What is the ruling on executing a sorcerer from the People of the Book (Ahl al-Kitab) for practicing sorcery?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of the Apostate
Primary text
A sorcerer from the People of the Book is not executed solely for practicing sorcery. Execution is mandated only if the sorcery results in a killing, particularly if it is an act that typically causes death, in which case the ruling is Qisas (retaliation in kind). The evidence for this is that when Labid ibn al-A'sam bewitched the Prophet (peace be upon him), the Prophet did not execute him. Furthermore, disbelief (Shirk) is a greater offense than sorcery, yet a non-Muslim is not executed for his pre-existing disbelief. The general reports regarding the execution of sorcerers pertain specifically to Muslim sorcerers because their act of sorcery constitutes apostasy (kufr) for them, whereas the People of the Book are original disbelievers.
Supporting text
Abu Hanifa holds that the sorcerer from the People of the Book must be executed based on the general scope of previous reports, and because sorcery is an injury that warrants the death penalty for a Muslim, it should similarly warrant the death penalty for a Dhimmi (protected non-Muslim subject), analogous to murder. Their analogy is invalidated because they do not execute the protected person for committed adultery by a married person, while they execute the Muslim for it.