The Prophet ﷺ was affected by sorcery, as narrated by Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her):
سحر رسول اللہ ﷺ رجل من بنی زریق یقال لہ: لبید بن الأعصم، حتی کان رسول اللہ ﷺ یخیل الیہ أنہ یفعل الشیء وما فعلہ، حتی اذا کان ذات یوم أو ذات لیلۃ، وھو عندی، لکنہ دعا و دعا، ثم قال: یا عائشۃ! أشعرت أن اللہ أفتانی فیما استفتیتہ فیہ، أتانی رجلان فقعد أحدھما عند رأسی والآخر عند رجلی، فقال أحدھما لصاحبہ: ما وجع الرجل، فقال: مطبوب، قال: من طبہ؟ قال: لبید بن الأعصم، قال: فی أی شیء؟ قال: فی مشط و مشاطۃ وجف طلع نخلۃ ذکر، قال: وأین ھو؟ قال: فی بئر ذروان، فأتاھا رسول اللہ ﷺ فی ناس من أصحابہ، فجاء، فقال: یا عائشۃ! کأن ماء ھا نقاعۃ الحناء، أو کأن رؤوس نخلھا رؤوس الشیاطین، قلت: یا رسول اللہ! أفلا استخرجہ؟ قال: قد عافانی اللہ، فکرھت أن أثور علی الناس فیہ شرا، فأمربھا، فدفنت.
“A man named Labid bin al-A’sam from Banu Zuraiq cast a spell on the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He would imagine that he was doing something when he was not doing it. Then one day, or one night, while he was with me, he kept supplicating and supplicating. Then he said: ‘O Aisha! Do you realise that Allah has informed me of what I had asked Him about? Two men came to me; one sat near my head and the other near my feet. One of them asked his companion: What is the matter with this man? The other said: He has been bewitched. He asked: Who bewitched him? He said: Labid bin al-A’sam. He asked: With what? He said: With a comb, hair, and the spathe of a male palm tree. He asked: Where is it? He said: In the well of Dharwan.’ So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went to it along with some of his Companions, then came back and said: ‘O Aisha! Its water looked like the infusion of henna, and its palm trees looked like the heads of devils.’ I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Did you take it out?’ He said: ‘No, Allah has granted me cure and well-being, and I disliked stirring up evil among the people because of it.’ Then he ordered that the well be buried.”
This hadith, agreed upon by Bukhari and Muslim, is a decisive proof and a great argument that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was affected by sorcery. It should be noted that sorcery is an illness; like other illnesses, it could also afflict the prophets. Nowhere in the Qur’an or Hadith is it mentioned that the prophets (peace be upon them) cannot be affected by sorcery.
This hadith is “sahih” by consensus. Yes, the Mu’tazila sect, which says the Qur’an is created, denies it. They not only deny this hadith but also deny many other authentic hadiths.
As Imam Nu’aym bin Hammad al-Khuza’i (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 228 AH) states:
المعتزلۃ تردون ألفی حدیث من حدیث النبی ﷺ أو نحو ألفی حدیث.
“The Mu’tazila reject two thousand or about two thousand hadiths from the hadiths of the Prophet ﷺ.”
Some Mu’tazila of our times have raised rational and textual objections to this hadith. Let us now examine these objections scholarly and critically:
Objection No. 1:
Its narrator Hisham bin Urwah is a “mudallis”.
Reply:
(1) There is consensus on Hisham bin Urwah being “thiqah” (trustworthy). The narrator of the criticism of Imam Malik against him, Ibn Khiraash, is himself “da’if” (weak), so that statement is rejected.
Although Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) listed him among the “mudallisin” of the first tier, his being a “mudallis” is not established. The statement
on the basis of which he was declared a “mudallis” is not proven; the narrator of that account, Abdullah bin Ali bin al-Madini, is not established as “thiqah”.
(2) Hisham bin Urwah bin Zubair has made clear his hearing from his father by saying “haddathani” in
. والحمد للہ علی ذلک!
(3) In Sahihayn, the narrations of “mudallisin” are taken to be based on hearing.
Objection No. 2:
The well-known Mu’tazili Habib al-Rahman Kandhlawi Hayati Deobandi writes: “No one other than Hisham narrates this narration, and Hisham’s mind had failed in 132 AH. Rather, Hafiz Uqaili writes: قد خرف فی آخر عمرہ. (he became senile in the last part of his life). So what is the proof that this narration is from before he became senile?”
