This article is part of the book "Ruqyah - Islamic Exorcism"
The necessary patience
The key to Ruqyah is patience and consistency. Many people say "it does not work!" For most of them, the problem is simply a lack of patience, specifically a lack of consistency and the false expectation that if they do the right thing, the problem should go away in a certain time.
If the doctor told you that you had cancer, you wouldn't come back after your first chemotherapy treatment and say, "Why am I not cured now?" That's because you would expect that it would take a year, perhaps two years to go into full remission and get the all clear.
This is a war between you and an army of the shayaateen. This war will be made up of many many battles, some of which you will win, and some of which you will lose. All of this has a wisdom in it that Allah has chosen for you. The Prophet s.a.w. fought his enemies for over 20 years until Allah gave him victory over them, and yet he was the most complete of the people in faith, the one whose du'aa was answered, the one who was free of major sins, and the one whose past and future sins were forgiven. Despite this, Allah chose to test him and the believers with over 20 years of battling their enemy before the people entered into Islam in crowds.
Allah has told us in the Qur'an:
If a wound should touch you - there has already touched the [opposing] people a wound similar to it. And these days [of varying conditions] We alternate among the people so that Allah may make evident those who believe and [may] take to Himself from among you martyrs - and Allah does not like the wrongdoers. Or do you think of entering paradise without Allah recognizing those who have fought among you and (without) recognizing the patient?
[Ali Imran 139-142]
Allah tests our faith with many things, but never does He impose on us an examination which we are not capable of bearing. And if we have patience, the trials will be good for us and will cleanse us.
"Whom Allâh wishes good, He tests him."
(1)
"Truly, when Allah loves people, He lets them go through trials. Whoever is content with it, for him is contentment, and he who becomes angry, for him is anger."
(2)
Furthermore, it may be that the weapon is perfect, but the arm which holds the weapon is weak, or the arm is strong but the aim is poor. It is only when the weapon is good, and the arm that wields it is strong, and the aim of the person is accurate that the weapon can be used to its true effect. For this reason, you should be self-critical and should be asking yourself if your sins are the reason why the help of Allah is delayed, and you should be pushing yourself to constantly improve. This self-reflection and self-criticism is healthy up to a certain point, but it's not healthy when it causes you to reach the level where you despair of the help of Allah.
Go, O my sons, and ascertain concerning Joseph and his brother, and despair not of the Mercy of Allah. Lo! none despaireth of the Mercy of Allah save disbelieving folk.
[Yusuf 87]
Make sure that you are either doing everything that is recommended, or exceeding it, and then be patient, and expect that the help of Allah will come.
Ruqyah can only be judged as successful if the patient does not show any further symptoms and has been blessed with a complete relief from the problem. This is something that usually happens in phases, and each phase has its own challenges. In a sense, the last stage of the treatment, if the patient feels better, is one of the most important times and one in which people make the most mistakes. There are some important points to consider when approaching the end of treatment:
- • Do not stop Ruqyah. This is the #1 mistake that we see people make. One Jinn leaves, and so the person feels so much better that they stop treatment. One complete month of Ruqyah is recommended, at the same intensity as before, until one can comfortable say that the person is genuinely better. This will preserve one - with the grace of Allah - from many errors, thinking the patient is better, but something remains. This can either be because the Jinn are fooling you into thinking that they have gone, or because one Jinn has left and another, who was latent, becomes active. It also catches cases of the Jinn returning to the person after leaving, and cases where the person has been afflicted with something, such as the evil eye, leading to Jinn possession, in which the Jinn leaves, but the effects of the prior affliction remain. Note that the Raqi does not necessarily have to read for this period, but the patient and/or family members can read, and the Raqi can keep an eye on things, from time to time.
- • Don't accept 90%. This is closely related to the point made above. A lot of people get to 90% better, then stop, because they think that is good enough. The affliction then has the chance to grow and flourish again. If you had cancer, you would not be content to stop with 90% of the malignant cancer removed, because you know that the 10% has the potential to grow again. Likewise, you should not be content with 90% of the affliction gone - aim for 100%.
- • Different phases mean different modes of attack for the shaytan to take advantage of. If one door closes for the shaytan, he will simply move on to another method. So, it might be that the shaking and the fitting stops, but the whispering and the confusion increases. Then, the whispering stops, but laziness in the prayer kicks in. The key to successful treatment is remaining constant and patient in tackling the problem, and continuing to adapt to the changes that are happening. On one hand, this requires consistency: don't stop the Ruqyah program, no matter what happens. On the other hand, it requires adding specific things to deal with specific challenges. For example, adding the treatment against waswasah, in order to deal specifically with the whispering, while not stopping the usual Ruqyah program.
- • Once the problem is gone, the person remains vulnerable. This is like a medical patient who has just undergone major surgery. Upon successful completion of the procedure, he remains vulnerable to illness and infection. This is also true of people who have completed Ruqyah; they remain vulnerable. For this reason, even when the Ruqyah stops, the person must be extremely observant in protecting themselves from further problems. Finally, they should be willing to resume their treatment at the first sign of a relapse.
- • It may even be that it is better if the problem persists, but only if one has the necessary patience:
Atha bin Rabah reported Abdullah bin Abbas, who pointed to a black woman who was promised paradise (Ummu Zuffar). He said that the woman once came to the Prophet s.a.w. and said, "I am suffering from the disease Ayan (epileptic seizures), and every time I get cramps, I lose consciousness, sometimes people seeing my nakedness. Pray to Allah, that I may be healed." The Messenger of Allah s.a.w. said, "If you will be patient, you will come to paradise. If you want to be cured, I will pray to Allah." The woman replied, "I will have patience. But pray that I will not be naked when I lose my consciousness." And the Messenger of Allah s.a.w. prayed for her.
(3)
Faith and patience are the keys to paradise, and whoever has patience will have success.
... and the patient in tribulation and adversity and time of war. Such are they who are sincere. Such are the God-fearing.
[Al-Baqarah 177]
O ye who believe! Endure, outdo all others in endurance, be ready, and observe your duty to Allah, in order that ye may succeed.
[Ali Imran 200]
Footnotes:
- Buchari
- Tirmidhi
- Bukhâri 5652
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