What are the verses of cure (shifa) in the quran? What are the decrees about them? In what diseases are they more effective?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Can we read the Quran for cure?

Every verse of the Quran is a cure. Any verse of it can be read for any disease.   

a. You can read any of the chapters and verses of the Quran with the intention of cure, prayer and intending for what you wish.

b. In particular, you can read the chapters of al-Fatiha, al-Ikhlas, an-Nas, al-Falaq, Yasin, and al-Mulk as well as Ayatul-Kursiyy, the last two verses of the chapter of al-Baqara and the last three verses of the chapter of al-Hashr.

The Quran mentions two cures: One of them is honey and the other is the Quran itself. Honey is a source of material cure while the Quran is a source of both material and spiritual cure:

"O mankind! There hath come to you a direction from your Lord and a healing for the (diseases) in your hearts,- and for those who believe, a guidance and a Mercy." (Yunus, 10/57)

"Then to eat of all the produce (of the earth), and find with skill the spacious paths of its Lord: there issues from within their bodies a drink of varying colors, wherein is healing for men: verily in this is a Sign for those who give thought." (an-Nahl, 16/69)

"We send down (stage by stage) in the Qur´an that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe: to the unjust it causes nothing but loss after loss." (al-Isra, 17/82)

"Had We sent this as a Qur´an (in the language) other than Arabic, they would have said: ‘Why are not its verses explained in detail? What! (a Book) not in Arabic and (a Messenger an Arab?’ Say: ‘It is a Guide and a Healing to those who believe; and for those who believe not, there is a deafness in their ears, and it is blindness in their (eyes): They are (as it were) being called from a place far distant.’" (Fussilat, 41/44)

What kind of a cure is the cure presented by the Quran?

The Quran is a cure for unbelief, polytheism, belieflessness, oppression and remorselessness. It is clear. Those who accept the call of the Quran experience this cure, understand and practice it. For, the Quran treats the biggest wounds of humanity with this characteristic.  

A person who knows his Lord by believing in Him finds his owner and deity; he gets rid of savagery, horror and all kinds of fears.

How is and was the Quran used in the treatment of psychological and bodily diseases that we know?

The Prophet (pbuh), who is a model and guide in benefitting from the Quran, leads us in this issue too and teaches us though his own practices. The Prophet (pbuh) read some chapters when he became ill and when a member of his family became ill.

Hz. Aisha, one of the wives of the Prophet (pbuh) states the following:

"When somebody from the family of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) got ill, he would read the chapters of al-Falaq and an-Nas and blew his breath on the ill person. When he caught the illness that caused his death, I started to read those chapters and blow my breath on him and wipe his body with his hands because his hands had more blessing than mine." (Muslim, Salam:50)

According to what Hz. Aisha also narrates, when the Prophet (pbuh) went to bed, he would recite the chapter of al-Ikhlas and al-Muawwizatayn (the chapters of al-Falaq and an-Nas), blow his breath on his hands and wipe them over his face and his body parts that he could reach. The following statement exists in the remaining part of the hadith: "When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) became ill, he would order me to do the same thing to him." (Bukhari, Tibb 39)

Another chapter of cure that the Prophet (pbuh) mentions is the chapter of al-Fatiha, which we all know.

"Al-Fatiha is a cure for all kinds of illnesses." (Darimi, Fadlul-Quran 12)

Thus, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) advises us to read al-Fatiha for all material and spiritual diseases.  

By the way, there are several verses of prayer starting with "Rabbana" and "Rabbi" in the Quran. We can read them for the treatment of material illnesses as well as spiritual disorders.

When Hz. Ibrahim says,

"And when I am ill, it is He Who cures me" (ash-Shuara, 26/80),

He asks cure directly from Allah.

Hz. Ayyub said his famous prayer in the face of his severe illness, which lasted for years. He asked help from his Lord with it and God Almighty accepted his prayer. He ordered Hz. Ayyub to hit the ground with his foot. As soon as he hit the ground, water gushed forth from the ground. He drank from that water and washed his body with it; then, he became healthy again.

To read the verses of cure in the Quran does not mean one should give up medication and other medical practices.

To see a doctor, to use medication, to have an operation and to go on a diet are all actual prayers and they mean asking cure from Allah. Neither medication nor the doctor cures a person. The real Curer is Allah.

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