Reply:
This is a mere fabricated accusation. The statement of Hafiz Uqaili could not be found. None of the early Imams accused him of ikhtilat (confusion of memory), and secondly, in Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim, the narrations of all confused narrators are taken to be from before the confusion.
As Hafiz al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) writes about a confused narrator:
وما کان فی الصحیحین عنہ محمول علی الأخذ عنہ قبل اختلاطہ.
“What is reported from them in the Sahihayn is to be understood as having been taken before their ikhtilat.”
Note: Hafiz Ibn al-Qattan (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 628 AH) has called Hisham “mukhtalit” (confused).
In refutation and reply to this, Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: ولم نرلہ فی ذلک سلفا. “We have not seen anyone before him (who said this) regarding this matter.”
Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
وھشام ، فلم یختلط قط، ھذا أمر مقطوع بہ.
“Hisham never became confused; this is a definite matter.”
He further says:
فقول ابن القطان : أنہ مختلط، قول مردود و مرذول.
“Ibn al-Qattan’s calling him confused is rejected and not worth considering.”
He further says:
ولا عبرۃ.
“It has no weight.”
After this clarification, it becomes known that Hafiz Ibn al-Qattan al-Fasi (may Allah have mercy on him)’s statement is not worth considering.
Objection No. 3:
Habib al-Rahman Kandhlawi Deobandi writes:
“Among the well-known students of Hisham, Imam Malik does not narrate this hadith; rather, no people of Madinah narrate it. All the narrators from Hisham are Iraqis, and coincidentally, a few days after Hisham reached Iraq, his mind became senile.”
Reply:
This is a false story. What is the proof that “Hisham’s mind became senile”? You have seen the statements of Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him). Secondly, the narration from Hisham has also been related by two of his Madinan students.
1. Anas bin Iyad al-Madani
2. Abd al-Rahman bin Abi al-Zinad al-Madani (ثقہ عند الجمھور)
Therefore, Kandhlawi’s statement that “no one from the people of Madinah narrates this narration” is a blatant fabricated tale. والحمد للہ!
Let those who spread such nonsense against the hadith of the Messenger ﷺ remember the Day of Reckoning.
Objection No. 4:
The well-known denier of hadith, Shabbir Ahmad Azhar Meerthi, writes:
“In the chains of narration of any of the narrations reported by Hisham, there is no mention that Urwah heard this hadith from Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her).”
Answer:
1. When a narrator’s meeting with his teacher is established and the narrator is not a “mudallis”, then his narration with the wording “عن” is considered by the muhaddithun to be connected (muttasil) and to be interpreted as direct hearing (sama’). Urwah’s meeting and hearing from Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) is established. See
Imam Urwah (may Allah have mercy on him) is also not a “mudallis”, so the chain is connected.
Dear readers, this was the entire stock of the deniers of hadith regarding the hadith of magic, and you have seen where it ended.
Some people consider this hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) to be against the Holy Qur’an. Our answer is that by consensus, an authentic hadith is not against the Holy Qur’an. Which verse of the Qur’an indicates that the Prophet could not be affected by magic? That was the view of the disbelievers, that the Prophet could not be affected by magic, which is why they described the prophethood and messengership of the Prophet ﷺ as magic.
Second, the Qur’an has provided evidence of magic upon Musa (peace be upon him). Allah the Exalted says:
قَالَ بَلۡ اَلۡقُوۡا ۚ فَاِذَا حِبَالُہُمۡ وَ عِصِیُّہُمۡ یُخَیَّلُ اِلَیۡہِ مِنۡ سِحۡرِہِمۡ اَنَّہَا تَسۡعٰی
“Regarding the magic of those sorcerers, the Qur’an announces:
Translation: “And they came with a great magic.”
The hadith has provided proof of magic upon the Prophet ﷺ with these very Qur’anic words یُخَیَّلُ اِلَیْہِ.
Whatever answer the deniers of hadith give regarding that verse, that will be our answer regarding the hadith of magic.
Moreover, the muhaddithun believers have understood from this hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet ﷺ was indeed affected by magic, which the Mu’tazilah deny.
