Version 1.2

The Need and Virtue of Ruqyah

Why Conduct This Course?

The Virtues of Ruqyah

We often hear people make comments like:

For this reason, it is important to mention some of the virtues of ruqyah, and why it is so important to get involved:

  1. The raaqi (ruqyah practitioner) is the one who calls the people to tawheed - the worship of Allah alone. This is the most important part of the ruqyah session; even more important than the recitation of the Qur'an. It was the job of the prophets and the messengers (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon them all). As Allah said, "And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], 'Worship Allah and avoid [everything that is worshipped besides Him].'" [[an-Nahl 16:36]]. The people who come to a raaqi have often been exposed to amulets, magicians, even going to non-Muslims, seeking a quick fix. A number of them will have already committed shirk in seeking a cure. The first thing that a raaqi does is to call the people to tawheed, and the circumstances are such that people are compelled to listen and to implement the advice. The ruqyah session that does not contain da'wah at the beginning is deficient. To convey the virtue of this aspect of the ruqyah session, it is enough to relate what the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), "Go in peace until you arrive in their midst, then call them to Islam, and inform them of their duties to Allah in Islam. By Allah, if Allah were to guide a single person through you, it would be better for you than red camels." Recorded by Muslim, no. 2406.

  2. The raaqi is the one who is regularly engaged in reciting the Qur'an and the remembrance of Allah. The scholars of Islam say that the remembrance of Allah is of a higher status than du'aa, and that the best of the remembrance of Allah is the recitation of the Qur'an. As for the virtues of reciting the Qur'an, and the remembrance of Allah, it is enough that Allah said, "...the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so - for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward." [al-Ahzaab 33:35 ]. The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Shall I not inform you of the best of deeds, and the purest of them with your Lord? The deed which is better for you than spending gold and silver. And which is better for you than to meet your enemy, striking their necks and them striking yours?" They said, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah." He said, "The remembrance of Allah." Recorded by at-Tirmidhi 9/258 and others, and it is authentic. Regarding the Qur'an, the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Whoever reads a letter from the Book of Allah, he will have a reward. And that reward will be multiplied by ten. I am not saying that "Alif, Laam, Meem" is a letter, rather I am saying that "Alif" is a letter, "laam" is a letter and "meem" is a letter." Recored by at-Tirmidhi no. 6469 - Authentic. See Riyadh as-Saaliheen by al-Imam an-Nawawi, the Chapter of the Excellence of Reciting the Qur'an.

  3. The raaqi is the one who spends his time helping his brothers and sisters who are in desperate need. The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said "Whoever relieves from a believer some grief in this world, Allah will relieve from him some grief in the Hereafter...Allah will help His servant, as long as the servant helps his brother." Muslim no. 2699

  4. The raaqi is a mujaahid fighting in the way of Allah. Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said, "For [the raaqi] is a mujaahid for the sake of Allah, and this is from the greatest forms of jihad, so he should be careful, lest the enemy overcome him by his sins." He also said, "It is not right that someone is scared of learning this knowledge [of ruqyah] and practising it, because it is an act of worship, and jihad for the sake of Allah, the Exalted. The servants of Allah who stick to his limits are within the safekeeping of Allah, his protection, his care, and his preservation." In explaining this, he said, "The Prophets and the pious people who followed them fought against the enemies of Allah, from the jinn and the men, and they repelled them with whatever permissible means that they were able, and they would remove the jinn from the bodies of people, as 'Eesa and our Messenger Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon them both) did." The purpose of jihad is to make the word of the Allah the highest, and the word of those who disbelieve the lowest. The raaqi is the one who puts himself in danger, fighting against the shaytaan to achieve this aim.

  5. The raaqi is amongst the most deserving of people to be from those whom the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) mentioned, "and from [my ummah] are 70,000 who will enter Paradise without any reckoning or punishment." The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) described them with a description that suggests that they are those who have perfected their tawheed and their trust is in Allah alone. He (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "They are those who do not seek ruqyah, and do not heed omens, and do not get cauterised, and upon their Lord they trust." al-Bukhari no. 5705 & Muslim no. 218. This does not mean that it is forbidden to seek ruqyah, but that those who want the highest levels of faith must make their reliance upon Allah alone, and the raaqi should develop this level of reliance. The raaqi is the least likely of anyone to seek ruqyah, as he has no need of doing so, and his reliance upon Allah is not like the reliance of other people, as he spends his time fighting enemies against which there are no worldly means of protection - he has nothing but his trust in Allah to protect him.