بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
قُلۡ اَعُوۡذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ ۙ﴿۱﴾ مَلِکِ النَّاسِ ۙ﴿۲﴾ اِلٰہِ النَّاسِ ۙ﴿۳﴾ مِنۡ شَرِّ الۡوَسۡوَاسِ ۬ۙ الۡخَنَّاسِ ۪ۙ﴿۴﴾ الَّذِیۡ یُوَسۡوِسُ فِیۡ صُدُوۡرِ النَّاسِ ۙ﴿۵﴾ مِنَ الۡجِنَّۃِ وَ النَّاسِ ٪﴿۶﴾
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, the King of mankind, the God of mankind, from the evil of the whispering tempter who retreats and returns again and again — who whispers into the hearts of people — whether he be from among the jinn or from among mankind.
Surah An-Nas, introduction, discussion on the topic of black magic…
Name:
The last two surahs of the Quran — Surah An-Nas and Surah Al-Falaq — are collectively called the Mu’awwidhatayn (the Two Refuge-Seeking Surahs). Although these two final surahs are separately distinct and are written under separate names in the Mushaf, the relationship between them is so profound and their subject matter so closely related that they share the common name Mu’awwidhatayn (the Two Surahs of Seeking Refuge). Imam Bayhaqi has written in Dala’il al-Nubuwwah that they were also revealed together, which is why both share the collective name Mu’awwidhatayn. We are writing a single article on both of them here because the issues and discussions related to them are entirely the same.
Period of Revelation:
Hasan al-Basri, Ikrimah, Ata, and Jabir ibn Zayd say that these surahs are Meccan. A narration from Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) also says the same. However, another narration from him states that they are Madinan, and this is also the view of Abdullah ibn Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) and Qatadah. Among the narrations that support this second view is the hadith of Uqbah ibn Amir (may Allah be pleased with him), reported in Muslim, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i, and the Musnad of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ once said to him:
“Do you not know what verses have been revealed to me tonight? Their like has never been seen: ‘I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak’ and ‘I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind.’”
This hadith serves as evidence for these surahs being Madinan on the basis that Uqbah ibn Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) embraced Islam in Madinah after the Hijrah, as narrated by Abu Dawud and Nasa’i from his own account.
Other narrations supporting this view — transmitted by Ibn Sa’d, Muhyi al-Sunnah Baghawi, Imam Nasafi, Imam Bayhaqi, Hafiz Ibn Hajar, Hafiz Badr al-Din Ayni, Abd ibn Humayd, and others — state that these surahs were revealed when the Jews of Madinah cast a spell on the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, causing him to fall ill. Ibn Sa’d, on the authority of al-Waqidi, states this occurred in the year 7 AH. Sufyan ibn Uyaynah also considered these surahs Madinan for the same reason.
However, as has already been explained in the commentary on Surah Al-Ikhlas, when it is said that a surah or verse was revealed on a particular occasion, it does not necessarily mean it was revealed for the very first time on that occasion. Sometimes a surah or verse had already been revealed earlier, and then on the occurrence of a specific event or situation, Allah would draw the Prophet’s ﷺ attention to it again — sometimes repeatedly. In our view, the same is the case with the Mu’awwidhatayn. Their subject matter clearly indicates that they were originally revealed in Makkah at a time when opposition to the Prophet ﷺ had grown intense. Later, when the storms of opposition from the hypocrites, Jews, and polytheists arose in Madinah, the Prophet ﷺ was again directed to recite these two surahs, as mentioned in the narration of Uqbah ibn Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) cited above. And when the Prophet ﷺ was afflicted by magic and his illness intensified, Jibril (peace be upon him) came by Allah’s command and again directed him to recite these surahs.
Therefore, in our view, the position of those scholars who consider both surahs Meccan is more authoritative. Furthermore, what prevents attributing these surahs exclusively to the incident of magic is that only one verse of Surah Al-Falaq — “and from the evil of those who blow on knots” — is directly related to magic. The remaining verses of Surah Al-Falaq and the entirety of Surah An-Nas have no direct connection to that incident.
Subject and Theme:
The circumstances in Makkah al-Mukarramah in which these two surahs were revealed were such that as soon as the call of Islam began, it became apparent that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had, as it were, stirred up a hornet’s nest. As his call spread, the opposition of the Quraysh intensified. As long as they held out hope of deterring him through bargaining or persuasion, the ferocity of their enmity was somewhat restrained. But when the Prophet ﷺ completely disappointed them — making clear that he would never compromise on matters of faith — and when Surah Al-Kafirun openly declared to them: “I do not worship what you worship, and you do not worship what I worship; my way is my own and your way is your own” — the hostility of the disbelievers reached its peak.
