What is the Sharee‘ah ruling on a person who learns magic but does not practice it?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and messenger.

Learning and teaching magic is prohibited.

The Hanbali scholar Ibn Qudaamah said that there was never any disagreement between scholars on the prohibition of learning magic, even if the magician did not practice it. Rather, differences in opinion were over whether or not a magician should be judged as a disbeliever.

The Hanafi scholars held the opinion that if a magician believes that the devils can do for him whatever he wants, then he is an apostate, but if he believes, that magic is just an illusion, then he is not an apostate.

Ash-Shaafi‘i stated that a magician is an apostate if he believes in anything that brings about a ruling of apostasy, such as believing that magic is lawful, because the Quran plainly stated that magic is prohibited and so did the Sunnah in many narrations, in addition to the consensus of scholars. If a magician does not believe that magic is lawful, then Ash-Shaafi’i, may Allaah mercy upon him, stated that he would only be judged a wrongdoer, but not a disbeliever.

The Maaliki and Hanbali scholars held the opinion that a magician is judged to be a disbeliever once he learns and practices magic, whether or not he believes it to be lawful.

For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 4754.