Invalid Sources Of Knowledge

Magic & sorcery, sihr; astrology, tanjiim; foretelling, kahanat & tatayur; and other forms of superstition are not sources of true knowledge. They may lead to correct and verifiable facts but only by chance and coincidence. They most often lead to wrong and misguiding facts.

Sihr:

The term sihr is also used by the Qur’an to refer to sorcery or the so-called black magic.  It involves use  of magical  tricks with additional  psychological conditioning  that can  lead to real psychological effects  in people who believe  that they are victims of sorcery; there  are no effects on those who do not believe  the superstition. The Qur’an tells the story of 2 angels Harut and Marut who were sent to teach sorcery in the town of Babila. What they taught was harmful and its psychological effects could lead to the separation of spouses. The Qur’an made it clear that sorcery was dangerous knowledge. The question may be validly asked why Allah sent angels to teach something that was so dangerous. Interpreters of the Qur’an explain that at that time there were many people who pretended to be prophets and they used magic and sorcery to deceive and convince people. It was therefore necessary that people be shown magic and sorcery so that they may be able to distinguish them from the true miracles of the prophets. Sihr is severely forbidden.  Sihr is considered one of the major sins, (al sihr min al akbar al dhunuub).

Magic:

The Qur’an uses the term sihr to refer to both magic and sorcery. Magic refers to use of tricks to create visual or other types of illusions. The uninitiated may be misled into believing in the existence of supernatural power because of the illusions. The Qur’an tells us that unbelievers rejected messengers and called them magicians. Some prophets were accused of being under the spell of magic.  The revelations and messages or the prophets were also rejected as magic. Pharaoh asked his magicians to demonstrate their magical prowess against Musa.  Musa was given power by Allah to counter the magic.   The Qur’an made it clear that magic was not effective.

Astrology, al tanjiim:

Astrology is the magical forerunner of the modern science of astronomy. Astrologers pretend to predict events in a person's life by studying the movement of stars. Astrology was forbidden, (al nahyu ‘an al tanjiim). The Prophet went to the extent of saying that the astrologer is a liar even if his predictions turn out to be true, (al munajjim kaadhibun wa in sadaq).

Kahanat and tatayur:

These are forms of foretelling. The prophet was accused of being kahin but the Qur’an cleared him. Tatayur was mentioned in the Qur'an.