al-Ayn Haqq - Muhammad ibn Abd al-Mu'ti - (9)

al-Ayn HaqqMuhammad ibn Abd al-Mu'ti

This is the condition I observe in all that I write. It is enough for a person to go no further than what he has heard.

In describing how envy is to be treated, I have not mentioned empirical remedies or invented remembrances. Nor have I cited anything transmitted through a weak or severely weak chain, much less a worthless fabrication. Rather, I have chosen to include only what has been reliably established from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and the early generations of the Muslim community—may Allah join us with them. Since there are authentic hadiths concerning this matter, they contain, Allah willing, sufficiency for the seeker of good, a ray of light for one in need, and guidance for one seeking the right path. The matter is as Sufyān al-Thawrī, may Allah have mercy on him, is reported to have said: “If you can avoid even scratching your head except on the basis of a transmitted report, then do so.” (1)

Saīd ibn Jubayr, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “He has done well who goes no further than what he has heard.” (2) Whatever the correct position may be concerning treatment with the Quran, healing invocations, and supplications—whether the governing principle is empirical experience, which opens a very wide door, or restriction to what has been transmitted, as with other acts of worship and sunnahs—there can be no doubt that following the sunnah is far preferable to submitting to empirical practices. The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, knew more about Allah than any of us, was better acquainted with Him, and was the most mindful of Him. There is no good to which he did not guide us, and the best guidance is his guidance, peace and blessings be upon him.

I nevertheless harbor some reservation about relying on experience in the sphere of treatment. We have related that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “If something stirs unease in your heart, leave it.” (3) Whoever is not satisfied with this position of ours should at least accept that I mention the superior treatment rather than the inferior one—and that is fairness itself—even though I do not espouse the empirical-remedy approach to treatment through healing invocations. Rather, treatment with what has been tried and whose benefit is known

(1) Authentic: Cited by Abu al-Fadl al-Muqriʾ in *Dhamm al-Kalām wa-Ahlihi* (no. 328), Dār Atlas lil-Nashr wa-l-Tawzīʿ, Riyadh. Its wording is: “A man should not scratch his head except on the basis of an *athar*.” It was also cited by al-Khatīb al-Baghdādī in *al-Jāmiʿ li-Akhlāq al-Rāwī wa-Ādāb al-Sāmiʿ* (no. 174), and by al-Samʿānī in *Adab al-Imlāʾ wa-l-Istimlāʾ* (1:109), through chains from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Masrūq, who said: I heard Muhammad ibn al-Husayn say: I heard Thābit ibn Muhammad say: I heard Sufyān al-Thawrī say… Al-Samʿānī’s wording is: “A man must…” (2) Authentic: Cited by Muslim (hadith no. 220). (3) Sound: Cited by Ahmad in *al-Musnad* (nos. 21662–21695) and by al-Hākim in *al-Mustadrak*, through Yahyā ibn Abī Kathīr, from Zayd ibn Salām, from his grandfather Mamtūr, from Abū Umāma, who attributed it to the Prophet. These are narrators used by Muslim. Al-Albānī—may Allah have mercy on him—graded it authentic in *al-Silsila al-Sahīha* (no. 550).

وهذا شرطى فيما أكتب وحسب امرئ أن ينتهى إلى ما سمع. ولم أذكر فى صفة علاج الحسد مجربات ولا أذكار مبتدعات بل ولا ما ورد بسند ضعيف أو شديد الضعف فضلا عن الموضوع الساقط وإنما آثرت أن أورد ما ثبت عن النبى ﷺ وعن سلف الأمة ألحقنا الله بهم وما دام فى المسألة أحاديث صحاح ففيها إن شاء الله لباغى الخير غنية ولمعة للمحتاج ورشد للمسترشد والأمر كما جاء عن سفيان الثورى ﵀ قال: إن استطعت ألا تحك رأسك إلا بأثر فافعل. (١) وقال سعيد بن جبير ﵀: قد أحسن من انتهى إلى ما سمع. (٢) وأيا ما كان الأمر فى مسألة العلاج بالقرءان والرقى والدعوات. هل الأصل فيها التجربة -وهذا باب واسع جدا - أو التوقف شأن بقية العبادات والسنن. فلا ريب أن اتباع السنة أولى بكثير من الخضوع لأمور مجربات ذلك أن النبى محمد ﷺ أعلمنا بالله وأعرفنا به وأتقانا له فما من خير إلا وقد دلّنا عليه وخير الهدى هديه ﷺ. وفى النفس من جهة التجربة فى باب العلاج شئ. وقد روينا عن النبى ﷺ أنه قال "إذا حاك فى نفسك شئ فدعه" (٣) فمن لم يرض منا بهذا فليرض بذكر الفاضل فى العلاج دون المفضول -وهذا عين الإنصاف - على الرغم من أنى لا أتبنى مذهب المجربات فى مسألة العلاج بالرقى وإنما العلاج بما جرب وعرف منفعته

(١) صحيح: أخرجه أبو الفضل المقرئ فى ذم الكلام وأهله (٣٢٨) ط دار أطلس للنشر والتوزيع - الرياض. ولفظه: ينبغي للرجل أن لا يحك رأسه إلا بأثر. والخطيب البغدادي في الجامع لأخلاق الراوي وآداب السامع برقم (١٧٤) والسمعاني في أدب الإملاء والاستملاء (١/ ١٠٩) من طرق عن أحمد بن محمد بن مسروق سمعت محمد بن الحسين يقول سمعت ثابت بن محمد يقول سمعت سفيان الثورى يقول .. ولفظ السمعانى: يجب على الرجل. (٢) صحيح: أخرجه مسلم. ح (٢٢٠). (٣) حسن: أخرجه أحمد فى المسند (٢١٦٦٢ - ٢١٦٩٥) والحاكم فى المستدرك. من طريق يحيى بن أبى كثير عن زيد بن سلام عن جده ممطور عن أبى أمامة يرفعه .. وهؤلاء رجال مسلم وصححه الألبانى ﵀ فى السلسة الصحيحة (٥٥٠)