Excerpt from Shaykh Muhammad Munir Qamar’s book Aḥkām al-Masājid
Among the impermissible practices found in mosques of the Subcontinent and some other countries is the selling of amulets, engaging in sorcery, and performing charms.
Ibn al-Ḥājj رحمه الله wrote in al-Madkhal:
“Those selling animal hair or writing sticks inside mosques should be stopped.”
Imam al-Ghazālī رحمه الله in Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn mentioned:
One prohibited act is setting up circles on Fridays (or any other day) for selling amulets. Such sellers engage in deception and trickery. Any sale involving lies, concealment of defects, or deceit is ḥarām, whether inside or outside the mosque.
Imam Jamāl al-Dīn al-Qāsimi رحمه الله wrote in Iṣlāḥ al-Masājid:
In some mosques, chambers exist where people claiming knowledge of the unseen or future reside. People come to them with lost items or for predictions of profit and loss. They even pay them money. Some, out of mere delusions, approach these so-called healers, who then convince them that only their charms and strange practices can cure the problem. These deceivers sometimes write with menstrual blood or inscribe things on women’s bodies.
Such charlatans deceive simple-hearted people, plundering their wealth, honor, and even faith. Such individuals must be expelled from mosques.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
((من أتى عرافا فسأله عن شيء لم تقبل له صلاة أربعين ليلة))
“Whoever goes to a fortune-teller and asks him about anything, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days.”
(Muslim, Musnad Aḥmad)
((من أتى كاهنا أو عرافا وصدقه بما يقول فقد كفر بما أنزل على محمد))
“Whoever goes to a soothsayer or fortune-teller and believes what he says has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad ﷺ.”
(Musnad Aḥmad, Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Mājah)
((ليس منا من تطير أو تطير له أو تكهن أو تكهن له أو سحر أو سحر له…))
“He is not from us who practices divination, has it done for him, practices soothsaying, has it done for him, practices sorcery, or has it done for him…”
(Abū Nuʿaym, Ṭabarānī, Bazzār)
The Prophet ﷺ also said:
((فلا تأتوا الكهان))
“Do not go to soothsayers.”
(Muslim, Abū Dāwūd, Nasāʾī, Musnad Aḥmad)
Allah ﷻ said:
﴿فَوَيْلٌ لَّهُم مِّمَّا كَتَبَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَوَيْلٌ لَّهُم مِّمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ﴾
(Al-Baqarah: 79)
﴿وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَانُ وَلَٰكِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ كَفَرُوا يُعَلِّمُونَ النَّاسَ السِّحْرَ﴾
(Al-Baqarah: 102)
﴿وَلَا يُفْلِحُ السَّاحِرُ حَيْثُ أَتَىٰ﴾
(Ṭāhā: 69)
﴿وَلَقَدْ عَلِمُوا لَمَنِ اشْتَرَاهُ مَا لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَاقٍ﴾
(Al-Baqarah: 102)
These verses prove that magic is disbelief, and magicians have no share in the Hereafter.
Imam Abū Ḥanīfah, Mālik, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and a large group of the Salaf declared sorcery as kufr. Imam al-Shāfiʿī رحمه الله has some details but also declared sorcery as kufr, since Allah has termed it so.
The Prophet ﷺ listed sorcery second only to shirk in the seven destructive sins (Bukhārī, Muslim).
Several Companions and the early Khalīfah ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه, ʿUthmān رضي الله عنه, ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنه, Jundub ibn Kaʿb رضي الله عنه, Qays ibn Saʿd رضي الله عنه, and ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz رحمه الله ruled that the punishment of the magician is execution.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
((من اقتبس شعبة من النجوم فقد اقتبس شعبة من السحر))
“Whoever learns a portion of astrology has learned a portion of magic, increasing as he increases.”
(Abū Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah, Musnad Aḥmad)
((إن القيافة والطرق والطيرة من الجبت))
“Physiognomy, drawing lines on the ground, and taking omens are all from sorcery.”
(Abū Dāwūd, Nasāʾī, Ibn Ḥibbān)
✿ Selling amulets, practicing magic, fortune-telling, astrology, and other superstitions are ḥarām inside and outside the mosque.
✿ Those engaged in such activities must be expelled from mosques to preserve their sanctity.
✿ Magic is disbelief, and many scholars from among the Salaf and Aʾimmah have declared the punishment of the magician to be death.
❖ Forbidden Practices in Mosques
Among the impermissible practices found in mosques of the Subcontinent and some other countries is the selling of amulets, engaging in sorcery, and performing charms.
