The Ruling on Visiting Sorcerers to Treat the Sick
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Question:
What is your opinion, Your Eminence, regarding a man who used ruqyah (healing by Qur'anic recitation) but did not find it beneficial, so he turns to sorcery, saying: "It does no harm as long as it does not cause any problems?"
Answer:
As mentioned before, as you have heard, sorcery is an abomination and disbelief. If what benefits you is the recitation, then medicine has failed after it has failed, even medicine itself, which is known among doctors; not every treatment is beneficial and achieves the intended result. Allah may delay healing for a long period, and a person may die from this illness. It is not a condition of treatment that the person be healed.
So he has no excuse if he was treated by a person with recitation and then says, "I will go to the sorcerers." No, he should be treated by a second person, just as he would be treated by a second doctor. He should recite into his hands before sleeping:[Al-Ikhlas 112:1] and the two chapters of protection (al-Mu'awwidhatan) three times, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do. When he was afflicted with illness, he would recite into his hands: [Al-Ikhlas 112:1] and the two chapters of protection three times, then wipe with them the front of his body: his face, his temples, and his chest. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that he used to do this (peace and blessings be upon him). So when he fell ill and was unable to do it himself, she would recite into her hands and wipe them over his face and chest (peace and blessings be upon him).
The intended meaning: This is treatment: he recites into his hands, or he asks some of his brothers to recite for him; there is nothing wrong with that. And if he recites himself, it is more beneficial. He recites al-Fatihah,[Al-Ikhlas 112:1] and the two chapters of protection, and the Verse of the Throne (Ayat al-Kursi). He recites and wipes, even a thousand times, or thousands of times. Praise be to Allah, he does not despair. He recites and asks his Lord for healing and well-being.
Question: I previously informed you about the sorcerer located in the Qunfudhah region in the town of al-Habail. This man is doing his evil work, and after he came out of prison, he now challenges and says: "The books that were taken from me, I have them memorized by heart, or from the unseen." He is an old man, eighty years of age. Your Eminence, Shaykh Ibn Baz, previously said: "I will go ahead so that he can be found." But this man has not stopped; rather, he challenges everything now. We are, by Allah, overpowered by him. We ask Allah, and then your Eminence, for help?
Answer: The one who knows him should come to our house so that he can name him by name. The one who knows him. Do you know him, Shaykh Muhammad?
The student: Yes, al-Habail is known.
Answer: Do you know the man?
The student: I do not know the man.
Answer: The one who wrote this, if he knows him, should come to us and name him so that we can write to the judge.
The student: ... The man is known, Zayd ibn 'Abd al-... known, his place is known and known...
Answer: Perhaps Shaykh Ahmad will remind us on Saturday, if Allah wills. May Allah bless you.
What is your opinion, Your Eminence, regarding a man who used ruqyah (healing by Qur'anic recitation) but did not find it beneficial, so he turns to sorcery, saying: "It does no harm as long as it does not cause any problems?"
Answer:
As mentioned before, as you have heard, sorcery is an abomination and disbelief. If what benefits you is the recitation, then medicine has failed after it has failed, even medicine itself, which is known among doctors; not every treatment is beneficial and achieves the intended result. Allah may delay healing for a long period, and a person may die from this illness. It is not a condition of treatment that the person be healed.
So he has no excuse if he was treated by a person with recitation and then says, "I will go to the sorcerers." No, he should be treated by a second person, just as he would be treated by a second doctor. He should recite into his hands before sleeping:
Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One,
قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌSay, "He is Allah, [who is] One,
قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌThe intended meaning: This is treatment: he recites into his hands, or he asks some of his brothers to recite for him; there is nothing wrong with that. And if he recites himself, it is more beneficial. He recites al-Fatihah,
Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One,
قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌQuestion: I previously informed you about the sorcerer located in the Qunfudhah region in the town of al-Habail. This man is doing his evil work, and after he came out of prison, he now challenges and says: "The books that were taken from me, I have them memorized by heart, or from the unseen." He is an old man, eighty years of age. Your Eminence, Shaykh Ibn Baz, previously said: "I will go ahead so that he can be found." But this man has not stopped; rather, he challenges everything now. We are, by Allah, overpowered by him. We ask Allah, and then your Eminence, for help?
Answer: The one who knows him should come to our house so that he can name him by name. The one who knows him. Do you know him, Shaykh Muhammad?
The student: Yes, al-Habail is known.
Answer: Do you know the man?
The student: I do not know the man.
Answer: The one who wrote this, if he knows him, should come to us and name him so that we can write to the judge.
The student: ... The man is known, Zayd ibn 'Abd al-... known, his place is known and known...
Answer: Perhaps Shaykh Ahmad will remind us on Saturday, if Allah wills. May Allah bless you.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.