Should she stop psychiatric treatment and only use ruqyah shar‘iyyah even if the condition worsens?
Question

My sister is suffering from schizophrenia that does not respond to treatment; she lost her mind more than twenty years ago. She takes medicine which, if she stops taking it, her condition gets worse. My family thought that perhaps what happened to her was because of the evil eye or witchcraft, so they took her to a number of shaykhs and reciters, and they said that there is no treatment for her condition, and what happened to her was because of the evil eye. Praise be to Allah in all circumstances. Now my brother brought one of the reciters who charge a fee for reciting (over the sick person) to the house, to recite over her, and this reciter told him that my sister must stop the psychiatric treatment, and that she will be healed by recitation and will go back to the way she was. My sister’s condition has got worse since she stopped taking her medicine, but my brother is convinced by what this reciter said. I hope that you can give an Islamic response to this matter.
Praise be to Allah.Ruqyah as prescribed in Islamic teaching is beneficial for those suffering from both physical and mental illnesses, because Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “And We send down of the Qur’an that which is healing and mercy for the believers, but it does not increase the wrongdoers except in loss” [al-Israa’ 17:82].
But everything happens in accordance with the divine will and decree; healing may be delayed and may not happen at all, according to whatever Allah, may He be exalted, wills and decrees.
In the answer to question no. 225855, we explained that there is no conflict between psychiatric treatment and ruqyah as prescribed in Islamic teaching. There are real psychological illnesses that need to be treated by a specialist, and in that case one should combine medical treatment and ruqyah.
If your sister has been diagnosed and her illness is known, then it is not right to stop the medication that has been prescribed for her by the doctor. Rather the medicine and ruqyah should be combined, lest her condition worsen, as you mentioned. It is possible to reduce her medicine by as much as will let her be alert; this is necessary, because if she sleeps or is lethargic, this may undermine the effect of the ruqyah.
The evidence to support the idea that tried and tested physical treatment should not be abandoned in favour of relying solely on ruqyah is the hadiths which encourage seeking medical treatment, such as the hadith in which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Seek medical treatment, for Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, has not created any disease but He has also created a remedy for it, except for one disease: old age.” Narrated by Ahmad (17726) and the authors of as-Sunan, Abu Dawood (3855), at-Tirmidhi (2038) and Ibn Maajah (3436). Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.
So long as the illness has been diagnosed and is known, the basic principle is that the medicine that doctors and scientists have determined is the correct remedy for that illness should be taken, whilst also using ruqyah as prescribed in Islamic teachings. But if the illness is not known, and the doctor resorts to using tranquilizers and sedatives, then these medications should be reduced as much as possible, and efforts should be focused on using ruqyah.
Shaykh ‘Abdullah al-Mutlaq, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, said: Medical treatment is something required, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Treat sickness, O slaves of Allah, but do not treat sickness with anything that is haraam.” It is recommended to seek treatment from specialist doctors, and this comes under the heading of taking appropriate measures. It is Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, Who has created sicknesses and has created means of healing, yet, ruqyah, seeking healing by means of the Qur’an and du‘aa’s narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) are also means of treating sickness and seeking healing. There are many hadiths narrated by al-Bukhaari in his Saheeh which confirm and support that.
And he said: A person does not know where the remedy may be found. Ruqyah may be the only means of healing, and treatment with medicine may be the only means, or they may both be means. Hence the individual should resort to both of them together.
And he said: The one who performs ruqyah has no right to tell the sick person to stop taking the medicine that skilled doctors have prescribed for him, who have studied in universities and whose medicines have been tested in laboratories, and they have extensive experience in the treatment of diseases.
These practitioners of ruqyah who belittle the expertise of doctors have the least understanding of the teachings of Islam; in most cases they are people who are looking to make money and do not care about the health of the patient. Otherwise there is nothing better than combining both spiritual and physical means, and combining recitation with the treatments that are prescribed in hospitals.
The true practitioners of ruqyah are those to whom Allah has granted both Islamic knowledge and piety; they are the ones who advise sick people to combine both spiritual and physical remedies, and remind them that all of these are means and measures, and remind them that it is Allah Who is the healer. End quote.
Conclusion:
If your sister’s sickness is known, then our advice is not to stop taking the medicine, and to combine that with ruqyah shar‘iyyah as prescribed in Islamic teachings.
And Allah knows best.