Lesson 3 of 6 · What the sunnah affirms, and what it does not
And it ended
Follow the Bukhari narration to its end, because most tellings stop halfway.
It was worked on him. It affected him. And then it was over, and he said that Allah had healed him and cured him.
That is the pastoral point and it is worth sitting with for a moment. If sihr could reach the best of creation, then being reached by something says nothing about your standing with Allah, and it never did. And if it ended for him, then the idea that this is a life sentence, that a person is now permanently marked and will be passed from practitioner to practitioner forever, is not coming from these texts.
The Qur'an's posture here is confidence. Not dread. Fear is the thing that keeps people in the loop, and the fear is not being supplied by the revelation.
Qur’an and Sunnah
Follow this narration to its end, because most tellings stop halfway. It was worked on him, it affected him, and then it was over.
Narrated `Aisha:A man called Labid bin al-A'sam from the tribe of Bani Zaraiq worked magic on Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) till Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) started imagining that he had done a thing that he had not really done. One day or one night he was with us, he invoked Allah and invoked for a long period, and then said, "O `Aisha! Do you know that Allah has instructed me concerning the matter I have asked him about? Two men came to me and one of them sat near my head and the other near my feet. One of them said to his companion, "What is the disease of this man?" The other replied, "He is under the effect of magic.' The first one asked, 'Who has worked the magic on him?' The other replied, "Labid bin Al-A'sam.' The first one asked, 'What material did he use?' The other replied, 'A comb and the hairs stuck to it and the skin of pollen of a male date palm.' The first one asked, 'Where is that?' The other replied, '(That is) in the well of Dharwan;' " So Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) along with some of his companions went there and came back saying, "O `Aisha, the color of its water is like the infusion of Henna leaves. The tops of the date-palm trees near it are like the heads of the devils." I asked. "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)? Why did you not show it (to the people)?" He said, "Since Allah cured me, I disliked to let evil spread among the people." Then he ordered that the well be filled up with earth
Sahih al-Bukhari 5763graded sound, sahihaynthe Arabic and its grading
The same episode again, and the ending is the point. He said that Allah had healed him and cured him. If it ended for him, then the idea that a person is now permanently marked is not coming from these texts.
Narrated `Aisha:Magic was worked on the Prophet (ﷺ) so that he began to fancy that he was doing a thing which he was not actually doing. One day he invoked (Allah) for a long period and then said, "I feel that Allah has inspired me as how to cure myself. Two persons came to me (in my dream) and sat, one by my head and the other by my feet. One of them asked the other, "What is the ailment of this man?" The other replied, 'He has been bewitched" The first asked, 'Who has bewitched him?' The other replied, 'Labid bin Al-A'sam.' The first one asked, 'What material has he used?' The other replied, 'A comb, the hair gathered on it, and the outer skin of the pollen of the male date-palm.' The first asked, 'Where is that?' The other replied, 'It is in the well of Dharwan.' " So, the Prophet (ﷺ) went out towards the well and then returned and said to me on his return, "Its date-palms (the date-palms near the well) are like the heads of the devils." I asked, "Did you take out those things with which the magic was worked?" He said, "No, for I have been cured by Allah and I am afraid that this action may spread evil amongst the people." Later on the well was filled up with earth
Sahih al-Bukhari 3268graded sound, sahihaynthe Arabic and its grading