Especially the families whose members — men or women, boys or girls — had accepted Islam harboured burning resentment against the Prophet ﷺ at all times. He was being cursed in every household. Secret plots were being hatched to murder him in the dead of night so that Banu Hashim would not be able to identify the killer and take revenge. Magic and sorcery were being practiced against him so that he might either die, fall gravely ill, or go mad. The Satans among jinn and mankind spread in every direction to cast doubts and whisperings into people’s hearts against him, against the religion he brought, and against the Quran, so that people would turn away from him in suspicion. Many people’s hearts were also burning with envy, for they could not bear to see anyone other than themselves — or someone outside their own tribe — rise to prominence. For instance, Abu Jahl himself described his reason for going to extremes in opposing the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in these words:
“We and the Banu Abd Manaf (i.e., the Prophet’s ﷺ family) were rivals. They fed people, and we did the same. They provided mounts for people, and we did the same. They gave gifts, and we did the same. Until we became equal with them in honour and nobility — and now they claim there is a prophet among them upon whom revelation descends from heaven. How can we compete with them in that field? By God, we will never accept him or affirm him.”
In these circumstances, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was told: Say to these people that I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak from the evil of all creation, from the darkness of the night, from sorcerers and sorceresses, and from the envious. And say to them: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, the King of mankind, the God of mankind, from every whispering tempter who returns again and again and casts whisperings into the hearts of people — whether he be from among the satans of jinn or the satans of mankind.
This is similar to what Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) declared when Pharaoh expressed his intention to have him killed in open court:
“I take refuge in my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant one who does not believe in the Day of Reckoning.” (Surah Ghafir: 27)
“And indeed, I take refuge in my Lord and your Lord lest you stone me.” (Surah Al-Dukhan: 20)
On both occasions, these noble Prophets of Allah faced with empty hands those who possessed great resources, means, power, and might. On both occasions, they stood firm upon their call to truth before powerful enemies, without any material strength with which to oppose them. And on both occasions, they dismissed the threats, dangerous schemes, and hostile plots of their enemies by declaring: against all of you, we have taken refuge in the Lord of the universe. Clearly, such firmness and steadfastness can only be shown by one who is convinced that the power of this Lord is the greatest of all powers, that all the powers of the world are nothing before it, and that whoever is granted His refuge cannot be harmed by anyone. Only such a person can say: I will never retreat from proclaiming the word of truth — do what you will, I care nothing for it — for I have already taken refuge in the Lord of you all, of myself, and of the entire universe.
Summary: Three Issues Related to the Mu’awwidhatayn (Surah Al-Falaq & Surah Al-Nas)
1. Are These Two Surahs Authentically Part of the Quran?
The companion Ibn Mas’ud reportedly excluded these surahs from his personal Mushaf, claiming they were merely a divine command to the Prophet ﷺ to seek refuge — not Quranic revelation. This gave critics an opening to question the Quran’s integrity.
However, this view is decisively refuted for several reasons: Ibn Mas’ud stood completely alone in this opinion, with no other companion agreeing; the official Uthmanic Mushaf, compiled with unanimous companion consensus, included both surahs; the entire Muslim world has accepted them from the Prophet’s ﷺ time onward; and numerous authentic hadiths confirm the Prophet ﷺ personally recited them in prayer and explicitly taught them as Quranic surahs.
Ibn Mas’ud’s error stemmed from a misunderstanding of the word Qul (“Say”) — he thought it was merely a personal command to the Prophet ﷺ, not revelation to be conveyed. Ubayy ibn Ka’b clarified by asking the Prophet ﷺ directly, who explained that since Jibreel said Qul, he conveyed it exactly as received. The author uses this episode to make a broader point: companions could err, their errors can be academically identified, but this does not justify disparaging them.
2. Did Magic Affect the Prophet ﷺ, and Does This Undermine His Prophethood?
The incident is historically well-established, narrated by multiple companions through numerous chains in Bukhari, Muslim, and other major collections. Jewish conspirators hired a sorcerer named Labid ibn al-A’sam, who performed magic using the Prophet’s ﷺ hair and comb, burying the object in a well. Over roughly a year, the Prophet ﷺ experienced personal disorientation — feeling he had done things he had not.
Crucially, his prophetic function was entirely unaffected: no verse was forgotten or altered, no false revelation was delivered, and no disruption occurred in his teaching or worship. The effect was purely personal, just as physical injuries at Uhud or a scorpion sting were personal without compromising his prophethood. The Quran itself shows Moses was temporarily affected by Pharaoh’s sorcerers’ magic, confirming prophets can experience such effects personally.
