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Removing contradiction between ahaadeeth of Ruqya, Amulet

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Tafseer Raheemi

Question

Assalmau alaikkum Wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuhu, I have to discuss here some hadith regarding Ruqya, Amulet..

I received mail quoting Ruqya,Amulet as shirk, the hadess quoted to proof are

It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him) say: “Ruqyah, amulets and love charms are shirk.” Narrated by Abu Dawood (3883) and Ibn Majaah (3530): classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood

`Uqbah ibn `Amir Al-Juhani (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a group came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to pledge their allegiance (bay`ah) to him. He accepted the allegiance of nine of them but not of one of them. They said, “O Messenger of Allah, you accepted the allegiance of nine but not of this one.” He (the Prophet) said, “He is wearing an amulet.” The man put his hand (in his shirt) and took it off, then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) accepted his allegiance. He (peace and blessings be upon him) then said, “Whoever wears an amulet has committed shirk.” (Reported by Ahmad) Now clarify me the meaning for these hadiths

Narrated ‘Aisha: Allah’s Apostle used to read in his Ruqya, “In the Name of Allah” The earth of our land and the saliva of some of us cure our patient with the permission of our Lord.” with a slight shower of saliva) while treating with a Ruqya. (Bukhari Book #71, Hadith #642) and lot more hadees regarding ruqya are available in Sahi sitta books,

What is the difference between Ruqya in Abu Dawood (3883), Ahmad and the above hadith……….

Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri: Some of the companions of the Prophet came across a tribe amongst the tribes of the Arabs, and that tribe did not entertain them. While they were in that state, the chief of that tribe was bitten by a snake (or stung by a scorpion). They said, (to the companions of the Prophet ), “Have you got any medicine with you or anybody who can treat with ruqya?” The Prophet’s companions said, “You refuse to entertain us, so we will not treat (your chief) unless you pay us for it.” So they agreed to pay them a flock of sheep. One of them (the Prophet’s companions) started reciting Surat-al-Fatiha and gathering his saliva and spitting it (at the snake-bite). The patient got cured and his people presented the sheep to them, but they said, “We will not take it unless we ask the Prophet (whether it is lawful).” When they asked him, he smiled and said, “How do you know that Surat-al-Fatiha is a ruqya? Take it (flock of sheep) and assign a share for me.” (Book #71, Hadith #632)

Regarding amulet, is wearing amulets with Quran,hadees with beleif that it is ruqya, done by Prophet, is it shirk then what is the ruling regarding this hadith

Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-’As: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) used to teach them the following words in the case of alarm: I seek refuge in Allah’s perfect words from His anger, the evil of His servants, the evil suggestions of the devils and their presence. Abdullah ibn Amr used to teach them to those of his children who had reached puberty, and he wrote them down (on some material) and hung on the child who had not reached puberty.( Abu Dawood book 28 hadees no 3884).

What is the difference between Amulet in Abu Dawood (3883), Ahmad and the above hadith……….

Narrated Abdullah ibn Mas’ud: The Prophet of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) disliked ten things: Yellow colouring, meaning khaluq, dyeing grey hair, trailing the lower garment, wearing a gold signet-ring, a woman decking herself before people who are not within the prohibited degrees, throwing dice, using spells except with the Mu’awwidhatan, wearing amulets, withdrawing the penis before the semen is discharged, in the case of a woman who is wife or not a wife, and having intercourse with a woman who is suckling a child; but he did not declare them to be prohibited. (Book #34, Hadith #4210)

What is the difference between Amulet in Abu Dawood (3883), Ahmad and the above hadith……….

So if a thing is not Prohibited then surley it will not be shirk Right ? then how fatwa of shirk can be given?

Narrated Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) entered upon Thabit ibn Qays. The version of Ahmad (ibn Salih) has: When he was ill He (the Prophet) said: Remove the harm, O Lord of men, from Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas. He then took some dust of bathan, and put it in a bowel, and then mixed it with water and blew in it, and poured it on him. (Book #28, Hadith #3876) what is the action performed here is called as Ruqya or not? Put some light on above hadith also?

Then how in Islam Q&A it is given as Shirk ,that wearing Amulet having Quraanic, and prophetic duas as mean of Ruqya .

Kindly give me a detailed explanation ,

I have read book named “ghanjina Asrar” written my Maulan Anwar Sha Kashmiri Rahmatullahi, he had prescribed taawid, what is your opinion kindly put light on it.

Jaza Khalla khairan

Answer

Jazakallah for the detailed question – sometimes a good question has half the answer. You have also provided many hadiths which portray both sides of the mas’ala.

The misconceptions are due to just reading translations and not having an in-depth study of religious sources. This is why I have heard of a revert who was told to buy a translation of Saheeh Muslim and read through it, which he did, and when he saw some contradiction in the narrations he nearly became murtadd. He consulted the ulema, who explained, and he remained steadfast.

