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Labid ibn al-Asam

لبيد بن الأعصم

A Jew of Medina who bewitched the Prophet ﷺ until his condition grew severe; when the two Suras of Refuge were revealed the magic was drawn out of a well beneath his bedding, and he confessed and was expelled from Medina 1 2; Ibn Ishaq relates the story in his sira 3.

Depth

At a glance

Who he was

A Jew of Medina known in the books of seerah and lore as the Prophet's sorcerer; named in the sources as Labid ibn al-Asam 3.

What he did

He bewitched the Prophet until his condition grew severe; when the two Suras of Refuge were revealed the magic was drawn from a well beneath his bedding 1 2.

His end

He confessed what he had done and was expelled from Medina 2.

Notes

His report is the most famous case of human magic in the Prophetic biography 4.

Connections

Explore the connections

Participated in
The bewitching done on the Prophet

People and things also explored

Sihr (sorcery)· Sura 113: Al-Falaq· Sura 114: An-Nas· Muhammad· The bewitching done on the Prophet

Sources

  1. Sahih al-Bukhari
  2. Sahih Muslim
  3. Kitab al-Sira wa-l-Maghazi — Ibn Ishaq (ed. Suhayl Zakkar)
  4. Tafsir Ibn Kathir
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Labid ibn al-Asam”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/labid-ibn-al-asam/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-10.

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Related

Sihr (sorcery)

Sorcery is real and established by Book and Sunnah, effective only by God's leave; learning it is disbelief, and God warned of it in the account of Harut and Marut at Babylon — the Prophet sought refuge through the mu'awwidhatayn.