Exorcism is the expulsion, by various magical methods, of a spirit possessing a person or inhabiting an inanimate object, a place, or an animal. While practically all exorcistic practices aim at the same outcome, the rituals serving that goal may be understood varyingly as either persuading, cajoling, or forcing the spirit to leave its host or abode. Some forms of exorcism are generally disapproved of by the Muslim religious elite, while others are accepted.

No precise equivalent of the Western term exists in Classical Arabic. Descriptive terms referring to exorcistic…