Spiritual Warfare Prayer: WHAT IS RUQYAH?

WHAT IS RUQYAH?

Islam is a comprehensive deen which deals with all the affairs
relating to the life of Muslims. Included in this vast sea of
legislation and recommendation we find the ahkaam relating to health.

Good health is a blessing form Allah Almighty, as mentioned in the
hadeeth of the prophet (saw) where

Ibn Abaas reported, the messenger of Allah (saw) said, There are two
blessings in which many people incur loss, good health and free time.
Saheeh Al Bukhari

We may however find at times our health is decreasing, and rather than
depend upon contemporary medicine alone, or at another extreme shun
medication all together thinking our ill health to be the decree of
Allah.
As In all matters, we should turn to the authentic sources and seek
assistance.

Ysamah bin Shuraik said; I was with the prophet when the Bedouins came
to him and said, "O Messenger of Allah, should we seek medicine?"
He (saw) said, "Yes slaves of Allah, seek medicine for Allah has not
created a disease except that He has also created its cure, except for
one illness." They asked what is that? He (saw) said, "Old age."
Imam Ahmad

Abu khuzamah is reported to have said;
I said "O Messenger of Allah about the ruqya that we use, the medicine
we take and the prevention we seek, does all this change Allah's
appointed destiny?" He (saw) said, they are a part of Allah's
appointed destiny. Musnad Imam Ahmad/ Sunan At Tirmidhi/ Ibn Majah
Every illness has a cure, and when the proper cure is applied to the
disease it ends Allah willing.
Saheeh muslim

We wish to inshAllah mention in this humble effort, the use of ruqyah
(as has been recommended and practiced by the nabi (saw) and as was
practiced by the sahabah (ra)) as an Islamic alternative, using
spiritual means to cure physical ailments.

We will try to explain:

1) What is ruqyah?
2) Is its use permissible?
3) Misunderstandings in relation to ruqyah
4) The practice of the prophet (saw) and the companion in regards to
ruqyah.

As Muslims our dependency must be upon Allah alone, and as good and
harm are unable to reach us without His (swt) will, we should
understand that seeking a halal cure for our ill health is a strong
recommendation and after doing so putting ones trust upon Allah (swt).

And if Allah touches you with harm, there is none who can remove it
but He; and if He intends any good for you, there is none who can
repel His favour which He causes it to reach whomsoever of His slaves
He wills. And He is the oft Forgiving, The Most Merciful.
SurahYunus 10:107

What is ruqyah?

To translate Ruqyah as ‘incantation' may bring to mind connotations of
magic and sorcery which are forbidden in Islam. To use the term "By
spiritual means" may not convey the meaning in full. [See Ismail L.
Faruq's Translation].

Ruqyah is when a person recites part of the Qur'an such as Al-Fatihah
or makes supplication using words transmitted from the authentic
Hadith of the Prophet (saw) Ref. Fath-ul-Majid]

Ruqyah is the use of quranic ayats, or supplications narrated from the
Prophet (saw) in order to cure ones self or another from evil eye
(nadhar) or ill health.

Is permissible to perform ruqyah?

Hussain bin Abdur- Rahmaan narrated;
Once when I was with Sa'id bin Jubair, he asked , "who among you did
see the shooting star last night?"
I answered, "I had seen it." and then explained however that I was not
performing prayer at the time because I had been stung, by a poisonous
scorpion. He said, "what did you then do?" I replied, "I used ruqyah
to cure it." He asked, "what compelled you to do that?", I said, "a
hadeeth I heard from Ash - Shabi. He asked, "which hadeeth did Sha'bi
narrate?"
I replied, "he reported from Buraidah bin Al Husaib, who said that
ruqyah is not allowed except for the treatment of evil eye and
poisonous sting." He (sa'd bin Jubair) said, "he has done well by
stopping on what he has heard, #however

Iibn Abass narrated to us that the Prophet (saw) said,
All the nations were made to pass before me and I saw a prophet with a
small group with him, and a prophet with two or three people and a
prophet with none. Then there appeared a large group of people which I
took to be my nation, but I was told that those were of Musa and his
people. Later a larger group appeared and I was told that those were
my people. Among them were seventy thousand who would enter paradise
without reckoning or punishment…they are those who do not treat
themselves with ruqyah, nor do they believe in bad or good omens, nor
do they get themselves branded (cauterized), but they put their trust
in their Lord.

On that Ukashah bin Mihsan got up and said; "O Prophet, make dua that
I may be one of them."

The prophet (saw) answered, "you are indeed one of them."
When another person sought to repeat the request the prophet (saw)
told him that Ukashah had beaten him to it.
SAHEEH MUSLIM

Is ruqyah only permissible to be performed due to evil eye and stings?

