It is incumbent upon the healer to be able to read and understand the Holy Qur’an very well, says Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah Al-Ayed.

There is increasing controversy over the use of the Holy Qur’an to treat illness. The situation has become very confused, with crooks, frauds and those looking to make a quick buck distorting the work of an honest few. Today it is a painstaking process to find the honest few, but Jeddah-based Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah Al-Ayed is considered foremost among these healers in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. Over the past seven years he has treated thousands of people who claim to have fallen ill because of black magic, envy and cancer.

Sayidaty, a sister publication of Arab News, met Al-Ayed who explained that he got into the field almost by accident. “It happened that I memorized a number of Qur’anic verses that can legitimately be used to treat certain illnesses. One day when I was visiting a sick relative, I read some of the verses and he recovered. The word spread and I decided to do the same for other relatives and friends. In a short time, I found that I had become a healer using the Holy Qur’an.”

Al-Ayed does say, however, that it is incumbent upon the healer to be able to read and understand the Qur’an very well. He need not be a scholar, an ascetic or even to have studied religion. He must be an upright person with good intentions and be able to distinguish between what is Sunnah (teachings of the Prophet, peace be upon him) and what is bidaa (innovation) in order to guard against encouraging devils, sorcerers and quacks. There are three conditions which must be followed by the healer:

• No polytheism or anything that is forbidden (haram),

• Incantations must be in Arabic or another comprehensible language,

• Belief that in themselves the incantations do not heal except by God’s will; they must all use God’s words or His names and attributes.

It is God’s mercy and blessing that he has made available a treatment for every illness; one of the greatest of the blessings is the Qur’an. While modern medicine does treat obvious illnesses, it does not — and often cannot — treat certain hidden illnesses that affect a person’s psyche such as envy (the evil eye), sorcery and harm from the devil. There is no contradiction between Islamic medicine and modern medicine; they both heal.

Of Al-Ayed’s clients, 80 percent are women who, because they are physically and spiritually weaker than men, are more liable to become victims of sorcery. Many of the women are beautiful, wealthy, educated and cultured but complain that they cannot find husbands or they suffer from cancer, miscarriage and infertility as a result of sorcery or envy.

“Many businessmen also come to me since they may also be exposed to both sorcery and envy. Women sometimes come to me suffering from pain without knowing the reason, and through the incantations, I find that a jinn is inhabiting their body.”

Al-Ayed went on to say that by God’s grace, he has treated thousands of cases. “Those who are victims of magic and have attracted the evil eye are easier to treat except if the spell was cast a long time ago; in that case, it is very difficult to heal the sufferer.”

Al-Ayed has treated some famous and important people in the Gulf and in the Arab world. He has also treated people of various nationalities, all of whom responded to treatment. “An American, who had been diagnosed with cancer, came to me to be healed and while unable to understand the words of the Qur’an, he responded to the reading and was healed. This is evidence that the Qur’an can heal Muslims and non-Muslims alike. I would like to emphasize that healing through the Qur’an is not an alternative to modern medicine.”

Al-Ayed was asked if he were afraid of magic. He answered that he had never been in danger because he immunized himself. He often visits other healers so they can read over him. “A Muslim can and must immunize himself using Qur’anic verses at night and upon waking up in the morning. The best incantation is: ‘Defend God and He will defend you. Defend God and you will find Him at your side. If you must ask, ask God and if you seek help, turn to God.’” The general advice for anyone suffering from any illness is to turn to their creator in prayer.

Healers can of course make mistakes; some are due to ignorance while others are simply errors. The good deeds of healers, however, are more numerous than their mistakes. The fault may also lie with those who seek help; some go to frauds and other seek legitimate healers or doctors when it is too late.

According to the late Sheikh Bin Baz, former chairman of the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars, “the jinn are a creation of God and they are mentioned in both the Qur’an and the Sunnah. A jinn can harm a person, and in that case, the person must hold steadfastly to God’s law, seek refuge in God and the legitimate incantations and accepted prayers. He should read certain Surahs — Surah Al-Fatiha, then Surah Al-Nas and then Surah Al-Falaq — after which he should blow into his hands and with them rub his face and what he can reach of his body. This should be done twice. He can also continue with any other incantation — reading from the Qur’an, praying, seeking refuge in God and asking for healing and protection from the devil.

Sheikh Muhammad ibn Othaimeen said there was no doubt that jinn can harm people. “They can also inhabit a person’s body and the best protection is to read ‘Ayat Al-Kursi’ from Surah Al-Baqara before going to bed and if he does, God will protect the reader.”

Verse 275 of Surah Al-Baqara says, “Those who devour usury will not stand except like the standing of a person whom the Devil by his touch Hath driven to madness.”

The evil eye is also a fact mentioned in Verse 51 of Surah Al-Qalam. “And those who disbelieve would almost trip thee up with their eyes.” The Angel Gabriel read an incantation upon the Prophet to protect him from the evil eye. It is thus permissible to use readings as long as they are comprehensible with no hint of polytheism.

Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Mesnad said: “We live in a time when minds are weak and people are prey to fraudsters who seek only money. Healing through the Qur’an has been well-known since the time of the Prophet. Faith is an important prerequisite, as is a complete belief that healing comes from God. The person who is seeking help should also be a believer. I warn the public to beware of the fraudsters who constitute 95 percent of ‘healers.’ Muslims must be made aware of them and the kind of evil they can do. The honest ones are very few and not easily found.”

Dr. Aqeel ibn Abdul Rahman Al-Aqeel, a professor at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud University in Riyadh, says that the Qur’an benefits both Muslim and non-Muslim, on condition that the reader be a Muslim — just as a prayer by a Muslim can be offered for the healing of a non-Muslim with God healing the non-Muslim in answer to the Muslim’s prayer. “Beautiful women are in more danger from magic and ‘the evil eye’ than others. Those whom God has graced with money, intelligence or good position are also likely to be affected by sorcery and envy and we mustn’t forget that in the Prophet we have a shining example, for he said: ‘Oh Lord guide my people for they know not.’”