Ruqyah (healing by Qur'anic recitation) and the permissibility of expelling jinn.

The questioner : Regarding ruqyah, is there such a thing as shari'ah ruqyah, and is expelling jinn permissible?

The Shaykh : Excuse me, are you asking about shari'ah ruqyah, and what is the second question?

The questioner : Expelling jinn. It is reported from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

The Shaykh : Expelling jinn?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Yes, this is a trial of the present age, involving both excess and negligence. In most of our matters, shari'ah ruqyah is undoubtedly permissible. The Messenger (peace be upon him) used to perform ruqyah on al-Hasan and al-Husayn, and on many of the sick people who came to him or were brought to him. He encouraged this, as he said (peace and blessings be upon him): However, as is not hidden from you, if Allah wills, all of you know that the prescribed ruqyah is only by the Book or by the authentic, established Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). If a Muslim performs ruqyah on his Muslim brother with something from the Book of Allah or the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he is undoubtedly rewarded and, if Allah wills, it will be beneficial to the patient. As for performing ruqyah on one who is possessed by jinn, this is also prescribed. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in some authentic narratives that he extracted something from some of the afflicted by reciting some of the noble verses upon them. However, it is not established from him (peace and blessings be upon him) the words we hear in this time from those who have taken up the profession of ruqyah for these afflicted people. I believe that the spread of this profession is not from the Shari'ah, not in the least. Rather, I consider it one of the newly invented matters, because those who engage in this profession, the sincere among them say, "I want the reward from Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He)," while the others want the immediate worldly gain rather than the hereafter. The first category falls under the newly invented matters that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited generally, as in his saying: as in the other hadith. Taking up this profession as an act of devotion to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is sufficient for us to know its innovated nature, as it was not present in the early centuries. Here we say and recite with the reciters: "Every good is in following the Salaf *** And every evil is in the innovation of the Khalaf." If, however, the intention is to gain the world and accumulate wealth, then it is undoubtedly an unshari'ah profession, because those who engage in it do not stop at the limits of the Shari'ah. For example, they do not limit themselves to recitation, which is a known matter and does not need explanation. They may use means such as severe beating, and it has reached the point where they use electricity, and so on. Then the breach widened beyond the mender's ability, and the open sinners, the wicked men, the open sinners, and the wicked women entered this profession, and so on. I believe this is one of the stages that this age has passed through. Based on my knowledge and understanding, I believe this is the third stage, and Allah knows best what comes after it. Before this, I do not think you have heard of what is called "summoning spirits." Summoning spirits is a type of deception of humans by jinn, just as is the case now with taking up the profession mentioned earlier. Summoning spirits is a European superstition that many Muslims were deceived by, which is the reality of much of what they were afflicted with, which they took from the Westerners without being guided by the light of Islam. The Westerners, whether in Europe or America, spent years engaged in summoning spirits, believing in it because they thought they were skilled in the craft. It reached the Islamic lands until one of the scholars of al-Azhar wrote a volume titled "The Spirits." He is a scholar known as Tantanawi Jawhari, and he has an interpretation of the Qur'an, which is one of the most astonishing interpretations. Tantanawi Jawhari's interpretation depicts animals, mountains, valleys, shapes, and colors, and so on, claiming to display the signs of Allah in the universe. May Allah have mercy on him and forgive us and him. He was among those who became entangled in and believed in the reality of summoning spirits, which is misguidance and superstition. If time permits, I will tell you about the time before the misguidance of summoning spirits. Before that was the first stage, which is called magnetic hypnosis. Some of you may know magnetic hypnosis. It is undoubtedly deception, but it was the first phenomenon to appear in European society and seep into the Islamic lands. Then it transformed into summoning spirits, and now into calling jinn. And you are a Muslim, or what is your religion? Christian or Buddhist, and so on. And so-and-so is sick, what is wrong with him? He is afflicted with the evil eye, and the hijab is placed in such-and-such a place, and so on. This is a cause of the jinn's obedience to the jinn, as Allah the Exalted narrated from the jinn that they said: meaning fatigue and misguidance. Now history is repeating itself. That was in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, and now we are living in a similar age of ignorance. Now many people draw near to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) by addressing jinn, whom they think are possessing this sick person. It may be so, or it may not be. But according to the Shari'ah, we have nothing but reciting some verses or the supplications reported from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). If we verify that he is indeed touched by a jinn, we can order him to leave, because this is established from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and there is no harm in it. As for the back-and-forth, giving and taking, and questioning, as is the reality today, this is undoubtedly, as I said earlier, a misguiding innovation. This is the answer to what you asked.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : And may Allah protect you, if Allah wills. You were about to... I see you have dozed off.

The questioner : My question, which you answered approximately, was: Is it permissible to take from the beard, and how much is permissible if it is?

The Shaykh : Good, praise be to Allah. And why do you disparage the Sufis regarding kashf (spiritual unveiling)? This is kashf now.