mocks Allah the Almighty, or His verses, or His messengers, or His books. Allah the Almighty says: {And if you ask them, they will surely say, 'We were only conversing and playing.' Say, 'Is it Allah and His verses and His Messenger that you were mocking?' Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after your belief} (14). It is appropriate that the one who mocks should not be satisfied merely with Islam, but should be disciplined with a punishment that deters him from that; for if it is not sufficient for one (15) who reviles the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to [simply] repent, then for one who reviles Allah the Almighty, it is even more imperative.

Section on Magic: It consists of incantations, spells, and words spoken or written, or actions performed that affect the body, heart, or mind of the bewitched person without direct contact. It has a reality; some of it kills, some makes one ill, some prevents a man from his wife, thus preventing him from having intercourse with her, and some separates a man from his wife, or makes one of them hate the other, or causes love between two people (16). This is the view of al-Shafi'i. Some of his companions held the view that it has no reality and is merely an illusion, because Allah the Almighty says: {It appeared to him by their magic that they were moving [on their own]} (17). The companions of Abu Hanifa said: If it is something that reaches the body of the bewitched, such as smoke and the like, it is possible for it to result in that; but as for disease or death occurring without anything reaching his body, that is not possible, because if it were possible, the miracles of the prophets (peace be upon them) would be invalidated, for that breaks the norms. If it were possible for someone other than a prophet, their miracles and proofs would be rendered void. Our evidence is the statement of Allah the Almighty: {Say, 'I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak (1) From the evil of that which He created (2) And from the evil of the darkness when it settles (3) And from the evil of the blowers in the knots'} (18), meaning the sorceresses who tie knots in their magic and blow upon them. Were it not that magic has a reality, Allah the Almighty would not have commanded seeking refuge from it. Allah the Almighty also says: {They teach people magic and that which was sent down to the two angels at Babylon, Harut and Marut} until His saying: {And they learn from them that by which they cause separation between a man and his wife} (19). And it was reported