Repentance of a Witch
Question

                Will the repentance of a witch (practitioner of witchcraft) be accepted by Allah? Because I heard that a witch asked the sahabah (companions) about repenting after the death of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and no one answered her. What did they say to her? Would her faith benefit her before Allah? Why do the scholars issue fatwas (verdicts) about the acceptance of the witch’s repentance in this case?
Praise be to Allah.
    Learning witchcraft and 
    practicing it constitute kufr (disbelief). Allah says (interpretation of the 
    meaning): 
“They followed what the 
    shayateen (devils) gave out (falsely of the magic) in the lifetime of 
    Sulayman (peace be upon him). Sulayman (peace be upon him) did not 
    disbelieve, but the shayateen (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic 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).’” [2:102] 

    A practitioner of witchcraft 
    may do something that makes him an apostate, so he commits kufr and should 
    be executed for his apostasy. Or he may practice witchcraft by doing 
    something that does not constitute kufr. In the latter case there is a 
    difference of scholarly opinion, but the correct view is that he should also 
    be executed if it is proven that he is a practitioner of witchcraft. This is 
    what the sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them) did and enjoined others to 
    do. If he is executed, he should not be washed or shrouded or buried in the 
    Muslim graveyard. 

    There should be no hesitation 
    in executing the practitioner of witchcraft, whether we say that he is a 
    kafir (disbeliever) or not, because this is what is proven from the 
    companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). 
    Executing him prevents the spread of evil and serves as a deterrent to his 
    fellow practitioners of witchcraft. 

    If a practitioner of 
    witchcraft repents sincerely to Allah, then Allah will accept his 
    repentance. This is between him and his Lord, before the matter reaches the 
    courts. But if the matter reaches the Islamic court, then the qaadi (Muslim 
    judge) should execute him without asking him to repent, so as to rid society 
    of his evil. But it is not permissible for any individual to carry out the 
    hadd (Islamically prescribed) punishment by himself, rather the matter must 
    be referred to the authorities. 

    There follow some fatwas of 
    the scholars on this matter: 

    1 – Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn 
    Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

    If a practitioner of 
    witchcraft repents sincerely to Allah, that will benefit him before Allah, 
    for Allah accepts repentance from the mushrikeen (polytheists) and others, 
    as He says (interpretation of the meaning): 
“And He 
    it is Who accepts repentance from His slaves, and forgives sins.” [42:25] 

    “And all of you beg Allah to 
    forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful.” [24:31] 

    But in this world it is not accepted. The correct view is 
    that he is to be executed. If it is proven to the court that he is a 
    practitioner of witchcraft, then he should be executed, even if he says, “I 
    have repented.” His repentance between him and Allah is valid, if he is 
    sincere, and that will benefit him before Allah, but according to the 
    Islamic ruling he is to be executed, just as ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased 
    with him) executed the practitioners of witchcraft, because their evil is 
    great. They may say, “We have repented,” but they may be lying, and the 
    people will be harmed and may not be safe from their evil because of the 
    repentance that they show. So they should be executed, and their repentance 
    will benefit them before Allah if they are sincere. End quote. 

    Majmoo’ Fatawa al-Shaykh Ibn 
    Baz. 

    2 – The Shaykh (may Allah 
    have mercy on him) also said: 

    The correct view according to 
    the scholars is that the practitioner of witchcraft should be executed 
    without being asked to repent, because of the seriousness of their evil. 
    Some scholars are of the view that they should be asked to repent, and that 
    they are like any other kafirs (non-Muslims) who should be asked to repent. 
    But the correct scholarly view is that they should not be asked to repent 
    because their evil is so great, and because they conceal their evil and 
    their kufr; they may claim to have repented but they are lying, and may 
    cause a great deal of harm to people as a result. Hence the scholars were of 
    the view that the one who is known and proven to be a practitioner of 
    witchcraft should be executed even if he claims that he has repented and 
    that he regrets what he has done; he should not be believed. 

    Hence it is narrated that 
    ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to the commanders of the troops 
    telling them to execute every practitioner of witchcraft they found, so as 
    to guard against their evil. Abu ‘Uthman al-Nahdi said: “We executed three 
    practitioners of witchcraft.” This is how it was narrated in Saheeh 
    al-Bukhari from Bajalah ibn ‘Abdah. [It was also narrated by Abu Dawud with 
    a saheeh isnad/authentic chain of narrators, and the original report is in 
    al-Bukhari]. 

    And it is narrated in a 
    saheeh (authentic) report that Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her) 
    executed a slave woman of hers because she found out that she was engaging 
    in witchcraft. And when the great sahabi (companion) Jundub ibn ‘Abd-Allah 
    (may Allah be pleased with him) saw a practitioner of witchcraft playing 
    with his head – making the people think that he was cutting off his head and 
    putting it back – he approached him without him realizing and killed him, 
    and said: “Now put your head back if you are telling the truth!” 

    Conclusion: the evil of the 
    practitioners of witchcraft is great, hence it is obligatory to execute 
    them. If the authorities know that they are practitioners of witchcraft, and 
    that is proven with shar’i (legal) evidence, then they have to execute them, 
    so as to protect society from their evil and corruption. End quote. 

    3 –The Shaykh also said: 

    If he is executed, the 
    funeral prayer should not be offered for him, and he should not be buried in 
    the graveyard of the Muslims; he should be buried in the graveyard of the 
    kafirs. He should not be buried in the graveyard of the Muslims, the funeral 
    prayer should not be offered for him, and he should not be washed or 
    shrouded. We ask Allah to keep us safe and sound. 

