Fath al-Rabbani

It is narrated from Sayyidah Zainab (may Allah be pleased with her), who was the wife of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him). She says: When Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) would return home after finishing work outside, he would clear his throat at the door so that the household would not be in an undesirable state. One day he came and cleared his throat. There was an old woman with me who was performing a charm (incantation) for my swelling. I made her sit under the bed. Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) entered and sat beside me. When he saw a thread around my neck, he asked: What is this? I said: This is a thread; a charm has been performed for me, and it is tied. He took it, cut it off, and said: The family of Abdullah is free from this shirk (polytheism). I heard the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: Indeed, incantations, amulets, and love spells are all shirk. I said: Do not say so; my eye used to twitch, so I went to such-and-such Jew who used to perform charms. When he performed the charm, my eye would become calm. He said: That was a satanic act. The devil would strike with his hand, so the eye would twitch. When you had the charm performed, the devil would stop his hand. The supplication of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is sufficient for you: “Remove the harm, O Lord of the people! Grant healing, for You are the Healer. There is no healing except Your healing, a healing that leaves behind no illness.” (Remove the pain, O Lord of mankind! Grant healing, You are the Healer, there is no healing except Your healing, grant such a healing that leaves no disease behind.)