Meaning of sihr According to Sharie’ah, the meaning of sihr is what the magicians do to delude and confuse people, so that the one who is watching thinks that it is real when in fact it is not. As Allah said concerning the magicians of Pharaoh (interpretation of the meaning): “They said: ‘O Musa! Either you throw first or we be the first to throw?’ Musa said: ‘Nay, throw you (first)!’ Then behold! their ropes and their sticks, by their magic , appeared to him as though they moved fast. So Musa conceived fear in himself. We (Allah) said: ‘Fear not! Surely, you will have the upper hand. And throw that which is in your right hand! It will swallow up that which they have made. That which they have made is only a magician’s trick, and the magician will never be successful, to whatever amount (of skill) he may attain.’” [Ta-Ha 20:65-69] Sihr may involve things that the magician does when tying knots on which he blows, as is referred to in the Quran (interpretation of the meaning): “And from the evil of those who practise witchcraft when they blow in the knots.” [al-Falaq 113:4] And it may involve other things which they manage to do through the shayatin (devils), so they do things that may affect a man's reason or make him sick; they may cause division between a man and his wife, resulting in her looking ugly to him, or by making her hate her husband or be put off by him. This is blatant kufr as the Quran states. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “They followed what the Shayatin (devils) gave out (falsely of the magic) in the lifetime of Sulayman (Solomon). Sulayman did not disbelieve, but the Shayatin (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic.” [al-Baqarah 2:102] Allah informs us that they (the shayatin) committed kufr by teaching men magic. Then He says (interpretation of the meaning): “and such things that came down at Babylon to the two angels, Harut and Marut, but neither of these two (angels) taught anyone (such things) till they had said, ‘We are for trial, so disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us).’”[al-Baqarah 2:102] Then Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And from these (angels) people learn that by which they cause separation between man and his wife, but they could not thus harm anyone except by Allah’s Leave” [al-Baqarah 2:102]