The disbelievers’ accusation of the Prophet being mash’ur (bewitched into madness) is a completely different claim — that his prophethood itself was a product of sorcery-induced delusion — which the historical record simply does not support.
3. Is Ruqyah (Healing Incantation) Permissible in Islam?
Some hadiths appear to discourage ruqyah, praising those who avoid it as a mark of complete trust in Allah. However, other hadiths show the Prophet ﷺ himself performed ruqyah, permitted it for companions, and Jibreel performed it over the Prophet ﷺ during illness. The resolution is that ruqyah was initially prohibited, then permitted under conditions: no polytheism, words must be from Allah’s names or the Quran, comprehensible and free of sin, and one must not place independent trust in the ruqyah itself — only in Allah.
The author concludes that using Allah’s words and names alongside medicine is entirely reasonable. What is not permissible is abandoning available medical treatment in favour of ruqyah alone, or making charms and incantations a professional livelihood — neither of which has any precedent in the practice of the Prophet ﷺ, his companions, or the early scholars.
MORE DETAILS ON THIS TOPIC AS FOLLOWS
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The Quranic Status of the Mu’awwidhatayn:
The discussion above is sufficient. However, since in books of hadith and tafsir there are three debates about these surahs that can give rise to doubts in people’s minds, we consider it necessary to clarify them as well.
The first and most significant of these issues is: Has it been conclusively established that these two surahs are part of the Quran, or is there any room for doubt in this matter? This question arises because multiple narrations attributed to the great Companion Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) report that he did not consider these two surahs to be Quranic, and that he had excluded them from his personal copy of the Mushaf. Imam Ahmad, Bazzar, Tabarani, Ibn Mardawayh, Abu Ya’la, Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Humaidi, Abu Nu’aym, Ibn Hibban, and other hadith scholars have transmitted this from Ibn Mas’ud through various chains — most of them authentic. These narrations state not only that he dropped these surahs from his Mushaf, but also that he would say: “Do not mix into the Quran what is not part of it. These two are not part of the Quran. They were a command given to the Prophet ﷺ that he should seek Allah’s refuge in these words.” Some narrations add that he would not recite them in prayer.
These narrations gave opponents of Islam an opportunity to raise doubts about the Quran — suggesting that, God forbid, this book is not free from alteration, and that if two surahs are interpolations according to a Companion as great as Ibn Mas’ud, who knows what other deletions and additions may have been made. To escape this criticism, Qadi Abu Bakr al-Baqillani, Qadi Iyad, and others offered the interpretation that Ibn Mas’ud did not deny the Quranic nature of the Mu’awwidhatayn, but only refused to inscribe them in the Mushaf — because in his view, only what the Prophet ﷺ had explicitly authorized to be recorded should be written therein, and the news that the Prophet ﷺ had given such authorization had not reached him. But this interpretation is incorrect, because it is established on sound chains that Ibn Mas’ud did deny that they were Quranic surahs. Other scholars — such as Imam Nawawi, Imam Ibn Hazm, and Imam Fakhr al-Din al-Razi — flatly declared it false and void that Ibn Mas’ud ever said any such thing. But to reject established historical facts without evidence is not a scholarly approach.
The question then is: what is the proper refutation of the criticism against the Quran arising from these narrations of Ibn Mas’ud? This question has several answers, which we set out in order:
(1) Hafiz Bazzar, after transmitting these narrations of Ibn Mas’ud in his Musnad, writes that in this opinion Ibn Mas’ud stands entirely alone. Not a single other Companion supported his view.
(2) The copies of the Quran compiled by the third Caliph, Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) — with the consensus of all the Companions — and officially sent to the centres of the Islamic world, contained both of these surahs.
(3) From the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ until today, the entire Muslim world has unanimously accepted the Mushaf in which both surahs appear. The solitary opinion of Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), great as he was, carries no weight against this enormous consensus.
(4) It is established through highly authentic and reliable hadiths that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited these surahs himself in prayer, instructed others to recite them, and taught them to people as Quranic surahs. For example:
We have already cited above the narration of Uqbah ibn Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) from Muslim, Ahmad, Tirmidhi, and Nasa’i, in which the Prophet ﷺ told him that these verses had been revealed to him that very night. In a narration from Nasa’i, Uqbah reports that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited both surahs in the Fajr prayer. Ibn Hibban narrates from Uqbah that the Prophet ﷺ told him: “If at all possible, let not a single prayer pass without your reciting these two surahs.” Sa’id ibn Mansur narrates from Mu’adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ recited both surahs in the Fajr prayer. Imam Ahmad narrates with a sound chain from another Companion that the Prophet ﷺ told him: “When you pray, recite these two surahs in it.”
