‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote: Kill every sorcerer and sorceress

Arabic text

عن بَجَالَةَ بن عَبَدة قال: كتب عمر بن الخطاب: «أن اقتُلُوا كلّ ساحر وساحرة». قال: فقتلنا ثلاث سواحر. وعن ابن عمر رضي الله عنه : «أن حفصة سَحَرَتْها جاريتها فاعتَرَفَتْ بسِحْرها، فأمرت عبد الرحمن بن زيد فقتلها». وعن أبي عثمان النهدي: «أنه كان عند الوليد رجل يلعب فذبح إنسانًا، وأبان رأسه؛ فعَجِبْنا، فأعاد رأسه، فجاء جُنْدُبٌ الْأَزْديّ فقتله».

Translation

Bajālah ibn ‘Abadah reported that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote: "Kill every sorcerer and sorceress." Bajālah said: "So we killed three sorceresses." Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "A maid-servant of Hafsah (the Prophet’s wife) bewitched her and admitted practicing sorcery. So Hafsah ordered ‘Abdur-Rahmān ibn Zayd to kill her." Also, Abu ‘Uthmān An-Nahdi said: "Al-Walīd had a magician who used to perform shows before him. He once slaughtered a man, cutting off his head, and we were astonished. Then he returned the head to its proper place, so Jundub al-Azdi came and killed him."

Explanation

Sorcery is one of the most serious social diseases, because it leads to certain evils and malicious results, including murder, usurping money of the ‎people unlawfully, and separating between a man and his wife. Moreover, some activities of sorcery can only be achieved by means of polytheism and drawing close to the devils. The divine, effective cure for such a disease is its all-at-once extermination by killing the sorcerers so that the community would maintain its virtues, purity, and uprightness. This is exactly what the honorable Companions (may Allah be pleased with him) did, as proven by these traditions.

Topics

• The Creed
• Names and Rulings
• Nullifiers of Islam