Definitions

If we peruse our classical Islamic literature, we will notice that ruqyah and its verbal derivatives are
often used in an extended sense to encompass both incantatory formulas and amulets/talismans.

The Arabic verb is raqÁ-yarqÐ-raqyan or ruqyan, meaning to pronounce an incantation over a sick
person and read something to him so that he might be healed. In that sense, raqÁ is basically
synonymous with ‘awwadha, whence ta`wÐdh, the maÒdar or original of that verb, meaning
incantation/spell but also amulet/talisman, which is what concerns us here.

The verbal form raqÁ entails an active engagement in incantatory formulas for therapeutic
purposes, i.e. verbalizing them to a beneficiary patient. As for the augmented verb we come across
in the relevant texts, istarqÁ, it denotes, as is typical of variant X, asking someone else to recite an
incantation or write a talisman for you.

The concise ruling

Towards the end of Ibn AbÐ Zayd al-QayrawÁnÐ’s famous primer, Ar-RisÁlah, in the chapter “on
healing, mention of incantations and talismans (ruqÁ), bad omen, stars”, etc., we read:
“There is no harm in asking someone to protect you through incantations from evil eye and other
such things, in fortification through amulets, in medical treatment, oral intake of medicine, blood-
letting and cauterisation.”

Ibn AbÐ Zayd, therefore, distinguishes the request for a ruqyah from recourse to a talisman, though
both share the same basic ruling of permissibility conveyed by the expression lÁ ba’s (“[t]here is no
harm”).

The inspector of outward and inward masters, Shaykh AÎmad ZarrÙq, famously authored a
commentary on al-QayrawÁnÐ’s RisÁlah, where he wrote in this connection:

“As for (asking someone to protect you through incantations from the evil eye) or a contingent
illness1, the permissibility thereof has been reported in the Law, although it is the less preferable of
two options as established by the seventy thousand who enter the Garden without any reckoning,
namely, those who do not practise ruqyah or have it practised to them, do not resort to cauterisation,
do not see evil omens, and place their reliance on their Lord.

The way the ÎadÐth has been interpreted is that they do not engage in any such acts while they are
healthy, for it is known that he,  , took medicines and instructed others to do so, cauterised third
parties while not having cauterisation done to him, pronounced incantations over others but did not
request the same for himself, and had them recited to him by JibrÐl,  , when he said, ‘Remove the
affliction, O Lord of people, and grant him healing – You are indeed the Healer. There is no cure
but Your cure –, a healing that leaves no illness in its wake. By the Name of Allah I recite this
incantation, and may Allah heal you from every evil eye or envier harming you.’

When falling ill, he,  , would recite the protective surahs at the end of the Book (al-
mu`awwidhdhÁt), blow into his hands and wipe with them over any part of his body he could reach.
‘À’ishah, j , said that when it became too heavy for him [] to attend to it personally, she would
take his palms and do for him the same that he used to do in the hope of gaining the benediction of
his blessed hand, . He [] also used to teach them the incantation (ruqyah) of the soil (…) All of
that is in the ÒaÎÐÎ literature and indicates permissibility.

As for ta`awwudh, it is the fortification against harms through formulas of dhikr that are recited,
written down and hung on a person. Ibn ‘Umar,  , used to teach his children who had reached the
age of understanding a transmitted formula of ta`awwudh to dispel fear at night and the like; for
1
Nazlah, what descends on/befalls a person, more literally and restrictively, an inflammation of the nose and the
respiratory tracts.
those of his children who had yet to attain understanding, he would write it down and tie it around
their necks. The imÁms of ÎadÐth have reported it, although I cannot recall its source now, so look
at it.”

Ta`awwudh is thus a form of protection that, compared to ruqyah, additionally involves a reduction
to writing and possibly hanging the amulet on the beneficiary’s body.

Essentially, as Shaykh AÎmad ZarrÙq points out, both ruqyah and ta`awwudh are licit.

We saw that, after mentioning the evil eye, Ibn AbÐ Zayd al-QayrawÁnÐ added the words “and
other such things” (wa-ghayrihÁ). The expression is generic and to be understood thus.

In his celebrated elucidation of the RisÁlah titled Al-FawÁkih ad-DawÁnÐ (“The Nearby Fruits” or
“The Fruits Within Reach”), an-NafrÁwÐ said that ghayrihÁ meant “other than the evil eye, such
as ophthalmia, headache, a sting or a bite, since there is healing in Allah’s Speech.”

An-NafrÁwÐ adds that the phrase “[t]here is no harm” (lÁ ba’s) implies that abstention from
seeking ruqyah (istirqÁ’) is the preferable course. On the one hand, the ÎadÐth of the 70.000
persons who enter the Garden without reckoning suggests that such a practice is blameworthy,
while the aforementioned narration about JibrÐl suggests its praiseworthiness, and that doing so is
better than refraining from it.

The way of reconciling the two reports is two-fold: a) the istirqÁ’ that is the less valuable option is
the one involving the speech of kuffÁr or words whose meaning is unknown, such as non-Arab
words, and the istirqÁ’ that is to be preferred is the one using ÁyÁt of the Qur’Án, Names of Allah,
and words of intelligible meaning; and b) the istirqÁ’ that is better to avoid is in respect of someone
who can exercise patience in the face of painful illness, as it was said to (AbÙ Bakr) aÒ-ÑiddÐq,
‘We’re going to call a doctor for you,’ whereupon he replied, ‘It is the Doctor Who made me sick’,
whereas the istirqÁ’ that is preferable to engage in is in respect of a weak person.
The narrations in Al-MuwaÔÔa’

ImÁm MÁlik dealt with the topic in a miscellaneous chapter, close to the end of his MuwaÔÔa’,
titled KitÁb al-‘Ayn (Book of the Evil Eye), miscellaneous because it does not only deal with the
evil eye and its treatment.

The Book of the Evil Eye is in turn divided into chapters carrying more specific headings, as per
MÁlik’s wont in his book.

The three of interest to us here are chapter 2 (“ruqyah against evil eye”), chapter 4 (“seeking
protection and ruqyah in illness”) and, less significantly, chapter 5 (“treatment of the sick person”).
In these three chapters, four narrations bear on the topic under examination: narrations I and II in
chapter 2, narration III in chapter 4, and narration IV in chapter 5.

