22 December 2012 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.
Nawaytu 'l-arba`een, nawaytu 'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu 'l-khalwah, nawaytu 'l-`uzlah,
nawaytu 'r-riyaadah, nawaytu 's-sulook, lillahi ta`alaa fee haadha 'l-masjid.
Dastoor yaa Sayyidee, madad.
Every one of us around the world, in general, Muslim and non-Muslim, have something in common: everyone is trying to eliminate as much as possible from this problem that is facing everyone, that comes on all of us without distinguishing the child, adult, young and old, at any time in our lives. People only have a basic understanding that this is a common issue, but they cannot determine when it comes and when it goes. When it comes, it comes suddenly and when it goes, it goes slowly and then disappears. So all people share this issue of sickness, from the time of Sayyidina Adam (a) up to today and until Judgment Day.
Sickness hits everyone; there is not a single person safe from either physical or spiritual sickness, and both require an expert to eliminate it from the person under its influence who tries to reduce it as much as possible. Many people recover from physical sickness and some might not. Similarly, regarding spiritual sickness which concerns the soul, some people might recover from it and some might not.
Which is more difficult, physical sickness or spiritual sickness? Spiritual sickness is more difficult to treat and not everyone can be cured from it. On the other hand, physical sickness might look more difficult and in reality many get cured from it, although some don't. To treat physical sickness, people must go to a wise person, a doctor, and for spiritual sickness you must go to a guide, in order to try to eliminate as much as possible.
If someone comes to you details of his sickness, what do you want to do? For us and most people, they don't go that route, they go a different route, but really if we are mu’min and believe in Allah (swt) and His Prophet (s), we go the route that Holy Qur'an and the hadith of the Prophet (s) encouraged us.
The Prophet (s) said:
ما أنزل اللهُ مِنْ داءٍ إلا أَنْزَلَ لَهُ شِفَاءً
Maa anzal-Allahu min daa'in illa anzala lahu shifaa’an.
Allah did not send a sickness except He sent with it a cure. (Abu Hurayrah in Sahih Bukhari)
So if we believe in that, then the responsibility of curing is with The One Who Cures, which is Allah (swt). He will send you a cure if you really believe in what He or the Prophet (s) said.
Also, Allah (swt) said:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ جَاءتْكُم مَّوْعِظَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَشِفَاء لِّمَا فِي الصُّدُورِ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
Yaa ayyuha an-naasu qad ja’atkum maw`izhatun min rabbikum wa shifaa’un limaa fi ’s-sudoori wa hudan wa rahmatun li ‘l-mu’mineen.
O Mankind! There has come to you a guidance from your Lord and a healing for (the diseases) in your hearts, and a guidance and a mercy for those who believe. (Surah Yunus, 10:57)
Allah (swt) said “humanity,” not only Muslims. “We sent realities and verses from Holy Qur'an,” which might be a secret from any verse, because He didn't say, “We sent from some aayaat of Holy Qur'an,” but rather, “min al-qur’an, from the entire Holy Qur'an,” what is a cure for people, so that is in general. So for an expert--one whose heart and mind Allah opened and connected to his guide, and from his guide to the Prophet (s), and from Prophet (s) to Allah--that person will be able to understand the secrets of special aayaat and through reciting them will cure the sick.
`Usama ibn Shareek (r) reported the Prophet (s) said:
عن ابن مسعود أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: ما أنزل الله عز وجل داء إلا أنزل له دواء، علمه من علمه وجهله من جهله.
Inna Allah lam yunazilloo daa'an illa yunazillu bihi shifaa’an. `alimahu man `alimahu wa jahila bihi man jahila.
Allah did not send down any illness except He sent a cure with it and whoever knows it knows, and whoever was ignorant remained ignorant of it. (Musnad Imam Ahmad)
The point of this hadith is `alimahu man `alimahu, “and whoever knows it knows.” The secret of curing illnesses in the Holy Qur’an is not known to everyone, that is only known to a few people who can dive into its meanings and extract ways or verses to treat that person’s specific sickness. For example, if you tell a doctor that you have a headache, he gives you two tablets and the headache goes, but if you tell the doctor you have a headache and he gives a cream for your hand, that does not correspond to the sickness. That is why the Prophet (s) said, “Only some know it and others do not.”
The hadith continues:
إن الله لم يضع داء إلا وضع له شفاء ، أو دواء ، إلا داء واحدا ، قالوا : يا رسول الله ما هو ؟ قال : الهرم
In Allaha laa yad`a daa’an illa wada`a lahu shifaa (aw dawaa) illa daa'an waahid. Qaaloo: yaa Rasoolullah maa huwa? Qaala: al-haram.