The divine scholar Shaykh al-Islam Thani, Allamah Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
وھذا الحدیث ثابت عند أھل العلم بالحدیث متلقی بالقبول بینھم، لایختلفون فی صحتہ، وقد اعتاض علی کثیر من أھل الکلام وغیرھم و أنکروا أشد الانکار و قابلو ہ بالتکذیب و صنف بعضھم مصنفا مفردا، حمل فیہ علیہ ھشام، وکان غایۃ ما أحسن القوم فیہ أنہ قال غلط و اشتبہ علیہ الأمر، ولم یکن من ھذا شیء ، قال: لأن النبی صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم لا یجوز أن یسحر، فانہ یکون تصدیقا لقول الکفار: (اِنْ تَتَّبِعُوْنَ اِلَّا رَجُلاً مَسْحُوْ رًا) (الاسراء : ۱۰۱)،وقال قوم صالح لہ : (الشعراء: ۱۸۵) قالو ا : فالانبیاء لایجوز علیھم آن یسحروا، فان ذلک ینافی حمایۃ اللہ لھم وعصمتھم من الشیاطین ، وھذا الذی قالہ ھؤلاء مردود عند أھل العلم، فان ھشام من أوثق الناس او أعلمھم، ولم یقدح فیہ أحد من الأءمۃ بما یوجب رد حدیثہ، فما للمتکلمین، وما لھذا الشأن، وقد رواہ غیر ھشام عن عائشۃ، وقد اتفق أصحاب الصحیحین علی تصحیح ھذا الحدیث، ولم یتکلم فیہ أحد من أھل الحدیث بکلمۃ واحدۃ، و القصۃ مشھورۃ عند أھل التفسیر و السنن و الحدیث و التاریخ و الفقھاء، وھؤلاء أعلم بأحوال رسول اللہ وأیّامہ من المتکلمین۔
“For people who know hadith, this hadith is established as authentic; they accept it and there is no disagreement about its authenticity. Many people of kalam and others have objected to it, strongly denied it, declared it a lie, and some of them wrote a separate book about it, in which they criticized Hisham bin Urwah. The strongest thing that anyone has said about this is that Hisham bin Urwah made a mistake and the matter became confused for him. They say that this is because it is not possible for the Prophet ﷺ to be affected by magic, since saying so confirms the words of the disbelievers, who said: ‘You only follow a man affected by magic.’
The same statement was made by Pharaoh to Musa ؑ: ‘O Musa, I think you are affected by magic.’
The people of Salih said to him: ‘You are indeed among those affected by magic.’
And the people of Shu’ayb ؑ said to him: ‘You are indeed among those affected by magic.’
Furthermore, they say that it is also not possible for prophets to be affected by magic, because this contradicts Allah’s support for them and His protection of them from the devils.
What they have said is rejected by the people of knowledge, because Hisham bin Urwah was the most trustworthy and most knowledgeable of all the people of his time, and no imam criticized him in a way that would require rejecting his hadith. What do the theologians have to do with this field (of hadith)? (That is, their criticism of Hisham has no weight.) Moreover, other narrators besides Hisham also narrated this hadith from Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). Imams Bukhari and Muslim (may Allah be pleased with them) agreed on the authenticity of this hadith, and none of the muhaddithun said a single word about its weakness. This event is famous among the exegetes, the muhaddithun, the historians and the jurists, and these people know the circumstances and events of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ better than the theologians.”
Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) quotes from Allamah al-Mazari:
أنکر بعض المبتدعۃ ھذا الحدیث، وزعموا انہ یحط منصب النبوۃ ویشکک فیھا، قالوا: وکل ماأدی الی ذالک فھو باطل، وزعموا أن تجویز ھذا یعدم الثقۃ بما شرعوہ من الشرائع، اذ یحتمل علی ھذا أن یخیل الیہ أنہ یری جبریئل، ولیس ھو ثم وأنہ یوحی الیہ بشیء، ولم یوح الیہ شیء، وھذا کلہ مردود، لأن الدلیل قد قام علی صدق النبی صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم فیما یبلغہ عن اللہ تعالیٰ و علی عصمتہ فی التبلیغ، و المعجزات شاھدات بتصدیقہ، فتجویز ما قام الدلیل علی خلافہ باطل، و أمَا ما یتعلق ببعض أمور الدنیا التی لم یبعث لأجلھا، ولا کانت الرسالۃ من أجلھا، فھو فی ذالک عرضۃ لما یعترض البشر کالأ مراض، فغیر بعید أن یخیل الیہ الیہ من أمر من أمور الدنیا مالا حقیقۃ لہ مع عصمتہ عن مثل ذالک من أمور الدین، وقد قال بعض الناس: ان المراد بالحدیث أنہ کان صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم یخیل الیہ أنہ وطیء زوجاتہ، ولم یکن وطأھن ، وھذا کثیر ما یقع تخلیہ للانسان فی المنام، فلا یبعد أن یخیل الیہ فی الیقظۃ۔
“Al-Mazari says that some innovators denied this hadith and assumed that this hadith diminishes the station of prophethood and creates doubts in it. According to them, whatever leads to that is false, and they claimed that considering it possible for prophets to be affected by magic destroys trust in the laws they conveyed, since it may be imagined that he sees Jibril when Jibril is not there, and that revelation is made to him while he thinks no revelation has come to him.”
