In this article
In short
- 01Nothing here involves sorcery in return — undoing sihr with sihr is forbidden. This is Quran, water and a steady heart.
- 02You have two lawful options: hand the object to a qualified, trustworthy raqi, or deal with it yourself.
- 03The safest method is dissolving and untying it in recited water or recited olive oil while repeating the three Quls.
Finding a strange object — knotted threads, written papers, an effigy, pins in the furniture — is frightening. Most people are afraid even to pick such a thing up, let alone deal with it. This page teaches what the raqis teach: how a Muslim can handle a found sihr object calmly and lawfully. Nothing here involves sorcery in return — undoing sihr with sihr is forbidden. This is Quran, water and a steady heart.
First: you have two options
Will you deal with the object yourself?
- YesDo it yourselfUndertake this noble deed yourself and seek the reward of doing good to the afflicted.
- NoHand it to a qualified raqiProtect yourself first with the adhkār, then take it to a trustworthy, qualified person of the Sunnah — never a “healer” who works with the jinn.
Option one — hand it over. Protect yourself first: recite Āyat al-Kursī and the two sūrahs of refuge (al-Falaq and al-Nās), and say:
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الَّذِي لَا يَضُرُّ مَعَ اسْمِهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
Bismillāhil-ladhī lā yaḍurru maʿas-mihi shayʾun fil-arḍi wa lā fis-samāʾi wa huwas-Samīʿul-ʿAlīm.
“In the name of Allah, with whose name nothing on earth or in heaven can cause harm — and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.”
Then take the object to a qualified, trustworthy raqi of Ahl as-Sunnah, or a sheikh with real knowledge of this matter, to nullify it. (The author offered his own service for this; the principle for you is: a trustworthy, qualified person of the Sunnah, never a “healer” who works with the jinn.)
Option two — do it yourself. Undertake this noble deed yourself and seek the reward of doing good to the afflicted.
Certainty first — fear none but Allah
“If mankind and the jinn gathered to harm you with a thing, they could not harm you except with what Allah had already written for you.” So fear no one but Allah, and do not hesitate to learn how to deal with sihr if you find it. And know that Allah is in the aid of His servant so long as the servant is in the aid of his brother.
What the objects look like
Sihr objects are of endless kinds, and every day brings something new: written papers, knotted cords, a padlock, a photograph worked upon, a sealed bottle, effigies and dolls, even objects hidden in the remains of a human being or an animal. Each practitioner has a method he has tested; none may condemn another’s lawful method without Sharī‘ah evidence.
The methods practitioners use
All of the following are lawful ways raqis nullify a sihr object:
Reciting Quran over itSafe as given
Dissolving and untying it in recited waterSafe as given
The safest and best method, together with recited olive oil.
Burning itCaution
Lawful in itself.
A real fire hazard: outdoors only, small quantities, away from anything flammable, never indoors, and never burn aerosols, sealed containers or unknown chemicals.
Cutting and tearing it apartSafe as given
Pouring a burning or caustic agent such as acid over itNever
The author mentions that some do this.
Our warning: do not do this. We record it only because the author does; acids maim, and nothing about a sihr object requires them.
Placing it in recited olive oilSafe as given
The safest of all: dissolve and untie the object in recited water or recited olive oil while repeating the three Quls, dwelling especially on “and from the evil of the blowers in knots” (wa min sharrin-naffāthāti fil-‘uqad), repeating it again and again.
The steps, one by one
- 1
Bring a bowl
Bring a medium-sized bowl — sized to the object.
- 2
Recite over the water
Put water in it and recite over the water: with your mouth close to the rim, or at a distance, or with your hand in the water as you recite: all of this is fine and tested. The important thing is to blow into the water when you finish reciting, or blow repeatedly as you recite.
- 3
Set your intention
Recite certain that Allah will nullify the sihr. Do not imagine that merely pulling the thing apart is what breaks it, and do not believe the recitation is anything but a means: the affair is in Allah’s hand. Recite with your heart hanging on Allah, certain of His victory, intending and seeking the reward of what you do.
- 4
Recite the sihr-nullifying verses
Recite into the water the sihr-nullifying verses below, blowing (or lightly spitting) as you go.
- 5
Put the object in and begin undoing it
Take the object, put it in the water, and begin undoing it — untying the knots, tearing the papers, dissolving what dissolves — while repeating al-Falaq and al-Nās and asking Allah to nullify the sihr.