Treat the servants of Allah, for verily Allah does not put any illness except that He put its cure, except (regarding) one sickness. And they asked, “What is that?” and he (s) said, “al-haram, death. Other than that, Holy Qur'an can give cure to anyone.”
This applies to both sicknesses of the soul and the body; the remedy for both is in Holy Qur'an, but there are conditions: you cannot do what you want and recite verses as you like and it will be done, as Allah (swt) said:
فَاسْأَلْ بِهِ خَبِيرًا
Fas’al bihi khabeera.
Ask (from) who is expert. (Surat al-Furqaan, 25:59)
You cannot ask just anyone, as not everyone is an expert. You might ask someone and get an answer, but if he is not an expert his answer will not bring a change. Holy Qur'an needs one who is an expert, those whom Allah protected and called ‘awliyaullah’.
أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاء اللّهِ لاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَكَانُواْ يَتَّقُونَ
Alaa inna awliyaaullaahi laa khawfun `alayhim wa laa hum yahzanoon. Al-ladheena aamanoo wa kaanoo yattaqoon.
Behold! Verily on the Friends of Allah there is no fear, nor shall they grieve; they who have attained faith and have always been conscious of Him. (Surah Yunus, 10:62-63)
They fear not because they are given all this knowledge. Another hadith narrated by Abu Dawood (r):
عن جابر بن عبد الله قال : خرجنا في سفر فأصاب رجلا منا حجر ، فشجه في رأسه ، ثم احتلم ، فسأل أصحابه فقال : هل تجدون لي رخصة في التيمم ؟ قالوا : ما نجد لك رخصة ، وأنت تقدر على الماء ، فاغتسل ، فمات ، فلما قدمنا على رسول الله أخبر بذلك ، فقال : قتلوه قتلهم الله ألا سألوا إذا لم يعلموا ؟ فإنما شفاء العي السؤال إنما كان يكفيه أن يتيمم ويعصر - أو يعصب - على جرحه خرقة ثم يمسح عليها ، ويغسل سائر جسده .
We were traveling in a group and, by mistake, one of us was hit on the head and received a very severe wound. When that happened, that person immediately slept. Blood came out and we tried to fix it as much as we could. That young man slept and when he awoke he needed a ghusl (due to nocturnal emission). He asked his friends, “Do I have a rukhsa, permission to make tayammum (with dust or soil) and not with water?” We said, “No, you cannot, because the bleeding stopped so you cannot make tayammum, you must make ghusl (shower with water).” So the man took the shower, prayed, and afterwards he died. When we arrived to the Prophet (s), we told him what happened and fa qaala an-Nabi (s) qataloohu, qaatalahumullah, Prophet (s) said we had killed him, and if we didn't know (what to do) why didn’t we ask the one who knows? And `Ataa said, “It reached us that the Prophet (s) said, ‘If he had washed his body and left out the head where the injury afflicted him [it would have sufficed].’”
So for every spiritual sickness there are spiritual tablets and for every physical sickness there are special verses from the Holy Qur’an to cure them. So you must ask the one who knows or otherwise you are killing the person by giving a recipe or prescription from yourself. If they didn’t know why didn’t they ask, for verily the cure for the sickness is one: to ask! You cannot try to cure yourself. Allah (swt) cures you through His Holy Verses and through Holy Hadith of the Prophet (s). It was enough to make tayammum, as the Prophet (s) answered, instead of telling him to take a shower, which allowed water to enter his wound and caused inflammation, which killed him.
They made a fatwa without knowledge. What is happening today? They make fatwa without knowledge and cause chaos everywhere, which is a sickness by itself! The Prophet (s) said he was able to make tayammum, to tie his wound, place his wet hand on the bandage, and that would have been enough for him to pray!
Prophet (s) said:
فأخبر أن الجهل داء ، وأن شفاءه السؤال
Al-jahlu daa'an wa anna shifa'ahu as-suaal.
Ignorance is sickness and the cure is to ask.
So all of us are ignorant and to come out of ignorance is to ask. Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur'an:
اسْأَلُواْ أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ
Fas'al ahl adh-dhikri in kuntum laa ta`lamoon.
Ask the People of Dhikr (Holy Qur’an) if you don't know. (Surat an-Nahl, 16:43)
So it is always important to ask the right people in order to get the right cure. All of us have sicknesses. We have physical illnesses and go to someone who knows and he gives us an answer, and sometimes we have spiritual illnesses that we need to go to someone else for the cure. Allah (swt) said that Holy Qur'an contains a cure for human beings, and, “We sent down in the Qur’an such things that have healing and mercy for the believers.” So don’t look right and left (for the cure), but go to those who know.
