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Is it better for a sick person to perform ruqyah on themselves or to put their trust in Allah and await relief?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is best for the sick person to rely on Allah Almighty with their heart and to engage in the means of treatment with their limbs, without their heart depending on these means. This does not contradict tawakkul (reliance on Allah); rather, the true essence of tawheed (monotheism) is not complete except by engaging with the means. Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Nawawi, and Ibn Hajar have indicated that seeking treatment does not contradict tawakkul. It is like warding off hunger and thirst by eating and drinking, and supplicating for well-being. Treatment is also part of Allah's decree. However, seeking ruqyah (incantation) from others ( al-istirqa’ ) contradicts the perfection of tawakkul, even though it is permissible.

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

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