Any treatment must be according to the sunnah of the Prophet (saws). One should have the firm belief that nothing is more effective than what we know from the sunnah or how the Prophet (saws) treated similar maladies.
On this page, we list some common practices of the fake raqis who are in reality magicians or practitioners of sihr or simply moneymakers. You may see one or more of these signs. These signs alone do not mark someone out as a fake raqi – rather, it is how they use them to manipulate you.
The raqi (person doing the ruqyah, healer) should consider ruqyah as a form of worship. Consequently, beware of any person who asks for or charges a fee (money or otherwise) as a condition of performing ruqyah. Fake raqis, who may be magicians, can never do what they do for free or without some items that they request (money, sacrifice, telling you to give in sadaqah (sadaqah should be between you and Allah SWT – no one should tell you to do it)).
Another sign of a fake raqi is someone who quickly jumps to a firm diagnosis without going through a proper process of understanding all the symptoms <link>. In reality, no one knows except by going through all the symptoms. For example, if someone looks at your palms and concludes that you are being affected by magic. Or if they tap on your head with their hands or a stick. Or if they ask you for your mother or father’s name and based on those questions arrive at their diagnosis.
Another sign is when instead of encouraging you to rely upon Allah SWT, they make you dependent on their treatment and keep you coming back to them, and discourage certain acts of worship.
If they give you something physical (paper, or unknown liquids) to tie up and/or to put somewhere inside your home or under your pillow, this is a sign of a fake raqi or a magician.
They try to link previous afflictions or losses with their diagnosis of sihr, even when that may not be relevant. Even though this is possible, the context here is that the fake raqi uses these to reel you in and make you dependent on them. Scare tactics.
Many times, these fake raqis are busy with their affairs and are far from the masjid or prayers in congregation.
How to spot a sahir (magician)
In addition to the above, here are some more signs of a typical sahir:
Do not be impressed by their physical appearance or charisma. The magicians pretend to act like they are not doing sihr, to deceive more people.
There are some elements that are commonly used by magicians such as za`afran, certain oils that are not better than olive oil and blackseed oil. This is not a sureshot sign; skilled raqis upon the sunnah may still use za`afran and other oils but it is more common among the magicians.
Another sureshot sign of a sahir is when they demand that you perform a sacrifice and specify a type of animal. An `ibadah to Allah SWT cannot be a condition for someone to help you. Worship is performed on one’s own out of free will.
Another sign is when they ask you to bring a personal item or something from your home that will be included in the treatment. This is a sure sign of a sahir. Examples include worn clothes, hair, nails, and foods.
Another sign is when they advise a married or childless woman to do something other than a direct du`a to Allah SWT to get married or have a child. There is no ruqyah to get married, or have a child.
Another sign is when they promise that they can make your spouse love you more. Ruqyah doesn’t deal with these types of matters; ruqyah is for the unseen and spiritual matters. In these matters, the primary course of action should be medical or directly addressing the issue. The person should make du`a themselves.
A person can be affected by the evil eye or possession and be unable to get married or have a child. In these cases, the ruqyah is performed not for the purpose of getting married or having a child, but rather to tackle the underlying evil eye or possession, if that is the case.
In cases of medical illness, the first course of action should be to consult a medical professional.