Please note the following points:

  1. Ruqyah and amulets go hand in hand – if one is allowed, so is the other.
  2. Hafidh Fadhlullah Toorpishti rahmatullahi alayhi, writes under the hadeeth “Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam permitted ruqyah from al-ayn (evil eye), snake and scorpion bites and boils”:

Permission can only be granted after prohibiting, therefore he sallallahu alayhi wasallam had prohibited ruqyah, due to the possibility of some words of Jahiliyya being included in there, so people refrained from ruqyah; then he permitted those ruqyahs which are free from the words of Jahiliyya.” (Mirqat, 8:356)

So here is the first answer to your Question: prohibition is mansookh (abrogated).

Mulla Ali al-Qari rahmatullahi alayhi writes: “There are plenty of ahaadeeth for both views. The way of combining both is to say that ruqyah is disliked when:

  1. It is done in a language other than Arabic (wherein one does not understand what he is saying or writing)
  2. It is done with words other than the names of Allah subhanahu wa ta’aala or other than His sifaat or His kalaam (Qur’an)
  3. A person believes that ruqyah in itself will definitely benefit, thus one relies on it. This is also mentioned in the hadith:

ما توكّل من استرقى

“Whoever asks for ruqyah has not relied upon Allah.”

Also, the hadith:

من اكتوى أو استرقى فقد برئ من التوكّل

“Whosoever brands his body or asks for ruqyah, then he has alienated himself from putting trust in Allah.”

Those ruqyahs which are not included in the prohibition will be allowed, e.g. ruqyah with Qur’an, with the names of Allah and with those which have been narrated ahaadeeth.

The hadith of Ibn Mas’ood radiallahu anhu which you mentioned has been narrated in Mishkat; Mulla Ali al-Qari writes under its commentary: “The meaning of shirk here is that when a person believes that ruqyah and amulets have a huge effect, then this is shirk-e-khafiy (the hidden shirk); however, when a person thinks that it in itself is the cure, then this is shirk-e-jaliy (the apparent shirk) (e.g. paracetamol is beneficial for a headache; however, sometimes we take it, but the headache remains the same – this shows that the cure is in the hands of Allah. Now, if a person thinks that the tablet is hugely effective, then this is shirk-e-khafiy, and if he thinks that it in itself is the cure, then this is shirk-e-jaliy; one should think that it is only a source of gaining cure, otherwise the shifa is in the hands of Allah.

I once went to a Chinese doctor for alternative medicine; my friend asked him: “Do you have any medicine for so-and-so?” He replied: “I can cure that and this and this.” The way he was saying it made him seem as though he is God and he can cure anything; this is shirk and this is what is meant in ruqyah, too. The Portuguese footballer Luis Figo used to wear an amulet and every time he would score a goal, he would kiss that amulet. This means he would think that the amulet made him score. One goalkeeper would put a lucky coin in his net and think that the coin saves goals. This is shirk.

Qadhi Baydhawi rahmatullahi alayhi writes: “Ruqyah can sometimes lead to shirk.”

Allamah Teebi rahmatullahi alayhi writes: “This is why Ibn Mas’ood said “You, the family of Ibn Umme ‘Abd, should be free from shirk,” because taking ruqyah can delay the entry into Jannah, as mentioned in the hadeeth of the seventy thousand who will enter Jannah through fast track.

Note: There are some hadith which mention the permissibility and some which mention the desirability of ruqyah:

  1. استرقوا لها فإنّ بها النظرة

“Search for some ruqyah for her, as she is affected by nazar (evil eye).”

  1. جاء رجل إلى النبيّ صلّى الله عليه و سلّم فقال: يا نبيّ الله إنّي كنت أرقي من الحمّة و إنّك نهيت عنها، فقال: من استطاع أن ينفع أخاه فلينفعه

A man came into the company of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam and said: O Prophet of Allah! I used to perform ruqyah from fever, whereas you have prohibited it. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam replied: “Whosoever has the ability to benefit his brother should do so.”

  1. اعرضوا عليّ رقاكم لا بأس بالرقى ما لم يكن شركاً

“Show me your ruqyahs; there is no harm in ruqyah as long as there is no shirk.”

  1. When Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam would fall ill, Jibreel alayhis salaam would blow on him while reciting:

بسم الله أرقيك الله يشفيك من كلّ داء يؤذيك بسم الله أرقيك

“With the name of Allah do I blow on you. Allah will cure you from every ailment that is harming you. With the name of Allah do I blow on you.”

  1. When Hasan and Husain radiallahu anhuma would be afflicted by nazar, Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam would blow on them with the following and say that Ibrahim alayhis salaam would do the same with Ismail and Is-haq alayhimas salaam:

أعيذكما بكلمات الله التامّات من شرّ كلّ شيطان و هامّة و من كلّ عين لامّة

“I give you refuge, with words of Allah which are complete, from the evil of every shaytaan, every vermin and reptile, and every evil eye.”

This answer was collected from Tafseer-Raheemi.com the official website of Sheikh Abdul Raheem Limbada (Hafizahullah) of UK.

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