How to Do Ruqyah For Yourself

Can you do ruqyah for yourself?

There is nothing wrong with the Muslim reciting ruqyah for himself. That is permissible; indeed it is a good Sunnah, for the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) recited ruqyah for himself, and some of his Companions recited ruqyah for themselves. 

‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was ill, he would recite al-Mu'awwidhat over himself and spit drily. When his pain grew intense, I recited over him and wiped him with his own hand, seeking its barakah (blessing).” (Narrated by al-Bukhari, 4728; Muslim, 2192) 

With regard to the hadith narrated by Muslim (220), according to which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) described the seventy thousand of this ummah who will enter Paradise without being brought to account or punished, and in which it says: “They are those who did not recite ruqyah or ask for ruqyah to be done , and they did not believe in bad omens and they put their trust in their Lord” – the phrase “they did not recite ruqyah” is the words of the narrator, not of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Hence al-Bukhari narrated this hadith (no. 5420) and he did not mention this phrase. 

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

These people are praised because they did not ask anyone to recite ruqyah for them, and ruqyah is a type of du`a, so they did not ask others to pray for them. The phrase “and they did not recite ruqyah” which is mentioned in the hadith is a mistake (on the part of the narrator), for their ruqyah for themselves and for others is a good deed. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) recited ruqyah for himself and for others; he did not ask anyone to recite ruqyah for him. His reciting ruqyah for himself and others was like his making du`a for himself and others; this is something that is enjoined, for all the Prophets asked of Allah and prayed to Him, as Allah tells us in the stories of Adam, Ibrahim, Musa and others.” (Majmu’ al-Fatawa, 1/182) 

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

This phrase is inserted in the hadith, but it is a mistake on the part of some of the narrators. (Hadi al-Arwah, 1/89)

Ruqyah is one of the greatest remedies that the believer should use regularly.  

What du`a to say in ruqyah?

With regard to the du`a that is prescribed for the Muslim to say if he wants to recite ruqyah for himself or for someone else, there are many such du`as, the greatest of which are al-Fatihah and al-Mu'awwidhat.

A group of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) set out on a journey and travelled until they came near one of the Arab tribes. They asked them for hospitality but they refused to do so. Then the leader of that tribe was stung, and they tried everything but nothing helped him. Then some of them said, Why don’t you go to those people who are staying (nearby)? Maybe some of them have something. So they went to them and said, O people, our leader has been stung and we have tried everything and nothing helped him. Do any of you have something? One of them said, Yes, by Allah. I will perform ruqyah for him, but by Allah we asked you for hospitality and you did not give us anything, so we will not perform ruqyah for you unless you give us something in return. So they agreed on a flock of sheep, then he started to blow on him and recite Al-hamdu Lillahi Rabb il-‘Alamin. Then he recovered quickly from his complaint and started walking, and there was nothing wrong with him. Then they gave them what they had agreed to, and some of them (the Sahabah) said, Let us share it out. The one who had performed ruqyah said, Do not do anything until we come to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and tell him what happened, and we will wait and see what he tells us to do. So they came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and told him what had happened. He said, “How did you know that it is a ruqyah?” Then he said, “You did the right thing. Share them out, and give me a share.” And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) smiled. (Narrated by al-Bukhari, 2276, and by Muslim, 2201).

‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was ill, he would recite al-Mu'awwidhat over himself and spit drily. When his pain grew intense, I recited over him and wiped him with his own hand, seeking its barakah (blessing).” (Narrated by al-Bukhari, 4728; Muslim, 2192)

Dua for Ruqyah from the Sunnah

The du`as that have been narrated in the Sunnah include the following:

• Muslim (2202) narrated from ‘Uthman ibn Abi’l-As that he complained to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about pain that he had felt in his body from the time he had become Muslim. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to him: “Put your hand on the part of your body where you feel pain and say ‘Bismillah (in the name of Allah) three times, then say seven times, ‘A’udhu bi ‘izzat-illah wa qudratihi min sharri ma ajid wa uhadhir  (I seek refuge in the glory and power of Allah from the evil of what I feel and worry about).”

Al-Tirmidhi (2080) added: He said, I did that, and Allah took away what I had been suffering, and I kept on enjoining my family and others to do that.” (Classed as sahih by al-Albani in Sahih al-Tirmidhi, 1696)

• Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to seek refuge for al-Hasan and al-Husayn, and he would say: “Your father [ meaning Ibrahim, peace be upon him] used to seek refuge with Allah for Isma’il and Ishaq with these words: Audhu bi kalimat Allah al-tammah min kulli shaytanin wa hammah wa min kulli ‘aynin lammah (I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah, from every devil and every poisonous reptile, and from every evil eye).’” (Narrated by al-Bukhari, 3191)

For more, please see this category: Reciting the Quran Over a Sick

And Allah knows best.