Narration I (no. 3 in the Book of the Evil Eye):

ِ ‫ ُد ِخ َل َعلَى َر‬:‫س ْال َم ِّك ِّي أَنَّهُ قا َل‬

‫سول هللاِ صلَّى هللاُ َعلَ ْي ِه َو َسلَّ َم بِا ْبن َْي َج ْعفَ ِر ب ِْن‬ ٍ ‫ ع َْن ُح َم ْي ِد بِ ِن قَ ْي‬،‫ك‬ٍ ِ‫َح َّدثَني ع َْن مال‬
‫ع إِلَ ْي ِهما ْال َعيْنُ َولَ ْم‬ ُ ‫سول هللاِ إِنَّهُ تَس َْر‬ •َ ‫ يا َر‬:‫حاضنَتُهُما‬
ِ ‫ت‬ ْ َ‫ضنَتِ ِهما• «ما لِي أَراهُما ضا ِر َع ْي ِن» فَقال‬ َ َ‫ب ف‬
ِ ‫قال لِحا‬ ٍ ِ‫أَبي طال‬
ْ ‫ك فَقا َل َرسو ُل هللاِ صلَّى هللاُ َعلَ ْي ِه َو َسلَّ َم «ا‬
‫ست َْرقُوا لَ ُهما‬ َ ُ‫يَ ْمنَعْنا أَ ْن نَ ْستَرْ قِ َي لَهُما إِالَّ أَنّا ال نَ ْد ِري• ما يُوافِق‬
َ ِ‫ك ِمن ذل‬
ُ‫سبَقَ ْتهُ ا ْل َعيْن‬
َ َ‫َي ٌء ا ْلقَد ََر ل‬
ْ ‫قش‬ َ ‫»فَإِنَّهُ لَ ْو‬.
َ َ ‫سب‬

He (= YaÎyÁ b. YaÎyÁ al-LaythÐ) related to me (= YaÎyÁ’s son ‘UbaydullÁh al-LaythÐ, d. 278

AH, who was the revered and majestic faqÐh of Cordoba) from MÁlik from Íumayd b. Qays al-
MakkÐ that he said: The two sons of Ja`far b. AbÐ ÓÁlib were taken to the Messenger of Allah, .
He said to their nursemaid: “Why do I see them so thin and weak?” The nursemaid replied,
‘Messenger of Allah, the evil eye hastens to them, and nothing stopped us from asking someone to
protect them by incantations2 except that we do not know what of that would agree with you.’ The

2
They may take the form of verbal or written incantations. ‘À’ishah Bewley chose to render the generic istarqÙ in
“make talismans”.
Messenger of Allah,  , thereupon said: “Have someone protect them by ruqyah3. Had
anything, in fact, been able to precede the decree, the evil eye would have preceded it.”

This narration has also been reported:

 As a mursal, lit.: “let loose”, i.e. a ÎadÐth with a single missing link at the start, by Ibn
Wahb in his JÁmi` from MÁlik from Íumayd b. Qays al-MakkÐ from ‘Ikrimah b. KhÁlid,
stopping therefore at the latter, the Follower, and skipping the Companion;
 As a full-link (mawÒÙl) ÎadÐth by at-TirmidhÐ in his Al-JÁmi` aÒ-ÑaÎÐÎ, Book of
Medicine, no. 17, Chapter on what has been handed down concerning ruqyah against the
evil eye; and by Ibn MÁjah in his Sunan, Book of Medicine, no. 33, Chapter on those who
ask for ruqyah against the evil eye. At-TirmidhÐ labelled the ÎadÐth Îasan ÒaÎÐÎ, i.e. as
explained by Dr. NÙrud-DÐn ‘IÔr in his seminal work Al-ImÁm at-TirmidhÐ wa al-
MuwÁzanah bayna JÁmi`ihi wa-bayna aÒ-ÑaÎÐÎayn, a ÎadÐth with a composite chain of
transmission, a chain of good ÎadÐth and a chain of authentic ÎadÐth; and Allah knows best.

Difficult words in the narration:

‫ضا ِر َع ْي ِن‬

In Al-IstidhkÁr, the ÎÁfiÛ of the Islamic West Ibn ‘Abdi’l-Barr said that it meant weak and
thin/slim/emaciated.

“Linguistically, Ãar` has a variety of meanings, among them weakness. The author of Al-‘Ayn (= al-
KhalÐl b. AÎmad al-FarÁhÐdÐ) said that the Ãari` was the weak young one” (At-TamhÐd li-MÁ
fÐ al-MuwaÔÔa’ min al-Ma`ÁnÐ wa al-AsÁnÐd, Ibn ‘Abdi’l-Barr’s largest elucidation of MÁlik’s
book).

As for Abu’l-WalÐd al-BÁjÐ, in his own commentary on the MuwaÔÔa’, Al-MuntaqÁ, he quoted
‘ÏsÁ b. DÐnÁr and MuÎammad b. ‘ÏsÁ al-A`mash as stating that it means having thin/emaciated
bodies.

To be on the safer side, we included both semantic imports in our translation.

3
Al-MubÁrakfÙrÐ, in TuÎfah al-AÎwazÐ bi-SharÎ JÁmi` at-TirmidhÐ, when commenting on the full-link variant of the
ÎadÐth found in that collection, stated that AsmÁ’ bint ‘Umays’ question “a-fÁ astarqÐ lahum” meant either “should I
seek ruqyah for them?” or “should I seek someone who will do ruqyah on them?”.
The characters in the narration:

Ja`far b. AbÐ ÓÁlib:

He is the noble Hashemite Companion. He was ten years older than his full brother ‘AlÐ b. AbÐ
ÓÁlib.

The nursemaid:

“The nursemaid (al-ÎÁÃinah) might refer here to the mother of the two children, AsmÁ’ bint
‘Umays [from whom the ÎadÐth with a full chain of transmission is related]. She was the wife of
Ja`far b. AbÐ ÓÁlib, with whom she migrated to Abyssinia, giving birth there to his sons
‘AbdullÁh b. Ja`far, MuÎammad b. Ja`far and ‘Awn b. Ja`far. He left her a widow on his death, and
she was later married to AbÙ Bakr aÒ-ÑiddÐq, who fathered from her MuÎammad b. AbÐ Bakr,
and after his death, to ‘AlÐ b. AbÐ ÓÁlib, to whom she gave a son, YaÎyÁ b. ‘AlД (Al-IstidhkÁr).

Her detailed biography is found in Ibn ‘Abdi’l-Barr’s dictionary of male and female Companions,
Al-IstÐ`Áb fÐ Ma`rifah al-AÒÎÁb.

