The Shaykh—may Allah have mercy upon him—said:

"Seventh: sorcery (siḥr), which includes diversion (ṣarf) and affection-inducing magic (ʿaṭf). Whoever practices it or is pleased with it has disbelieved. The proof is the Almighty’s words: ‘They did not teach anyone until they had said, “We are only a trial, so do not disbelieve.”’ ⦗al-Baqarah 2:102⦘.

This, then, is the seventh nullifier: sorcery. Sorcery is knowledge imparted by the devils. Allah the Exalted says: “They followed what the devils recited during the reign of Solomon. Solomon did not disbelieve, but the devils disbelieved; they taught the people sorcery, and what had been sent down to the two angels in Babylon—Hārūt and Mārūt. The two of them would not teach anyone until they had said, ‘We are a trial, so do not disbelieve.’ From them people learned that by which they separate a man from his wife. Yet they harm no one thereby except by Allah’s permission.” ⦗al-Baqarah 2:102⦘.

He said, “and included in it are diversion (ṣarf) and affection (ʿaṭf).” Diversion is the form of sorcery intended to alienate loved ones from one another—such as driving a wedge between husband and wife: “From them people learned that by which they separate a man from his wife.” This diversion works upon the psyche so that the husband turns away from his wife, or the wife from her husband, or a brother from his sibling, a child from his mother or father, or a friend from his companion.

The verse specifically mentions the separation of spouses because it is the most frequently sought, yet all other types of diversion are likewise encompassed by the verse’s meaning.