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Does black magic (sihr) really work if Allah is all-powerful?
Sihr is real and the Qur'an mentions it directly (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:102). It is also bounded by the same verse, which closes with the clause 'they could not harm anyone through it except by permission of Allah.' Sihr does not override Allah's decree; it operates inside it. Every spell, every magician, every effect passes through the One who decreed it. The believer's response is not panic; it is to recite the Mu'awwidhat that Allah revealed precisely for this kind of harm, and to maintain the salah, adhkar, and tawakkul that form the believer's standing perimeter.
Does black magic affect a strong believer?
Yes, it can. The Prophet himself, peace be upon him, was affected by sihr (the famous incident of Labid ibn al-A'sam, recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim). If sihr could touch the most beloved of Allah's creation, then being affected by it does not indicate weak iman. What distinguishes the strong believer is not exemption from trial; it is the response to it. Allah revealed Surah Al-Falaq and Surah An-Nas in that very incident, eleven verses corresponding to the eleven knots of the spell, and through their recitation the spell was untied. The strong believer recites those same surahs every night (Sahih al-Bukhari 5017) and treats sihr as a trial inside Allah's wider mercy rather than as a defeat.
If I have been affected by black magic, what should I do?
Renew your tawheed; maintain the five daily prayers; recite the Mu'awwidhat (Surah Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq, An-Nas) three times morning and evening per Sunan Abi Dawud 5082; recite Ayat al-Kursi at night per Sahih al-Bukhari 5010; recite the last two ayat of Surat al-Baqarah at night per Sahih al-Bukhari 5009. Make du'a in the night, in sujud, and between adhan and iqamah. Do NOT visit a magician to undo it - that is the warning of Sahih Muslim 2230, which costs you forty nights of salah. For physical or mental symptoms, see a qualified doctor in parallel; Sahih al-Bukhari 5678 records that Allah did not send down a disease without sending down its treatment.
?If black magic requires Allah's permission, why does Allah ever permit it?
Allah has made this world a place of trial; not every test is removed from a believer's path. Sihr, like illness or oppression, can be a trial that raises a believer's station, a consequence of a community that has drifted, or a means by which the magician's own injustice is exposed. The Qur'an does not promise a world without trial; it promises that the One who decreed the trial is the One who also gave you Surah Al-Falaq.
?Does protecting myself with daily remembrances (adhkar) guarantee no black magic will ever touch me?
Adhkar are the believer's standing protection, and the Prophet's example shows their power. But guarantees of outcome belong to Allah, not to formulas. Recite faithfully, trust the One you are addressing, and accept that any difficulty that passes the perimeter is part of a wider decree whose reward is also recorded.