—namely, the method known among the people of pre-Islamic ignorance— and what ruling applies to it. He ﷺ answered that it is the work of Satan, or carried out through him, because it employs various sorcerous practices and satanic operations; therefore it constitutes polytheism and is forbidden.

Relevance of the hadith to the chapter: it establishes the prohibition of the nushrah that is Satan’s handiwork—the nushrah of the Age of Ignorance.

Lessons drawn from the hadith:

1. A ban on performing nushrah in the fashion practiced before Islam, for it is sorcery, and sorcery is disbelief.
2. The permissibility of asking scholars about rulings that are unclear, so as to avoid falling into the prohibited.