In Musnad Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and Nasa’i there is a narration from Uqbah ibn Amir that the Prophet ﷺ said to him: “Shall I not teach you two surahs among the finest surahs people recite?” He said: “Of course, O Messenger of Allah.” Thereupon the Prophet ﷺ taught him the Mu’awwidhatayn. Then when the prayer was called, the Prophet ﷺ also recited these same two surahs in the prayer. After the prayer, as he passed by him, he said: “O Uqbah, how did you find them?” — and then directed him to recite these surahs when going to sleep and when waking up.
In Musnad Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, and Nasa’i there is a narration from Uqbah ibn Amir that the Prophet ﷺ directed him to recite the Mu’awwidhat (i.e., Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad and the Mu’awwidhatayn) after every prayer. Nasa’i, Ibn Mardawayh, and al-Hakim have also transmitted from Uqbah ibn Amir that he was once walking alongside the Prophet ﷺ who was riding, with his hand upon the Prophet’s ﷺ blessed foot. He said: “Teach me Surah Hud or Surah Yusuf.” The Prophet ﷺ replied: “Nothing is more beneficial to a servant in Allah’s sight than Qul a’udhu bi Rabb al-Falaq.”
Abd Allah ibn Abis al-Juhani’s narration, reported by Nasa’i, Bayhaqi, Baghawi, and Ibn Sa’d, is that the Prophet ﷺ said to him: “Ibn Abis, shall I not tell you of the best thing through which those who seek refuge have sought refuge with Allah?” He said: “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet ﷺ said: “Qul a’udhu bi Rabb al-Falaq and Qul a’udhu bi Rabb al-Nas — these two surahs.”* Ibn Mardawayh has narrated from Umm Salamah that the surahs most beloved to Allah are Qul a’udhu bi Rabb al-Falaq and Qul a’udhu bi Rabb al-Nas.
Here the question arises: how did Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) fall into the misunderstanding that these two surahs were not part of the Quran? The answer becomes clear when we combine two narrations. The first is that Ibn Mas’ud would say these were a command given to the Prophet ﷺ to seek refuge in these words. The second is the narration transmitted by Imam Bukhari in Sahih al-Bukhari, Imam Ahmad in his Musnad, Abu Nu’aym in al-Mustakhraj, and Nasa’i in his Sunan — through various chains with slight verbal variations — from Zirr ibn Hubaysh, on the authority of Ubayy ibn Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him), who held a distinguished position among the Companions in knowledge of the Quran. Zirr ibn Hubaysh states: I told Ubayy’s brother that your brother Abdullah ibn Mas’ud says such-and-such. What do you say about his opinion? He replied: “I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about this. He said that Jibril (peace be upon him) told him to say Qul, so he said Qul. So we say it just as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said it.”
In Imam Ahmad’s narration, Ubayy’s words are: “I testify that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ told me that Jibril (peace be upon him) said to him Qul a’udhu bi Rabb al-Falaq, so he said it; and that he said Qul a’udhu bi Rabb al-Nas, so he said it. Therefore we say it just as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said it.”
Reflecting on these two narrations, it becomes clear that Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) was led into the misunderstanding that the Prophet ﷺ had been commanded to say a’udhu bi Rabb al-Falaq and a’udhu bi Rabb al-Nas — seeing the word Qul (“Say”) at the beginning of both surahs. But he did not feel the need to ask the Prophet ﷺ about it directly. Ubayy ibn Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him) had the same question arise in his mind, but he did ask the Prophet ﷺ, who explained that since Jibril had said Qul, he too said Qul.
To understand this: if someone is given a command and is told “Say: I seek refuge”, in obeying that command he would not repeat “Say: I seek refuge” — rather he would drop the word “Say” and simply say “I seek refuge.” But if the message is not meant to stay with him alone, but to be conveyed to others, then he would convey the exact words of the message — he would not be entitled to drop anything from it. Thus the fact that both surahs begin with the word Qul is clear proof that this is revealed speech (kalam al-wahy) which the Prophet ﷺ was bound to convey in exactly the words in which he received it. Its status was not merely a command given to the Prophet ﷺ personally. Besides these two surahs, there are 330 other verses in the Quran that begin with the word Qul (“Say”). In all of them, the presence of Qul is the mark that this is revealed speech which the Prophet ﷺ was obligated to convey in exactly the words in which it was revealed to him. Otherwise, if Qul anywhere were merely a command, the Prophet ﷺ would have dropped that word and simply said what he was commanded to say, and it would not have been included in the Quran — rather he would have contented himself with simply uttering the words he was commanded to say, in fulfilment of the command.
