Short answer
Yes. Ruqyah, reciting the Quran and authentic duas over yourself or a sick person to seek healing from Allah, is allowed and a sunnah, as long as it contains no shirk and you believe the cure comes from Allah alone. You can do it yourself; you do not need a special healer.
Ruqyah with the Quran, the names and attributes of Allah, and duas with a known and sound meaning is permissible and a sunnah practice. Ruqyah with unknown words, calls to jinn, or anything suggesting shirk is haram. Taking a fee for ruqyah is permissible.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Allah says He sends down of the Quran what is healing and mercy for the believers (17:82). The Companions who used to do ruqyah before Islam asked the Prophet ﷺ about it, and he said: "Show me your ruqyah. There is no harm in ruqyah as long as it has no shirk in it." When a Companion recited al-Fatiha over a man stung by a scorpion and he recovered, the Prophet asked: "How did you know it is a ruqyah?" and allowed them to keep the payment. The four schools agree on these conditions.
Every night before sleep the Prophet ﷺ would join his palms, blow lightly into them, recite al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq and al-Nas, and wipe them over his body three times. You can do the same, and add:
- al-Fatiha and Ayatul Kursi
- The last two ayat of al-Baqarah and the four Quls
- The duas for healing and against the evil eye
Warning signs of someone you should not trust: unknown words or symbols, asking your mother's name for calculations, telling you who has done magic on you, asking for an animal to be sacrificed to jinn, demanding large sums, or telling you to stop medical treatment.
Ruqyah and medicine go together: see a doctor for illness, and a mental health professional for anxiety or depression, while you keep reciting. The Deobandi scholars also allow a taweez (amulet) containing only Quran and sound duas, while other scholars forbid all amulets based on a hadith that ruqyah, amulets and charms are shirk, which the Hanafis understand as the shirk-based charms of pre-Islamic Arabia. If you suspect magic or jinn, speak to a qualified scholar before acting on it.
Ask a mufti about your own case. This answer explains the general ruling. When the details of your situation matter, as they do here, ask a qualified mufti and give them the full facts. Where to ask a scholar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Israa 17:82
وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ ٱلْقُرْءَانِ مَا هُوَ شِفَآءٌۭ وَرَحْمَةٌۭ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۙ وَلَا يَزِيدُ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ إِلَّا خَسَارًۭا ﴿٨٢﴾
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.
The Quran is a source of healing, the basis of ruqyah.
Sahih Muslim 2200
Sahih... لا بأس بالرقى ما لم يكن فيه شرك ...
"There is no harm in ruqyah as long as it contains no shirk."
The condition for permissible ruqyah.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5736
Sahih... وما أدراك أنها رقية ...
"How did you know that it is a ruqyah?"
He approved reciting al-Fatiha as ruqyah.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5017
Sahih... جمع كفيه ثم نفث فيهما فقرأ فيهما قل هو الله أحد ...
"He would join his palms, blow into them and recite into them: Say, He is Allah, the One."
Ruqyah over oneself with the last three surahs.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Hazr wa al-Ibaha, discussion of ruqyah and amulets. Ruqyah with the Quran and known duas is permitted; unknown words are forbidden.
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Karahiyya, chapter on medical treatment and ruqyah. The permissibility of ruqyah and of payment for it.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.