified that sorcery is the opposite of faith and mindfulness of Allah.
And with all of this, it is known that sorcery is disbelief, misguidance, and apostasy from Islam if the one who practices it claims to be a Muslim. In the two Sahihs, it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: We said: What are they, O Messenger of Allah? He said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified in this authentic hadith that shirk (associating partners with Allah) and sorcery are among the seven destructive sins, meaning the ones that destroy. Shirk is the greatest of them because it is the greatest of sins, and sorcery is included in it. This is why the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) paired it with shirk, because sorcerers do not reach sorcery except by worshipping the jinn and drawing near to them with what they love, such as supplication, slaughter, vows, seeking their aid, and the like.
Al-Nasa'i (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: This explains the saying of Allah the Exalted in Surat al-Falaq: [Al-Falaq: 4] The scholars of tafsir (exegesis) said: They are the sorceresses who tie knots and blow into them with words of shirk (associating partners with Allah) through which they draw near to the jinn to carry out their intent in harming and oppressing people.
The scholars differed regarding the ruling on the sorcerer: whether he is asked to repent and his repentance is accepted, or whether he is killed in all cases and not asked to repent if sorcery is established against him?
The second opinion is the correct one, because his remaining is harmful to the Muslim community, and the predominant characteristic of him is a lack of sincerity in repentance, and because his remaining poses a great danger to the Muslims.
The proponents of this view argued for their position by stating that 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered the killing of sorcerers and did not ask them to repent, and he was the second of the Rightly Guided Caliphs whom the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered to follow their Sunnah. They also argued with what al-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated from Jundub ibn 'Abdullah al-Bajali, or from Jundub al-Khayr al-Azdi, marfu' (traced to the Prophet) and mawquf (stopping at a Companion): Some narrators recorded it with a taa, saying: The correct view among the scholars is that it is mawquf (stopping at a Companion) with Jundub.
It is authentic from Hafsa, the Mother of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with her), that she ordered the killing of a slave girl who had subjected her to sorcery, and she was killed without being asked to repent. Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It is established—meaning the killing of the sorcerer—without being asked to repent, from three of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He meant by this: 'Umar, Jundub, and Hafsa.
And by what we have mentioned, it is known that it is not permissible to visit sorcerers and ask them about anything, nor to believe them, just as it is not permissible to visit diviners and fortune-tellers. And it is obligatory to kill the sorcerer whenever his practicing of sorcery is established by his confession or by the legal evidence, without asking him to repent.
As for the treatment of sorcery: it is treated with the legal ruqyah (healing by Qur'anic recitation) and beneficial, permissible medicines. And among the most beneficial treatments is treating the one subjected to sorcery by reciting Surat al-Fatihah over him with blowing, and Ayat al-Kursi (the Verse of the Throne), and the verses of sorcery in: Al-A'raf, Yunus, and Ta-Ha, and by reciting: , and , and , and . It is recommended to repeat these three surahs three times, along with the authentic, well-known supplication that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to supplicate with for treating the sick, which is: And this is repeated three times.
And he also supplicates with the ruqyah with which Jibril (peace be upon him) treated the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), which is: And it is repeated three times. And this ruqyah is among the most beneficial treatments by the permission of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
And among the treatments is also: destroying the thing in which sorcery is suspected to have been done, such as wool or tied threads, or anything else in which sorcery is suspected to be the cause, along with the care of the one subjected to sorcery for the legal seekings of refuge, including the seeking of refuge (with the perfect words of Allah from the evil of what He created) three times in the morning and evening, and reciting the three aforementioned surahs three times after Fajr and Maghrib, and reciting Ayat al-Kursi after prayer and at sleep.
And it is recommended that he say in the morning and evening: , three times, due to the authenticity of all of this from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), along with having good opinion of Allah and believing that He is the Creator of causes and that He is the One who heals the sick if He wills. And the seekings of refuge and medicines are only causes, and Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is the Healer. So one relies on Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) alone, without the causes, but believes that they are causes. If He wills, He benefits with them, and if He wills, He removes their benefit, due to His (Glorified and Exalted is He) perfect wisdom in everything. And He (Glorified and Exalted is He) is All-Powerful over everything, and All-Knowing of everything. There is no one who can prevent what He has given, nor one who can give what He has prevented, nor one who can turn back what He has decreed. His is the dominion and His is the praise, and He is All-Powerful over everything. And He (Glorified and Exalted is He) is the Guardian of success.