Answer
Short Answer:
- A Muslim should recite supplications from the Quran and Sunnah whatever the nature and degree of illness.
- One may also perform ruqyah to seek cure for illness.
- Prophet Muhammad said the evil eye is true, and we have several supplications for protection from the evil eye which you will find in the links below.
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Assalamu alaykum, and thank you for sending in your question to our website.
Sister, I am sorry to hear that your family has been afflicted with illness and distress.
I ask Allah to grant your mother complete and quick cure.
Ameen.
As for your first question, indeed, the Quran and sunnah have provided us with many supplications (dua’s) to ask Allah for cure from ailments and diseases.
Whatever the nature and degree of illness, a Muslim may recite these dua’s to ask Allah for cure.
Also, the praiseworthy action of ruqyah may be performed in order to seek cure for illness through the blessed words of the Quran and sunnah.
What is Ruqyah and How is it Done?
To perform ruqyah, specified verses from Quran and authentic dua’s from sunnah are recited. This can be done either by someone who is righteous, or by the sick person themselves, and then blown over their body.
These incantations can also be blown over water, and the patient can then be given this water to drink.
A word of caution, sister: whenever cure is sought for a Muslim through dua or ruqyah, one should avoid any words of recitation that are not proved from the Quran and sunnah.
Also, one should never visit witch-doctors or other charlatans who charge money for performing ruqyah upon others.
For more details about the Islamic ordainment of ruqyah and how it can/should be performed, please click here.
For authentic dua’s from the sunnah, which can be recited to ask Allah for cure for all kinds of illness, along with their translations in Urdu, please click here.
The Evil Eye is True
As for your second question, sister, yes indeed it is true that the evil eye is real.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said,
“The evil eye is true and if anything could be faster (in having an effect) than the predestination, then the evil eye would have been (that thing).” [Sahih Muslim]
It can so happen that a healthy and blessed person, whom people see enjoying many blessings from Allah, is suddenly afflicted with illness, depression, and even poverty.
It can be because of the envy and “ain” (i.e. the effect of the eye) cast upon them by people.
Be Careful
The eye can be cast upon a victim even unintentionally, and not just by enviers.
Even those people who greatly admire and love a person may inadvertently cast the eye upon them, as a result of looking at them with excessive love/admiration:
In a hadith narrated in Muwatta Imam Malik, we get to know of how a companion of the Prophet named Sahl ibn Hunayf who had beautiful white skin, once got afflicted with the effect of the eye when his companion admired and praised his skin.
When the Prophet was informed of this, he said, “Why does one of you kill his brother? Why did you not say, ‘May Allah bless you?’”
This indicates that the evil eye can even be cast upon someone when they are admired greatly by another Muslim who is their sincere well-wisher.
So we all should be careful about suspecting or accusing other Muslims of casting an evil eye upon us.
Instead, we should focus on praying for blessing and cure for our brothers and sisters in Islam. This is a must especially when we see them either enjoying blessings or being afflicted with hardships, respectively.
The ruqyah and dua’s prescribed in Shari’ah should be used even for seeking treatment and cure from the evil eye.
And Allah knows best.
I hope that this answers your questions.
Salam. Please stay in touch.
(From Ask About Islam archives)
Please continue feeding your curiosity, and find more info in the following links:
http://www.aboutislam.net/reading-islam/living-islam/know-afflicted-evil-eye-11-signs/