What is the ruling on one who abandons ruqyah and cauterization out of patience and fortitude, not out of reliance upon Allah the Exalted, and thus has not realized tawhid (the oneness of Allah)? And what is the ruling on cauterization?
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The questioner : O Shaykh, the hadith about the seventy thousand, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Shaykh Abd al-Rahman ibn Qasim mentioned in his commentary on the one who abandons taking an omen as a bad sign, in the marginal notes of the book Tawhid, that one who abandons cauterization and ruqyah intending to rely upon Allah has realized tawhid (the oneness of Allah), whereas one who abandons it out of fortitude or patience has no share in tawhid, let alone in realizing it. So what did the Shaykh mean by that, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Look, may Allah reward you. You must know that abandoning sins is better in all circumstances. But is a person aware of the reward that follows from it? This is not possible unless he intends it for Allah Mighty and Majestic. For this reason, it came in the Qudsi hadith that whoever intends to do an evil deed and does not do it, a complete good deed is written for him. He said in the hadith:Sahih Muslim 129 meaning, for My sake. So abandoning sins is better in all circumstances, but the reward for it is only when one abandons it for Allah. On this occasion, I say that one who abandons sins falls into categories. The first category: that it does not cross his mind at all, like a man who never thinks about drinking intoxicants or committing unlawful sexual intercourse, for example. This is neither for him nor against him.
The second: one who abandons it due to his inability to do it, despite taking the means, but he is unable, like a man who tried to commit unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman but was unable to reach her. This is written for him as the sin of the doer. The evidence for that is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Did you understand? He placed him in the Fire even though he was killed, but he was eager, yet he was unable. How many categories is this? Two categories.
The third category: that he abandons it because he intended it but did not take the means. He intended to do the evil deed but abandoned it, not for Allah and not due to his inability to do it. This one is also neither rewarded nor punished. Yes, right, here, so he, so?
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : No, it is not forbidden.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Cauterization with fire is not forbidden, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself cauterized Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) on his ankle. And he informed that if healing is in anything, it is in three things, mentioning cauterization among them. But the one who asks to be cauterized, that is the one who falls under his saying:.
And with this, this meeting ends. And Glorified are You, O Allah, our Lord, and with Your praise. I testify that there is no deity but You. I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You. And until a future meeting, if Allah wills.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Shaykh Abd al-Rahman ibn Qasim mentioned in his commentary on the one who abandons taking an omen as a bad sign, in the marginal notes of the book Tawhid, that one who abandons cauterization and ruqyah intending to rely upon Allah has realized tawhid (the oneness of Allah), whereas one who abandons it out of fortitude or patience has no share in tawhid, let alone in realizing it. So what did the Shaykh mean by that, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Look, may Allah reward you. You must know that abandoning sins is better in all circumstances. But is a person aware of the reward that follows from it? This is not possible unless he intends it for Allah Mighty and Majestic. For this reason, it came in the Qudsi hadith that whoever intends to do an evil deed and does not do it, a complete good deed is written for him. He said in the hadith:
for he desisted from doing it for My sake
لأنه إنما تركها من جرائيThe second: one who abandons it due to his inability to do it, despite taking the means, but he is unable, like a man who tried to commit unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman but was unable to reach her. This is written for him as the sin of the doer. The evidence for that is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
When two Muslims meet with their swords, the killer and the killed are in the Fire. They said: O Messenger of Allah, this is the killer, but what about the killed? He said: Because he was eager to kill his companion
إذا التقى المسلمان بسيفهما فالقاتل والمقتول في النار، قالوا: يا رسول الله هذا القاتل فما بال المقتول؟ قال: لأنه كان حريصا على قتل صاحبهThe third category: that he abandons it because he intended it but did not take the means. He intended to do the evil deed but abandoned it, not for Allah and not due to his inability to do it. This one is also neither rewarded nor punished. Yes, right, here, so he, so?
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : No, it is not forbidden.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Cauterization with fire is not forbidden, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself cauterized Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) on his ankle. And he informed that if healing is in anything, it is in three things, mentioning cauterization among them. But the one who asks to be cauterized, that is the one who falls under his saying:
They do not cauterize.
ولا يكتوونAnd with this, this meeting ends. And Glorified are You, O Allah, our Lord, and with Your praise. I testify that there is no deity but You. I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You. And until a future meeting, if Allah wills.