What duas can I recite for shifa – pain relief and cure?
Allah Almighty told us to call on Him for our needs:
قالَ رَبُّكُمُ اُدعُونِي أَستَجِب لَكُم
Your Lord has proclaimed, “Call upon Me, I will respond to you” (40:60)
How to heal using recitation from the Quran (ruqya)
Recite slowly and with purity of intention.
The person performing ruqyah should place their hand on the one who is suffering, ideally on their head.
Recite Allah’s verses slowly, with deep faith
Repeat the verses an odd number of times.
Recite over water
You can recite verses over water and drink that water.
Seek cure
Remember that recitation does not a replace seeking cure by other means. The Prophet (peace be upon him) instructed us to also seek cure using the available means such as medicine, physiotherapy and improving lifestyle choices.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to do business in Shaam and Yemen to earn a living, and he used the medicine of his time. There are books on At–Tib an Nabawi, prophetic medicine.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) was the master of the mutawakileen. He did not abandon medical treatment, but commanded believers to seek medical treatment. Yet at the same time, he knew it was not the medicine which cured, but Allah.
Allah has connected the cause with the action. When you take the medicine Allah creates the healing for you. When you go to work, then Allah sends your rizq.
When you take food and water with you on your journey, for instance into the desert it is necessary otherwise there is a high likelihood you will die. Exceptionally you might find meals and survive. Ghazali observed that we need to rely on Allah and at the same time follow the system He created for us, not to neglect it or abuse it, and not be confused. Not to take medicine or seek treatment, and to think that taking the medicine alone will heal you is wrong.
Allah can take the property of healing from the medicine at any time. Sometimes it works and sometimes it may not. We have to take it, but we have to realise that the healing is in Allah’s hands.
What to recite
Recite the following an odd number of times i.e. 1,3 or 7 times (7 is preferable).
It is up to you how many times you recite these. Though you may only recite it once, or you can recite them as much as possible, such as 7 times each. However it has been the experience of shuyukh that reciting them all 3 times is a good practice.
- Surat al Fatihah
- Ayatul Kursi
- The last two verses from Surat al Baqarah
- Surat al Iklas, al Falaq and an Nas
- The 6 verses of shifa
- The du’a for cure from the sunnah:
اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّ النَّاسِ، أَذْهِبِ الْبَأْسَ، وَاشْفِ أَنْتَ الشَّافِي، لاَ شِفَاءَ إِلاَّ شِفَاؤُكَ، شِفَاءً لاَ يُغَادِرُ سَقَمًا
Allahumma Raban-nas, adh-hibil-ba’sa, washfi Antash-Shafi, la shifa’a il-la shifa ook, shifa’an la yu-ghadiru saqama
‘O Allah take away the hardship, O Lord of mankind, give shifa, You are the One who cures, there is no cure except Your shifa, a cure that will not leave any sickness.’
The most powerful verse for healing from the Quran
Of the six verses of healing (shifa) in the Qur’an, the most well-known verse of shifa and also the most powerful is:
wa iza maridtu fahuwa yashfeen
وَإِذَا مَرِضْتُ فَهُوَ يَشْفِينِ
‘And when I am ill, it is He who cures me’, (26:80)
This was the supplication of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him), and should be recited placing one’s hand on the chest.
