The effect of sorcery and the ruling on the sorcerer

Question

Question: Zayd was ill for four months with a disease of the joints (wajaʿ al-mafasil); he kept receiving treatment, but to no avail. Some people supposed that someone had worked sorcery. The house was searched and some amulets turned up, after which the patient felt relief. A certain man, through his practice (sorcery), identified the one who had placed them: Hinda, who lives in that house; but she denies this act. The patient remained seriously ill even after that. 1.

Answer

1. According to the Shariʿa this is not impossible; rather, it is possible. 2. This too is possible through incantatory practices, but without a Shariʿa proof (hujja sharʿiyya) (a person) cannot be declared guilty according to the Shariʿa. 3. As long as that woman does not confess, or proof is not established by Shariʿa testimony (shahada), it is not proper to punish her. 4.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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