What is Ruqya? When does Ruqya become permissible?
Submitted by on Tue, 14/01/2025 - 16:44
Dear Brother / Sister,
RUQYA: prayer, spell, amulet; things recited by magicians and exorcists.
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani states that scholars agree unanimously that ruqya becomes permissible if the following three conditions are met:
a) It must be with the words (signs), names or attributes of Allah;
b) It must be in the Arabic language or any other language that is understandable;
c) It must be believed that the ruqya itself is not beneficial, but that the expected benefit is sent by Allah (Fathul-Bari, X, 206).
Ruqya is divided into three as permissible, haram and shirk (polytheism).
1. Ruqya that is Permissible: It is permissible if it is done with verses of the Quran and the names and attributes of Allah, in Arabic and in a language that is understandable. The following is stated in a hadith narrated from Aisha (r.a.): “When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was in his last illness, he would recite mu’awwidhatayn and blow on himself. When his illness worsened, I would recite them and blow on him and wipe his hand for their blessings.” (Bukhari, Tibb, 32; Muslim, Salam, 51-52).
Aisha (r.a.) also states the following about the illness of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh):
“When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was taken ill, he would recite al-Ikhlas and the whole of mu’awwidhatayn, blow on his palm and then wipe his face and every part of his body that his hand could reach.” (Bukhari, Tibb, 39)
There is also a hadith about the recitation of al-Fatiha for scorpion stings (Bukhari, Tibb, 33). It is also narrated that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) recited mu’awwidhatayn to some people who were ill, wiped them with his right hand and then said:
“O Allah, the Lord of mankind! Remove the disease; heal this person. You alone are the healer. There is no healing except Your healing. Give healing that leaves no disease.” (Bukhari, Tibb, 37)
There are many similar hadiths narrations. Some scholars have concluded from the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), “There is no ruqya except for evil eye and fever” (Bukhari, Tibb, 17) that ruqya is not permissible except for evil eye and snake bites and scorpion stings. However, some other scholars answered that this hadith is meant to imply that the ruqya will be most beneficial by comparing it to the hadith, “There is no sword but dhulfiqar”. It is because the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) permitted ruqya for other things as well, as it is seen in other hadiths.
2. Ruqyah that is haram: Unintelligible words, broken letters that do not make sense, names that are unknown, making ruqya in a language other than Arabic for those who know it, using iron, salt, or tying a rope are haram. The practices that have been proven to be beneficial are excluded. The following is narrated from Shabir (r.a.):
“The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) forbade the practice of ruqya. The children of Amr ibn Hazm came and said: “O Messenger of Allah! We used to make a kind of ruqya and we used to protect ourselves against scorpion stings with it.” The Messenger of Allah said, “Return to it; I see no evil in it; and whoever of you is able to benefit his brother, let him benefit him.” (Muslim, Salam, 63) When al-Izz b. Abdussalam was asked about the ruqya with letters whose meaning was unknown, he did not allow it because it was not known whether it contained meanings that would include unbelief.
(İ.A.)
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