The 6 ayahs of healing from the Quran
وَيَشْفِ صُدُورَ قَوْمٍ مُؤْمِنِينَ
wa yashfi sudoora qawmim mu’mineen
And heal the breasts of a believing people (Tawbah 9:14)
وَإِذَا مَرِضْتُ فَهُوَ يَشْفِين
wa idha maridtu fahuwa yashfeen
And when I am ill, it is He who cures me (Shu’ara 26:80)
وَشِفَاءٌ لِمَا فِي الصُّدُورِ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
wa shifaaa’ul limaa fis-sudoori wa hudan wa rahmatul – lilmu’mineen
And a healing for that which is in your breasts – a guidance and a mercy for the believers (Yunus 10:57)
فِيهِ شِفَاءٌ لِلنَّاسِ
feehi shifaaa’ul linnaas
Wherein is healing for men (Nahl 16:69)
وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَا يَزِيدُ الظَّالِمِينَ إِلَّا خَسَارًا
wa nunazzilu minal-Quraani maa huwa shifaaa’un wa rahmatul lil mo’mineen
And We send down of the Qur’an that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe (Israa’ 17:82)
قُلْ هُوَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا هُدًى وَشِفَاءٌ
qul huwa lillazeena ‘aamanoo hudan wa shifaaa’un
Say: ‘It is for those who believe, a guide and a healing’ (Fussilat 41:44)
Duas for shifa from the Sunnah
وعنها أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم الله عليه وسلم الله عليه وسلم كان يعود بعض أهله يمسح بيده اليمني ويقول:
”اللهم رب الناس، أذهب البأس، واشف، أنت الشافي لا شفاء إلا شفاؤك، شفاءً لا يغادر سقماً” ((متفق عليه))
‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: When the Prophet (ﷺ) visited any ailing member of his family, he would touch the sick person with his right hand and would supplicate:
اللهم رب الناس، أذهب البأس، واشف، أنت الشافي لا شفاء إلا شفاؤك، شفاءً لا يغادر سقماً
Allahumma Rabban-nasi, adhhibil-ba’sa, washfi, Antash-Shafi, la shifa’a illa shifa’uka, shifaan la yughadiru saqaman
O Allah! the Rabb of mankind! Remove this disease and cure (him or her)! You are the Great Curer. There is no cure but through You, which leaves behind no disease. [Muslim]
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الَّذِي لَا يَضُرُّ مَعَ اسْمِهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
Bismillahil-lazi la yadhurru ma’asmihi syai’un fil ardhi wa la fis-sama’i wa huwas-sami’ul aleem
In the Name of Allah with Whose Name there is protection against every kind of harm in the earth or in heaven, and He is All-Hearing and All-Knowing [Abu Dawood]
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْعَفْوَ وَالْعَافِيَةَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ
Allahumma inni as’alukal-’afwa wal ‘afiyah fid-dunya wal-akhirah
O Allah, I seek Your forgiveness and my well-being in this world and the Hereafter. [Ibn Majah]
اللَّهُمَّ احْفَظْنِي مِنْ بَينِ يَدَيَّ, وَمِنْ خَلْفِي, وَعَنْ يَمِينِي, وَعَنْ شِمَالِي وَمِنْ فَوْقِي, وَأَعُوذُ بِعَظَمَتِكَ أَن أُْغْتَالَ مِنْ تَحْتِي
Allahummah-fazni min baini yadaiya, wa min khalfi, wa ‘an yameeni, wa ‘an syimali wa min fauqi, wa a’uzu bi’azomatika an ughtala min tahti
O Allah protect me from my front, behind me, from my right and my left, and from above me, and I seek refuge in Your Magnificence from being taken unaware from beneath me. [Ibn Majah]
Abu ‘Abdullah Uthman bin Abul-‘as (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I complained to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about a pain I had in my body. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said,
“Place your hand where you feel pain and say:
‘Bismillah (In the Name of Allah)’ three times; and then repeat seven times:
بِسْمِ اللهِ , بِسْمِ اللهِ , بِسْمِ اللهِ أَعُوذُ باللهِ وَقُدْرَتِهِ مَنْ شَرِّ مَا أَجِدُ وَأُحَاذِرُ
‘A’udhu bi’izzatillahi wa qudratihi min sharri ma ajidu wa ‘uhadhir
I seek refuge with Allah and with His Power from the pain that afflicts me and that which I apprehend.”‘ [Muslim]
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Shaykh Haytham Tamim
Shaykh Haytham Tamim is the founder and main teacher of the Utrujj Foundation. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning in the UK, which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated. He has orchestrated the design and delivery of over 200 unique courses since Utrujj started in 2001. His extensive expertise spans over 30 years across the main Islamic jurisprudence schools of thought. He has studied with some of the foremost scholars in their expertise; he holds some of the highest Ijazahs (certificates) in Quran, Hadith (the Prophetic traditions) and Fiqh (Islamic rulings). His own gift for teaching was evident when he gave his first sermon to a large audience at the age of 17 and went on to serve as a senior lecturer of Islamic transactions and comparative jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Beirut (Shariah College). He has continued to teach; travelling around the UK, Europe and wider afield, and won the 2015 BISCA award (British Imams & Scholars Contributions & Achievements Awards) for Outstanding Contribution to Education and Teaching.
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