In your discussion of astrology you mentioned that it is a form of magic. What is magic?
2026-10-13
F103 · Selected fatwas
Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn
الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين
Original Q&A · Full displayed answer
This answer explains a broad meaning of the word. The following answers distinguish that definition from the ruling on learning sorcery.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
فضيلة الشيخ، ذكرتم في حديثكم عن التنجيم أنه نوع من السحر فما هو السحر؟
الجواب
السحر -كما قال العلماء-: هو عبارة عن كل ما لطف وخفي سببه، بحيث يكون له تأثير خفي لا يطلع عليه الناس، وهو بهذا المعنى يشمل التنجيم والكهانة، بل إنه يشمل التأثير بالبيان والفصاحة، كما قال النبي عليه الصلاة والسلام: «إن من البيان لسحرا». فكل شيء يكون له أثر لكنه ليس شيئا معلوما -أي ذلك المؤثر- فإنه نوع من السحر.
English translation
English rendering prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited Arabic answer. Not an official translation.
Original question
Esteemed Shaykh, in your discussion of astrology you mentioned that it is a form of magic. What is magic?
Answer
Magic—as the scholars have said—refers to anything subtle whose cause is hidden, so that it has a hidden effect of which people are unaware. In this sense it includes astrology and soothsaying. It even includes the effect of eloquence and expressive speech, as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Some eloquent speech is magic.” Anything that has an effect, while the thing producing that effect is not known, is therefore a kind of magic in this broad sense.
Source and editorial notes
Fiqh al-ʿIbādāt, 13th edition, 1441 AH, question 38, p.68
فقه العبادات
Fiqh al-ʿIbādāt
Arabic transcribed and compared against the cited scan and adjacent context.