Q: I preach and guide people
in
Tabuk.
I also lead the congregational Salahs (Prayers) and Jumu`ah (Friday) Prayer in one of the Masjids (mosques) there. I have established in it a library that contains a lot of valuable Sunnah-related books. In the Masjid, I teach Hadith, Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), Tawhid (monotheism), and Tafsir (exegesis of the Qur'an). I also treat the sick by Ruqyah (recitation for healing or protection) as authentically reported from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in Sahih (authentic) Hadith, i.e. the Ruqyah formula he used to recite for his family and Sahabah (Companions) and the Ruqyah that Jibril (Gabriel, peace be upon him) recited for him. I do not use anything other than what was mentioned in the Hadiths. Of course you know that Ruqyah is established as authentic and true by the books of Sunnah. Formulas I mostly use for Ruqyah are those mentioned in the books of the Shaykh of Islam, such as "Idah Al-Dalalah fi `Umum Al-Risalah" and his other well-known books, and also in the books of
Ibn Al-Qayyim,
such as “Zad Al-Ma`ad.” I receive a fee for doing this relying on the evidence inferred from the Hadith reported in the Two Sahih Books of Hadith (i.e. Al-Bukhari and Muslim) on the authority of (Part No. 1; Page No. 249)
Abu Sa`id Al-Khudry
that supports the permissibility of
reciting Ruqyah and receiving a payment in return for it.
The Hadith, of course, is well known to Your Eminence. What makes me receive a payment is to be spared the embarrassment of begging from people, for I am a blind man and I have straitened family circumstances. Besides, I was not fortunate enough to get a job. I know that doing so is Islamically permissible and lawful. However, some ignorant people groundlessly objected to my doing so. Therefore, I hope, relying on Allah, that Your Eminence will issue a Fatwa highlighting the necessary points so that I can be enlightened and be more convincing to those who object, in ignorance, to my taking a fee. If you see that what I am doing is wrong, please give me a convincing advice, for I oppose none of your opinions.
A:
If the reality is as you mentioned - that you treat the sick with lawful Ruqyah, using only the formulas authentically reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him), and that you keenly refer to what the eminent scholar
Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah be merciful to him) recorded in his well-known books and what the eminent scholar
Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah (may Allah be merciful to him) wrote in “Zad Al-Ma‘ad” and other similar books of
Ahl-ul-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah (adherents to the Sunnah and the Muslim mainstream) - your work is permissible, your endeavors are praiseworthy, and you will be rewarded for them, In sha'a-Allah (if Allah wills). There is nothing wrong with taking a fee for doing this, according to the Hadith narrated on the authority of
Abu Sa`id Al-Khudry (may Allah be pleased with him) that you referred to in your question. We also ask Allah to reward you for the deeds you said you are doing, like preaching, guiding, teaching, leading people in Salah and establishing a public library containing valuable books by scholars of
Ahl-ul-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah. (Part No. 1; Page No. 250) We ask Allah to reward you with the best for the good you do to your brothers and we hope that Allah will grant you more success in doing good and enrich you from His Bounty, making you in no need of what people have. Indeed, Allah (Glorified be He) is Near and answers supplications.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.
Reciting the Qur'an...
