Introduction of RUQYAH SHARIAH

Initially all forms of ruqya were prohibited but later on, he (Peace and Blessing upon Him) allowed people to use only the ruqa that he approved, or that did not contain shirk.

Jabir Bin ‘Abdillah (RA) reported that Allah’s Messenger (Peace and Blessing upon Him) prohibited ruqa. Then, some people from the tribe of ‘Umr Bin Hazam came to him and said, “We have a ruqyah that we used to use for scorpion and snake stings; but you have now prohibited using ruqa.” And they showed it to him. He (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said:

‘I do not see anything wrong in it. Anyone among you who can benefit his brother should do so.’

[Muslim]

Conditions for a Permissible Ruqyah

There are some important conditions that must be satisfied in a ruqyah to make it permissible. They were summarized by Ibn Hajar (AR):

“There is a consensus among the ‘ulama that ruqa are permissible when they satisfy three conditions:

• To be with Allah’s words or His names and attributes
• To be in Arabic or of an intelligible meaning
• And to believe that they do not have effect by themselves but by Allah

[Fath ul Bari 10:240]

In what follows, we discuss each of these conditions:

1. Must Be with Allah’s Words, Names, or Attributes

As we will see below, all forms of ruqa reported in the Sunnah satisfy this condition. They either consist of specific portions of the Qur’an, such as al-Fatiha or Ayat ul-Kursiy, or contain a praise of Allah (‘Azza wa Jalla) and an invocation of His help and protection.

2. Must Be with Clearly Understood Words

This is an important condition that must be satisfied in order to eliminate any magic factors from the ruqyah.

3. Believing That the True Benefit Is from Allah (‘Azza wa Jalla)

The cure is from Allah and not from the one performing the ruqya, no matter how pious he seems- if he claims to be able to cure people and you believe him- then you have committed shirk- exactly what the shaytan and the magician want of you.

Things to avoid in a Ruqyah

1. Shirk

‘Awf Bin Malik al-Ashja’i (RA) narrated that he said to the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him), “O Allah’s Messenger! We used to apply ruqa during Jahiliyyah. What do you think of that?” He (Peace and Blessing upon Him) replied:

‘Present your ruqa to me. There is nothing wrong with them as long as they do not involve shirk.’

[Muslim]

Ibn Mas’ud’s wife Zaynab (RA) narrated that he saw on her neck a string and asked her, “What is this?” She replied, “It is a string on which a ruqyah was made for me.” He cut it off her neck and said:

“You, family of Ibn Mas’ud, are in no need for shirk. Truly, I heard Allah’s Messenger (Peace and Blessing upon Him) say: ‘Indeed, ruqya (that involves shirk), amulets, and tiwala, are all acts of shirk.’

She said, “Why do you say this? I was having spasms of pain in my eye; so I went to such and such a Jewish man, and whenever he treated it with ruqyah, it soothed it.” He replied:

“That is the doing of Satan. He (Satan) pokes it with his hand; and when the ruqyah (shirk) is applied to it, he removes his hand. It would have been sufficient for you to say what Allah’s Messenger (Peace and Blessing upon Him) used to say:

‘Athhib il-ba’s, rabb an-nas, washfi ant ash-shafi, la shifa illa shifa uk, shifaan la yughadiru saqama.’

Meaning: ‘Remove the affliction, Lord of the people, and cure – You are the one who cures, and there is no cure except from You�a cure that will not leave any sickness.’Recorded by Abu Dawud; judged hasan by al-Albani

[Sishkat ul-Masabih No. 4552]

The Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) explicitly prohibited all magical ruqya. Jabir reported that the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said:

‘Nashrah* is of the doing of Satan.’ Recorded by Ahmad and Abu Dawud. Verified to be authentic by al-Albani.

[As Sahihah No. 2760]

(*A magical spell done to counter another magical spell.)

2. Seeking It from Magicians or Soothsayers

One may never go to a magician for help, regardless of whether the magician were true or false. False magicians are liars who pretend things to attract people’s awe, money, or both.

True magicians rely on jinns and the devil, and apply procedures containing kufr to produce their spells. Thus all of their spells, including ruqya, are prohibited, and any Muslim who seeks their help belies his belief in the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him).

Abu Hurayrah (RA) reported that the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said:

‘Whoever goes to a soothsayer or fortuneteller and believes in what he says has indeed rejected that which has been revealed to Muhammad.’

[Sahih ul-Jami No. 5939]

Recorded by Ahmad and al-Hakim. Verified to be authentic by al-Albani (Sahih ul-Jami no. 5939).

As indicated in the Qur’an, (the magicians can never be successful) (Taha 20:69), nor (can they benefit anyone) (al-Baqarah 2:102). Because of all of this, and from the rule established earlier that Allah did not make our cure in anything that He prohibited, we clearly conclude that it is not permissible at all to seek a ruqyah from a magician.