execute him? He said: 'If he performs prayer, perhaps he will repent and return.' This indicates that he did not deem him a disbeliever, for if he had deemed him a disbeliever, he would have executed him. His statement, 'in the position of an apostate,' means in terms of being asked to repent. The companions of Abu Hanifah said: If he believes that the demons do for him what he wishes, he is a disbeliever; but if he believes it is mere illusion, he is not a disbeliever. Al-Shafi'i said: If he believes in that which necessitates disbelief, such as drawing near to the seven planets and that they do what he requests, or if he believes in the permissibility of magic, he is a disbeliever, because the Quran has spoken of its prohibition, and it has been established by mass-transmitted report (naql mutawatir) and consensus (ijma') upon it; otherwise, he is considered a sinner (fasiq) but not a disbeliever, because Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) sold a mudabbarah (a slave promised freedom after the owner's death) of hers who had bewitched her, in the presence of the Companions (25). If she were a disbeliever, she would have become an apostate whose execution is mandatory, and it would not have been permissible to hold her in slavery; and because it is something that harms people, so he does not become a disbeliever merely by it, just as is the case with other harms caused to them. Our argument is the saying of Allah the Almighty: {And they followed what the devils recited during the reign of Solomon. It was not Solomon who disbelieved, but the devils disbelieved}, up to His saying: {But they do not teach anyone unless they say: 'We are a trial, so do not disbelieve'} (26). Meaning, Solomon did not disbelieve—that is, he was not a sorcerer who disbelieved through his magic. And their statement, 'We are a trial, so do not disbelieve,' means: Do not learn it and thus disbelieve by doing so. It has been narrated by Hisham ibn 'Urwah, from his father, from Aisha, that a woman came to her and began to weep intensely, saying: 'O Mother of the Believers, an old woman took me to Harut and Marut, and I said: "Teach me magic." They said: "Fear Allah and do not disbelieve, for you are still in a state of grace (at the head of your affair)." I said: "Teach me magic." They said (27): "Go to that oven and urinate in it." I did so, and I saw something like a knight wearing armor come out of me until he flew away and disappeared into the sky. I returned to them and told them, and they said: "That was your faith." She mentioned the rest of the story until she said: "By Allah, O Mother of the Believers, I did nothing other than this, nor will I ever do it again. Is there any repentance for me?" Aisha said: 'And I saw her weeping intensely, and she went around among the companions of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) while they were present in large numbers, asking them: "Is there any repentance for me?" No one gave her a legal verdict.'