Az-ZurqÁnÐ, citing Ibn ‘Abdi’l-Barr, wrote in his commentary on the MuwaÔÔa’:

“The nursemaid might be the mother of the two children, AsmÁ’ bint ‘Umays, or she might be
someone else.”

In At-TamhÐd, Ibn ‘Abdi’l-Barr added that Ja`far b. AbÐ ÓÁlib was killed in Mu’tah, on the day of
the Battle of Mu’tah in Byzantine territory; and the birth of MuÎammad b. AbÐ Bakr took place in
the Dhu’l-Íulayfah area in the year of the Farewell Íajj.

Likewise in At-TamhÐd, Ibn ‘Abdi’l-Barr states that the word ÎÁÃin means the one who draws
(joins, brings, unites) someone to himself, shields him and provides for him, feeding and supporting
him. It has its root in ÎiÃn, namely, the bosom between the outstretched arms (from below the
armpit to the waist), thus conjuring the imagery of what is affectionately carried in one’s arms.

The qualitative status of the narration and other variants thereof

The narration in the MuwaÔÔa’ is mu`Ãal, i.e. a ÎadÐth with a double missing link.
In this case, we have Íumayd b. Qays al-A`raj (the Crippled, being his laqab or agnomen), AbÙ
ÑafwÁn al-MakkÐ, one of the expert reciters of the Qur’Án, who was a Successor (d. 130 AH). He
was the client of BanÙ FazÁrah. AbÙ ÍÁtim ar-RÁzÐ said there was no problem with his ÎadÐth-
transmission, while AbÙ DÁwud termed him reliable and AbÙ Zur`ah ad-DimashqÐ one of the
trustworthy transmitters.

The chain has two omitted transmitters in sequence, the older Follower whom Íumayd b. Qays
narrated from and the Companion.

As hinted at above, the same narration was also reported by at-TirmidhÐ and Ibn MÁjah in their
respective collections, and other variants were reported by other scholars, as a ÎadÐth mawÒÙl, to
wit, with a full chain of transmission going inter alia through the female Companion from Makkah
AsmÁ’ bint ‘Umays b. Ma`add b. al-ÍÁrith b. Taym, viz. the mother of Ja`far’s two sons easily
struck by evil eye and possibly the nursemaid referred to in the ÎadÐth.

Let us then pass the ball to Ibn ‘Abi’l-Barr, who wrote the following in At-TamhÐd:

“Thus has this ÎadÐth come down in all the recensions of the MuwaÔÔa’ as far as I am aware (= as
mu`Ãal). Ibn Wahb quoted it in his JÁmi` as follows: “MÁlik related to me from from Íumayd b.
Qays from ‘Ikrimah b. KhÁlid4 that he said: “The two sons of Ja`far b. AbÐ ÓÁlib were taken to
the Messenger of Allah, ” till the end of the report, with the same wording. It is nevertheless
munqaÔi` (= with a single missing link), though the report is guarded on the authority of AsmÁ’
bint ‘Umays al-Khath`amiyyah from the Prophet,  , through entrenched, fully-linked and sound
transmission paths. She is the mother of the two boys. It is however permissible – and Allah knows
best – that she was also their nursemaid mentioned in this ÎadÐth reported by MÁlik (...) The
anecdote of AsmÁ’ bint ‘Umays concerning the two sons of Ja`far b. AbÐ ÓÁlib and the request
for therapeutic incantations (or amulets) on their behalf has been related on her authority and on the
authority of JÁbir b. ‘AbdillÁh.”

We have thus two full-link narrative paths for this ÎadÐth:

1) through AsmÁ’ bint ‘Umays; and

2) through JÁbir b. ‘AbdillÁh

4
‘Ikrimah b. KhÁkid b. al-‘ÀÒ b. HishÁm al-MakkÐ, a Follower. Al-BukhÁrÐ used him in his ÑaÎÐÎ, and AbÙ
Zur`ah ar-RÁzÐ called him reliable.
In both Al-IstidhkÁr and At-TamhÐd, Ibn ‘Abdi’l-Barr gives us the different variants of this report
with full chains of transmission:

 ‘Urwah b. ‘Àmir from ‘Ubayd b. RifÁ`ah from AsmÁ’ bint ‘Umays that she said,
‘Messenger of Allah, Ja`far’s two sons are struck by evil eye. Should I ask someone to
protect them by ruqyah?’ “Yes,” he replied. “If anything was able to precede the decree,
in fact, the evil eye would precede it.”
 ÍajjÁj from Ibn Jurayj that he said: ‘AÔÁ’ informed me from AsmÁ’ bint ‘Umays that the
Prophet,  , looked at her sons, the sons of Ja`far, and said: “Why do I see their bodies so
thin and weak?”. She replied, ‘Prophet of Allah, the evil eye hastens to them. Should I do
ruqyah for them?’ “With what?”, he [] asked, whereupon she presented him with an
unimpeachable speech5, and he [] commented: “Do ruqyah for them with that.”
 ÍajjÁj from Ibn Jurayj that he said: Abuz-Zubayr informed me as follows: I heard JÁbir b.
‘AbdillÁh say: The Prophet,  , allowed BanÙ ‘Amr b. Íazm to use a certain ruqyah for
poisonous sting. He [] also said to AsmÁ’ bint ‘Umays: “What is the matter with the
bodies of my brother’s sons that they are so thin and weak? Does need (= hunger)
afflict them?”. ‘No,’ she replied. ‘Rather, the evil eye hastens to them. Should I do ruqyah
for them?’ “With what?”, he [] asked, so she mentioned a speech to him, and he []
commented: “Do ruqyah for them.”
 An almost identical narration through the same path, with at the end: she mentioned a
speech to him, and he [] commented: “No harm with that. Do ruqyah for them.” It was
likewise narrated by RawÎ b. ‘UbÁdah from Ibn Jurayj through one transmission path, from
Abuz-Zubayr from JÁbir, just as it has been narrated by YaÎyÁ b. Ma`Ðn from ÍajjÁj from
Ibn Jurayj, and by YÙsuf b. Sa`Ðd from ÍajjÁj from Ibn Jurayj through both transmission
paths.

In short, although the report in the MuwaÔÔa’, viewed separately, might be problematic because of
the double missing link in the chain, the story mentioned there is vouched for by a string of
mutually endorsing variants with complete narrative paths.

