Was Muhammad Bewitched? What the Hadith and the Qur’an Say

Sahih al-Bukhari 5763Sahih al-Bukhari 5763 · Mohammed Muhsin KhanNarrated `Aisha: A man called Labid bin al-A'sam from the tribe of Bani Zaraiq worked magic on Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) till Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) started imagining that he had done a thing that he had not really done. He said, "Since Allah cured me, I disliked to let evil spread among the people." Then he ordered that the well be filled up with earth.Sahih al-Bukhari 5763 · Mohammed Muhsin KhanOpen source says a man named Labid ibn al-A’sam worked magic on Muhammad until Muhammad imagined he had done something he had not done. Sahih Muslim 2189aSahih Muslim 2189a · Abdul Hamid SiddiquiA'isha reported that a Jew from among the Jews of Banu Zuraiq who was called Labid b. al-A'sam cast a spell upon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) with the result that he (under the influence of the spell) felt that he had been doing something whereas in fact he had not been doing that. He said: "No, Allah has cured me and I do not like that I should induce people to commit any high-handedness in regard (to one another), but I only commanded that it should be buried."Sahih Muslim 2189a · Abdul Hamid SiddiquiOpen source records the same story. Qur’an 17:47Qur’an 17:47 · Saheeh InternationalWe are most knowing of how they listen to it when they listen to you and [of] when they are in private conversation, when the wrongdoers say, "You follow not but a man affected by magic."Qur’an 17:47 · Saheeh InternationalOpen source and Qur’an 25:8Qur’an 25:8 · Saheeh InternationalOr [why is not] a treasure presented to him [from heaven], or does he [not] have a garden from which he eats?" And the wrongdoers say, "You follow not but a man affected by magic."Qur’an 25:8 · Saheeh InternationalOpen source put “bewitched” in the mouths of people who reject him. Muslims who accept the hadith say the spell affected his body and his imagination, and that the revelation was not altered, because he asked God and was cured. Readers who weigh the Qur’an passages first treat “bewitched” as an insult, not as a fact about him. Deuteronomy 18:20–22Deuteronomy 18:20–22 · King James Version^18:20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. ^18:21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? ^18:22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.Deuteronomy 18:20–22 · King James VersionOpen source says a prophet who speaks what God did not command dies under that test. The Gospels do not record a spell that made Jesus imagine acts he had not done. Jesus is God.

Key Points

• Sahih al-Bukhari 5763Sahih al-Bukhari 5763 · Mohammed Muhsin KhanNarrated `Aisha: A man called Labid bin al-A'sam from the tribe of Bani Zaraiq worked magic on Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) till Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) started imagining that he had done a thing that he had not really done. He said, "Since Allah cured me, I disliked to let evil spread among the people." Then he ordered that the well be filled up with earth.Sahih al-Bukhari 5763 · Mohammed Muhsin KhanOpen source (1), narrated by Aisha in M. Muhsin Khan’s English, says Labid worked magic “till Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) started imagining that he had done a thing that he had not really done.”
• The same report names the materials, a comb and the hairs stuck to it and the skin of pollen of a male date palm, hidden in the well of Dharwan. After he was cured he ordered the well filled with earth, because he “disliked to let evil spread among the people.”
• Sahih al-Bukhari 5766 (2) is a parallel that calls Labid a Jew from Bani Zuraiq. Sahih Muslim 2189aSahih Muslim 2189a · Abdul Hamid SiddiquiA'isha reported that a Jew from among the Jews of Banu Zuraiq who was called Labid b. al-A'sam cast a spell upon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) with the result that he (under the influence of the spell) felt that he had been doing something whereas in fact he had not been doing that. He said: "No, Allah has cured me and I do not like that I should induce people to commit any high-handedness in regard (to one another), but I only commanded that it should be buried."Sahih Muslim 2189a · Abdul Hamid SiddiquiOpen source (3) has him bury the well rather than burn what was in it, so as not to spread harm.
• Qur’an 17:47Qur’an 17:47 · Saheeh InternationalWe are most knowing of how they listen to it when they listen to you and [of] when they are in private conversation, when the wrongdoers say, "You follow not but a man affected by magic."Qur’an 17:47 · Saheeh InternationalOpen source (4) says the wrongdoers say, in Saheeh International, “You follow not but a man affected by magic.” Pickthall has them say “a man bewitched.”
• Qur’an 25:8Qur’an 25:8 · Saheeh InternationalOr [why is not] a treasure presented to him [from heaven], or does he [not] have a garden from which he eats?" And the wrongdoers say, "You follow not but a man affected by magic."Qur’an 25:8 · Saheeh InternationalOpen source (5) repeats that charge in the mouths of the wrongdoers, beside a complaint that he has no treasure and no garden.
• Deuteronomy 18:20–22Deuteronomy 18:20–22 · King James Version^18:20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. ^18:21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? ^18:22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.Deuteronomy 18:20–22 · King James VersionOpen source (6) is the test of a prophet’s word. 1 John 4:11 John 4:1 · King James VersionBeloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.1 John 4:1 · King James VersionOpen source (7) says to test the spirits.

What Bukhari and Muslim Report

The report is in the medicine chapter of Bukhari, from Aisha. Khan’s opening is the claim the question is about:

A man called Labid bin al-A’sam from the tribe of Bani Zaraiq worked magic on Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) till Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) started imagining that he had done a thing that he had not really done.

