Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Witchcraft and the Occult: Difference between revisions

The hadith literature are replete with references to witchcraft and the occult. The belief in the "evil eye" عين الحسودة is particularly prominent. According to this ancient and widespread belief, the act of envying what another person has or possess can put the metaphysical, mystical "eye" upon them, bringing misfortune of various kinds on who is on the receiving end of the eye. This eye can be warded off by, variously, giving the person who is envious the object of their envy, using charms made to look like the eye itself (among them the so-called خمسة or hamsa), prayers, scripture reading, or various forms of magic. The belief itself is widespread in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean societies and is attested to widely in ancient Greek literature, where it was part of the metaphysical world of the ancient Greek paganism. The [[hadith]] tradition paints the prophet [[Muhammad]] himself as contending with the evil eye via prayers. Like with the evil eye, the tradition is unanimous in recognizing the reality of سحر "sahr" as in magic or witchcraft, which is envisioned as a black, malevolent force in league with [[shaytan]].  

{{Quote|{{Bukhari|8|82|840}}|Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Avoid the seven great destructive sins." They (the people!) asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What are they?" He said, "To join partners in worship with Allah; to practice sorcery; to kill the life which Allah has forbidden except for a just cause (according to Islamic law); to eat up usury (Riba), to eat up the property of an orphan; to give one's back to the enemy and fleeing from the battle-field at the time of fighting and to accuse chaste women who never even think of anything touching chastity and are good believers."}}