Q. I have read in a book that on some occasion the Prophet was afflicted by a magic spell, and that he described this to his wife. Could you please tell us whether such things are still in existence. In the Indian subcontinent people are made to pay a lot of money to those who say that they can cure people afflicted by magic. Please explain.
S.E. Ali, Alkhobar
A. Magic is mentioned in the Qur’an; so, it exists. There is no doubt about this. In the past, it was closely related to pagan beliefs. The religion practiced in Egypt at the time of the Pharaoh mentioned in the Qur’an was based on magic. Priests were sorcerers adept in magic. When Moses invited Pharaoh to believe in God’s oneness, Pharaoh accused him of being a sorcerer and challenged him with a mightier sorcery. On God’s instructions, Moses accepted the challenge. Pharaoh gathered all his priests and sorcerers for the challenge. When these put forward their designs, it was seen to be ‘mighty magic’, as God describes it in the Qur’an. (7: 116) It sent a feeling of fear even into Moses himself. But magic has no substance. God describes those sorcerers’ work in the following terms: “Said (the sorcerers): ‘Moses! Either you throw (your staff first), or we shall be the first to throw.’ He answered: ‘You may throw first.’ And by virtue of their sorcery, their ropes and staffs seemed to him to be moving rapidly. And in his heart Moses became apprehensive. But We said (to him): ‘Have no fear! It is you who shall certainly prevail. Now throw that which is in your right hand and it shall swallow up all that they have wrought. For, they have wrought nothing but a sorcerer’s deceitful trick; and the sorcerer can never come to any good, whatever he may do’.” (20: 65-69)
Note how God says about this mighty magic that all it produced was an illusion. When the sorcerers threw their ropes and staffs they only made them ‘seem to him to be moving.’ In other words, they were not moving although they seemed to do so.
Because magic is only a delusion which is utilized to deceive people, it is forbidden to learn and to practice. People who claim to be able to dispel its effects are normally liars who try to defraud people of their money.
As for the Prophet having suffered from a magic spell, there are some reports to this effect, but these do not stand to careful examination. Besides, they run contrary to the Qur’an which says: “The evildoers say, ‘You only follow a man bewitched!’ See to what they liken you, because they have gone astray and are now unable to find a way (to the truth).” (17: 46-47 & 25: 8-9) In the light of this Qur’anic statement, repeated in two surahs, we must say that any suggestion that the Prophet was for any time under a magic spell is absolutely false.