- 6
Bury it or bin it, and pour the water away
When it is fully undone (untied, torn, dissolved, its writing effaced), take it out and bury it if you can, or put it in the rubbish: it has been nullified. Pour the water outside the house, somewhere people do not walk. With that, you are done.
- 7
If it is engraved on metal or stone
Some sihr is engraved on copper, silver, gold, rock and the like. Soak it in the recited water or recited oil (moments, hours or days as needed), then take it out and break it or hammer it until its markings are obliterated, then return it to the recited water, take it out and repeat as before.
What to recite
No one is tied to a fixed formula, and no one who recites Quran and makes good du‘ā is to be condemned: some read all of al-Baqarah, some keep to the three Quls, some read the verses of sihr; all are upon good. The intention is what counts; the cure is from Allah, and these are only means. What is condemned: distorting the verses, mixing other speech into them, or insisting on invented repetition-counts, though a transmitted number like three or seven is fine, and there is no harm in reciting once, three times, seven, or more.
The recommended set. Begin with al-Fātiḥah, Āyat al-Kursī (2:255), the closing verses of al-Baqarah (2:285–286) and the three Quls, then the verses of sihr:
وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ مَا تَتْلُوا۟ ٱلشَّيَٰطِينُ عَلَىٰ مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَٰنَ ۖ وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَٰنُ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱلشَّيَٰطِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ يُعَلِّمُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ ٱلسِّحْرَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَى ٱلْمَلَكَيْنِ بِبَابِلَ هَٰرُوتَ وَمَٰرُوتَ ۚ وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَآ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌۭ فَلَا تَكْفُرْ ۖ فَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مِنْهُمَا مَا يُفَرِّقُونَ بِهِۦ بَيْنَ ٱلْمَرْءِ وَزَوْجِهِۦ ۚ وَمَا هُم بِضَآرِّينَ بِهِۦ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مَا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلَا يَنفَعُهُمْ ۚ وَلَقَدْ عَلِمُوا۟ لَمَنِ ٱشْتَرَىٰهُ مَا لَهُۥ فِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَٰقٍۢ ۚ وَلَبِئْسَ مَا شَرَوْا۟ بِهِۦٓ أَنفُسَهُمْ ۚ لَوْ كَانُوا۟ يَعْلَمُونَ
Wattabaʿū mā tatlush-shayāṭīnu ʿalā mulki Sulaymān, wa mā kafara Sulaymānu wa lākinnash-shayāṭīna kafarū yuʿallimūnan-nāsas-siḥra wa mā unzila ʿalal-malakayni bi-Bābila Hārūta wa Mārūt, wa mā yuʿallimāni min aḥadin ḥattā yaqūlā innamā naḥnu fitnatun fa-lā takfur, fa-yataʿallamūna minhumā mā yufarriqūna bihi baynal-marʾi wa zawjih, wa mā hum bi-ḍārrīna bihi min aḥadin illā bi-idhnillāh, wa yataʿallamūna mā yaḍurruhum wa lā yanfaʿuhum, wa laqad ʿalimū lamanish-tarāhu mā lahu fil-ākhirati min khalāq, wa la-biʾsa mā sharaw bihi anfusahum law kānū yaʿlamūn.
“And they followed [instead] what the devils had recited during the reign of Solomon. It was not Solomon who disbelieved, but the devils disbelieved, teaching people magic and that which was revealed to the two angels at Babylon, Harut and Marut. But the two angels do not teach anyone unless they say, "We are a trial, so do not disbelieve [by practicing magic]." And [yet] they learn from them that by which they cause separation between a man and his wife. But they do not harm anyone through it except by permission of Allah. And the people learn what harms them and does not benefit them. But the Children of Israel certainly knew that whoever purchased the magic would not have in the Hereafter any share. And wretched is that for which they sold themselves, if they only knew.”
وَأَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَىٰ مُوسَىٰٓ أَنْ أَلْقِ عَصَاكَ ۖ فَإِذَا هِىَ تَلْقَفُ مَا يَأْفِكُونَ فَوَقَعَ ٱلْحَقُّ وَبَطَلَ مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ فَغُلِبُوا۟ هُنَالِكَ وَٱنقَلَبُوا۟ صَٰغِرِينَ وَأُلْقِىَ ٱلسَّحَرَةُ سَٰجِدِينَ قَالُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا بِرَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ رَبِّ مُوسَىٰ وَهَٰرُونَ
Wa awḥaynā ilā Mūsā an alqi ʿaṣāka fa-idhā hiya talqafu mā yaʾfikūn. Fa-waqaʿal-ḥaqqu wa baṭala mā kānū yaʿmalūn. Fa-ghulibū hunālika wanqalabū ṣāghirīn. Wa ulqiyas-saḥaratu sājidīn. Qālū āmannā bi-rabbil-ʿālamīn. Rabbi Mūsā wa Hārūn.
