Myths & warnings

Whatruqyahis—andwhotostayawayfrom.

Clear ground rules from the Quran and Sunnah, the red flags of magicians posing as healers, and the myths that keep people stuck.

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018 min

basics

What ruqyah is, and what it is not

Ruqyah shar‘iyyah defined, the three conditions scholars set for it, and what falls outside those limits.

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027 min

fake healers

Fake healers: the red flags

How to recognise a sorcerer or fortune-teller posing as a raqi, and what to do if you have already been to one.

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037 min

fake healerssihr

White magic, “good jinn”, and breaking sihr with sihr

Why there is no such thing as lawful magic, why undoing sihr through a sorcerer is forbidden, and what the lawful alternative is.

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048 min

amulets

Talismans, amulets and “Quranic” ta‘wīdh

The rulings on tamā’im, strings and hanging charms, the scholarly difference over amulets containing Quran, and why the stronger view is that they too should be avoided.

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058 min

basics

Is ruqyah only for the possessed?

Six common misunderstandings about ruqyah, gently corrected: who it is for, who may do it, what reactions mean, and how it sits alongside medicine.

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067 min

basics

Charging money for ruqyah

What the Sunnah says about taking payment for ruqyah, where the ethical lines fall, the signs of exploitation, and what this site charges for and what it does not.

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074 min

Forbidden and shirk-based 'treatments' for the evil eye

The same Prophet ﷺ who told us to treat ourselves also drew the line on how.

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089 min

How seriously Islam takes sorcery — the classical ruling on sihr and the sorcerer

The classical law books rank sorcery among the gravest crimes a person can commit, and debated its penalties with the gravity they gave to murder.

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093 min

The myth of "sorcery night": no, the devils are not set loose on Laylat al-Qadr

In parts of North Africa (and in different forms elsewhere) a belief circulates that on the 27th night of Ramadan, which many take to be Laylat al-Qadr, the devils that were chained at the start of the month are…

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105 min

Zar: the 'cure' that feeds the illness

Across the Gulf, Egypt, Sudan and the Horn of Africa, and in every diaspora community that came from there, people still speak of Zar.

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114 min

A sorcerer speaks: what an interview with a practising sorcerer reveals

The source explains why this material was shared: sihr is a hidden world, the sorcerer draws near to Shayṭān with what he loves, and the clear texts establish the disbelief of the sorcerer and of the one…

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125 min

Symbols people wrongly believe ward off the evil eye

Alongside the forbidden 'treatments' there is a whole family of objects (worn, hung or carried) that people believe repel the eye and ḥasad.

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133 min

What makes a treatment forbidden? One rule to keep

Before listing forbidden “cures” one by one, learn the single rule they all fall under; once you hold it you can judge any new remedy you meet, including ones no scholar has yet been…

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1413 min

Eight ‘treatments’ that are forbidden — and why

The Prophet ﷺ said: “Seek treatment, servants of Allah — but do not treat with the haram.” The default in treatment is permissibility, except what the Lawgiver forbade.

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158 min

Who damages ruqyah's good name — a candid list from inside the practice

An experienced raqi's defence of ruqyah against its critics, written from inside decades of practice.

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164 min

“But I was desperate” — scholars’ answers on forbidden treatments

Three real questions put to the scholars, with their answers, including the one so many people carry quietly: what if I already did it?

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177 min

Iblis in a new garment: twelve ways fraudulent "raqis" deceive — with case stories from practice

Safety note from us: this article describes, among other frauds, a man who chokes his patients.

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184 min

dreams

Choosing who interprets a dream

Interpretation is permitted and it is real. Whether it is worth anything depends almost entirely on the person doing it, and you can tell a great deal in the first two minutes.

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193 min

dreams

The dream dictionary attributed to Ibn Sirin

The book sold under his name in every Islamic bookshop, and reproduced across a thousand websites, was written by somebody else three centuries later.

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204 min

dreams