Narration II (no. 4 in the Book of the Evil Eye):

5
In oral or written form.
 ُ‫ُول هللاِ صلَّى هللا‬ •َ ‫الزبَي ِْر َح َّدثَهُ أَ َّن َرس‬ُّ َ‫سار أَ َّن عُرْ َوةَ ْبن‬ٍ َ‫ ع َْن يَحْ يَى ب ِْن َس ِعي ٍد ع َْن ُسلَ ْيمانَ ْب ِن ي‬،‫ك‬ ٍ ِ‫َح َّدثَني ع َْن مال‬
‫ قا َل‬. َ‫صبِ ٌّي يِ ْب ِكي فَ َذ َكرُوا• لَهُ أَ َّن بِ ِه ْال ِع ْين‬ ِ ‫ج النَّبِ ِّي صلَّى هللاُ َعلَ ْي ِه َو َسلَّ َم َوفِي ْالبَ ْي‬ ُ
َ ‫ت‬ ِ ْ‫َعلَ ْي ِه َو َسلَّ َم َد َخ َل بَيْتَ أ ِّم َسلَ َمةَ َزو‬
ْ َ‫قال َرسُو ُ•ل هللاِ صلَّى هللاُ َعلَ ْي ِه َو َسلَّ َم «أَالَ ت‬
‫ست َْرقُونَ لَهُ ِمنَ ا ْل َع ْي ِن؟‬ َ ُ‫»عُرْ َوة‬.

He (= YaÎyÁ b. YaÎyÁ al-LaythÐ) related to me (= YaÎyÁ’s son ‘UbaydullÁh al-LaythÐ) from

MÁlik from YaÎyÁ b. Sa`Ðd from SulaymÁn b. YasÁr that ‘Urwah b. az-Zubayr related to him
that the Messenger of Allah,  , entered the house of Umm Salamah, the wife of the Prophet,  ,
while a child was crying inside. The people mentioned to him that he was suffering from the evil
eye. ‘Urwah said: The Messenger of Allah,  , thereupon said: “Should you not ask someone to
protect him from the evil eye by ruqyah?”.

As stated by Ibn ‘Abdi’l-Barr, this particular narration is mursal, stopping as it does at the great
Follower ‘Urwah b. az-Zubayr, the son of az-Zubayr b. al-‘AwwÁm, may Allah be pleased with
both of them, in all the recensions of the MuwaÔÔa’, but is authentic, its meaning propped up by a
number of firmly entrenched transmission paths. In the ÑaÎÐÎayn, we find it on the authority of az-
ZuhrÐ from ‘Urwah from Zaynab bint Umm Salamah from her mother Umm Salamah (thus with a
full narrative chain).

 Al-BukhÁrÐ reported it in the Book of Medicine, Chapter on ruqyah for the evil eye;
 Muslim reported it in the Book of Greeting, Chapter on the desirability of ruqyah for the evil
eye, no. 59.

In Al-IstidhkÁr, the ÎÁfiÛ of the west mentions that most of those who narrated it from YaÎyÁ b.
Sa`Ðd did so as mursal, whereas AbÙ Mu`Áwiyah narrated it from YaÎyÁ b. Sa`Ðd from
SulaymÁn b. YasÁr (the Madinan) [hence a peer-to-peer transmission] from ‘Urwah from Umm
Salamah (= mawÒÙlan).

Az-ZurqÁnÐ said in his commentary on the MuwaÔÔa’:

“In the ÑaÎÐÎayn, it is reported on the authority of az-ZuhrÐ from ‘Urwah from Zaynab bint Umm
Salamah from her mother Umm Salamah, that the Prophet,  , saw in her house a girl with a dark
spot in her face (saf`ah), so he [] said: “Ask someone to do ruqyah for her. There is in fact an
evil eye on her.” Saf`ah is a blackness or redness topped by blackness or yellowness. The meaning
is that the discolouration had struck her through the evil eye. Ostensibly, this is a different story
from the one mentioned in the MuwaÔÔa’, but it might also be the same, which is actually the root-
position, since the context is identical in both, the word “child” (ÒabÐ) refers to both a boy and a
girl, and the child was weeping because of the pain from the dark spot caused by the evil eye. It is
as if, when [as stated in the report in the MuwaÔÔa’] they informed him [] that the child was
affected by the evil eye, he [] said that there was evil eye on her, as a validation of their statement
and as a causal basis for his instruction to have ruqyah done on her. There is thus no conflict
between the two narrations.”

The ruling on incantations and talismans

Ibn ‘Abdi’l-Barr wrote in Al-IstidhkÁr:

“I know of no disagreement among the savants as to the fact that ruqyah is permissible against evil
eye, poisonous sting by a scorpion and the like thereof, a) wherever the ruqyah is by the Names of
Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He, and by that the use of which is allowed in ruqyah, and b)
provided that it is done after the onset of pain and affliction and the emergence of illness and
disease, even though refraining from ruqyah is more virtuous and loftier in the view of the scholars,
because of the certitude it entails that nothing befalling a servant could have possibly missed him,
that nothing might overstep its appointed time, and that on the days when Allah has decreed good
health no sickness can strike one whose healthiness is entrenched in His antecedent Knowledge.

Sa`Ðd b. NaÒr related to me: QÁsim b. AÒbagh related to me: Ja`far b. MuÎammad related to me:
‘AffÁn related to me: ÍammÁd b. Salamah related to me: ÀÒim related to me from Zirr from
‘AbdullÁh that the Messenger of Allah,  , said: “The Prophetic nations were shown to me. I
saw my nation and I was pleased with its large numbers, as they had filled valleys and
mountains. He said, ‘O MuÎammad, together with these there are seventy thousand who will
enter the Garden without reckoning: those who do not ask for ruqyah to be done on them, do
not resort to cauterisation, do not see evil omens, and place their reliance on their Lord’.”

On hearing that, ‘UkÁshah stood up and said, ‘Prophet of Allah, please beseech Allah to make me
one of them,’ so he,  , said: “O AllÁh, make him one of them.” Thereafter, another man [said in
another variant to be from the Helpers] stood up and said, ‘Please beseech Allah to make me one of
them,’ but he [] said: “’UkÁshah beat you to that”6.

Khalaf b. QÁsim related to me: Al-Íusayn b. Ja`far az-ZayyÁt related to me: YÙsuf b. YazÐd
related to me: Al-‘AbbÁs b. ÓÁlÙt related to me: AbÙ ‘AwÁnah related to me from ÍuÒayn from
ash-Sha`bÐ from Buraydah al-AslamÐ that he said: The Messenger of Allah,  , said: “There is no
ruqyah save for evil eye or a scorpion sting”7.

