Ahl al-Sunnah’s Belief: Magic is Real but Practicing It is Kufr
Source: Fatāwā Amonpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amonpuri
Question:
Does magic (siḥr) have a real existence?
Answer:
The creed of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamāʿah is that magic is real in its existence, but practicing it is kufr (disbelief).
Source: Fatāwā Amonpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amonpuri
Question:
Does magic (siḥr) have a real existence?
Answer:
The creed of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamāʿah is that magic is real in its existence, but practicing it is kufr (disbelief).
- Ḥāfiẓ al-Baghawī رحمه الله (d. 516H) said:
السحر وجوده حقيقة عند أهل السنة وعليه أكثر الأمم، ولكن العمل به كفر.
“According to Ahl al-Sunnah and most nations, magic has a real existence, but practicing it is disbelief.”
(Tafsīr al-Baghawī 1/148) - Imām al-Māzarī رحمه الله (d. 536H) said:
أهل السنة وجمهور العلماء من الأمة على إثبات السحر وأن له حقيقة كحقائق غيره من الأشياء الثابتة...
“Ahl al-Sunnah and the majority of the scholars of the Ummah affirm the existence of magic and that it has a real nature, just like other existing realities, contrary to those who deny it.”
(al-Muʿallim bi-Fawāʾid Muslim 3/158) - Imām Ibn al-Humām al-Ḥanafī رحمه الله (d. 861H) said:
قال أصحابنا: للسحر حقيقة وتأثير فى إيلام الأجسام...
“Our scholars say: Magic is real and has an effect in causing harm to bodies, contrary to those who say it is merely illusion.”
(Fatḥ al-Qadīr 6/99) - Imām al-Shawkānī رحمه الله (d. 1250H) said:
قد أجمع أهل العلم على أن له تأثيرا فى نفسه وحقيقة ثابتة، ولم يخالف فى ذلك إلا المعتزلة وأبو حنيفة.
“The scholars have unanimously agreed that magic has a real effect and an established reality. None opposed this except the Muʿtazilah and Abū Ḥanīfah.”
(Fatḥ al-Qadīr 1/141) - Ibn ʿĀbidīn al-Ḥanafī رحمه الله (d. 1252H) said:
في شرح الزعفراني: السحر حق عندنا وجوده وتصوره وأثره.
“In Sharḥ al-Zaʿfarānī it is stated: According to us, the existence, conception, and effect of magic are real.”
(Fatāwā Shāmī 1/44)
