Q: A brother, S.A.B, living in Riyadh said that there are some people in some districts in Yemen called AlSadah ("the noble people, the masters, etc"), who commit unlawful acts, such as sorcery, claiming the ability to treat incurable diseases. They pierce themselves with knives, cut their tongues and restore them without being damaged. Some of them perform Salah (Prayer) while others do not. They marry women of any sect while making it unlawful for others to marry from theirs. When they supplicate for the sick, they direct their supplications to their grandfathers.
In the past, people used to honor and consider them exceptional and close to Allah, and they even call them "the men of Allah". Now, people hold different views on them. The youth and literate people do not accept them, while the old and illiterate people still believe in them. Please explain the truth in this regard.
A: These people and their likes are no more than Sufis whose evil deeds and falsehood are known. They are also diviners about whom the Prophet (peace be upon him) stated: He who visits a diviner and asks him about anything, his prayers extending to forty nights will not be accepted. This is because of their claim of knowing Ghayb (the Unseen) and their service and worship of the Jinn. They also deceive people, using various kinds of magic.
He [Mûsâ (Moses)] said: "Throw you (first)." So when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people, and struck terror into them, and they displayed a great magic.
If anyone resorts to a diviner and believes in what he says, then he disbelieves in what was revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Their acts including supplicating and seeking help from anything other than Allah, their claims that their ancestors manage the universe, treat the sick or respond to the supplications while they are dead or absent, are regarded as disbelief and major Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship). It is obligatory to resist them, not to visit them or seek their help, and not to believe them.
Say: "None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghaib (Unseen) except Allâh"
Every Muslim who is aware of their acts must condemn and resist them and explain to people that these acts are evil and forbidden. They must also report their acts to the rulers or the authorities, if they are in Islamic countries. They are to be punished according to Shari`ah (Islamic law) to end their evil and protect Muslims from their falsehood and deceit.