There is no good magic in Islam

Question

Praise be to Allah.

According to Islamic teaching, all magic
is evil, for two reasons:

~1~

The way in which it is attained, through
which the practitioner of magic or witchcraft seeks help from the realm of
the jinn and shayaateen (devils) to achieve his magic. This is a way that is
filled with things that undermine one’s religious commitment and involves
resorting to haraam things and – in many cases – falling into disbelief and
apostasy. That is done is done to please the devils to meet the needs of
that unknown realm which seeks to deceive the sons of Adam.

~2~

The aim of Islam is to close this door
altogether and block the means that usually lead to spreading evil among the
people and causing trouble among them. That is because most of the deeds
that the practitioners of magic commit only result in causing evil and harm
to people. Hence it is reasonable and acceptable to say that a complete
prohibition is the only way to block this evil and to rid the land and
community of those evil deeds and of the illusions and myths that are
connected to them, by ridding societies of witchcraft and its practitioners.
This obviously serves a great purpose.

Even if some of these practitioners of
witchcraft do some good things by means of their magic, that does not
justify what they fall into of sin and disobedience to Allah, for many
reasons, such as the following:

1.The way that is followed to
learn witchcraft usually leads to falling into disbelief and sin.

2.The ruling applies to what
is usually the case with regard to the deeds of the practitioner of
witchcraft, and does not pay any attention to that which is the exception.

Do you not see that even the criminal and
murderer may do some good deeds? Indeed, these states that are occupying and
colonising Muslim lands may sometimes do some good things for Muslim
countries and others, but these are toxic favours which are insignificant
when compared with the evil that they commit and plan. In fact some of the
scholars have stated that there is no benefit whatsoever in learning
witchcraft, as al-‘Allaamah ash-Shinqeeti (may Allah have mercy on him)
said:

One of the clearest indications of that is
the fact that Allah, may He be exalted, clearly stated that it is harmful
and is of no benefit, as He said (interpretation of the meaning): “And
they learn that which harms them and benefits them not” [al-Baqarah 2:102].
As Allah has affirmed that witchcraft is harmful and has stated that there
is no benefit in it, how can it be permissible to learn that which is pure
harm and in which there is no benefit?!

End quote from Adwa’ al-Bayaan
(4/55)

3.We cannot be sure that this
practitioner of witchcraft will not be safe from temptation which leads to
misguidance and going astray.

Even though he may do some good by means
of some of what he has learned, for the most part this path is something
that is not embarked upon by the righteous and pious who adhere to the
rulings of sharee‘ah. If the sinner and evildoer, and one who is tempted,
embark upon it, then their attitude and religious commitment will never
deter them from doing evil, regardless of whether they are Muslim or
non-Muslim.

Allah, may He be glorified and exalted,
has told us of how the Shaytaan tempts the son of Adam, and that hardly
anyone has the strength to resist. Allah, may He be glorified, says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“And verily, there were men among
mankind who took shelter with the masculine among the jinns, but they (jinns)
increased them (mankind) in sin and disbelief”

[al-Jinn 72:6].

Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer (may Allah have
mercy on him) said:

That is, (the jinn said): We thought that
we had some superiority over humans, because they use to seek protection
with us, i.e., if they halted in a valley or lonely place in the wilderness
and so on, as was the custom of the Arabs during the Jaahiliyyah. They would
seek protection with the jinn master of the place, lest they harm them in
any way, just as one of them would enter his enemy’s land under the
protection of a prominent man. When the jinn saw that humans would seek
their protection because they were afraid of them, “they (jinns)
increased them (mankind) in sin and disbelief” which resulted from the
increase in their fear and terror, to the extent that they became even more
afraid of them and sought their protection even more, as Qataadah said: “they
(jinns) increased them (mankind) in sin and disbelief” that is, in
transgression, and that made the jinn even more audacious towards them.

End quote from Tafseer al-Qur’an al-‘Azeem
(8/239)

Al-‘Allaamah as-Sa‘di (may Allah have
mercy on him) said:

The jinn increased humans in terror and
fear because they saw them seeking protection with them. So when a human
halted in a scary valley, he would say: I seek refuge with the master of
this valley from the foolish ones among his people.

End quote from Tayseer al-Kareem
ar-Rahmaan fi Tafseer Kalaam al-Mannaan (p. 890).

This is how Allah, may He be glorified and
exalted, describes the influence of the Shaytaan on human beings; he always
tries to direct them towards misguidance, temptation and evil. Allah, may He
be glorified, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, those who are Al-Muttaqoon
(the pious), when an evil thought comes to them from Shaytan (Satan), they
remember (Allah), and (indeed) they then see (aright).

But (as for) their brothers (the
devils) they (i.e. the devils) plunge them deeper into error, and they never
stop short”

[al-A‘raaf 7:201-202]

“He (the father) said: “O my son!
Relate not your vision to your brothers, lest they arrange a plot against
you. Verily! Shaytaan (Satan) is to man an open enemy!”

[Yoosuf 12:5]

“”And Istafziz (literally means: befool
them gradually) those whom you can among them with your voice (i.e. songs,
music, and any other call for Allah’s disobedience), make assaults on them
with your cavalry and your infantry, mutually share with them wealth and
children (by tempting them to earn money by illegal ways usury, etc., or by
committing illegal sexual intercourse, etc.), and make promises to them.”
But Satan promises them nothing but deceit.

“Verily! My slaves (i.e the true
believers of Islamic Monotheism), you have no authority over them. And
All-Sufficient is your Lord as a Guardian”

[al-Isra’ 17:64-65].

The Creator, may He be glorified and
exalted, also describes every contact between a human and the world of the
Shaytaan as a trial (fitnah) and misguidance, as He, may He be glorified,
says (interpretation of the meaning):

“That He (Allah) may make what is
thrown in by Shaytaan (Satan) a trial for those in whose hearts is a disease
(of hypocrisy and disbelief) and whose hearts are hardened. And certainly,
the Zalimoon (polytheists and wrong-doers, etc.) are in an opposition
far-off (from the truth against Allah’s Messenger and the believers)”

[al-Hajj 22:53].

There is a stern warning against following
the footsteps of the Shaytaan, and the Muslim is warned against the bad end
to which they lead. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“O you who believe! Follow not the
footsteps of Shaytaan (Satan). And whosoever follows the footsteps of
Shaytaan (Satan), then, verily he commands Al-Fahsha (i.e. to commit
indecency (illegal sexual intercourse, etc.)), and Al-Munkar (disbelief and
polytheism (i.e. to do evil and wicked deeds; to speak or to do what is
forbidden in Islam, etc.)). And had it not been for the Grace of Allah and
His Mercy on you, not one of you would ever have been pure from sins. But
Allah purifies (guides to Islam) whom He wills, and Allah is All-Hearer,
All-Knower”

[an-Noor 24:21].

To sum up: Magic or witchcraft is nothing
but a trick of the Shaytaan, and Shaytaan is an avowed enemy to humanity. So
how can any trick of his be good or beneficial to people?! That cannot
happen.

Allah, may He be glorified and exalted,
says (interpretation of the meaning):

“O mankind! Verily, the Promise of
Allah is true. So let not this present life deceive you, and let not the
chief deceiver (Satan) deceive you about Allah.

Surely, Shaytaan (Satan) is an enemy to
you, so take (treat) him as an enemy. He only invites his Hizb (followers)
that they may become the dwellers of the blazing Fire”

[Faatir 35:5-6].

For more information, see fatwa no.
115294

And Allah knows best.