"It was narrated that `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said:
"When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was
ill, he would recite al-Mu`awidhatayn (surahs of Al-Falaq and An-Nas)
over himself and spit dryly. When his pain grew intense, I recited
over him and wiped him with his own hand, seeking its blessing"
(Al-Bukhari).
Who are the 70,000 who will enter jannah with no accountability?
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"These people are praised because they did not ask anyone to recite
ruqyah for them, and ruqyah is a type of du`aa', so they did not ask
others to pray for them. The phrase "and they did not recite ruqyah"
which is mentioned in the hadith is a mistake (on the part of the
narrator), for their ruqyah for themselves and for others is a good
deed. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited ruqyah for
himself and for others but he did not ask anyone to recite ruqyah for
him. His reciting ruqyah for himself and others was like his making
du`aa' for himself and others; this is something that is enjoined, for
all the Prophets asked of Allah and prayed to Him, as Allah tells us
in the stories of Adam, Ibraheem, Musa and others." (Majmu` al-Fatawa,
1/182)

In this regard, Sheikh M. S. Al-Munajjid, a prominent Saudi Muslim
lecturer and author, states:
With regard to the hadith narrated by Muslim, according to which the
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) described the seventy
thousand of this Ummah who will enter Paradise without being brought
to account or punished, and in which it says: "They are those who did
not recite ruqyah or ask for ruqyah to be done, and they did not
believe in bad omens and they put their trust in their Lord" - the
phrase "they did not recite ruqyah" is the words of the narrator, not
of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Hence Al-Bukhari
narrated this hadith and did not mention this phrase.

Did the prophet (saw) perform ruqyah upon himself and upon others?
It was narrated that `Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said:
When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) was ill, he would recite al-Mi'wadhatayn over himself and spit
dryly. When his pain grew intense, I recited over him and wiped him
with his own hand, seeking its brake (blessing)."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4728; Muslim, 2192

It was narrated that Ibn `Abbas (RA) said: "The Prophet (SAW) used to
seek refuge for al-Hasan and al-Husayn, and he would say, `Your father
[ meaning Ibrahim peace be upon him] used to seek refuge with Allah
for Isma`il and Ishaq with these words: A`udhu bi kalimat Allah
al-tammah min kulli shaytanin wa hammah wa min kulli `aynin lammah (I
seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah, from every devil and every
poisonous reptile, and from every evil eye). (Al-Bukhari)
Muslim narrated from `Uthman ibn Abil-`As that he complained to the
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about pain that
he had felt in his body from the time he had become Muslim. The
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him, "Put
your hand on the part of your body where you feel pain and say
`Bismillah (in the name of Allah) three times, then say seven times,
A`udhu bi `izzat-illah wa qudratihi min sharri ma ajid wa uhadhir (I
seek refuge in the glory and power of Allah from the evil of what I
feel and worry about)."

At-Tirmidhi added: He said, "I did that, and Allah removed what I had
been suffering, and I continued to enjoin my family and others to do
that."

Sahl bin Sa'd (ra) said that on the day of Khaibar, Allah's messenger
(saw) asserted; "tomorrow I shall indeed give the flag to a person who
loves Allah and His messenger and and is loved by Allah and His
messenger. Allah will grant victory under his leadership." The people
spent the night absorbed in discussing as to whom might the flag be
given. In the morning the they came eagerly to Allah's messenger (saw)
each of them hoping to be given the flag. Allah's messenger (saw)
asked, "where is Ali bin Abi Talib?" They replied, "he is suffering
from an eye ailment." He was sent for and brought. Allah's messenger
then applied saliva to his eyes and prayed for him, where upon he was
cured as if he had no previous pains. Allah's messenger (saw) then
A group of the Companions of the Prophet (SAW) set out on a journey
and travelled until they came near one of the Arab tribes. They asked
them for hospitality but they were refused. Then the leader of that
tribe was stung, and his people tried everything to cure him but
nothing helped. Then some of them said, "Why don't you go to those
people who are staying (nearby)? Maybe one of them has something." So
they went to them and said, "O people, our leader has been stung and
we have tried everything and nothing helped him. Do you have
anything?" One of them said, "Yes, by Allah. I will perform ruqyah for
him, but by Allah we asked you for hospitality and you did not give us
anything, so we will not perform ruqyah for you unless you give us
something in return." So they agreed on a flock of sheep, then he
started to blow on him and recite Al-hamdu Lillahi Rabb il-`Alameen.
Then he recovered quickly from his complaint and started walking, and
he was completely cured. After that they took the flock of sheep, and
some of the companions of the Prophet (SAW) said, "Let us share it
out." The one who had performed ruqyah said, "Do not do anything until
we come to the Prophet (SAW) and tell him what happened, and we will
wait and see what he tells us to do." So they came to the Messenger of
Allah (SAW) and told him what had happened. He said, "How did you know
that it is a ruqyah?" Then he said, "You did the right thing. Share
them out, and give me a share." And the Messenger of Allah (SAW) smiled.
(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

When may ruqyah be prohibited?
Auf Ibn Malik reports;
We practiced Ruqyah in the preislamic days and we said, "O Allah's
messenger! What is your opinion about it?" he (saw) said, " let me
know your ruqyah and said, there is no harm in the ruqyah which does
not contain shirk.
Saheeh muslim

Al khattabi said; Allah's messenger practiced ruqya for the sake of
others and some practiced it for his sake. Sometimes he commanded the
people to practice it and thus declared it to be legal. If the ruqya
was with some verses of the Glorious Qur'an or with the beautiful
names of Allah, it is thus permissible or even recommended. However if
it contains non Arabic words indicating disbelief or polytheism [kufr
or shirk]it is thus illegal and forbidden.
Fath ul majeed chap 8

O Allah accept our good deeds for your sake and your sake alone and
forgive us for our errors and mistakes…ameen
Point to ask: What are those person's qualifications, are they Hafiz
of Quran or Muhadith, etc.?

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