The reason why those who ask for ruqyah are not included in the seventy thousand will enter Paradise without being brought to account

Why is it that a person who seeks ruqyah from another person will not be of the 70 that enter heaven without being judged?? Is it wrong to ask someone to do ruqyah for you? I have a problem that is really affecting me but I do not feel I have the patience or skill to do ruqyah myself as I keep starting for a few days and then abruptly stop.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly: 

Al-Bukhaari (6472) and Muslim (220) narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Seventy thousand of my ummah will enter Paradise without being brought to account; they are the ones who did not ask for ruqyah or believe in omens or use cautery and they put their trust in their Lord.” These people will enter Paradise without being brought to account because of the perfection of their Tawheed, their complete trust in Allah and their independence from people. 

The one who asks for ruqyah from others is not included in that seventy thousand who will enter Paradise without being brought to account, due to the shortfall in their trust in Allah, because asking for ruqyah involves a kind of humiliation and need of the raaqi (the one who performs ruqyah), and part of complete trust and Tawheed is that the Muslim should not ask people for anything. 

Muslim narrated (1043) that ‘Awf ibn Maalik al-Ashja‘i (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We were with the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), nine or eight or seven (people) and he said: “Will you not swear allegiance to the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)?” We had only recently sworn our allegiance, so we said: We have sworn our allegiance to you, O Messenger of Allaah. He said: “Will you not swear allegiance to the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)?’ We said: We have already sworn our allegiance to you, O Messenger of Allaah. Then he said: “Will you not swear allegiance to the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)?” We held out our hands and said: We swear our allegiance to you, O Messenger of Allaah. Tell us on what basis we should swear allegiance to you? He said: “On the basis that you will worship Allaah and not associate anything with Him, and (you will perform) the five daily prayers, and you will obey Allaah – and he whispered – and you will not ask the people for anything.” I saw that some of those people, if they dropped a whip, they would not ask anyone to hand it to them. 

Ibn Al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

That is because these people will enter Paradise without being called to account because of the perfection of their Tawheed, therefore he described them as people who did not ask others to perform ruqyah for them. Hence he said “and they put their trust in their Lord.” Because of their complete trust in their Lord, their contentment with Him, their faith in Him, their being pleased with Him and their seeking their needs from Him, they do not ask people for anything, be it ruqyah or anything else, and they are not influenced by omens and superstitions that could prevent them from doing what they want to do, because superstition detracts from and weakens Tawheed. End quote. 

Zaad al-Ma‘aad, 1/475 

The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas said: 

What is meant is that they do not ask others to perform ruqyah for them or cauterize them; rather they put their trust in Allah and rely on Him to relieve what they are suffering and to ward off what would harm them and to bring that which would benefit them. End quote. 

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 24/397 

Secondly: 

Seeking ruqyah from another person is not haraam, but it is contrary to what is best and most perfect. 

The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas said: 

Asking others to offer du‘aa’ for one and asking them to perform ruqyah are permissible, but not doing them and doing without people and doing these things for oneself is better. 

End quote. 

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 24/261 

Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

This hadeeth indicates that not asking is better, just as not using cautery is better, but when there is a need for it, there is nothing wrong with asking for ruqyah or using cautery, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) told ‘Aa’ishah to ask for ruqyah for an illness that had befallen her, and he told the mother of the children of Ja‘far ibn Abi Taalib (may Allah be pleased with him), whose name was Asma’ bint ‘Umays (may Allah be pleased with her), to seek ruqyah for them. This indicates that there is nothing wrong with that when there is a need to ask for ruqyah. End quote. 

Majmoo‘ Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 25/118-119 

Thirdly: 

With regard to your saying “I do not have the patience or skill to do ruqyah for myself,” asking for ruqyah is permissible, as stated above, although ruqyah does not require any skill; rather it is of the same status as supplication (du‘aa’), and anyone can call upon his Lord for healing; that is not difficult. So a person can perform ruqyah for himself by reciting Soorat al-Faatihah, or any other passage of the Holy Qur'aan, or supplications that are proven to be from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), such as: 

“Allaahumma Rabb an-naas, mudhhib al-ba’s ishfi anta al-Shaafi, laa shaafiya illa anta, shifaa’an laa yughaadir saqaman (O Allaah, Lord of mankind, the One Who relieves hardship, grant healing, for there is no healer but You, a healing that leaves no trace of sickness).”  Narrated by al-Bukhaari (5750) and Muslim (2191). 

“A’oodhu bi kalimaat Allaah al-taammah min kulli shaytaanin wa haammah wa min kulli ‘aynin laammah (I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allaah, from every devil and every poisonous reptile, and from every bad eye).” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3371). 

Muslim (2202) and al-Tirmidhi (2080) narrated from ‘Uthmaan ibn Abi’l-‘Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he complained to the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) about some pain that he had felt in his body since he became Muslim. The Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to him: “Put your hand on the part of your body that hurts and say: ‘Bismillaah (in the name of Allaah)’ three times, then say seven times: ‘A’oodhu bi ‘izzat-illaah wa qudratihi min sharri ma ajid wa uhaadhir  (I seek refuge in Allaah and His Power from the evil of what I find and I fear).’”. 

Al-Tirmidhi added: He said: I did that and Allah took away what I was suffering, and I still tell my family and others to do that. 

We ask Allah to heal you, a healing that leaves no trace of sickness. 

And Allah knows best.