As for what has been narrated from the Prophet,  , that he said: “Whoever hangs talismans or
knits ruqyah formulas is on a branch of associationism (skirk) 8”, by way of hanging some
writing around the neck or doing ruqyah to oneself or to someone else lest diseases afflict him; and
whatever has been handed down from ‘AlÐ, Íudhayfah, ‘Uqbah b. ‘Àmir, Sa`Ðd b. Jubayr and
others to the effect that it is reprehensible to hang the Qur’Án or resort to amulets in general, the
meaning is what we mentioned above.

Ibn Wahb narrated from YÙnus from Ibn ShihÁb that he said: It has reached me from some learned
persons that they used to say, ‘The Messenger of Allah,  , forbade talismans (ruqÁ) when he came
to al-MadÐnah. At that time, talismans contained many words of associationism (shirk). When he
[] arrived in al-MadÐnah, one of his Companions was stung by a scorpion. He said, ‘Messenger
of Allah, the family of Íazm used to make amulets against scorpion stings, but when you forbade
talismans, we discarded them.’ The Messenger of Allah,  , said: “Call for me ‘UmÁrah b.
Íazm,” who had no child and had attended the Battle of Badr. When ‘UmÁrah was summoned for
him, he [] said: “Show me your talisman.” He did so. The Messenger of Allah,  , did not see
any problem with it and permitted them to use it9.

Ibn Wahb said: Ibn LahÐ`ah related to me from Abuz-Zubayr from JÁbir that he said: A man came
to the Messenger of Allah,  , and said, ‘I do ruqyah for scorpion stings,’ whereupon the
Messenger of Allah,  , commented: “Whoever among you is able to benefit his brother, let him
do so”10.

6
Reported by al-BukhÁrÐ in the Book of Medicine and the Book of Heart-Softening Matters, by Muslim in the Book
of ÏmÁn, nos. 371 and 372, by at-TirmidhÐ in the Book of QiyÁmah, and by AÎmad in the Musnad.
7
Reported by al-BukhÁrÐ in the Book of Medicine, by Muslim in the Book of ÏmÁn, no. 374, by AbÙ DÁwud in the
Book of Medicine, by at-TirmidhÐ in the Book of Medicine, and by AÎmad in his Musnad.
8
AÎmad reported in his Musnad in the variant: “Whoever hangs an amulet, Allah will not perfect matters for him.”
9
Reported by al-BukhÁrÐ in the Book of Medicine, and by Ibn MÁjah in the Book of Medicine of his Sunan.
10
Reported by Muslim in the Book of Greeting, nos. 60, 62 and 63, and by AÎmad in the Musnad.
Sa`Ðd b. NaÒr related to me: QÁsim b. AÒbagh related to me: Ibn WaÃÃÁÎ related to me: AbÙ
Bakr related to me: AbÙ Mu`Áwiyah related to me from al-A`mash from AbÙ SufyÁn from JÁbir
that he said: The Messenger of Allah,  , forbade talismans (ruqÁ). The family of ‘Amr b. Íazm had
a talisman by which they treated scorpion stings, so they came to the Prophet,  , and they showed
it to him, saying, ‘You have prohibited talismans.’ He [] thereupon said: “Whoever among you is
able to benefit his brother, let him do so.”

Ibn ‘Abdi’l-Barr accordingly does not restrict the permissibility of ruqyah to just the evil eye or a
scorpion sting.

Consistently with that, in At-TamhÐd he said:

“Talismans (ruqÁ) are therapeutic tools used for the evil eye and for other ailments. However, the
happiest fellow in this respect is the one accompanied by certainty in Allah, and my success is from
Allah alone. It follows from the permissibility of talismans that it is lawful to get a quid pro quo for
them, given the general permission of receiving a consideration in exchange for a beneficial service.
If the practitioner renounces that in anticipation of Allah’s reward in the Hereafter, he earns the
merit of that.”

In his JÁmi`, at-TirmidhÐ devotes a whole chapter to the issue of “what has come down on
receiving recompense for ta`wÐdh”, that is, protection through a talisman and thus a talisman itself.

The story reported there of AbÙ Sa`Ðd is famous: In the course of a secret military expedition
ordered by the Prophet,  , he landed with other Companions in a village where the inhabitants
refused to host them, but as they required professional help to perform ruqyah on one of their folk
who had been stung by a scorpion, they exchanged that service for thirty sheep. AbÙ Sa`Ðd recited
al-FÁtiÎah seven times, the patient was cured, and the cattle were taken delivery of. As the
Companions involved wanted to clear their conscience, once in al-MadÐnah they went to the
Messenger of Allah,  , and apprised him of what had transpired. They were allowed to keep the
cattle, and assigned to him [] a share in them as per his instruction.

By doing so, the Prophet,  , endorsed their conduct approvingly.

Back now to At-TamhÐd, where Ibn ‘Abdi’l-Barr wrote:

“I know of no disagreement among the savants concerning the permissibility of seeking ruqyah for
the evil eye or for a scorpion sting. That is in fact established from the Prophet,  , and there are
countless reports on talismans and incantations.

A group of scholars have asserted that the practice of ruqyah is permissible for any pain and any
ailment, for the evil eye and for other than it. Their proof is the ÎadÐth transmitted on the authority
of ‘UthmÁn b. Abi’l-ÀÒ, and similar such variants, from the Prophet,  , concerning ruqyah for
pain (…), and the ÎadÐth transmitted on the authority of Ibn ShihÁb (az-ZuhrÐ) from ‘Urwah (b.
az-Zubayr) from ‘À’ishah, to the effect that when the Messenger of Allah,  , had a complaint he
would read the protective surahs (al-mu`awwidhÁt) over himself and blow. IbrÁhÐm narrated the
like of it, meaning-wise, from al-Aswad from ‘À’ishah.

Anas and ‘À’ishah narrated from the Prophet,  , that when he visited a sick person he would say:
“Remove the sickness, O Lord of people”11.

Something akin to it was narrated by MuÎammad b. ÍÁÔib from the Prophet, .

ÑÁliÎ b. KaysÁn narrated from AbÙ Bakr b. SulaymÁn b. AbÐ Íathmah from ash-ShifÁ’ that the
Messenger of Allah,  , visited her and said to her: “Teach ÍafÒah the ruqyah for ulcers coming
from the side just as you taught her writing”12.

The permissibility of talismans and incantations for all kinds of pains and ailments one might
complain of is also inferred from the reports transmitted on the authority of ‘UbÁdah, AbÙ Sa`Ðd
al-KhudrÐ, MaymÙnah and ‘À’ishah from the Prophet, .