Here, if one reflects carefully, one can understand well how utterly unjustified it is to consider the Companions infallible and to raise an uproar about dishonouring the Companions the moment one hears that a particular position of theirs was wrong. Here we see that even as great a Companion as Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) made as significant an error as denying two surahs of the Quran. If such an error can be made by a Companion of such stature, then others too can make mistakes. We can, for scholarly investigation, examine and analyse such matters, and if a Companion was wrong in something, we can say so. However, the one who would go beyond calling an error an error and extend his tongue to disparage them would be a great wrongdoer. In the case of these very Mu’awwidhatayn, scholars of tafsir and hadith have said that Ibn Mas’ud’s view was wrong — yet no one had the audacity to say that by denying two surahs of the Quran, he had, God forbid, become a disbeliever.
The Effect of Magic on the Prophet ﷺ:
The second issue arising in connection with these surahs is that according to narrations, magic was cast upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, causing him to fall ill, and to remove its effect, Jibril (peace be upon him) came and directed him to recite these surahs. Many rationalists of earlier and modern times have objected that if these narrations are accepted, the entire Shari’ah becomes suspect — for if magic could affect the Prophet ﷺ, and according to these narrations it did, then we cannot say what magic might have made the Prophet ﷺ say or do, and how much of his teaching came from Allah and how much from the influence of magic. Moreover, they say, once this is accepted, it cannot even be ruled out that a sorcerer drove the Prophet ﷺ, God forbid, to madness through magic, and that the Prophet ﷺ — under that delusion — came to believe that he had received a visit from an angel. They also argue that these hadiths contradict the Quran, which records the disbelievers’ accusation that the Prophet ﷺ was a man bewitched (mash’ur) (Bani Isra’il: 47), whereas these hadiths seem to confirm the disbelievers’ allegation that the Prophet ﷺ had indeed been affected by magic.
To properly investigate this issue, it is necessary first to determine whether it is authentically established by historical narrations that magic did affect the Messenger of Allah ﷺ — and if so, what form it took and to what extent. Then one must examine whether the objections raised actually apply to what history establishes, or not.
It was the utmost integrity of the Muslim scholars of the early generations that they made no attempt to distort history or conceal facts according to their own wishes and assumptions, but transmitted to later generations whatever was historically established — without concern for how someone determined to draw adverse conclusions might exploit the material they had preserved. Now if something is established through highly authoritative and numerous historical sources, it is not permissible for any honest scholar either to deny that history on the grounds that accepting it leads to certain difficulties, or to stretch what history actually establishes beyond its proper limits by running the horse of conjecture. Instead, his task is to accept history as history and then see what it actually does and does not establish.
From a historical standpoint, the incident of magic affecting the Prophet ﷺ is conclusively established, and if it could be disproved by scholarly criticism, then no historical event in the world could be established at all. It has been transmitted from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), Zayd ibn Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him), and Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) by Bukhari, Muslim, Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, Imam Ahmad, Abd al-Razzaq, Humaidi, Bayhaqi, Tabarani, Ibn Sa’d, Ibn Mardawayh, Ibn Abi Shayba, al-Hakim, Abd ibn Humayd, and others — through so many different and numerous chains that the substance of the event approaches the level of tawatur, even though each individual narration is a khabar al-wahid. We compile the details from all the narrations together into one coherent account:
After the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, when the Prophet ﷺ returned to Madinah, a delegation of Jews from Khaybar came to Madinah in Muharram 7 AH and met with a well-known sorcerer named Labid ibn al-A’sam, who belonged to the Ansar’s tribe of Banu Zurayq. They said to him: “You know what Muhammad ﷺ has done to us. We have tried many times to cast magic on him but with no success. We have come to you because you are a greater sorcerer than we are. Here are three gold coins — accept them and cast a powerful spell on Muhammad ﷺ.” At that time, a Jewish boy was serving in the Prophet’s ﷺ household. Through him, these people obtained a piece of the Prophet’s ﷺ comb containing his blessed hair. Magic was performed on those hairs and the comb’s teeth. Some narrations say Labid ibn al-A’sam himself performed the magic; others say his sisters — who were more powerful sorceresses than he — performed it at his request. In either case, this magical item was wrapped inside the spathe of a male date palm’s flower cluster and Labid buried it under a stone at the bottom of a well called Dhi Arwan (or Dhi Ruwan), belonging to Banu Zurayq.
The effect of this magic on the Prophet ﷺ took a full year to develop. In the second half of the year, some change in his disposition began to be felt; the last forty days were severe, and the final three days most severe of all. But the greatest effect it had on the Prophet ﷺ was this: he would feel himself wasting away; he would think he had done something but had not; he would think he had visited his wives but had not; and occasionally he would doubt whether he had seen something that he had not in fact seen. All of these effects remained confined to his personal self, so much so that others could not even discern what he was going through.