    4 – He also said: 

    The ruling on the 
    practitioner of witchcraft who is known to make people imagine things, or 
    whose actions result in harm for people, such as causing people to see 
    things that are not there, making a man beloved to his wife or a wife 
    beloved to her husband, or the opposite, which causes harm to people, if 
    this is proven by means of evidence in the Islamic court, then this 
    practitioner of witchcraft must be executed and his repentance should not be 
    accepted even if he repents. 

    We have quoted above the 
    report narrated from ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), who ordered his 
    commanders to kill the practitioners of witchcraft so as to prevent their 
    mischief on earth and to stop them disturbing the Muslims and causing harm 
    to people. As soon as they are found out, then it is obligatory for the 
    Muslim leaders to execute them even if they say “We have repented”, because 
    there is no guarantee. If they are sincere in their repentance, that will 
    benefit them before Allah, because of the general meaning of the verse in 
    which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): 
“And He it is Who accepts 
    repentance from His slaves, and forgives sins, and He knows what you do.” 
    [42:25]

    If a person comes to the authorities without having been 
    found out and tells them that he has repented, and that in the past he used 
    to do such and such, but he has repented to Allah and he seems outwardly to 
    be good, then his repentance should be accepted, because he has come 
    voluntarily, seeking goodness and announcing his repentance without having 
    been found out and without anyone making any claims against him. So if he 
    comes in a manner that does not suggest any kind of trickery, then his 
    repentance should be accepted, because he has come repenting and expressing 
    regret, like any other kafir who may have a bad past, then Allah blesses him 
    by enabling him to repent without being forced to do so by anyone and 
    without anyone making any claims against him. End quote.   Majmoo’ Fatawa 
    al-Shaykh Ibn Baz.

    5 – The scholars of the Standing Committee said:   If the 
    practitioner of witchcraft does any act of kufr in his magic, then he is to 
    be executed as a hadd punishment for his kufr. If it is proven that he 
    killed by means of his magic someone whose life is protected by sharee’ah, 
    then he should be executed as a qasas (retribution) punishment. If he did 
    not do any act of kufr or kill anyone by means of his magic, then there is a 
    difference of scholarly opinion with regard to executing him for his 
    witchcraft. But the correct view is that he should be executed as a hadd 
    punishment for his apostasy. This is the view of Abu Haneefah, Malik and 
    Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on them), because his magic in fact means that 
    he is a kafir, because of the verse (interpretation of the meaning): 
    

    “They followed what the shayateen (devils) gave out (falsely 
    of the magic) in the lifetime of Sulayman (peace be upon him). Sulayman 
    (peace be upon him) did not disbelieve, but the shayateen (devils) 
    disbelieved, teaching men magic.” [2:102] 

    This verse indicates that all practitioners of witchcraft are 
    kafirs. And it is proven in Saheeh al-Bukhari that Bajalah ibn ‘Abdah said: 
    ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote saying: Execute 
    every practitioner of witchcraft, male or female, and we executed three 
    practitioners of witchcraft. And it was narrated that Hafsah, the Mother of 
    the Believers (may Allah be pleased with her) ordered that a slave girl of 
    hers who had put a spell on her be executed, and she was executed. [Maalik 
    in al-Muwatta]. And it is proven that Jundub said: The punishment for the 
    practitioner of witchcraft is a blow with the sword. [Narrated by 
    al-Tirmidhi who said: the correct view is that it is mawqoof – not directly 
    attributed to the Prophet].   Based on this, the ruling on the practitioner 
    of witchcraft asked about in the question is that he should be executed 
    according to the correct scholarly view. The one whose job it is to confirm 
    that witchcraft has taken place and to carry out the punishment is the ruler 
    who is charge of the Muslims’ affairs, so as to ward off mischief and close 
    the door to chaos. End quote.   Fatawa al-Lajnah al-Daimah.   
    

    6 – Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:   Is this execution a hadd 
    (legally prescribed) punishment or killing him because of his kufr?  Both 
    are possible, based on the details about the kufr of the practitioner of 
    witchcraft that we have discussed above. But based on the above discussion 
    we say: if a person’s witchcraft constitutes kufr, then his execution is 
    that of an apostate, but if his witchcraft does not constitute kufr, then it 
    comes under the heading of protection against serious harm, and it must be 
    implemented as the ruler sees fit.

    Conclusion: Practitioners of witchcraft must be executed, 
    whether or not we say that it is because of their kufr, because they make 
    people sick and may even kill them, they cause separation between husband 
    and wife, and vice versa, and they may bring about reconciliation between 
    enemies and thus attain their goals. One of them may bewitch a person to 
    make him like him and get what he wants from him, such as if one of them 
    bewitches a woman in order to have his way with her, and because they spread 
    mischief on earth. So it is obligatory for the authorities to execute them 
    without asking them to repent, so long as this is done to ward off their 
    harm and the great damage they may cause. The hadd punishment has nothing to 
    do with being asked to repent; when the offender is caught, the hadd 
    punishment must be carried out. End quote.   Majmoo’ Fatawa al-Shaykh Ibn 
    ‘Uthaymeen. This is a commentary on Kitab al-Tawheed.   

    7 – Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen also said:   The view that 
    (practitioners of witchcraft) should be executed is in accordance with the 
    principles of sharee’ah, because they spread mischief on earth and their 
    mischief is one of the greatest forms of mischief. So executing them is 
    obligatory for the ruler, and it is not permissible for the ruler to fail to 
    execute them, because if such people are left alone and their actions become 
    widespread, they will cause mischief in their own land and in the land of 
    others. But if they are executed the people will be safe from their evil and 
    the people will be deterred from indulging in witchcraft. End quote.   
    Majmoo’ Fatawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthyameen. This is a commentary on Kitab 
    al-Tawheed.   

    And Allah knows best.