Chapter Ten:
Incantations (ruqyahs) and Amulets
On Incantations and Amulets
- Incantations (ruqyahs): the plural of ruqyah, meaning the protective charm recited over someone suffering from an affliction such as fever, epilepsy, or any other malady. They are also called ʿazāʾim (binding supplications). Incantations are of two kinds:
The first kind is free of any hint of polytheism: the reciter reads portions of the Quran over the patient, or invokes Allah’s names and attributes for his protection. This is permissible, for the Prophet ﷺ himself performed ruqyah, instructed others to do so, and sanctioned it. ʿAwf ibn Mālik reported: “In the days of ignorance we used to recite incantations. We said, ‘Messenger of Allah, what is your ruling on that?’ He replied, ‘Show me your incantations. There is no harm in incantations so long as they do not contain polytheism.’” (1)
Al-Suyūṭī remarked: The scholars are unanimously agreed that an incantation is lawful when three conditions are met: it is composed of Allah’s words, or of His names and attributes; it is pronounced in intelligible Arabic; and the practitioner believes that the incantation has no power of its own, but acts only by Allah’s decree. (2) The manner of performing it is that