Seeking treatment from people of Bid`ah and superstitions

Q: A twenty-year-old man called Shaykh Muhammad lives in Jabal Al-Manarah, Jordan. He has been curing people since he was seven years old. I was told that when he was a child, he suffered from an incurable illness. Some pious Jinn (creatures created from fire) came and told his father that they would cure his child by Allah's will and he would treat people in the same way which can be summarized as follows:The young man tells a patient who consults him for the first time that "only Allah cures people and not him and that anyone who does not offer Salah (Prayer) will not be cured. Having a sincere intention and putting one's trust in Allah are very important in the course of treatment." The young man asks the patient about what he suffers from and after thinking for a while he tells the patient that there is a cure for his case; which is either water he has blown into it or an operation. He takes fifty riyals and asks the patient to drink three sips from the water at Maghrib (Sunset) and `Isha' (Night) Prayers. He asks the patient to say, "In the Name of Allah, the Curer" when drinking the water. If the patient is not cured, the young man tells him that he needs to undergo an operation. (Part No. 1; Page No. 222) The patient returns to him at a specific night. A group of patients fill a room where he treats them. Before they lie down, he gives them the following instructions: "Do not lie down without performing Wudu' (ablution), mention Allah while laying on your back, do not turn to your left side but to the right side only, stretch your legs, do not move as much as possible, and pray Fajr (Dawn) in congregation and return to lay down." This process starts at 9 P.M. And he returns to them the following day at 9 A.M. The following day morning. They listen to a recorded recitation by one of the famous Qur'an reciters such as, Al-Husary, Al-Sundays, and Al-Shureim while they are laying down. When the young man comes at 9 o'clock, he informs each one of them of their condition, saying for example: "you are cured, you got better but you spoke with other than mentioning Allah and moved." He asks the patient who uttered other than mentioning Allah to undergo another operation that lasts for one or two hours. Taking into consideration that during such an operation the body is not cut open and blood does not flow. Patients lay on the back only after performing Wudu' and mention Allah. (Part No. 1; Page No. 223) What is the ruling on consulting this young man? Some shaykhs say that anyone who consults him commits Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship) and others say that he is Fitnah (trial). It was proven that the condition of some patients was improved. He cures many diseases which physicians failed to cure, such as blindness and paralysis.

A: All that is mentioned in the question is a form of Bid`ah (innovation in religion), superstitions and baseless malicious acts which have no evidence in the Qur'an or the Sunnah. The person who introduced this Bid`ah wanted to distinguish himself among other quacks to attract the naive and ignorant common people to steal their money. He is either ignorant or he might be deceiving people. Moreover, he should not be deluded by his skills for it might be a trial and a test from Allah (Exalted be He). It was related by Abu Dawud in his Sunan on the authority of Zaynab from her husband `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud who said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saying, [Illegal] Ruqyahs, charms and love-potions are [acts of] Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship). Zaynab said, "Why do you say this? I swear by Allah, when my eye was discharging I used to go to so-and-so, a Jew, who applied a spell to me. When he made the spell to me, it calmed down." `Abdullah said, "That was just the work of Satan who was picking it with his hand, and when he uttered the spell on it, he desisted. All you need to do is to say as the (Part No. 1; Page No. 224) Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to say, 'Adhihibil-ba’s Rabba al-nass, ishfi anta Al-shafi, la shifa’a illa shifa’ak, shifa’an la yughadiru saqama.' (O the Lord of all people! Do away with the agony, may You cure, You are the Curer, there is no cure except Your cure. A cure that does not leave any sickness.) (See `Awn Al-Ma`bud, vol. 16, p. 212) (Related by Imam Ahmad in Al-Musnad, vol. 1, p. 381 and Ibn Majah, Ibn Hibban, and Al-Hakim, who ranked it as Sahih (authentic) and was also acknowledged by Al-Dhahaby.) You should not consult this person as he might be doing things that contradict the Islamic `Aqidah (creed) which you do not know. It is permissible for you to recite or let others recite Ruqyah (reciting Qur'an and saying supplications over the sick seeking healing) that is free from Bid`ah and superstitions.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.