On the other hand, a different group of scholars contended that ruqyah was only permissible for the
evil eye or a scorpion sting. Their supporting proof is his,  , statement: “There is no ruqyah
except for the evil eye or a scorpion sting.” This ÎadÐth is narrated by ash-Sha`bÐ, but he has
been the target of much dispute about it.”

It is thus clear that Ibn ‘Abdi’l-Barr leaned towards the former view, the more permissive and far-
reaching one in its scope of operation.

In his commentary on the MuwaÔÔa’, az-ZurqÁnÐ wrote:

11
Reported by inter alia al-BukhÁrÐ, AbÙ DÁwud and at-TirmidhÐ.
12
A sound ÎadÐth reported by AbÙ DÁwud and an-NasÁ’Ð in the Book of Medicine from his As-Sunan al-KubrÁ.
However, in the lexicon An-NihÁyah fÐ GharÐb al-ÍadÐth wa al-Athar, Ibn al-AthÐr contends that the words were in
the form of rebuke of ÍafÒah, j , for having spilled out a secret (see SÙrah at-TaÎrÐm), as all the Arab women knew that
the ruqyah of an-namlah was a mere combination of playful words that entailed neither benefit nor harm.
“The evil eye does not precede the decree, let alone other than it. He, may He be Exalted, has in fact
allotted destinies fifty thousand years before creating the creatures. Al-QurÔubÐ said that the word
“law” in the text (“if only”13) is a hyperbole to stress the fact that the evil eye does have an effect. It
has been used as an exemplification, since nothing repels the decree. It is thus an expression for
Allah’s antecedent Knowledge and the actualisation of His Will, with no opponent to His Command
or rectifier of His Judgment. It is in the same vein as your statement, ‘I will pursue you, even if it is
under the Pleiades’ or ‘even if I were to climb into heaven.’ Al-BayÃÁwī said that its meaning was
that the evil eye had an impact, and if anything was able to precipitate the decree and influence the
annihilation of a thing before its appointed time the evil eye would have preceded it (…)

We see in it an affirmation of the decree and of the authenticity of the evil eye, as well as the fact
that it produces a far-reaching harm, the instruction to use forms of ruqyah, and their beneficial
nature. That is not contradicted by the prohibition against ruqyah in a number of aÎÁdÐth, such as
the report on those (= the seventy thousand persons) who do not ask for ruqyah, since the permitted
ruqyah is the one that makes use of Arabic or has an intelligible and legally permissible meaning,
coupled with the belief that it does not produce an effect in itself but only by Allah’s decree; while
the forbidden type is the ruqyah in which one of these conditions is missing.”

We can see therefore that neither incantations nor talismans are prohibited per se, but only:

 When their wording is blameworthy, as in the case of expressions of shirk. In At-TamhÐd

we find: “Ibn Wahb said: Ibn LahÐ`ah informed me from ‘AbdullÁh b. al-MughÐrah that
KathÐr b. SulaymÁn al-‘AdawÐ informed him from ‘AbdullÁh b. ‘Amr (b. al-‘ÀÒ) that he
said, ‘Plenty of talismans, charms, divination and astrological interpretation are a branch of
magic’;
 When ruqyah is used not as a therapy for an illness that has already descended, but as a
preventative tool, while in a healthy state, to act as a barrier against potential future diseases.
That has the effect of ascribing to it a power of benefiting creatures that only Allah
possesses. As we are soon going to see, this condition, however, is not universally held;
 When the person using it or requesting its use is veiled from the understanding that neither
the evil eye nor the ruqyah for it produces any effect independently of Allah’s Will.

13
“If only something was able to precede the decree …”
In Al-MuntaqÁ by the Andalusian polymath Abu’l-WalÐd al-BÁjÐ, we come across the following:

“The statement by the nursemaid “the evil eye hastens to them” is due to what we mentioned
earlier, namely, what Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, brings about when an onlooker gazes at
another person and utters words of appreciation and admiration for him without calling for Allah’s
blessings on the one thus commended. In the same way, Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He,
generates disease when a human being partakes of foodstuffs. Allah’s established pattern, Exalted is
He, is to cure the evil eye by seeking ruqyah and to cure specific diseases through specific
medicines.

He,  , said in this ÎadÐth: “Have someone protect them by ruqyah”, without instructing anyone
to take a bath, because a bath is resorted to when the person who cast the evil eye is known,
whereas, if he is unknown, there is no way that any specific individual be singled out for the bath,
and its harm is removed by ruqyah; and Allah knows best.

There is no disagreement on the permissibility of ruqyah by the Names of Allah, may He be

Exalted, His Book and the formulas of remembering Him (dhikr). This ÎadÐth is a pointer to said
ruling. It has been narrated that the Prophet,  , forbade talismans when he arrived in al-MadÐnah,
after which one of his Companions was stung by a scorpion … (till the end of the abovementioned
report). It is possible that talismans were once prohibited and the ban subsequently abrogated by the
ruling of neutral permissibility; and it is likewise possible that what used to be prohibited in that
respect were specifically amulets or incantations containing statements of the people of kufr, and
Allah knows best. Reports have been handed down from ‘AlÐ and Ibn Mas`Ùd that incantations,
talismans and magical charms14 amounted to associationism (shirk). One possible interpretation of
their statement is that they were unaware of the abrogation of the earlier proscribing judgment;
another one is that what they meant by it were amulets and incantations encompassing kufr.

‘Awf b. MÁlik al-Ashja`Ð has indeed narrated that “in the Age of Ignorance we used to make
talismans, so we asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, what is your view on that?’, and he [] replied:
“Show me your talismans. There is no problem with them so long as they do not contain
associationism (skirk)”.” MÁlik was asked about a man making talismans and writing protective
amulets for sick people, and he said in reply, ‘No harm in that when good words are used’.”

