Hirz or Kitba

In earlier times, descendants of the saints openly sold charms; now they only write talismans in private. These written talismans, called kitba, hijab or hirz are secret and mysterious. They are written with a wooden pen and homemade musk-scented ink in an unreadable script without diacritical points. It is said that letters words and sentences are written backwards. The spell of a kitba becomes undone when someone tries to read it, or when it is not handled in secret. The insistence with which individuals and professionals justify the use of a particular kitba by reference to the religious notion of baraka, matches the growing reprobation of them by the population at large. This baraka is implied by the storage of the writing paper in the Koran, by the idea that in the kitba a Koranic verse is given, and by the descent of the magician from a holy man. Proofs to the contrary, for instance that there is no Koranic verse but only illegible runes, do not disturb the belief in the presence of baraka and the effectiveness of this magic. Further down on the scale, past the magic with a religious legitimation, we find "bad" magic, commonly considered evil and prohibited. This is suhur , sorcery which is utterly objectionable. As with religion and good magic, the dividing line between good and bad magic is vague. Often the magical acts are the same, the only difference being the person of the magician.