901/1 - ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: When someone complained of an ailment or had a sore or a wound, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) would do this with his index finger – the narrator, Sufyān ibn ‘Uyaynah, touched the ground with his index finger and then raised it - and said: “Bismillah, turbatu ardina, birīqati ba‘dina, yushfa bihi saqīmuna, bi-idhni rabbina (In the name of Allah, the dust of our earth, along with the saliva of some of us, will cure our sick, with the permission of our Lord).” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
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1) Ruqyah (healing formula consisting of Qur’anic verses and supplications) and supplication are very effective in healing.
2) Strong certitude and trust in Allah Almighty is a great means for cure.
3) Dust is pure and so is the saliva of believers. So, when the two pure things are combined, cure occurs by the permission of Allah Almighty.
4) In saying the supplications reported from the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), a person should believe in their effect with certitude. Those in whose hearts there is deviation do not derive benefit from the legitimate Ruqyah because they only recite it by way of trying.
902/2 - She also reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) would visit some sick members of his family, wiping with his right hand over them and saying: “Allahumma rabb an-nās, adhhib al-ba’s, washfi anta ash-shāfi, la shifā’a illa shifā’uk, shifā’an la yughādiru saqaman (O Allah, Lord of mankind, remove the harm, and cure for You are the Curer, there is no cure but Your cure, a cure that leaves behind no illness).” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
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1) The true curer is Allah Almighty. Medicine and physicians are only means which Allah commanded us to pursue.
2) It is recommended to visit the sick and supplicate for their full recovery, while passing our right hand over the area of illness.
This Hadīth is found in the widespread editions of Riyād al-Sālihīn with this wording: “The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) would visit some sick members of his family...”; yet the correct wording of the Hadīth, as narrated by Al-Bukhāri, is: “The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) would seek refuge with Allah for some members of his family (meaning: he would recite protective Ruqyah over them)...” There is a difference in meaning between the two wordings.
In the wording by Al-Bukhāri, he sought refuge with Allah to remove harm from them.
903/3 - Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he said to Thābit (may Allah have mercy upon him): “Shall I recite over you the Ruqyah recited by the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him)?” He said: “Yes.” Anas said: “Allahumma rabb al-nās, mudhhib al-ba’s, ishfi anta al-shāfi, la shāfi illa Ant, shifā’an la yughādiru saqaman (O Allah, Lord of mankind, Remover of harm, cure for You are the Curer, there is no curer but You, a cure that leaves behind no illness).” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri]
904/4 - Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) visited me while I was sick and said: “O Allah, cure Sa‘d; O Allah, cure Sa‘d; O Allah, cure Sa‘d.” [Narrated by Muslim]
1) They show the Prophet’s good treatment of his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) as he would visit the sick amongst them and supplicate for them.
2) It is recommended to make this supplication for sick people three times: “O Allah, cure so-and-so.”
3) We ought to repeat supplications three times, as the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) used to do. By doing so, a person insists on his Lord to answer the supplication, which is something that Allah Almighty likes.
905/5 - Abu ‘Abdullāh ‘Uthmān ibn Abi al-‘Ās ‘(may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he complained to the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) about a pain in his body, so he said to him: “Place your hand where you feel pain and say ‘Bismillah’ (In the name of Allah) three times; and then repeat seven times: ‘A‘ūthu bi‘izzatillah wa qudratih min sharri ma ajidu wa uhādhir’ (I seek refuge with Allah’s might and power from the evil that I find and fear).” [Narrated by Muslim]
906/6 - Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever visits a sick person whose time of death has not come and says seven times ‘As’alu Allah al-‘Azhīm Rabb al-‘arsh al-‘azhīm an yashfiyak’ (I ask Allah the Great, the Lord of the Great Throne, to cure you), Allah will certainly cure him from that sickness.” [Narrated by Abu Dāwūd and Al-Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hasan (sound)] Al-Hākim classified it as authentic according to the conditions set by Al-Bukhāri.
1) Supplication to Allah, along with sincere reliance upon Him, is more effective than tangible medicine in bringing about cure, for it constitutes seeking aid from the One in Whose hand is the dominion of the heavens and the earth, {the One Who, if I become ill, He cures me.}
2) Supplication benefits a person unless his time of death has come. {And for every nation is a [specified] term. So when their time has come, they will not remain behind an hour, nor will they precede [it].}
3) It is legitimate to implore Allah Almighty by His attributes for the fulfillment of needs, as in saying: “I seek refuge with Allah’s might and power...”.
907/7- He also reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) entered upon a Bedouin whom he went to visit because he was sick, and whenever he visited a sick person, he would say upon entering: “La ba’s, tahūrun in shā’ Allah (No harm, [it will be] purification [from sins] Allah willing).” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri]
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Allah willing: It is an informative phrase, not a supplication. This is because when a person supplicates, he should be firm in making it and not say for example: O Allah, cure me if You will. “Allah willing” means by the permission of Allah.
1) It is recommended that when a person visits someone who is sick to say: “No harm, it will be purification from sins, Allah willing.”
2) It is part of the Sunnah to be assertive in making a supplication. Saying: “If You will” does not denote hesitance, for nothing is beyond the power of Allah Almighty.
908/8 - Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Jibrīl (Gabriel) came to the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and said: “O Muhammad, have you fallen ill?” He said: “Yes.” So Jibrīl said: “In the name of Allah I recite over you, (to cleanse you) from everything that troubles you, from the evil of every soul or envious eye, Allah will cure you, in the name of Allah I recite over you.” [Narrated by Muslim]
1) It is permissible for a sick person to announce his illness for the purpose of informing others about it, not with the intention of complaining or expressing discontentment.
2) It shows the Prophetic guidance in reciting over a sick person or a person suffering from the effect of envy through the legitimate Ruqyah: “In the name of Allah I recite over you...”
3) Envy and the evil eye are true things that exist among people. Their treatment is to recite the legitimate Ruqyah over the affected person.
4) Like other human beings, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) would fall ill, which does not undermine his status as a Prophet.
5) Reciting over a sick person does not contradict complete reliance upon Allah Almighty. On the contrary, it is a commendable and legitimate means of treatment.
909/9 - Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri and Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with them) reported that they testified that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) had said: “Whoever says, ‘There is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Most Great,’ his Lord affirms it, saying, ‘There is no god but Me, and I am the Most Great.’ And if he says, ‘There is no god but Allah, alone; He has no partner,’ Allah says, ‘There is no god but Me, alone; I have no partner.’ And if he says, ‘There is no god but Allah. To Him is the dominion and to Him is praise,’ Allah says, ‘There is no god but Me. To Me is the dominion, and to Me is praise.’ And if he says, ‘There is no god but Allah, and there is no might nor power save with Allah,’ Allah says, ‘There is no god but Me, and there is no might nor power save with Me.’” And he (the Prophet) used to say: ‘Whoever says this in his illness and then dies, the Fire will not consume him.” [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi; and he classified it as Hasan (sound)]
1) It presents the Prophet’s guidance regarding the supplication a sick person should make for himself.
2) Turning to Allah Almighty alone, supplicating Him alone, and frequently proclaiming His Oneness are effective means for recovery.