All these doubts are rejected, because Allah the Exalted has established the proof that the Prophet ﷺ is truthful in what he conveys from Allah and is protected from error in conveying it, and the miracles bear witness to his truthfulness. Therefore, to put forward possibilities against what a proof has already established is baseless. As for matters of worldly affairs, Allah did not send His Prophet for them, nor is prophethood related to them. So the Prophet ﷺ is subject to these matters like ordinary people, just as with illnesses. Therefore, it is not a remote matter that some unreal thing should occur to his mind in worldly affairs, while he is completely protected from this in religious matters. Some people say that the meaning of the hadith is that he would imagine that he had intercourse with his wives, while he had not done so. This is something that often comes to people in dreams, so it is not far-fetched that it could happen to him while awake.”
This is also clarified by the words of the hadith:
حتیٰ کان یری أنہ یأتی النساء، ولا یأتیھن. ”
So that he would think that he was coming to his wives, while he was not coming to them. ”
Furthermore, Hafiz Ibn Hajar, quoting al-Muhallab, mentions:
صون النبی صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم من الشیاطین لا یمنع ارادتھم کیدہ، فقد مضیٰ فی الصحیح أن شیطانا أراد أن یفسد علیہ صلاتہ، فأمکنہ اللہ منہ، فکذلک السحر، مانالہ من ضررہ مایدخل نقصا علی ما یتعلق بالتبلیغ، بل ہو من جنس ما کان ینالہ من ضرر سائر الأمراض من ضعف عن الکلام ، أو بحجز عن بعض الفعل، أو حدوث تخیل لا یستمر، بل یزول و یبطل اللہ کید الشیاطین۔
”The protection of the Prophet ﷺ from the devils does not negate their intention to plot evil against him. It has also passed in Sahih al-Bukhari that a devil intended to spoil his prayer, but Allah enabled him to overcome it. Likewise is the matter of magic: he did not suffer from its harm any damage concerning the conveying of the religion; rather, he suffered from it the same kind of affliction as he suffered from other illnesses, such as being unable to speak, being restrained from some actions, or a temporary imagination arising which does not persist but passes away, and Allah nullifies the plots of the devils.”
The “Mufti-e-Azam” of the Deobandis, Muhammad Shafi Deobandi Karachvi, writes: ”It is just as possible for magic to affect a prophet or messenger as it is for illness to affect him, because prophets are not free from human characteristics. Just as they can be wounded, and suffer fever and pain, similarly magic can also have an effect, because it too occurs through specific causes, natural jinn and so on. The hadith also confirms that once magic had an effect on the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. In the last verse, the disbelievers called him “bewitched” (masḥūr) and the Qur’an refuted this; its essence is what has been hinted at in the summarised commentary. Their real meaning in calling him “bewitched” was calling him “mad”, and the Qur’an has refuted this. Therefore, the hadith about magic is not contrary to or in conflict with it.”
Shabbir Ahmad Usmani Deobandi writes: ”The negation of the meaning that the disbelievers took from the word “bewitched” does not necessitate that no kind of magic could have even a temporary effect on a prophet in any degree. This verse is Meccan. In Medina, the incident of the Jews having him bewitched is mentioned in the Sihah, whose effect lasted for some days to such an extent that occasionally he would forget in some worldly matters.”(Tafsir Usmani)
Janab Muhammad Husain Nilawi Mamati Deobandi writes: ”A Jew also performed magic on him.”
Ahmad Yar Khan Nu’mani Barelvi writes: ”Magic and its influence are true, and secondly, the body of a prophet can be affected by magic.”
