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Is ruqyah by fumigating with papers on which verses are written, and reciting Surat Al-Inshirah 9 times after each prayer, and hanging a paper on one's clothes, considered a sound, legitimate ruqyah or not?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

One must turn to Allah through sincere supplication (du'a), relying on Him with certainty and conviction, for He averts divine decrees and repels evil. Treatment with ruqyah and supplications that include the remembrance of Allah and are understandable is permissible, as long as they do not contain shirk (polytheism).

As for burning papers on which the Quran is written and using them for fumigation with herbs, this is not from the practice of the righteous predecessors (Salaf as-Salih); rather, it is known to be the practice of sorcerers and charlatans. Incense in general is part of the rituals of sorcerers, Sabians, and Christians who believe in the blessing of incense and its ability to ward off harm. Therefore, the aforementioned use of incense is not permissible.

Regarding hanging papers, if they contain anything incomprehensible or shirk, one must avoid them. If they contain clear supplications or Quranic verses, then this falls under the category of hanging amulets, about which scholars have differed in opinion, and the preponderant view has been previously clarified in earlier fatwas.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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