This 1hadith is mentioned by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, a student of Ibn Taymiyya, in his book Madarij as-Salikeen, from Abi Sa`eed. intalaqoo ba`d ashaab an-Nabi (s) fee safarin, “A group of Companions of the Prophet (s) were travelling.” You know in that time it was desert, and they travelled and reached an area where there was water and a date tree, and a small village among the palms. They asked the Arabs (Bedouins) to host them but they refused, which is not the custom of Arabs, and while discussing this the leader of the village was bitten by a scorpion or snake, we don’t know exactly as they didn’t say. His people tried every possible way to save their leader. You know the desert scorpion has a poisonous sting and can kill the person immediately. So they tried everything and couldn’t cure him. Then they said, “Let us ask these people who just came; maybe they have knowledge or something with them that can cure him.”
They approached those people and asked, “O people! Our leader has been bitten. We have tried everything and nothing is working!” So where did they go? They went to a guide, which means you need a guide. When you have a sickness or problem or you have to do business, or you have a question you must go to the one who knows something, not to a charlatan, who is flashy and just showing off, and who will deviate you! No, we are Ahlu ’s-Sunnah wa ’l-Jama`ah and we follow the Prophet (s), the Sahaabah (r) and the Four Imams, and we don’t accept anyone who deviates from Siraat ul-Mustaqeem! You must get a cure from someone who follows Shari`ah.
And they came to that group of Sahaabah (r) and asked if they have anything to cure their leader. One of them said, w ‘Allahi sa urqii, which is ruqya, to recite verses of the Holy Qur'an, which some Arabs call ‘hijab,’ a veil to protect and save you, and some call ‘taweez,’ which is from Holy Qur'an and it means to seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan. This is proof from hadith of the Prophet (s) for those who say to not believe in them. He said, “W’ Allahi, I can recite on the man to cure him but I will not, as you refused to host us. I am not going to recite for you until you give me compensation. If you had hosted us, we would do it and not take anything. Now we will do it, but you have to compensate us.”
So the people discussed what they had to give the Sahaabah, who said, “You have to give one qati`a min al-ghanam, a herd of sheep,” which may have been twenty, thirty or fifty sheep, Allah knows how many there were. They said, “Okay, no problem, we will do it.” Then, one Sahaabi (r) recited Surat al-Fatihah, “Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmani ‘r-Raheem. Alhamdullahi Rabbi 'l-`Alameen. Ar-Rahmani ‘r-Raheem. Maalika yawm ad-deen. Iyyaka n`abudu wa iyyaka nasta`een. Ihdinas siraat al-mustaqeem. sirat al-ladheena an`amta `alayhim ghayri ‘l-maghdoobi `alayhim wa laa dhaalleen. Ameen,” and spat (not blew) on the wound where the leader had been bitten. It was as if that leader had been tied with a chain that was suddenly taken away, and he was able to stand up and walk completely with no pain!
So the village people gave the Sahaabah (r) the herd of sheep. Some Sahaabah said, “Let us divide the herd among us,” while others said, “No, let us go to the Prophet (s) and whatever he decides we will do.”
So they took that herd of sheep to the Prophet (s) and mentioned what had happened to them. He asked them, “How did you know that was ruqya? What you did is correct and put a share for me from what you got from them.” We know it is correct because they spit and recited Surat al-Fatihah on that sickness and Allah cured it.
There is so much explanation here! It means there are ruqyas that you recite and Allah (swt) will accept, but we will come to that later, not now. The one reciting must be qualified and the one receiving must believe the recitation will benefit him, so both sides must have faith. The one reciting has to know that Allah (swt) will cure but he is doing what Allah said in Holy Qur'an, “We revealed what is healing to Mankind and a cure,” and the one on other side must know those are verses from Holy Qur'an that will cure him.
Therefore, sometimes you see the person is cured and sometimes you do not and that is based on belief. What the Sahaabi recited and spit on the wound corresponded to that particular sickness. It might be you are bit by a scorpion and read Surat al-Fatihah and you are cured, because the medicine for the bite of that creature was Surat al-Fatihah. However, everything he (the shaykh) recites has different affects and there are different ways to cure different sicknesses, but that is why the Prophet (s) said Surat al-Fatihah is for whatever it is read on. Also, that depends on the one reading: are they pure and clean, are they a guide, when they breathe, can angels take their breath to the Divine Presence (i.e. is it pure)? So the success of that depends on many different elements and principles.
We leave it here and will continue in the evening. It is important for people to learn and understand. This is the beginning of the series on different illnesses and their cures as known in Islamic spirituality.
Bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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