RUQYAH
What is Ruqyah and how one should do it?
Ruqyah in Islam is the recitation of the Quran, seeking of refuge in Allah, remembrance and supplications that are used as a means of treating sicknesses and other problems as the Quran is a source of healing.
This can be done to cure evil eye, possession of Jinn, envy and black magic. The secret behind this is that one puts his full trust, reliance and dependence only on Allah, the source of all healing and cure.
How to perform ruqyah?
You can recite ruqyah on yourself by gathering the palms of your hands and reciting in them the ruqyah and then blow in your hands and wipe the area that is ill and hurting you.
You can also bring zam zam water preferably and recite 3, 5 or 7 times the following over it and blow every time you recite it:
Al Fatiha, ayatul Kursi, the last 2 verses of Suratul Baqarah and the last 3 Surah of the Quran. You can add to that any Prophetic Dua’a and blow on it.
Drink a lot from this water in the morning, in the afternoon and before going to bed and also you can wipe with it over the places that hurt you.
Important conditions that must be satisfied in a ruqyah to make it permissible
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:
1 - To be with Allah's words or His names and attributes
2 - To be in Arabic or of an intelligible meaning
3 - And to believe that they do not have effect by themselves but by Allah ('Azza wa Jalla)." Fath ul Bari 10/240
Things to Avoid in a Ruqyah
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, ruqa, 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) pinches it with his hand; and when the ruqyah 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: '— a cure that will not leave any sickness.' Recorded by Abu Dawud; judged hasan by al-Albani (Mishkat ul-Masabih no. 4552).
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 ruqa, 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.' 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.
Using Unintelligible Words or Phrases:
As has been indicated earlier, a ruqyah must be in intelligible and well-understandable words. Otherwise, it could contain shirk, magic, or other evils covered by cryptic characters and mysterious words.
Using Prohibited Words or Phrases:
A ruqyah may not include evil words, such as cursing, offensive descriptions, or profanity. All of this is prohibited, and, as has been indicated earlier, Allah did not make our cure in anything prohibited.
Relying on the Power of the Ruqyah:
Neither the person applying a ruqyah, nor the person to whom it is applied may assume that it has an independent power of cure or protection. They must both put their full trust in Allah, rely fully on Him, and believe that the ruqyah is a means that He created for them. As Ibn Al-Qayyim indicates (Al Jawab Al Kafi), one should view a ruqyah like one does a sword: it can be of no use without three conditions:
a) It should be strong and sharp.
b) The person using it should be well versed and experienced.
c) There should be no obstacles hindering it from being most effective.
Symptoms of jinn possession
Those who have written on this topic have listed several symptoms of jinn possession. These symptoms may be real, but we must point out that some of these symptoms may also occur for other reasons, such as staying up all night, or confusion and uncertainty. So we must try to protect ourselves from the whispers that the Shaytan tries to instill in our hearts, when reading this list of symptoms. These symptoms have been divided into two categories: those which occur when one is awake, and those which occur when one is asleep.
A - Symptoms when one is awake
1. Turning away, in particular, from acts of worship and obedience, the remembrance of Allah (Dhikr) and reading the Qur'an. Allah says: (And whosoever turns away blindly from the remembrance of the Most Gracious (Allah) (i.e. this Qur'an and worship of Allah), We appoint for him Shaytan (Satan - devil) to be a Qarin (a companion) to him. And verily, they (Satans/devils) hinder them from the path (of Allah), but they think that they are guided aright!)(Al-Zukhruf 43:36-37)
2.Erratic behaviour in one's words, deeds and movements. Allah says Those who eat Riba will not stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except like the standing of a person beaten by Shaytan (Satan) leading him to insanity. (Al-Baqarah 2:275)
3.Seizures (with no medical cause); there are signs to indicate that a seizure has devilish causes.
4. Paralysis of a limb (with no medical cause).
5. Being quick to get angry or weep with no apparent cause.
6. Sitting in the toilet for a long time, and talking to oneself.
7. Constant headache (on one or both sides of the head) with no medical cause, which is not eased by painkillers.
8. Irregular menstruation in women.
9. Not producing children altoough both husband and wife are medically sound and able to reproduce.
There are other signs when one is awake, but they may be caused by other life circumstances, such as not succeeding in efforts to get married, repeatedly failing to do so, or a wife becoming very distressed when her husband has intercourse with her.
B - Symptoms when one is asleep
1. Frightening nightmares, which includes seeing various kinds of creatures such as ghosts or apparitions, seeing oneself falling from a high place, seeing people in strange forms, and snakes. A man may see a woman who wants him to have intercourse with her (and vice versa) constantly in his dreams, or he may see someone threatening him.
2. Insomnia, anxiety and fear upon waking.
3. Talking loudly in one's sleep, or moaning and groaning.
Note: A person should not be regarded as being possessed by the jinn if any of these symptoms occur. No one can be certain that a person has been possessed by the jinn until after the Qur'an has been recited over him, so these symptoms cannot be taken as definitive evidence of jinn possession.