As for his prophetic capacity — not a single disruption occurred in his duties as a Prophet. No narration states that during that period he forgot any verse of the Quran, or recited any verse incorrectly, or that any change occurred in his teachings in his gatherings, sermons, and addresses, or that he presented as revelation something that had not in fact been revealed to him, or that he missed a prayer and thought he had prayed when he had not. Had any such thing — God forbid — occurred, it would have caused an uproar, and the entire Arab world would have known that the Prophet whom no power had been able to defeat had been felled by a sorcerer’s spell. But his prophetic capacity remained entirely unaffected, and he suffered the effects only in his personal life, being troubled by them inwardly.
Finally, one day when he was with Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), he supplicated repeatedly to Allah. He then fell asleep — or became drowsy — and when he awoke he said to Aisha: “My Lord has told me what I asked of Him.” She asked what that was. He said: “Two men (i.e., angels in human form) came to me — one at my head and one at my feet. One asked: What has happened to him? The other replied: He has been bewitched. The first asked: Who did it? He replied: Labid ibn al-A’sam. He asked: In what was it done? He replied: In a comb and hair inside the spathe of a male date palm. He asked: Where is it? He replied: Under a stone at the bottom of the well of Dhi Arwan (or Dhi Ruwan), belonging to Banu Zurayq. He asked: What should now be done? He replied: The well’s water should be drawn out, and the item retrieved from under the stone.”
Thereafter the Prophet ﷺ sent Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), Ammar ibn Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him), and al-Zubayr, accompanied by Jubayr ibn Iyas al-Zarqi and Qays ibn Mihsan al-Zarqi (may Allah be pleased with them) — two members of Banu Zurayq. The Prophet ﷺ himself also arrived with some Companions. The water was drawn out and the spathe was retrieved. Inside it, along with the comb and hair, was a cord with eleven knots that had been blown upon, and a wax figurine with needles stuck into it. Jibril (peace be upon him) came and told him to recite the Mu’awwidhatayn. So the Prophet ﷺ recited one verse at a time, and with each verse one knot was undone and one needle was removed from the figurine. When he reached the end, all the knots dissolved and all the needles came out, and he was freed from the effect of the magic — just like someone who had been bound and was then released. Thereafter he summoned Labid and questioned him. Labid confessed his crime, and the Prophet ﷺ let him go, for he never took personal revenge against anyone. Moreover, he declined to publicise the matter, saying: “Allah has given me cure. I do not wish to stir people up against anyone.”
This is the full story of the magic. There is nothing in it that impugns his prophetic office. Just as in his personal capacity he could be wounded — as happened at the Battle of Uhud — just as he could fall off a horse and be hurt — as established by hadiths — just as a scorpion could sting him — as appears in other hadiths — and none of these things was contrary to the protection Allah had promised him as a Prophet; so too, in his personal capacity, he could fall ill from the effect of magic. That magic can affect a prophet is in fact established from the Quran itself. In Surah Al-A’raf it is stated regarding Pharaoh’s sorcerers that when they came to face Moses, they cast a spell over the eyes of the entire vast assembly that had gathered to watch the contest (Surah Al-A’raf: 116). And in Surah Ta-Ha it is stated that the staffs and ropes they threw made it appear — not only to the crowd but to Moses himself — as though they were rushing toward him as serpents, and Moses was filled with fear, until Allah revealed to him: “Fear not, you shall be the one to prevail. Throw what is in your right hand.” (Ta-Ha: 66–69).
As for the objection that this confirms the disbelievers’ accusation that the Prophet ﷺ was a bewitched man (mash’ur): the answer is that the disbelievers did not call him mash’ur in the sense that he had fallen ill due to some sorcerer’s magic, but in the sense that a sorcerer had — God forbid — driven him to madness, and that in this madness he had made the claim of prophethood and was recounting tales of paradise and hell. Clearly, this accusation has no bearing whatsoever on the matter historically established — namely, that the effect of the magic was confined to the person of Muhammad ﷺ alone, while the prophethood of Muhammad ﷺ was completely unaffected.
