A Consideration of the Views of Shiite and Sunni Theologians concerning the Prophet’s Bewitchment

Whether the Prophet of Islam Muhammad was bewitched by Lubayd ibn A‘sam the Jewish—as narrated in some hadiths—is a conversial issue among Muslim scholars. Since it is an essential Islamic belief that the Prophet is pure from any flaws, including impacts of magic, we should see how scholars of Islamic denominations have offered theological responses to the story. Those who accept the story as plausible make resort to certain hadiths to show that the impact of magic on the Prophet’s body does not contradict his status as a prophet. On the other hand, others believe that such stories are contrary to the Qur’an, and thus, they count as khabar al-wāḥid (a hadith transmitted only by one person or very few people), which is not reliable as a ground for beliefs. In this paper, we introduce the views of Shiite and Sunni scholars concerning the story, and criticize proponents of the Prophet’s bewitchment. Thus, it is hard to demonstrate that the Prophet was bewitched, because it is incompatible with the Qur’an and the Prophet’s infallibility (‘iṣma). Moreover, Mu‘wwadhatayn (verses of refuge according to which the Prophet was immune from spells) were revealed in Mecca.