She says that one day or night he prayed for a long time and then told her two men had come, one at his head and one at his feet. They said he was under magic, named Labid, named the comb and the hairs and the pollen skin, and named the well of Dharwan. He went with some companions, came back, and compared the water to an infusion of henna and the palm tops nearby to the heads of devils. She asked why he did not expose it. He said, “Since Allah cured me, I disliked to let evil spread among the people.” Then he ordered the well filled with earth.

Muslim’s version, 2189a, is the same incident and adds that he chose burial rather than burning the contents, lest the act stir people up. A second Bukhari number, 5766, calls Labid a Jew of Bani Zuraiq. Sunni readers who take Bukhari and Muslim as sound reports are not depending on a late pamphlet. The story is in the two collections they trust most. Which Muslims Accept Which Hadith? says what a Shia reader and a Qur’an-only reader do with those books. Was Muhammad Sinless? is a different question, the command that he ask forgiveness. This page is the spell.

The usual Sunni reading of this report is narrow on purpose. The magic made him imagine an act he had not done, and it did not put words in the revelation. He asked God, was told the cause, and was cured. On that reading the hadith is a story of harm and healing, not a confession that the Qur’an was dictated under a spell. That is their best account of a report they accept. It still says the messenger imagined he had done what he had not done, until God showed him the comb in the well.

What the Qur’an Puts in Their Mouths

Qur’an 17:47Qur’an 17:47 · Saheeh InternationalWe are most knowing of how they listen to it when they listen to you and [of] when they are in private conversation, when the wrongdoers say, "You follow not but a man affected by magic."Qur’an 17:47 · Saheeh InternationalOpen source describes the wrongdoers in private. Saheeh International: “You follow not but a man affected by magic.” Abdel Haleem: “You are only following a man who is bewitched.” Pickthall: “Ye follow but a man bewitched.” The speakers are the rejecters. Qur’an 25:8Qur’an 25:8 · Saheeh InternationalOr [why is not] a treasure presented to him [from heaven], or does he [not] have a garden from which he eats?" And the wrongdoers say, "You follow not but a man affected by magic."Qur’an 25:8 · Saheeh InternationalOpen source sets the same sentence next to a demand for treasure or a garden. Saheeh International again has the wrongdoers say he is “a man affected by magic.”

A reader who starts from these verses can say the charge “bewitched” is what opponents said, and that a later hadith should not turn their insult into a biography. That reading is available inside an Islamic argument. It has to set aside, or reinterpret, a report that Bukhari and Muslim both carry. This page does not invent a named jurist’s fatwa for that rejection. It states the two bodies of text: the Qur’an attributes the word to the wrongdoers, and the sound Sunni collections narrate a spell that Aisha describes.

Who Was Muhammad? and What Was Muhammad’s First Revelation? quote the call in the cave. Those pages are not repeated here. The question on this page is whether a spell, on their own hadith, reached him.

What a Prophet’s Word Is For

Deuteronomy 18:20–22Deuteronomy 18:20–22 · King James Version^18:20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. ^18:21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? ^18:22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.Deuteronomy 18:20–22 · King James VersionOpen source says the prophet who speaks a word God has not commanded, or who speaks in the name of other gods, dies. It also gives the hearer a test: if the word does not come to pass, God has not spoken it. The chapter’s bar is the word, not a comb in a well. A report in which the prophet imagines acts he did not perform is a report about his own grasp of what he has done. Muslims who accept Bukhari 5763 say God cured him and guarded the recitation. The cure is part of their telling. The interval of imagination is also part of it.

1 John 4:11 John 4:1 · King James VersionBeloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.1 John 4:1 · King James VersionOpen source says not to believe every spirit, and to test the spirits, because many false prophets have gone out. The test in the next verses is whether a spirit confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. Christians confess that Jesus is God, come in the flesh, and that the Gospels do not contain a scene in which a spell made him unsure which acts were his. Was Muhammad Sinless? quotes the verses that tell him to seek forgiveness. The magic report is a further scene in the collections, not a verse of the Qur’an.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Story Only in One Collection?

It is in Sahih al-Bukhari 5763 and 5766 and in Sahih Muslim 2189a. Sunni Muslims treat both books as sound. A reader who does not take those books as binding can still read Qur’an 17:47Qur’an 17:47 · Saheeh InternationalWe are most knowing of how they listen to it when they listen to you and [of] when they are in private conversation, when the wrongdoers say, "You follow not but a man affected by magic."Qur’an 17:47 · Saheeh InternationalOpen source, where “bewitched” is what the wrongdoers say.

Did the Spell Change the Qur’an, on Their Reading?

The report they accept says he imagined an act he had not done, then prayed, was shown the cause, and was cured. It does not say the recited Qur’an was edited by Labid. The imagination is still in the narration.

Why Fill the Well Instead of Showing It?

Bukhari 5763 gives his reason in Khan’s English: “Since Allah cured me, I disliked to let evil spread among the people.” Muslim 2189a has the contents buried rather than burned, for the same kind of concern.

Where Does the Bible Speak About Testing a Prophet?

Deuteronomy 18:20–22Deuteronomy 18:20–22 · King James Version^18:20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. ^18:21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? ^18:22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.Deuteronomy 18:20–22 · King James VersionOpen source and 1 John 4:11 John 4:1 · King James VersionBeloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.1 John 4:1 · King James VersionOpen source. The first asks whether God commanded the word. The second asks whether the spirit confesses Jesus Christ come in the flesh.

Keep Reading

• Was Muhammad Sinless?
• What Was Muhammad’s First Revelation?
• Who Was Muhammad?
• Which Muslims Accept Which Hadith?
• What Do Christians Believe About Muhammad?