"…The blowers in knots…" refers to sorcerers. Mujaahid said: "(It is) when they make their incantations and blow on the knots." Ibn Jareer quoted Ibn Taawwoos as saying, on the authority of his father: "There is nothing closer to Shirk (polytheism) than those incantations used as a protection from snakes and insanity, etc." Such incantations are made to blow on a snake bite or magic-stricken man. A Hadeeth says that Jibreel once came to the Prophet and asked: "O Muhammad! Are you sick?" When the Prophet replied in the affirmative, he said: "Invoke the Name of Allah against every disease that pains you, against the evil of every envier and against any evil eye. May Allah heal you." The disease referred to in this Hadeeth was probably a magic spell. Allah then healed His Messenger and repelled that magic.

Imaam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal reported that a Jew bewitched the Prophet who remained under its spell for several days. Then Jibreel, peace be upon him, came to him and informed him that such and such a Jew had bewitched him and had hidden a knotted rope down such and such a well and asked him to send somebody to get it. When the Prophet received it, he untied the knots, and the spell was broken. He never mentioned it to that Jew nor showed him any anger.

'Aa'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, narrated: "Once when the Prophet was under a magic spell, he thought that he had come to his wives while he had not done so. Once, he said to me: "I asked my Lord and He showed me. Two persons came and one sat near my head and the other near my legs. The man sitting near my head asked the other: 'What has happened to this man.' He replied: 'He is under a spell.' (The first) asked: 'Who bewitched him?' (The second) answered: 'Labeed Ibn Al-A'sam from the Banu Zurayq tribe. They are allies of the Jews.' The (first) man asked: 'What was the item used for charming?' The other answered: 'The comb and the hair.' (The first) asked: 'Where are those things?' The other answered: 'In the well of Dharwan, under a rock."' The Prophet sent 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, to the well and had the things dug out. I ('Aa'ishah) suggested that the magician should be punished. The Prophet replied: "All praise is due to Allah who healed me; I do not like to incite people for myself." [Al- Bukhari]