Al-Bukhārī also related through Ibn ‘Uyayna, who said:

“The first to relate this to us was Ibn Jurayj, who said, ‘Members of ‘Urwa’s family related it to me from ‘Urwa.’ I then asked Hishām about it, and he related to us from his father, from ‘Ā’isha: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had been bewitched, so that he imagined he had intercourse with women when he had not. Sufyān said: When it reaches this point, this is sorcery at its most severe. He said:

‘Ā’isha, do you know that Allah has answered me concerning what I asked Him about? Two men came to me. One sat at my head and the other at my feet. The one at my head asked the other, “What ails this man?” He replied, “He has been bewitched.” He asked, “Who bewitched him?” He replied, “Labīd ibn al-A‘sam, a man of Banū Zurayq allied to the Jews, who was a hypocrite.” He asked, “With what?” He replied, “A comb and flax tow.” He asked, “Where is it?” He replied, “In the spathe of a male date palm, beneath a projecting stone in the well of Dharwān.”’

He related: He went to the well and took it out. He said, ‘This is the well I was shown. Its water looked like an infusion of henna, and its date palms looked like the heads of devils.’ He related: It was taken out. She said: I asked, ‘Why did you not…?’—meaning, seek treatment to undo the sorcery. He replied, ‘Allah has healed me, and I dislike stirring up evil against anyone.’”

This hadith thus states that he took it out. Al-Bukhārī placed it under the chapter heading, “Should the Materials Used in Sorcery Be Taken Out?” Qatāda said: I asked Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyab, “If a man has been bewitched and is prevented from having intercourse with his wife, may the spell be lifted and treatment administered to undo it?” He replied, “There is no harm in that. Their intention is only to put things right. Whatever benefits people has not been forbidden.”

These two hadiths may appear to contradict one another. The first report, related by ‘Īsā from Hishām, from his father, states that he did not take it out, whereas Ibn Jurayj’s report from Hishām states that “he took it out.” Yet there is no contradiction between them. He took it out of the well so that he could see it and know what it was, then buried it after he had recovered. ‘Ā’isha’s question, “Why did you not take it out?” means: Why did you not bring it out before the people so that they could see and inspect it? He explained what had prevented him: the Muslims would not have remained silent about it. They would have denounced it, the sorcerer’s people would have become angry on his behalf, and evil would have ensued. The intended purpose had already been achieved through his healing and recovery. He therefore gave orders concerning it