Is My Family a Victim of Witchcraft?

Answered by Shaykh Rami Nsour

Question: I am a revert from a Catholic family.  Within the past year and a half my family has gone through a transformation. My brother left his faith and got involved into occult practices, then he recovered, and become a very pious Catholic. However, my mother suspects that my step sister became involved and remains involves in occult practices.

My mother believes that my step sister is casting spells on my family. She has told me about some of her experiences with my step sister that her religious leaders say is consistent with witchcraft. Recently both my brother and my sister have had some serious unexpected health complications, and my mother believes this might be caused by the practices of my step sister.

Personally I have not seen any proof that my step sister is involved in such things. I only rely on the testimony of my mother and some anecdotes that certainly makes one question. My whole family is certain of that she is a witch, however, is it reasonable to believe this under these circumstances? What should I do?

Answer: What I would say first and foremost, is that it is reasonable for you to be asking these questions. As Muslims, we must believe in witchcraft as it is mentioned in the Quran and Hadith. We also know that one of the worst sins a person can do is witchcraft and that it can have a real affect on people’s health, wealth, marriage, and other other aspects of their lives.

There is no scientific way of knowing whether or not your stepsister is in fact practicing witchcraft. The only way would be a confession or conclusive evidence like you seeing her perform some type of witchcraft. Just because certain family members are experiencing health issues around the time that your stepsister was involved with witchcraft is not enough evidence to say for sure that she is the cause, but there is still a chance.

What you should do is try your best to help your family keep their bonds of kinship. When you are around your stepsister, you can be more vigilant about reading Quran or dua to safeguard yourself. You should also increase your Quran recitation and dhikr at the home where this is possibly happening if you can. You should be vigilant in reading the last two suras of the Quran (113 and 114) which protect against witchcraft. You may encourage your step mother to read them and it may be good dawa for her.

And Allah knows best.

Rami