The effect of sihr on the marital relationship

The
saahir (person who practises
sihr) does things by which he affects people with sihr. Sometimes this
is by illusion or making things appear to be something else, as Allaah
said concerning the sorcerers of Pharaoh (interpretation of the meaning):

“and
their sticks, by their magic, appeared to him as though they moved fast”
[Ta-Ha 20:66]

They
do actions that change how things look in people’s eyes, so that they
see things other than they really are, as Allaah says in Soorat
al-A’raaf (interpretation of the meaning):

“So
when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people, and struck terror
into them, and they displayed a great magic” [al-A’raaf 7:116]

So
they do things to bewitch people’s eyes, so that they see a rope as
a snake or a stick as a moving snake, when it is not a snake at all
but only a stick or a rope.

They
may also bewitch people in other ways, so that a man becomes hateful
to his wife, or vice versa. They may do this by bewitching their eyes,
or by giving them evil potions which they get from the shayaateen, or
by tying knots on which they blow and pray to the shayaateen instead
of to Allaah, and seek their help in harming people. So a man may imagine
that his wife is not the wife he knows, and she may appear ugly or hateful
to him, or a wife may imagine that her husband is not the husband that
she knows, and she sees him as something ugly and terrifying, because
of what these criminals have done. So their sihr may be of two types,
one of which involves illusions and tricking the eyes, so that they
do not see things as they really are.

The
other kind includes that which is called al-sarf
and al-‘atf (spells aimed at creating hatred or love), which is
done by tying knots and blowing on them, and using potions which they
make by inspiration of the shayaateen. This second kind may make a man
love or hate his wife, or a woman love or hate her husband. It may also
affect a person’s relationship with people other than his or her spouse.
Hence Allaah has commanded us to seek refuge with Him from the evil
of those who blow onto knots, and to seek refuge with Him from every
evil.