And he said: "I do not know what this is." It was said to him: "Do you then consider it permissible to go to someone like this to undo the magic?" He said: "I do not know what this is." It is narrated from Muhammad ibn Sirin that he was asked about a woman whom the sorcerers were tormenting. A man said: "I will draw a line around her, fix a knife at the convergence of the line, and recite the Qur'an." Muhammad said: "I do not know of any harm in reciting the Qur'an under any circumstances, but I do not know what the line and the knife are." It is also narrated from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, regarding a man who is "tied" (by magic) away from his wife and seeks someone to treat him, that he said: "Allah has only prohibited that which causes harm, and He has not prohibited that which brings benefit." He also said: "If you are able to benefit your brother, then do so." This statement of theirs indicates that those who perform incantations (mu'azzim) and the like do not fall under the ruling of sorcerers, because they are not referred to by that name, and their practice is something that brings benefit and does not cause harm.

Section: As for the kahin (soothsayer) who has a familiar from the jinn that brings him news, and the 'arraf (fortune-teller) who makes conjectures and guesses, Ahmad has said, in the narration of Hanbal, regarding the 'arraf, the kahin, and the sorcerer: "I am of the opinion that they should be asked to repent for these practices." It was said to him: "Should he be killed?" He said: "No, he should be imprisoned, perhaps he may repent." He said: "Fortune-telling ('irafah) is a branch of magic, and the sorcerer is more wicked because magic is a branch of disbelief." He also said: "The sorcerer and the kahin, their ruling is execution, or imprisonment until they repent; because they obscure their affairs, and [there is] the hadith of 'Umar: 'Kill every sorcerer and kahin.'" It is not from the matters of Islam. This indicates that for each one of them there are two narrations: the first, that he is killed if he does not repent; and the second, that he is not killed, because their ruling is lighter than that of the sorcerer, and since there is a difference of opinion regarding him, it is more appropriate to avert the punishment of death from him.

Section: As for the sorcerer among the People of the Book, he is not to be executed for his magic unless he kills someone with it, and it is of the type that leads to killing, in which case he is executed in retribution.