Selection of Verses and Supplications for Incantation Purposes
Question

Is it permissible for the purpose of shar‘i ruqyah (prescribed incantation) to try to choose verses, saheeh hadeeths (authentic reports) and proven du‘as (supplications)? Or is it obligatory to follow what is the proven in the saheeh hadeeths that speak specifically of ruqyah as prescribed in sharee‘ah (Islamic law)?
Praise be to Allah.If the one who performs ruqyah does so by reciting general verses of the Quran or general prayers seeking refuge with Allah or other du‘as for ruqyah, or whatever Allah may inspire him with of saheeh (authentic) du‘as that are appropriate to the situation, without restricting it to the specific ruqyahs that have been narrated, there is nothing wrong with that in sha Allah, because of the general meaning of the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): “Whoever among you is able to benefit his brother, let him do so.” [Ahmad]
And the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “There is nothing wrong with a ruqyah that does not involve shirk (paganism).” [Muslim].
Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The scholars are unanimously agreed that ruqya is permissible if three conditions are met:
It should be done by reciting the words of Allah, may He be exalted, or His names and attributes, and in Arabic or in a language the meaning of which is understood, and with the belief that ruqyah has no effect in and of itself; rather it is only effective by the will of Allah, may He be exalted.
They differed as to whether that is a condition; the correct view is that it is essential to pay attention to the above-mentioned conditions. In Saheeh Muslim it is narrated that ‘Awf ibn Malik said: We used to recite ruqyahs during the jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic days of ignorance), and we said: O Messenger of Allah, what do you think about that? He said: “Recite your ruqyahs to me. There is nothing wrong with a ruqyah that does not involve shirk.”
And he narrated from Jabir: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) forbade ruqyah, then the family of ‘Amr ibn Hazm came to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, we had a ruqyah that we used to recite for scorpion stings, but you have forbidden ruqyah. They recited it to him and he said: “I do not see anything wrong with it. Whoever among you can benefit his brother, let him do so.”
Some scholars adhered to this general meaning and regarded as permissible any ruqyah that brings benefits even if the meaning does not make sense. But the hadeeth of ‘Awf indicates that any ruqyah that leads to shirk is forbidden, and anything that does not make sense cannot be guaranteed not to lead to shirk, so it is forbidden as a precaution. And the final condition is essential. … al-Qurtubi said: Whatever (ruqyah) is by reciting the words or names of Allah is permissible; if it is narrated in a report (from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) it is mustahabb (preferred).
End quote from Fath al-Baari.
Al-Khattabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
With regard to ruqyah, what is forbidden is that which is not in Arabic, because it is not known what it means and perhaps it may involve witchcraft or kufr (disbelief). But if the meaning is clear and it contains mention of Allah, may He be exalted, then it is permissible to use it for ruqyah.
End quote from Ma‘alim as-Sunan.
Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Ruqyah is of four types: that which is mentioned in the Sunnah (prophetic teachings) – it is prescribed and mustahabb to use it as ruqyah; that which is shirk or bid‘ah (an innovation) – it is haram (impermissible) to use it as ruqyah; that which is a permissible du‘a in which there is no shirk or bid‘ah, but it is not something that was narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him and his family) – it is permissible to use this as ruqyah. Hence the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said concerning ruqyah: “There is nothing wrong with it so long as it is not shirk.”
End quote from Fatawa Noor ‘ala ad-Darb.
And Allah knows best.