14
The Arabic word is tiwalah or tuwalah, which means magic and the like or a pearl that allegedly instils love for one’s
wife in the husband.
In Al-Qabas, the shorter of his two commentaries on the MuwaÔÔa’ – the more extended one being
titled Al-MasÁlik – the Sevillan Judge AbÙ Bakr b. al-‘ArabÐ focused on whether the search for
treatment is to be accorded preference over entrusting the matter of one’s health to Allah alone:

“People have split about this into three views:

1. Relinquishing treatment and surrendering to the command of Allah the Exalted, with full
reliance on Him, in accordance with his [] statement: “Seventy thousand members of my
nation will enter the Garden without reckoning: they are those who do not ask for
ruqyah to be done on them, do not resort to cauterisation, do not see evil omens, and
place their reliance on their Lord.” Similarly, the ÑiddÐq was told during his death
illness, ‘Should we not call a doctor for you?’, to which he replied, ‘The Doctor is the One
Who made me sick’ (…)
2. Treatment is sought when illness sets in, as the Prophet,  , instructed when mentioning
disease and its cure. He only mentioned that by way of teaching. He [] used in fact to treat
his Companions when beset by sickness (…)
3. Treatment is permissible before the onset of illness as a precautionary measure and to
perpetuate good health, which is the prop of worship (...)

Treatment is undoubtedly permissible, does not detract from a person’s rank or impair one’s status
if illness sets in. As for doing so before its occurrence, our savants deem that disliked (makrÙh).
My personal view is that, if a person sees the causes of illness materialising and fears its onset, he is
allowed to extirpate those causes by taking medication, since the eradication of the cause is
tantamount to eradicating the effect thereof. If the intake of medication detracted in fact from a
person’s standing and if seeking ruqyah undermined one’s rank, he [] would not have requested
ruqyah to be done on him, would not have done it on others, and would not have taken any
medication ever. As for his [] statement “they are those who do not ask for ruqyah to be done
on them”, etc., there are three interpretations of its meaning:

a) they are those who do not request ruqyah in the form of talismans as the Arabs used to do;
b) they are those who do not ask for ruqyah for themselves prior to illness setting in;
c) they are those who do not seek ruqyah when despairing of recovery, as in the case of the
ÑiddÐq.

If someone were to ask about a man who discarded medical treatment and ruqyah generally, relying
on Allah, may He be Exalted, entrusting the matter entirely to Him and avoiding both incantations
or talismans and medicines, we would say that if his intention is sound and his actions are in
harmony, he has a rank, as we said, but few are those who attain it; as for one whose actions are not
coherent, he has abandoned a Sunnah. Treatment is only discarded, as we stated earlier, in two
situations, viz. before sickness or its cause materialises, and when recovery is despaired of, as done
by the ÑiddÐq as well as by ‘ImrÁn b. ÍuÒayn: illness had in fact become chronic for him, clinging
to him for forty years, and chronic illness can never be cured. He made use of cauterisation despite
despairing of a cure, but did not succeed, and his rank dropped thereby, so that the angels stopped
greeting him, except that when he repented they resumed their greetings to him.”

The position of AbÙ Bakr b. al-‘ArabÐ seems to us eminently tenable.

We can infer from the above that use of incantations or talismans (ruqyah in its dual meaning) is
only permissible after illness has descended or when the same is incipient, i.e. its signs have
appeared and its causes have set in, whereas they should be avoided (as something reprehensible:
makrÙh) when a person is healthy, according to us because that would somehow ascribe power to
them and entail actual or even potential shirk; and Allah knows best.

Narration III (no. 11 in the Book of the Evil Eye):

َ ‫من أَ َّن أَبا بَ ْك ٍر الصِّ دِّي‬

‫ق َدخَ َل َعلَى عائِ َشةَ َو ْه َي‬ ِ ْ‫ت َع ْب ِد الرَّح‬ ِ ‫ ع َْن يَحْ يَى ب ِْن َس ِعي ٍد ع َْن َع ْم َرةَ تِ ْن‬،‫ك‬ ٍ ِ‫َح َّدثَني ع َْن مال‬
ِ ‫ أِرْ قِيها• بِ ِكتا‬:‫تَ ْشتَ ِكي َويَهُوديَّةٌ تَرْ قِيها• فَقا َل أَبُو بَ ْك ٍر‬.
ِ‫ب هللا‬

He (= YaÎyÁ b. YaÎyÁ al-LaythÐ) related to me (= YaÎyÁ’s son ‘UbaydullÁh al-LaythÐ) from

MÁlik from YaÎyÁ b. Sa`Ðd from ‘Amrah bint ‘Abdir-RaÎmÁn that AbÙ Bakr aÒ-ÑiddÐq visited
‘À’ishah while she had a complaint and a Jewish woman was doing ruqyah for her. AbÙ Bakr said,
‘Write a talisman for her from the Book of Allah.’

Ibn ‘Abdi’l-Barr said that a number of transmitters narrated this report from YaÎyÁ b. Sa`Ðd thus,
from ‘Amrah from ‘À’ishah.

Which is the Book of Allah she was asked to write a talisman from?
According to az-ZurqÁnÐ: “It is the Qur’Án if her entry in Islam was hoped for, or the Torah if it
was translated into Arabic or there was assurance that it was not tampered with. Ruqyah is allowed
by the Book of Allah, His Names and Attributes, Arabic words, and intelligible speech in other than
Arabic, provided that the person involved believes that ruqyah does not have an effect in itself but
only by Allah’s Decree.”

Al-BÁjÐ wrote: “The ostensible reference in the statement of AbÙ Bakr aÒ-ÑiddÐq,  , to the
Jewess, ‘Write a talisman for her from the Book of Allah,’ Mighty and Majestic is He, is to the
Torah, since Jewish women generally do not read the Qur’Án. It is also possible – and Allah knows
best – that he intended ‘use in it the remembrance of Allah (dhikr),’ Mighty is His Name, or ‘write a
talisman agreeing with what is found in the Book of Allah,’ Exalted is He, and its soundness would
then be ascertained once her talisman had manifested: if it accorded with the Book of Allah, the
Mighty and the Majestic, AbÙ Bakr would give the green light, otherwise he would stop her.”

The ruling on talismans by the People of the Book

Al-BÁjÐ wrote in Al-MuntaqÁ:

“In Al-Mustakhrajah (= Al-‘Utbiyyah, one of the mother-books of the MÁlikÐ school), MÁlik is
reported as saying, ‘I do not like the talismans of the People of the Book.’ He used to dislike that.
That is so – and Allah knows best – where their ruqyah did not accord with the Book of Allah,
Exalted is He, and was instead a type of magic or contained kufr in conflict with the Law.”