“And We inspired to Moses, ‘Throw your staff,’ and at once it devoured what they were falsifying. So the truth was established, and abolished was what they were doing. And Pharaoh and his people were overcome right there and became debased. And the magicians fell down in prostration [to Allah]. They said, ‘We have believed in the Lord of the worlds, the Lord of Moses and Aaron.’”
إِنَّ هَٰٓؤُلَآءِ مُتَبَّرٌۭ مَّا هُمْ فِيهِ وَبَٰطِلٌۭ مَّا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
Inna hāʾulāʾi mutabbarun mā hum fīhi wa bāṭilun mā kānū yaʿmalūn.
“Indeed, those [worshippers] — destroyed is that in which they are [engaged], and worthless is whatever they were doing.”
فَلَمَّآ أَلْقَوْا۟ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ مَا جِئْتُم بِهِ ٱلسِّحْرُ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَيُبْطِلُهُۥٓ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُصْلِحُ عَمَلَ ٱلْمُفْسِدِينَ وَيُحِقُّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْحَقَّ بِكَلِمَٰتِهِۦ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ ٱلْمُجْرِمُونَ
Fa-lammā alqaw qāla Mūsā mā jiʾtum bihis-siḥr, innallāha sa-yubṭiluh, innallāha lā yuṣliḥu ʿamalal-mufsidīn. Wa yuḥiqqullāhul-ḥaqqa bi-kalimātihi wa law karihal-mujrimūn.
“And when they had thrown, Moses said, ‘What you have brought is [only] magic. Indeed, Allah will expose its worthlessness. Indeed, Allah does not amend the work of corrupters. And Allah will establish the truth by His words, even if the criminals dislike it.’”
وَقُلْ جَآءَ ٱلْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ ٱلْبَٰطِلُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلْبَٰطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقًۭا
Wa qul jāʾal-ḥaqqu wa zahaqal-bāṭil, innal-bāṭila kāna zahūqā.
“And say, ‘Truth has come, and falsehood has departed. Indeed is falsehood, [by nature], ever bound to depart.’”
وَأَلْقِ مَا فِى يَمِينِكَ تَلْقَفْ مَا صَنَعُوٓا۟ ۖ إِنَّمَا صَنَعُوا۟ كَيْدُ سَٰحِرٍۢ ۖ وَلَا يُفْلِحُ ٱلسَّاحِرُ حَيْثُ أَتَىٰ
Wa alqi mā fī yamīnika talqaf mā ṣanaʿū, innamā ṣanaʿū kaydu sāḥir, wa lā yufliḥus-sāḥiru ḥaythu atā.
“And throw what is in your right hand; it will swallow up what they have crafted. What they have crafted is but the trick of a magician, and the magician will not succeed wherever he is.”
بَلْ نَقْذِفُ بِٱلْحَقِّ عَلَى ٱلْبَٰطِلِ فَيَدْمَغُهُۥ فَإِذَا هُوَ زَاهِقٌۭ ۚ وَلَكُمُ ٱلْوَيْلُ مِمَّا تَصِفُونَ
Bal naqdhifu bil-ḥaqqi ʿalal-bāṭili fa-yadmaghuhu fa-idhā huwa zāhiq, wa lakumul-waylu mimmā taṣifūn.
“Rather, We dash the truth upon falsehood, and it destroys it, and thereupon it departs. And for you is destruction from that which you describe.”
قَالَ لَهُم مُّوسَىٰٓ أَلْقُوا۟ مَآ أَنتُم مُّلْقُونَ فَأَلْقَوْا۟ حِبَالَهُمْ وَعِصِيَّهُمْ وَقَالُوا۟ بِعِزَّةِ فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّا لَنَحْنُ ٱلْغَٰلِبُونَ فَأَلْقَىٰ مُوسَىٰ عَصَاهُ فَإِذَا هِىَ تَلْقَفُ مَا يَأْفِكُونَ فَأُلْقِىَ ٱلسَّحَرَةُ سَٰجِدِينَ قَالُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا بِرَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ رَبِّ مُوسَىٰ وَهَٰرُونَ
Qāla lahum Mūsā alqū mā antum mulqūn. Fa-alqaw ḥibālahum wa ʿiṣiyyahum wa qālū bi-ʿizzati Firʿawna innā la-naḥnul-ghālibūn. Fa-alqā Mūsā ʿaṣāhu fa-idhā hiya talqafu mā yaʾfikūn. Fa-ulqiyas-saḥaratu sājidīn. Qālū āmannā bi-rabbil-ʿālamīn. Rabbi Mūsā wa Hārūn.
