Ruling on Wearing Amulets
Question: What is the ruling on wearing or using an amulet that is known to contain Qur’anic verses?
Answer: It has been narrated from some Companions, such as Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with them), and others, that wearing or using an amulet is permissible, provided that the amulet contains Qur’anic verses or the beautiful names of Allah. The hadiths that prohibit the use of amulets refer to those amulets that contain words of shirk (polytheism). On the other hand, other Companions, such as Ibn Abbas, Ibn Mas’ud, Hudhayfah, and Ibn Hakim (may Allah be pleased with them), held the view that no kind of amulet should be used at all. This is the well-known narration transmitted from Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), and based on the general hadiths, this opinion appears to be stronger, as the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
من تعلق تميمة فلا اتم الله له
“Whoever uses, wears, or hangs an amulet, Allah will not fulfill his wishes.”
And in another hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
من تعلق تميمة فقد أشرك
“Whoever hangs an amulet has indeed committed shirk.”
Also, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
من تعلق شيئا وكل إليه
“Whoever hangs an amulet has been handed over to it.”
Hazrat Saeed ibn Jubair (may Allah be pleased with him) himself said that whoever cuts or breaks someone’s amulet has earned the reward equivalent to freeing a slave. It is narrated from Ibrahim al-Nakha’i that the students of Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), such as Alqamah, Aswad, Masruq, and Ubaidah al-Salmani, disliked all kinds of amulets, whether they contained Qur’an or any other text. Here, the word “dislike” is used in the sense of prohibition.
Another reason for forbidding amulets is to completely close this path so that people do not start using amulets containing words other than the Qur’an.
This act is also prohibited because the heart becomes attached to the amulet, even though it consists of paper, cloth, leather, thread, or similar materials, and whoever attaches himself to a creation entrusts himself to it.
It is also forbidden because when a person hangs an amulet around a child’s neck, the child will inevitably disrespect it by taking it to the bathroom, toilet, or other dirty and inappropriate places, which is disrespectful and dishonoring to the Divine words. The commonly used amulets nowadays are against the practice of ruqyah (spiritual healing) through the beautiful names of Allah, supplications, and remembrances, because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
لا بأس بالرقى مالم تكن شركا
“There is no harm in ruqyah (spiritual healing) as long as it does not contain words of shirk (polytheism) or any hint of shirk.”
The method of ruqyah is that the reciter reads Qur’anic verses and blows lightly with a little saliva. This ruqyah varies according to the reciter and the place. And Allah knows best!