Ibn al-Ḥājj رحمه الله wrote in al-Madkhal:
“Those selling animal hair or writing sticks inside mosques should be stopped.”
Imam al-Ghazālī رحمه الله in Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn mentioned:
One prohibited act is setting up circles on Fridays (or any other day) for selling amulets. Such sellers engage in deception and trickery. Any sale involving lies, concealment of defects, or deceit is ḥarām, whether inside or outside the mosque.
Imam Jamāl al-Dīn al-Qāsimi رحمه الله wrote in Iṣlāḥ al-Masājid:
In some mosques, chambers exist where people claiming knowledge of the unseen or future reside. People come to them with lost items or for predictions of profit and loss. They even pay them money. Some, out of mere delusions, approach these so-called healers, who then convince them that only their charms and strange practices can cure the problem. These deceivers sometimes write with menstrual blood or inscribe things on women’s bodies.
Such charlatans deceive simple-hearted people, plundering their wealth, honor, and even faith. Such individuals must be expelled from mosques.
❖ Hadith Warning Against Fortune-Tellers and Magicians
The Prophet ﷺ said:
((من أتى عرافا فسأله عن شيء لم تقبل له صلاة أربعين ليلة))
“Whoever goes to a fortune-teller and asks him about anything, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days.”
(Muslim, Musnad Aḥmad)
((من أتى كاهنا أو عرافا وصدقه بما يقول فقد كفر بما أنزل على محمد))
“Whoever goes to a soothsayer or fortune-teller and believes what he says has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad ﷺ.”
(Musnad Aḥmad, Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Mājah)
((ليس منا من تطير أو تطير له أو تكهن أو تكهن له أو سحر أو سحر له…))
“He is not from us who practices divination, has it done for him, practices soothsaying, has it done for him, practices sorcery, or has it done for him…”
(Abū Nuʿaym, Ṭabarānī, Bazzār)
The Prophet ﷺ also said:
((فلا تأتوا الكهان))
“Do not go to soothsayers.”
(Muslim, Abū Dāwūd, Nasāʾī, Musnad Aḥmad)
❖ Qur’anic Condemnation of Sorcery
Allah ﷻ said:
﴿فَوَيْلٌ لَّهُم مِّمَّا كَتَبَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَوَيْلٌ لَّهُم مِّمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ﴾
(Al-Baqarah: 79)
﴿وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَانُ وَلَٰكِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ كَفَرُوا يُعَلِّمُونَ النَّاسَ السِّحْرَ﴾
(Al-Baqarah: 102)
﴿وَلَا يُفْلِحُ السَّاحِرُ حَيْثُ أَتَىٰ﴾
(Ṭāhā: 69)
﴿وَلَقَدْ عَلِمُوا لَمَنِ اشْتَرَاهُ مَا لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَاقٍ﴾
(Al-Baqarah: 102)
These verses prove that magic is disbelief, and magicians have no share in the Hereafter.
❖ Position of Scholars
Imam Abū Ḥanīfah, Mālik, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and a large group of the Salaf declared sorcery as kufr. Imam al-Shāfiʿī رحمه الله has some details but also declared sorcery as kufr, since Allah has termed it so.
The Prophet ﷺ listed sorcery second only to shirk in the seven destructive sins (Bukhārī, Muslim).
Several Companions and the early Khalīfah ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه, ʿUthmān رضي الله عنه, ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنه, Jundub ibn Kaʿb رضي الله عنه, Qays ibn Saʿd رضي الله عنه, and ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz رحمه الله ruled that the punishment of the magician is execution.
❖ Astrology and Other Superstitions
The Prophet ﷺ said:
((من اقتبس شعبة من النجوم فقد اقتبس شعبة من السحر))
“Whoever learns a portion of astrology has learned a portion of magic, increasing as he increases.”
(Abū Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah, Musnad Aḥmad)
((إن القيافة والطرق والطيرة من الجبت))
“Physiognomy, drawing lines on the ground, and taking omens are all from sorcery.”
(Abū Dāwūd, Nasāʾī, Ibn Ḥibbān)
Final Ruling
✿ Selling amulets, practicing magic, fortune-telling, astrology, and other superstitions are ḥarām inside and outside the mosque.
✿ Those engaged in such activities must be expelled from mosques to preserve their sanctity.
✿ Magic is disbelief, and many scholars from among the Salaf and Aʾimmah have declared the punishment of the magician to be death.
