Not Except by Allah's Leave

But because this seems to be a power that is in the hands of the magician, and seems to be supernatural abilities, Allah (swt) is telling us: wa mā hum bi-ḍārrīna bihi min aḥadin illā bi-idhni Allāh — and they would not harm anyone except by Allah's leave. So Allah is telling us that this is not a power in the hands of the magicians that Allah (swt) is not able to control. Allah is telling us that everything that is happening is by His mashīʾah, by His will, as a test.

And for us it is a test — because we need to read al-muʿawwidhāt, and we need to read āyat al-kursī, and we need to read what will save us from such things. So it is just like any other disease that exists: Allah (swt) has created al-dāʾ, and Allah (swt) created al-dawāʾ — Allah (swt) created the illness, and Allah (swt) created the cure. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says: mā min dāʾin illā lahu dawāʾ — for every illness Allah (swt) has created a cure. So there is a cure for cancer; there is a cure for AIDS; there is a cure for everything — some people would know it, and some people would not. It is knowledge that needs to be investigated.

This issue of magic is a disease, or an illness, and there is a cure for it; and the cure is qul aʿūdhu bi-rabbi al-falaq, and qul aʿūdhu bi-rabbi al-nās, and the other types of istiʿādhah that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would do, and āyat al-kursī. And that is why we need always to practise repeating these adhkār.

Allah (swt) says: wa yataʿallamūna mā yaḍurruhum wa lā yanfaʿuhum — and they learn what harms them and profits them not. The magician would think that by learning this knowledge they could benefit; the person who goes to the magician thinks that the magician could benefit them. And Allah (swt) tells us that magic is purely harm, and there is no benefit in it whatsoever — whatsoever; there is no benefit in it.

And when Ibn Taymiyyah talks about the suffering and the misery the magicians go through when they follow this path, you would be amazed. Do not think that the devils teach them this knowledge for free; they pay for it, and they pay for it in the worst ways. And when Ibn Taymiyyah talks about the rituals the magicians go through before they are inducted into the ranks of the magicians, it is things that would make the hair on your body stand. They would make them drink menstrual blood; they would make them eat frogs and snakes and insects; they would make them write ayat of the Qur'an with blood and step over it; they would make them make sujūd to the devils; they would make them make sujūd to idols. These are rituals that the magicians have to go through before they get the assistance of the devil. They do not offer their services for free; the jinn do not offer their services for free. The right way to heal is by reading the Qur'an, by the shuyūkh who read the Qur'an — that is a valid way, because fīhi shifāʾ: Allah (swt) says that in the Qur'an is healing.