is an unreliable wording and cannot be soundly attributed to the Prophet—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—for “lā yarqūn” means “they do not recite over the sick,” and that is untenable, since the Messenger himself used to recite ruqyah (therapeutic incantations) for the ill. Reciting over the sick is an act of kindness, so how could the absence of such benevolence be a reason for entering Paradise without reckoning or punishment? In short, this wording is anomalous and mistaken and must not be relied upon. The correct version is: “they are those who do not ask for ruqyah” (lā yastarqun), meaning they do not request anyone to recite over them when something afflicts them, because they place their reliance upon Allah. Moreover, asking carries a measure of abasement—it is a petition to another person. The one asked may feel awkward and decline to recite, or he may recite and you fail to recover, whereupon you suspect him, and so forth. For that reason he said, “they do not seek ruqyah.”

His words, “nor do they cauterize themselves,” mean they do not ask anyone to cauterize them when they fall ill, for cauterization is a punishment with fire and one resorts to it only when necessity demands.

And his words, “nor do they take omens,” mean they entertain no bad omens—neither from something seen, nor heard, nor smelled, nor tasted. In other words, they never practice ṭiyarah (augury). The pre-Islamic Arabs used to do so: if a bird flew to the left they regarded it as unlucky; if it returned they still took it as a bad sign; if it flew straight ahead they drew a different conclusion, and likewise if it veered to the right.

Augury is prohibited; no one may seek bad omens from birds, days, months, or anything else. Among the auguries of the Arabs was their view of the month of Shawwāl: if someone married in Shawwāl, they said he would not prosper. Thus