It is also worth mentioning in this context that those who consider magic to be nothing more than delusion hold this view simply because the effects of magic cannot be given a scientific explanation. But there are many things in the world that are experienced and observed yet cannot be explained by scientific methods. Our inability to provide such an explanation does not require that we deny the existence of what we cannot explain. Magic is essentially a psychological influence which, passing through the psyche, affects the body — just as physical effects passing through the body affect the psyche. Fear, for example, is a psychological thing, yet its physical effect is goosebumps and a shiver through the body. What magic actually does is not change reality, but cause a person’s psyche and senses to feel as though reality has changed. The staffs and ropes that Pharaoh’s sorcerers threw did not actually become serpents, but the magic cast over the eyes of thousands present caused them all to perceive them as serpents — and even Moses’s senses could not remain wholly unaffected by this power of magic. Likewise, the Quran (Al-Baqarah: 102) mentions that in Babylon people used to learn from Harut and Marut a kind of magic that could cause separation between husband and wife. This too was a psychological effect — and obviously, people would not have become its customers had they not known from experience that it worked. It is undoubtedly true that, just like a bullet from a gun or a bomb dropped from an airplane, magic cannot take effect without Allah’s leave — but to deny the existence of something that has been in human experience and observation for thousands of years is sheer stubbornness.
The Status of Ruqyah (Incantation) in Islam:
The third issue arising in connection with these surahs is: Is there any scope for ruqyah (blowing prayers over someone for healing) in Islam? And is ruqyah itself effective? This question arises because numerous authentic hadiths mention that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ every night before sleep — and especially during illness — would recite the Mu’awwidhatayn, or according to some narrations the Mu’awwidhat (i.e., Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad and the Mu’awwidhatayn), three times, blow into both his palms, and then pass them over his entire body from head to foot as far as his hands could reach. During his final illness, when he could no longer do this himself, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) recited these surahs — either on her own or by his instruction — and took his own blessed hand and passed it over his body, seeking the blessing of his hand. Narrations to this effect are transmitted through sound chains in Bukhari, Muslim, Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, Abu Dawud, and the Muwatta of Imam Malik from Aisha herself — who knew the Prophet’s ﷺ domestic life better than anyone.
In this matter, the legal ruling should first be well understood. In the hadiths there is a lengthy narration from Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) at the end of which the Prophet ﷺ says: “Those of my Ummah who will enter paradise without reckoning are those who do not seek cauterization, do not seek ruqyah, do not take omens, and instead place their trust in their Lord.” (Muslim). The narration of Mughirah ibn Shu’bah (may Allah be pleased with him) states that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever seeks cauterization and ruqyah has abandoned his trust in Allah.” (Tirmidhi). The narration of Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) is that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ disliked ten things, one of which was ruqyah — except with the Mu’awwidhatayn or Mu’awwidhat. (Abu Dawud, Ahmad, Nasa’i, Ibn Hibban, al-Hakim). Some hadiths also indicate that at first the Prophet ﷺ prohibited ruqyah altogether, but later permitted it on condition that it contain no polytheism, that the incantation be from Allah’s pure names or His speech, that the words be comprehensible and free of anything sinful, and that trust not be placed in the ruqyah as though it were inherently curative — rather trust should be in Allah, that He may make it beneficial if He wills.
With this legal ruling clarified, let us now consider what the hadiths say on this matter:
Al-Tabarani, in his al-Saghir, has transmitted from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that a scorpion stung the Prophet ﷺ during prayer. When he finished, he said: “May Allah curse the scorpion — it spares neither the one who prays nor anyone else.” He then called for water and salt, applied salted water to the sting, and recited Qul ya ayyuha al-kafirun, Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad, Qul a’udhu bi Rabb al-Falaq, and Qul a’udhu bi Rabb al-Nas.
The narration of Ibn Abbas is also found in the hadiths that the Prophet ﷺ used to recite over Hasan and Husayn (may Allah be pleased with them): “I place you both under the protection of Allah’s perfect words, from every devil and every harmful creature and every evil eye.” (Bukhari, Musnad Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah).
Regarding Uthman ibn Abi al-As al-Thaqafi, Muslim, the Muwatta, Tabarani, and al-Hakim transmit — with slight verbal variations — that he complained to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that since becoming Muslim he had been suffering a pain that was killing him. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Place your right hand on the place of pain, say Bismillah three times, and while passing your hand over it seven times, say: ‘I seek refuge in Allah and His power from the evil of what I feel and what I fear.’” The Muwatta adds that Uthman ibn Abi al-As said: After that, my pain went away, and I have taught this same practice to my family.
Musnad Ahmad and al-Tahawi transmit from Talq ibn Ali that a scorpion stung him in the Prophet’s ﷺ presence, and the Prophet ﷺ blew over him and passed his hand over the sting.
