Hadiths About Ruqyah
Praise be to Allaah.
1 – There is nothing wrong with the Muslim reciting ruqyah for himself. That is permissible; indeed it is a good Sunnah, for the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) recited ruqyah for himself, and some of his companions recited ruqyah for themselves.
It was narrated that
‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: When the Messenger of
Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was ill, he would recite al-Mi’wadhatayn
over himself and spit drily. When his pain grew intense, I recited over him and
wiped him with his own hand, seeking its barakah (blessing).”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4728; Muslim, 2192
With regard to the hadeeth
narrated by Muslim (220), according to which the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah 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 of Allaah be upon him). Hence al-Bukhaari narrated this
hadeeth (no. 5420) and he did not mention this phrase.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah 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 hadeeth 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 of Allaah be upon him) recited ruqyah for himself and for others; 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 Allaah and prayed to Him, as Allaah tells us in the stories of Adam, Ibraaheem, Moosa and others.
Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 1/182
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
This phrase is inserted in the hadeeth, but it is a mistake on the part of some of the narrators. Haadi al-Arwaah, 1/89.
Ruqyah is one of the
greatest remedies that the believer should use regularly.
2 – With regard to the du’aa’ that is prescribed for the Muslim to say if he wants to recite ruqyah for himself or for someone else, there are many such du’aa’s, the greatest of which are al-Faatihah and al-Mi’wadhatayn.
A group of the
Companions of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) set out on a journey and travelled
until they made came near one of the Arab tribes. They asked them for
hospitality but they refused to do so. Then the leader of that tribe was stung,
and they tried everything but nothing helped him. Then some of them said, Why
don’t you go to those people who are staying (nearby)? Maybe some of them have
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 any of you have
something? One of them said, Yes, by Allaah. I will perform ruqyah for him, but
by Allaah 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
Lillaahi Rabb il-‘Aalameen. Then he recovered quickly from his complaint and
started walking, and there was nothing wrong with him. Then they have them what
they had agreed to, and some of them (the Sahaabah) said, Let us share it out.
The one who had performed ruqyah said, Do not do anything until we come to the
Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and tell him what happened, and we
will wait and see what he tells us to do. So they came to the Messenger of
Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 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 Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) smiled. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari,
2276, and by Muslim, 2201).
It was narrated that
‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: When the Messenger of
Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was ill, he would recite al-Mi’wadhatayn
over himself and spit drily. When his pain grew intense, I recited over him and
wiped him with his own hand, seeking its barakah (blessing).”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4728; Muslim, 2192
The du’aa’s that
have been narrated in the Sunnah include the following:
Muslim (2202) narrated
from ‘Uthmaan ibn Abi’l-Aas that he complained to the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about pain that he had felt in his
body from the time he had become Muslim. The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him: “Put your hand on the
part of your body where you feel pain and say ‘Bismillaah (in the name
of Allaah) three times, then say seven times, ‘A’oodhu bi ‘izzat-illaah wa
qudratihi min sharri ma ajid wa uhaadhir (I seek refuge in the glory and
power of Allaah from the evil of what I feel and worry about).”
Al-Tirmidhi (2080)
added: He said, I did that, and Allaah took away what I had been suffering, and
I kept on enjoining my family and others to do that.” (Classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 1696)
It was narrated that
Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to seek refuge for al-Hasan and
al-Husayn, and he would say: “Your father [ meaning Ibraaheemm peace be upon
him] used to seek refuge with Allaah for Ismaa’eel and Ishaaq with these
words: A’oodhu bi kalimaat Allaah al-taammah min kulli shaytaanin wa
haammah wa min kulli ‘aynin laammah (I seek refuge in the perfect words of
Allaah, from every devil and every poisonous reptile, and from every evil
eye).’” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3191.
And Allaah knows best.