Is it prescribed to perform ruqyah with water, papers, and the like?
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The questioner : Is it prescribed to perform ruqyah with water, papers, and the like?
The Shaykh : No, ruqyah is only by supplication over the patient. This is what has come to us, as far as we know, and nothing less than that.
The questioner : What has come from the Salaf ... ?
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : What has come from the Salaf other than that?
The Shaykh : From what I mentioned? I told you, this is what has come in the Sunnah only, nothing else. From the Salaf, as athar, do you mean?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : I do not know, but some scholars expand in this matter to some extent. I do not know if they came across athar or saw them; we do not know that.
The questioner : ... in a book.
The Shaykh : Good, like what?
The questioner : ... to so-and-so, for example, a great imam from the well-known imams, whose names do not come to my mind now, he says: so he wrote them a paper ... a doctor says: the paper is still with me to this day ... after growing old, meaning he was suffering from things and such, so in some texts he cited ... but what ...
The Shaykh : In any case, the issue requires research from several aspects. If some athar are found, then if we want to base a Shari'ah ruling on them, we must establish that this type of practice is not an innovation by the fact that the practice of the Salaf was carried out on it. Therefore, we must prove the chains of narration for this practice, just as we prove the chains of the marfu' hadiths. This is the first point.
The second point is that it is not sufficient to find one or two athar, which may differ in meaning, meaning the type of practice. For example, this is writing and placing it in a part of the body, while that is writing and wiping it with water, for instance. So merely the occurrence of such two athar, for example, and with the establishment of the chain, that in my belief does not justify us saying: the practice of the Salaf was carried out on it. There should be supporting and numerous athar such that they make the researcher convinced that this was a matter known among the Salaf and established and acknowledged. This in reality requires research, and I said I do not know anything of this, yes.
The questioner : Shaykh, regarding the ruqyah of the earth, meaning it is not to be analogized to it.
The Shaykh : No, there is no qiyas in such matters.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Yes, yes, you did well, yes.
The questioner : I think in this chapter ... the prohibition of it has come in amulets, like the hadith meaning the action of Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), he found a man who had tied an amulet, he cut it and said ... so like this ...
Another questioner : Look into it, Doctor ... Look into it, it may be from the Qur'an.
The Shaykh : It is the same amulets that contain the writing of Qur'anic verses; it is not established from the Salaf that it is permissible, so there is disagreement among them as well, some disliked it and some allowed it. And on this basis, we cannot say that the Salaf approved this practice. Rather, it is closer to the general rule that we prohibit it.
The questioner : But it is not of the category of shirk if it is from the Qur'an.
The Shaykh : No, it is not of the category of shirk, rather it is a bid'ah, yes?
The questioner : Which of the Salaf is it established that he did that?
The Shaykh : Did what?
The questioner : If it is from the Qur'an.
The Shaykh : It is not necessary, may Allah bless you, that he did it; it is sufficient that he allowed it. And there are athar on this in the Musannaf of Ibn Abi Shaybah, and perhaps he established a chapter on those who prohibited it and those who allowed it, yes.
The Shaykh : No, ruqyah is only by supplication over the patient. This is what has come to us, as far as we know, and nothing less than that.
The questioner : What has come from the Salaf ... ?
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : What has come from the Salaf other than that?
The Shaykh : From what I mentioned? I told you, this is what has come in the Sunnah only, nothing else. From the Salaf, as athar, do you mean?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : I do not know, but some scholars expand in this matter to some extent. I do not know if they came across athar or saw them; we do not know that.
The questioner : ... in a book.
The Shaykh : Good, like what?
The questioner : ... to so-and-so, for example, a great imam from the well-known imams, whose names do not come to my mind now, he says: so he wrote them a paper ... a doctor says: the paper is still with me to this day ... after growing old, meaning he was suffering from things and such, so in some texts he cited ... but what ...
The Shaykh : In any case, the issue requires research from several aspects. If some athar are found, then if we want to base a Shari'ah ruling on them, we must establish that this type of practice is not an innovation by the fact that the practice of the Salaf was carried out on it. Therefore, we must prove the chains of narration for this practice, just as we prove the chains of the marfu' hadiths. This is the first point.
The second point is that it is not sufficient to find one or two athar, which may differ in meaning, meaning the type of practice. For example, this is writing and placing it in a part of the body, while that is writing and wiping it with water, for instance. So merely the occurrence of such two athar, for example, and with the establishment of the chain, that in my belief does not justify us saying: the practice of the Salaf was carried out on it. There should be supporting and numerous athar such that they make the researcher convinced that this was a matter known among the Salaf and established and acknowledged. This in reality requires research, and I said I do not know anything of this, yes.
The questioner : Shaykh, regarding the ruqyah of the earth, meaning it is not to be analogized to it.
The Shaykh : No, there is no qiyas in such matters.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Yes, yes, you did well, yes.
The questioner : I think in this chapter ... the prohibition of it has come in amulets, like the hadith
Whoever hangs up an amulet has committed shirk.
من تعلق تميمة فقد أشركAnother questioner : Look into it, Doctor ... Look into it, it may be from the Qur'an.
The Shaykh : It is the same amulets that contain the writing of Qur'anic verses; it is not established from the Salaf that it is permissible, so there is disagreement among them as well, some disliked it and some allowed it. And on this basis, we cannot say that the Salaf approved this practice. Rather, it is closer to the general rule that we prohibit it.
The questioner : But it is not of the category of shirk if it is from the Qur'an.
The Shaykh : No, it is not of the category of shirk, rather it is a bid'ah, yes?
The questioner : Which of the Salaf is it established that he did that?
The Shaykh : Did what?
The questioner : If it is from the Qur'an.
The Shaykh : It is not necessary, may Allah bless you, that he did it; it is sufficient that he allowed it. And there are athar on this in the Musannaf of Ibn Abi Shaybah, and perhaps he established a chapter on those who prohibited it and those who allowed it, yes.