Muslim transmits from Abu Sa’id al-Khudri that once the Prophet ﷺ fell ill and Jibril came and asked: “O Muhammad, are you unwell?” He said: “Yes.” Jibril said: “In the name of Allah I perform ruqyah over you, from everything that harms you and from the evil of every soul and every envious eye. May Allah heal you — in His name I perform ruqyah over you.” A similar narration in Musnad Ahmad from Ubadah ibn al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) states that the Prophet ﷺ was ill. He visited him in the morning and found him in great distress. He came again in the evening and found him fully recovered. He asked how he had recovered so quickly. The Prophet ﷺ replied that Jibril had come and performed ruqyah over him with certain words — which he then recited in nearly the same form as in the above hadith. A similar narration from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) also appears in Muslim and Musnad Ahmad.
Imam Ahmad has transmitted in his Musnad from Hafsa (may Allah be pleased with her), Mother of the Believers, that one day the Prophet ﷺ came to her and found a woman named Shifa [Her actual name was Layla; she was well-known as Shifa bint Abdullah. She embraced Islam before the Hijrah and was from the Qurayshi clan of Banu Adi — the same clan to which Umar belonged, making her a relation of Hafsa.] sitting with her, who used to perform ruqyah for skin ailments. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Teach Hafsa this practice as well.”
Muslim transmits from Awf ibn Malik al-Ashja’i that in the days of Jahiliyyah they used to perform ruqyah. He asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ what his view was on the matter. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Present before me the formulas you used to recite — there is no harm in ruqyah as long as it contains no polytheism.”
Muslim, Musnad Ahmad, and Ibn Majah transmit from Jabir ibn Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had forbidden ruqyah. Then the family of Amr ibn Hazm came and said: “We had a formula with which we used to treat scorpion (or snake) bites, but you have forbidden this practice.” They then recited to him the words they used. The Prophet ﷺ said: “I see no harm in it. Whoever among you can benefit his brother should do so.” Another hadith of Jabir ibn Abdullah in Muslim states that the family of Hazm had a formula for snake bites and the Prophet ﷺ permitted them to use it. This is also confirmed by the narration of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) in Muslim, Musnad Ahmad, and Ibn Majah, that the Prophet ﷺ gave permission to an Ansar family to perform ruqyah for any venomous creature’s bite. Similar narrations from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) are found in Musnad Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Muslim, and Ibn Majah, in which the Prophet ﷺ permitted ruqyah for venomous bites, skin ailments, and the evil eye.
Musnad Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, and al-Hakim transmit from Umayr, the freedman of Abu al-Nahm, that in the days of Jahiliyyah he used to perform ruqyah. He presented it to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who said: “Remove such-and-such elements from it; the rest you may use.”
The Muwatta records that when Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the house of his daughter Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) and found her ill with a Jewish woman performing ruqyah over her, he said: “Perform ruqyah with the Book of Allah.” This shows that it is also permissible for People of the Book to perform ruqyah using verses of the Torah or the Gospel.
As for whether ruqyah is actually beneficial — the Messenger of Allah ﷺ not only never prohibited medicine and treatment, but himself said that Allah has created a cure for every illness and told people to seek treatment. The Prophet ﷺ himself informed people of treatments for certain illnesses, as can be seen in the Kitab al-Tibb in the hadith collections. However, medicine too is beneficial only by Allah’s command and permission — for if medicine and medical treatment were unconditionally effective, no one would ever die in hospitals. Now, if alongside medicine and treatment one also benefits from Allah’s Word and His beautiful names, or in a place where no medical help is available one turns to Allah alone and seeks help through His words, names, and attributes — this is contrary to no one’s reason except that of materialists. However, it is not correct to deliberately abandon medicine and treatment where they are available and rely solely on ruqyah, nor for people to set up practices of charms and incantations as a livelihood. No precedent for this is found among the Prophet ﷺ, the Companions, the Successors, or the early Imams.
The Correspondence Between Surah Al-Fatihah and These Surahs:
The final matter worthy of attention regarding the Mu’awwidhatayn is the correspondence between the beginning and the end of the Quran. Although the Quran was not arranged in the order of revelation, the verses and surahs that were revealed over 23 years in response to various circumstances, occasions, and needs were arranged by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ — not on his own initiative but by the command of the God Who revealed them — in the form in which we now find it.
According to this arrangement, the Quran begins with Surah Al-Fatihah and ends with the Mu’awwidhatayn. Consider both for a moment. At the beginning, after praising Allah — Lord of all worlds, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgement — the servant says: You alone do I worship, and You alone do I ask for help; and the greatest help I need is that You show me the straight path. In response, Allah gives him the entire Quran to show him the straight path — and the Quran is concluded with the servant saying to Allah — Lord of the Daybreak, Lord of Mankind, King of Mankind, God of Mankind — “I seek Your refuge from every evil of every creature that seeks to hinder me from the straight path — whether it be a whispering tempter from among the jinn or from among mankind.” The correspondence between that opening and this conclusion is something no discerning person can fail to perceive.
Messages from Quran 