“Moses said to them, ‘Throw whatever you will throw.’ So they threw their ropes and their staffs and said, ‘By the might of Pharaoh, indeed it is we who are predominant.’ Then Moses threw his staff, and at once it devoured what they falsified. So the magicians fell down in prostration [to Allah]. They said, ‘We have believed in the Lord of the worlds, the Lord of Moses and Aaron.’”
ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمُ ٱتَّبَعُوا۟ مَآ أَسْخَطَ ٱللَّهَ وَكَرِهُوا۟ رِضْوَٰنَهُۥ فَأَحْبَطَ أَعْمَٰلَهُمْ
Dhālika bi-annahumut-tabaʿū mā askhaṭallāha wa karihū riḍwānahu fa-aḥbaṭa aʿmālahum.
“That is because they followed what angered Allah and disliked [what earns] His pleasure, so He rendered worthless their deeds.”
وَقَدِمْنَآ إِلَىٰ مَا عَمِلُوا۟ مِنْ عَمَلٍۢ فَجَعَلْنَٰهُ هَبَآءًۭ مَّنثُورًا
Wa qadimnā ilā mā ʿamilū min ʿamalin fa-jaʿalnāhu habāʾan manthūrā.
“And We will regard what they have done of deeds and make them as dust dispersed.”
وَأَرَادُوا۟ بِهِۦ كَيْدًۭا فَجَعَلْنَٰهُمُ ٱلْأَخْسَرِينَ
Wa arādū bihi kaydan fa-jaʿalnāhumul-akhsarīn.
“And they intended for him harm, but We made them the greatest losers.”
قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌۢ
Qul huwallāhu aḥad. Allāhuṣ-ṣamad. Lam yalid wa lam yūlad. Wa lam yakun lahu kufuwan aḥad.
“Say, ‘He is Allah, [who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent.’”
قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلْفَلَقِ مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ وَمِن شَرِّ ٱلنَّفَّٰثَٰتِ فِى ٱلْعُقَدِ وَمِن شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ
Qul aʿūdhu bi-rabbil-falaq. Min sharri mā khalaq. Wa min sharri ghāsiqin idhā waqab. Wa min sharrin-naffāthāti fil-ʿuqad. Wa min sharri ḥāsidin idhā ḥasad.
“Say, ‘I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak, from the evil of that which He created, and from the evil of darkness when it settles, and from the evil of the blowers in knots, and from the evil of an envier when he envies.’”
قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلنَّاسِ مَلِكِ ٱلنَّاسِ إِلَٰهِ ٱلنَّاسِ مِن شَرِّ ٱلْوَسْوَاسِ ٱلْخَنَّاسِ ٱلَّذِى يُوَسْوِسُ فِى صُدُورِ ٱلنَّاسِ مِنَ ٱلْجِنَّةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ
Qul aʿūdhu bi-rabbin-nās. Malikin-nās. Ilāhin-nās. Min sharril-waswāsil-khannās. Alladhī yuwaswisu fī ṣudūrin-nās. Minal-jinnati wan-nās.
“Say, ‘I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, the Sovereign of mankind, the God of mankind, from the evil of the retreating whisperer — who whispers [evil] into the breasts of mankind — from among the jinn and mankind.’”
Whether you recite all of these or only some, the weight is in the intention: the cure is from Allah, and these are the means He loves.
Three closing reminders
- If the find is connected to a crime (a break-in, a threat, harm to an animal), photograph it and involve the police as well. Handling the spiritual side does not mean ignoring the worldly one.
- Never respond in kind. Do not take the object to a sorcerer, and do not commission “counter-sihr”: that is the door the Prophet ﷺ refused to open.
- If your heart is not steady enough to do this yourself, that is no failing: protect yourself with the adhkār and hand the object to a qualified, trustworthy raqi. Either path is lawful.
Medical first, alongside ruqyah — nothing here replaces a doctor’s care.
Sources
- Abu Dawud 5088; al-Tirmidhi 3388 — the protection du‘ā, graded sahih by al-Albani
- Classical and practitioner sources — see Methodology → Our sources
