al-Ilaj bil-Ruqa min al-Kitab wa al-Sunna

al-Ilaj bil-Ruqa min al-Kitab wa al-Sunna (Healing through Incantations from the Book and the Sunnah) is a concise Islamic treatise on faith-based healing and lawful incantations (ruqya) compiled by the Saudi scholar Saeed bin Ali bin Wahf al-Qahtani (d. 1440 AH / 2018 CE) al-Ilaj bil-Ruqa min al-K…+1.

Composition and Origin

The work originated as an abridgment of the incantations section from al-Qahtani’s larger compendium, al-Dhikr wa al-Du‘a’ wa al-‘Ilaj bil-Ruqa min al-Kitab wa al-Sunna (Remembrance, Supplication, and Healing through Incantations from the Book and the Sunnah), which he initially authored between Sha‘ban 1405 AH and Rabi‘ al-Awwal 1406 AH al-Dhikr wa al-Dua wa al-…+1. Al-Qahtani completed this extracted treatise on 18 Jumada al-Akhira 1414 AH, adding further supplementary points, following earlier extractions from the same compendium such as his prayer manual in 1408 AH and his widely circulated litany handbook Hisn al-Muslim in 1409 AH al-Dhikr wa al-Dua wa al-…+1.

Theological Foundations and Conditions

Al-Qahtani grounds the legitimacy of faith-based healing in Quranic verses affirming the Quran as a source of healing and mercy, including: وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ("And We send down of the Quran that which is healing and mercy for the believers") [Surat al-Isra: 82] and قُلْ هُوَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا هُدًى وَشِفَاءٌ ("Say, 'It is, for those who believe, a guidance and cure'") [Surat Fussilat: 44] al-Ilaj bil-Ruqa min al-K….

The author records the scholarly consensus regarding three mandatory conditions for a permissible ruqya:

1. It must consist solely of the words of Allah, His divine names and attributes, or supplications established from the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ al-Ilaj bil-Ruqa min al-K….
2. It must be recited in Arabic or in an intelligible language whose meaning is clearly understood al-Ilaj bil-Ruqa min al-K….
3. The practitioner and patient must believe that the incantation does not possess intrinsic efficacy, but serves merely as a causal means (sabab) whose effect depends entirely on the power and will of Allah al-Ilaj bil-Ruqa min al-K….

The efficacy of ruqya requires spiritual strength and sincere reliance on God from both the afflicted person and the practitioner, drawing on explanations by classical authorities such as Ibn al-Qayyim al-Ilaj bil-Ruqa min al-K….

Scope and Treatments

The manual details preventive practices and active treatments for spiritual, psychological, and physical ailments:

• Sorcery (sihr): Preemptive protection is achieved by fulfilling religious obligations, abstaining from sins, maintaining daily litanies, and eating seven ‘ajwah dates in the morning al-Ilaj bil-Ruqa min al-K…+1. For post-affliction treatment, the work describes finding and dismantling the charm if possible, alongside reciting specific passages (such as Ayat al-Kursi, the concluding verses of Surat al-Baqarah, and the verses of magic from Surat al-A‘raf) over water mixed with seven crushed green lote-tree (sidr) leaves for bathing al-Ilaj bil-Ruqa min al-K…+1.
• The Evil Eye (al-‘ayn): Prevention includes invoking divine blessings (tabrik) upon seeing pleasing things and concealing vulnerable merits al-Ilaj bil-Ruqa min al-K…. If the person who cast the eye is known, he is instructed to perform ablution so the afflicted person may wash with that water; if unknown, the afflicted person is treated with Quranic recitations and Prophetic invocations al-Dhikr wa al-Dua wa al-…+1.
• Other Afflictions: The text covers invocations and procedures for demonic touch or possession (iltibas al-jinn), emotional distress (anxiety, grief, panic, anger), wounds and ulcers, as well as Prophetic physical remedies such as black seed, honey, and Zamzam water al-Dhikr wa al-Dua wa al-….