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Is it true that العلامة Ibn Uthaymeen - may Allah have mercy on him - tried writing the verse "then a whirlwind with fire afflicted it and it was burned" on a patch of herpes zoster (shingles) and found it beneficial, and is it permissible to write the words of Allah on the site of herpes zoster?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Prophetic medicine involves ruqyah (exorcism/incantation) and reciting over the afflicted area. An example of this is what Uthman ibn Abi al-As did when he came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) complaining of pain. The Prophet commanded him to wipe the painful area with his right hand seven times and say: "I seek refuge in the might and power of Allah from the evil of what I find and fear." Another example is the Prophet's saying to the sick: "In the name of Allah, the soil of our land with the saliva of some of us, our sick are cured by the permission of our Lord."

As for writing the Quran on the body of a sick person, especially in areas close to the private parts, we do not consider it permissible. This is because it involves disrespecting the Holy Quran. It is obligatory to exalt the Book of Allah and keep it free from being written in places where it might be dishonored. The Ummah (Muslim community) has unanimously agreed on the necessity of exalting, purifying, and safeguarding the Quran.

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

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