Source: Fatāwā Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Mubārakpūrī, Volume 1, Page 55
What is the Islamic ruling on reciting Qur’anic verses or authentic Prophetic supplications over water and then giving it to a sick person to drink?
What was the practice of the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn (righteous predecessors) in this regard?
(Question by: Shāhid Jamāl, Imām and Khaṭīb, Jāmiʿ Masjid, Mawlānā Post, Jagannāthpur, Singhbhum District, India)
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ʾammā baʿd!
If the ruqyah (recitation for healing) consists of:
✔ Qur’anic verses,
✔ Authentic duʿās from the Sunnah, or
✔ Other supplications with known and clear meanings,
then it is permissible and even recommended, provided the belief is that:
❝Healing comes only by the will and command of Allah, not by the words themselves.❞
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar writes in Fatḥ al-Bārī (10/195):
“The scholars have reached consensus that ruqyah is permissible when three conditions are met:
① It must be with Allah’s words, names, or attributes;
② In Arabic or in a language whose meaning is known;
③ With the belief that ruqyah does not act by itself, but only by Allah’s will.”
Hadith of Ṭhābit ibn Qays ibn Shamās رضي الله عنه:
The Prophet ﷺ made duʿā for Ṭhābit’s healing,
took some earth from Bathān,
placed it in a cup, blew into it, and then poured it on the sick person.
Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Book of Medicine (10/320)
Referenced by Ibn Ḥajar in Fatḥ al-Bārī (10/208)
From ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها, the Prophet ﷺ used to say:
"Bismillāh, turbatu arḍinā wa rīqat baʿḍinā, yushfā marīḍunā bi’idhni Rabbina."
"In the name of Allah, the soil of our land, mixed with the saliva of some of us, will heal our sick with the permission of our Lord."
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (with Nawawī's Sharḥ),
Sunan Abī Dāwūd (10/399)
✔ The Prophet ﷺ applied his saliva to the earth with his finger,
then applied it to the affected area of the body while reciting the above.
Imām al-Baghawī in Sharḥ al-Sunnah (12/166):
ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها had no objection to ruqyah being done over water and then given to the sick person to drink.
✔ Mujāhid and Abū Qilābah allowed writing Qur’anic verses, then washing them and having the patient drink the water.
✔ Ibn ʿAbbās instructed women in postnatal recovery to drink such water.
✔ Ayyūb reported seeing Abū Qilābah doing this.
In Ḥukm al-Siḥr wal-Kahānah wa mā yataʿallaq bihī, Shaykh Ibn Bāz writes:
“If ruqyah and supplications are recited over water, and the sick person drinks it or bathes in it,
it can be a means of healing by Allah’s permission.”
If seven green lotus leaves (sidr) are crushed and added, it becomes even more effective.
This has been tried and proven beneficial many times.
Al-Siḥr wal-Kahānah, pp. 29–30
Rasāʾil al-Daʿwah al-Salafiyyah, p. 65
✔ Reciting Qur’anic verses or authentic supplications over water,
✔ Then giving that water to the sick to drink or use for ghusl,
✔ Is permissible, proven, and practiced by the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn.
This form of healing through Qur’an and Sunnah is both effective and encouraged in Islamic tradition.
ـــ ❖ ـــ
كتبه: عبدالعزيز عبيد الله الرحماني
ھٰذَا مَا عِندِي وَاللّّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
❖ Question:
What is the Islamic ruling on reciting Qur’anic verses or authentic Prophetic supplications over water and then giving it to a sick person to drink?
What was the practice of the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn (righteous predecessors) in this regard?
(Question by: Shāhid Jamāl, Imām and Khaṭīb, Jāmiʿ Masjid, Mawlānā Post, Jagannāthpur, Singhbhum District, India)
✿ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ʾammā baʿd!
✦ ❶ Conditions for Permissible Raqīyah (Spiritual Healing)
If the ruqyah (recitation for healing) consists of:
✔ Qur’anic verses,
✔ Authentic duʿās from the Sunnah, or
✔ Other supplications with known and clear meanings,
then it is permissible and even recommended, provided the belief is that:
❝Healing comes only by the will and command of Allah, not by the words themselves.❞
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar writes in Fatḥ al-Bārī (10/195):“The scholars have reached consensus that ruqyah is permissible when three conditions are met:
① It must be with Allah’s words, names, or attributes;
② In Arabic or in a language whose meaning is known;
③ With the belief that ruqyah does not act by itself, but only by Allah’s will.”
✦ ❷ Evidence for Blowing on Water and Earth
Hadith of Ṭhābit ibn Qays ibn Shamās رضي الله عنه:
The Prophet ﷺ made duʿā for Ṭhābit’s healing,
took some earth from Bathān,
placed it in a cup, blew into it, and then poured it on the sick person.
Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Book of Medicine (10/320) Referenced by Ibn Ḥajar in Fatḥ al-Bārī (10/208)✦ ❸ Proof of Healing Through Earth
From ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها, the Prophet ﷺ used to say:
"Bismillāh, turbatu arḍinā wa rīqat baʿḍinā, yushfā marīḍunā bi’idhni Rabbina."
"In the name of Allah, the soil of our land, mixed with the saliva of some of us, will heal our sick with the permission of our Lord."
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (with Nawawī's Sharḥ), Sunan Abī Dāwūd (10/399)✔ The Prophet ﷺ applied his saliva to the earth with his finger,
then applied it to the affected area of the body while reciting the above.
✦ ❹ Practice of the Salaf in Using Water for Healing
Imām al-Baghawī in Sharḥ al-Sunnah (12/166):ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها had no objection to ruqyah being done over water and then given to the sick person to drink.
✔ Mujāhid and Abū Qilābah allowed writing Qur’anic verses, then washing them and having the patient drink the water.
✔ Ibn ʿAbbās instructed women in postnatal recovery to drink such water.
✔ Ayyūb reported seeing Abū Qilābah doing this.
✦ ❺ Fatwā of Shaykh Ibn Bāz رحمه الله
In Ḥukm al-Siḥr wal-Kahānah wa mā yataʿallaq bihī, Shaykh Ibn Bāz writes:
“If ruqyah and supplications are recited over water, and the sick person drinks it or bathes in it,
it can be a means of healing by Allah’s permission.”
If seven green lotus leaves (sidr) are crushed and added, it becomes even more effective.
This has been tried and proven beneficial many times.
Al-Siḥr wal-Kahānah, pp. 29–30 Rasāʾil al-Daʿwah al-Salafiyyah, p. 65
Conclusion:
✔ Reciting Qur’anic verses or authentic supplications over water,
✔ Then giving that water to the sick to drink or use for ghusl,
✔ Is permissible, proven, and practiced by the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn.
This form of healing through Qur’an and Sunnah is both effective and encouraged in Islamic tradition.
ـــ ❖ ـــ
كتبه: عبدالعزيز عبيد الله الرحماني
ھٰذَا مَا عِندِي وَاللّّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