Finally, we present the words of Allama Ayni Hanafi, by which all doubts and suspicions are removed. Ayni Hanafi writes:
ان ذالک السحر لم یضرہ، لأنہ لم یتغیر علیہ شیء من من الوحی ، ولا دخلت علیہ داخلۃ فی الشریعۃ، و انما اعتراہ شیء من التخیل و الوھم، ثم لم یترکہ اللہ علی ذالک، بل تدارکہ بعصمتہ و أعلمہ موضع السحر و أعلمہ استخراجہ و حلہ عنہ کما دفع اللہ عنہ السم بکلام الذراع الثالث أن ھذا السح انما تسلط علی ظاھرہ، لا علی قلبہ عقلہ و اعتقادہ و السحر مرض من الأمراض و عارض من العلل، یجوز علیہ کؤنواع الّأمراض، فلا یقدح فی نبوتہ، ویجوز طروہ علیہ فی أمر الدنیا، وھو فیھا عرضۃ للآفات کسائر البشر۔
”Without any doubt, this magic did not harm the Prophet ﷺ, because nothing in the revelation changed, nor did any intrusion occur in the Shariah. Rather, one of the things of imagination and illusion afflicted the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Then Allah did not leave him in that state, but along with protecting him from it, He also remedied it: He informed him of the place of the magic, He informed him of the way to extract it, and He removed it from him, just as He repelled the poison from him through the speech of the shoulder of the sheep, which spoke. Thirdly, the magic affected his outward being, not his heart, mind, or belief. Magic is one of the illnesses and one of the diseases; like other diseases, it is possible for him to be afflicted by it. Therefore, this matter does not create any defect in his prophethood. In worldly matters, it is possible for him to be affected by it; like other human beings, calamities can come upon him ﷺ in worldly matters.”
He also writes:
وقد اعترض بعض الملحدین علی حدیث عائشۃ وقالوا: کیف یجوز السحر علی رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم و السحر کفر و عمل من أعمال الشیاطین، فکیف یصل ضررہ الی النبی مع حیاطۃ اللہ لہ و تسدیدہ ایاہ بملاتکتہ و صون الوحی عن الشیاطین و أجیب بأن ھذا اعتراض فاسد و عناد للقرآن، لأن اللہ تعالیٰ قال لرسولہ: قل أعوذ برب الفلق الی قولہ: فی العقد، و النفاثات السواحر فی العقد کما ینفث الراقی فی الرقیۃ حین سحر، ولیس فی جواز ذلک علیہ ما یدل علی أن ذلک یلزمہ أبدا، أو یدخل علیہ داخلۃ فی شیء من ذاتہ أو شریعتہ، و انما کان لہ من ضرر السحر ماینال المریض من ضرر الحمی و البرسام من ضعف الکلام و سوء التخیل، ثم زال ذالک عنہ و أبطل اللہ کید السحر، وقد قام الجماع فی عصمتہ فی الرسالتہ۔۔۔ ‘‘
Some atheists (irreligious people) have raised an objection to the hadith of Sayyida Aisha and said: how can magic be done to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when magic is kufr and one of the works of the devils? How could harm reach the Prophet despite Allah’s protection of him, His guidance of him through His angels, and His safeguarding of revelation from the devils? The answer to this has been given: this objection is baseless and is rooted in enmity towards the Quran, because Allah Ta’ala taught His Messenger ﷺ Surah al-Falaq, in which the meaning of “al-naffathat” is women who blow into knots and practise magic, just as the magician does. There is nothing in saying that magic was possible for the Prophet that shows it was constantly attached to him or that any defect entered his person or his Shariah. The harm he suffered from magic was of the same kind as a sick person suffers from fever, namely weakness of speech, corruption of thoughts, and so on. Then this condition was removed from him, and Allah nullified the effect of magic. A consensus has been established that the message of the Prophet ﷺ remained protected from the effect of this magic.
Doubt:
Some people raise the doubt that a solitary report (khabar al-wahid) is not a proof in matters of belief, so a solitary report is not a proof in this issue either.
Clarification:
This issue does not relate to belief; however, the reality and effect of magic does relate to belief.
A solitary report is also a proof and evidence in matters of belief. Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
وھذا التفریق باطل باجماع الأمۃ۔ ‘‘
There is a consensus that this distinction is invalid (that a solitary report is a proof in action, not in belief). ’’
That magic had an effect on the Prophet is proven from the Quran, so objecting to the hadith without basis is baseless.
Summary:
Apart from the illness of madness, just as the Prophet could contract any illness, similarly magic could affect him in worldly matters. The Ummah has consensus on this, and none among Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah denies it.
