The word · The heart
السِّحْر
Sihr
Sorcery: real in its effect, but powerless to harm anyone except by Allah's permission.
Also written · Sehr · Sihir · Sahir · Sehir · Magic · Black magic · Sorcery · Witchcraft · Jadu · Jadoo · Kala jadu · Spell · Curse · Being under magic
The meaning
What Sihr means in Islam
The word covers sorcery worked with the help of devils, and the Qur'an describes it plainly while making clear that it harms nobody except by Allah's permission (Qur'an 2:102). The Prophet peace be upon him was himself affected by it, in Bukhari and Muslim, and he recovered; he also named it among the seven destructive sins. Learning it or commissioning it is a grave matter, and the schools of law differ over the penalty for the one who practises it. The treatment is ruqya, the daily adhkar and ordinary medicine, never counter-magic.
Evidence · Qur’an · Stated directly in the Qur’an
Read beside it
Words that sit beside it
- RuqyaReciting Qur'an and prophetic supplications over a sick or afflicted person as treatment.الرُّقْيَة
- NushrahUndoing magic with magic, which the Sunnah rejects, unlike undoing it with the Qur'an.النُّشْرَة
- Mass al-JinnJinn touch: the claim that a jinn can affect, or enter, a human being.مَسُّ الجِنّ
- TamimahAn amulet worn for protection, whose ruling depends on what has been put inside it.التَّمِيمَة
More from The heart
- 'AfwPardon: dropping a wrong you are owed, without the other person having to earn it.العَفْو
- Ghadd al-BasarLowering the gaze: turning your eyes away from what you are not permitted to look at.غَضُّ البَصَر
- IstighfarAsking Allah for forgiveness, usually in the words astaghfirullah.الاسْتِغْفَار
- MujahadahThe struggle against your own self: making yourself do the right thing when you do not want to.المُجَاهَدَة
- SabrHolding yourself steady under what is hard, without complaint to creation and without giving up.الصَّبْر
- TafakkurDeliberate reflection on creation and on your own life, treated as an act of worship.التَّفَكُّر