The ruling on taking a fee for reciting the Qur'an for a sick person
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Question:
Some people say: "I give money to someone to recite the Qur'an for a sick person with the intention of healing, and the recitation takes place somewhere other than the sick person's location, where I go to his home. Is it permissible for him to take it?"
Answer:
The ruling is that it is permissible to take a fee for ruqyah (healing by Qur'anic recitation), because a group of the Companions hosted some of the Arabs, but they did not host them in return. So their leader or chief came to the Companions asking for someone to perform ruqyah. They said, "We hosted you, but you did not host us, so we will not perform ruqyah except for a fee." They agreed on a herd of sheep. A man from the Companions recited al-Fatihah (Surat al-Fatihah) over the one who was afflicted, and he was cured. They drove away the herd and did not divide it until they asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said, "Divide it, and give me a sheep with you, for the most rightful thing for which you may take a fee is the Book of Allah." This is evidence for the permissibility of taking a fee for ruqyah. However, the intention should not be to make it a profession by opening a place, as some people do today out of greed for worldly life, becoming like a doctor, with people coming to him in groups and registering with him just as they register with a doctor. This has become a trade, and the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did not do that. They would recite for people, and if they were given something, they would take it. But making it a profession for oneself, and also, in seeking money for ruqyah, may lead to someone who is not skilled in it, and who only wants the money, and may be ignorant, so he falls into shirk (associating partners with Allah) in order to obtain the money.
These are matters that must be regulated, and a person should not make the Qur'an a trade for the sake of the world. Rather, he should recite the Qur'an as an act of drawing near to Allah, and perform ruqyah for the sick person as an act of kindness to him. If he is given something, there is no harm in him taking it. May Allah reward you and bless you.
Some people say: "I give money to someone to recite the Qur'an for a sick person with the intention of healing, and the recitation takes place somewhere other than the sick person's location, where I go to his home. Is it permissible for him to take it?"
Answer:
The ruling is that it is permissible to take a fee for ruqyah (healing by Qur'anic recitation), because a group of the Companions hosted some of the Arabs, but they did not host them in return. So their leader or chief came to the Companions asking for someone to perform ruqyah. They said, "We hosted you, but you did not host us, so we will not perform ruqyah except for a fee." They agreed on a herd of sheep. A man from the Companions recited al-Fatihah (Surat al-Fatihah) over the one who was afflicted, and he was cured. They drove away the herd and did not divide it until they asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said, "Divide it, and give me a sheep with you, for the most rightful thing for which you may take a fee is the Book of Allah." This is evidence for the permissibility of taking a fee for ruqyah. However, the intention should not be to make it a profession by opening a place, as some people do today out of greed for worldly life, becoming like a doctor, with people coming to him in groups and registering with him just as they register with a doctor. This has become a trade, and the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did not do that. They would recite for people, and if they were given something, they would take it. But making it a profession for oneself, and also, in seeking money for ruqyah, may lead to someone who is not skilled in it, and who only wants the money, and may be ignorant, so he falls into shirk (associating partners with Allah) in order to obtain the money.
These are matters that must be regulated, and a person should not make the Qur'an a trade for the sake of the world. Rather, he should recite the Qur'an as an act of drawing near to Allah, and perform ruqyah for the sick person as an act of kindness to him. If he is given something, there is no harm in him taking it. May Allah reward you and bless you.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، نور على الدرب 246 من المجموعة الثالثة للشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com (2:50)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.