Az-ZurqÁnÐ:

“(Al-QÁÃÐ) ‘IyÁÃ said: ‘There are contradictory statements attributed to MÁlik on the issue of a
talisman made by a Jew or Christian for a Muslim. Ash-ShÁfi`Ð ruled that it was permissible”
(according to Ibn ‘Abdi’l-Barr in Al-IstidhkÁr, on condition that it was from the Book of Allah, the
Mighty and Majestic, precisely because of this report from YaÎyÁ b. Sa`Ðd). “Ar-RabÐ` said: I
asked ash-ShÁfi`Ð about their ruqyah, and he replied that there was no harm in it if the Jew or
Christian wrote a talisman from the Book of Allah or from intelligible remembrance of Allah of the
approved type. I asked him, ‘Do the People of the Book perform ruqyah for the Muslims?’ ‘Yes,’ he
replied, ‘so long as they do so from Allah’s Book.’
In Al-IstidhkÁr, Ibn ‘Abdi’l-Barr quoted a report from Ibn Mas`Ùd that said: The Messenger of
Allah,  , used to loath ten elements: usage of gold rings, dragging a loin-cloth, clipping grey hair,
perfume made of saffron and a combination of other ingredients, diverting water (= sperm) from its
rightful locus (= the womb), formulas of ruqyah other than the mu`awwidhÁt (= the short surahs of
protection at the end of the Qur’Án), the sucking of a child by his pregnant mother, dressing up
outside the appropriate context for that, and hitting with backgammon stones.

He then went on to say:

“Ibn Wahb said: I asked MÁlik about a woman who makes an amulet with a piece of iron15 or salt
(in her hand), about a person who writes an amulet for someone else so that the latter might hang it
on himself as a protection from pain and makes seven knots in the thread he fastens the amulet by,
and about a person who draws Solomon’s ring16 in the piece of writing: MÁlik disliked all of that,
saying, ‘This is not part of people’s earlier affair.’ Making knots was the most abhorred of all such
practices, and he used to loath it very much.”

Ibn ‘Abdi’l-Barr added:

“I think that this – and Allah knows best – is due to His statement, may He be Exalted: «and from
the evil of women who blow on knots» (SÙrah al-Falaq: 4).

Ibn Jurayj narrated from ‘Umar b. ‘AÔÁ’ b. Abi’l-KhuwÁr from ‘Ikrimah, about His statement,
Exalted is He: «and from the evil of women who blow on knots» (SÙrah al-Falaq: 4), that it
means “magic”.”

Similarly, al-BÁjÐ traced that dislike to the fact that such practices resembled magic, “and perhaps
MÁlik interpreted Allah’s statement, may He be Exalted: «and from the evil of women who blow
on knots» (SÙrah al-Falaq: 4) in that sense, and Allah knows best.”

Al-BÁjÐ concluded his commentary on the chapter thus:

“‘À’ishah, j , used to seek ruqyah a lot. MÁlik said in Al-‘Utbiyyah: ‘It has reached us that a
pimpled girl would be seen in her arms and she would urge that a talisman (ta`wÐdh) be prepared
for her. When told that the girl was (still too) small, she would retort, ‘Allah, Mighty and Majestic
is He, elevates any small one He wills and belittles any big one He wills.”
15
Another source refers to a palm-leaf stalk.
16
In Al-MuntaqÁ: “who writes the amulet of SulaymÁn”.
 Narration IV (no. 14 in the Book of the Evil Eye):

ٍ ِ‫ َح َّدثَني ع َْن مال‬.

ِ ‫ ع َْن نافِ ٍع أَ َّن َع ْب َد هللاِ ْبنَ ُع َم َر ا ْكتَ َوى ِمنَ اللَّ ْق َو ِة و ُرقِ َي ِمنَ ْال َع ْق َر‬،‫ك‬
‫ب‬

He (= YaÎyÁ b. YaÎyÁ al-LaythÐ) related to me (= YaÎyÁ’s son ‘UbaydullÁh al-LaythÐ) from

MÁlik from NÁfi` that ‘AbdullÁh b. ‘Umar was cauterised for facial paralysis and had ruqyah done
to him for a scorpion sting.

In this narration, it is a matter of speculation whether the ruqyah took the form of a verbal
incantation or of a written talisman, as neither the semantic genericity of the word nor the
ambiguous context sheds light on the matter.

Be it as it may, in Al-IstidhkÁr, Ibn ‘Abdi’l-Barr mentions that the Messenger of Allah,  , did
ruqyah for a scorpion sting with the last two surahs of the Qur’Án (al-mu`awwidhatÁn), and would
rub the affected spot with water mixed with salt. This seems to suggest that ruqyah took the form of
a verbalisation (though nothing impedes writing those two surahs down in talisman form).

The main focus of commentators on this report (as well as on the previous one, no. 13 in the Book
of Evil Eye) is the issue of the lawfulness of cauterisation.

Within the folds of the discourse on that different mas’alah, Ibn ‘Abdi’l-Barr wrote, concerning the
ÎadÐth transmitted by al-MughÐrah b. Shu`bah from the Prophet,  , to the effect that he said:
“The one who seeks ruqyah or is cauterised has not placed reliance (on AllÁh)”, that “it means
– and Allah knows best – that he has not placed the reliance that befits him, since the one who does
not pursue ruqyah or cauterisation has a firmer trust and a more sincere reliance than the one who
does so.” In other words, only the perfection of tawakkul, not its very existence, is negated in his
respect.

Lastly, in KitÁb al-JÁmi` fÐ as-Sunan wa al-ÀdÁb wa al-MaghÁzÐ wa as-Siyar of Ibn AbÐ Zayd
al-QayrawÁnÐ we find:
“The question was posed, ‘Should the Qur’Án be written down for the feverish person?’

‘That is fine,’ MÁlik replied. ‘There is also no harm in ruqyah that uses good speech or in a
talisman (ma`Ádhah) that is hung on the body and contains Qur’Án and remembrance of Allah if
protected by a hide (such as leather).’

‘People make knots in the thread by which they fasten the amulet.’

‘There is no good in it.’

‘What if Solomon’s ring is inscribed in the talisman?’

‘There is no good in that.’

‘Does a woman do ruqyah while having an iron object in her hand?’

‘I dislike that.’

‘What about salt?’

‘It is somewhat less reprehensible’ (…)

Ibn Wahb said: ‘I do not dislike the ruqyah of the People of the Book. I take by the ÎadÐth of AbÙ
Bakr where he said: ‘Write a talisman for her from the Book of Allah’.’ Ibn Wahb did not therefore
follow MÁlik’s dislike on this issue.

Al-Layth (b. Sa`d) said: ‘There is no harm in something from the Qur’Án be hanged on women or a
sick person if it is protected by some skin or placed inside a brocade, though I dislike an iron
brocade’.”