The Qur’ān: The Comprehensive Cure
The cure ALlāh has sent down for every disease is the Qur’ān—whether diseases of the heart, soul, or body, they are all cured by the Qur’ān. The Qur’ān is shifā’ (شفاء—healing).
ALlāh said: “And if We had sent this as a Qur’ān in a foreign language (other than Arabic), they would have said: ‘Why are not its verses explained in detail (in our language)? What! (A Book) not in Arabic and (the Messenger) an Arab?’ Say: ‘It is for those who believe, a guide and a healing. And as for those who disbelieve, there is heaviness (deafness) in their ears, and it (the Qur’ān) is blindness for them. They are those who are called from a place far away (so they neither listen nor understand).” [Sūrah Fussilat 41:44]
If We had made the Qur’ān in a language other than Arabic, the non-Muslims would have said: “How is it not in Arabic when it was revealed to an Arab Prophet?”
First lesson, brothers: When you read the Qur’ān, read it in Arabic. When you recite in other than Arabic, it is not Qur’ān. The Qur’ān for the people is guidance and cure. ALlāh made us understand that it has two things: guidance away from misguidance. If you want to be guided in every matter—whether religious or worldly—if you want to be cured from every disease, whether of the body or soul, it is in the Qur’ān. Every time you need guidance, read the Qur’ān.
Likewise, it is a cure at all times and for every need—the cure is the Qur’ān.
If you need to get guidance in the Qur’ān, read it and understand the Qur’ān. So the first thing is learning how to read the Qur’ān in Arabic. Wallāhi, the Qur’ān is a cure for all kinds of diseases. ALlāh said to us in the Qur’ān:
“And We send down of the Qur’ān that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe (in Islamic Monotheism and act on it), and it increases the zālimūn (polytheists and wrongdoers) nothing but loss.” [Sūrah al-Isrā’ 17:82]
This Qur’ān itself that We have sent down to you is nothing other than a cure and a means of mercy for the people of īmān. And for the people of injustice, they continue to increase in loss. Why? When you deliberately oppose the truth, it will increase you in loss. So one of the cures for all diseases is the Qur’ān—reading the Qur’ān, following and obeying the instructions in the Qur’ān.
Understanding “Min” (من) in the Verse
The “min” (من) in the verse doesn’t mean some part of the Qur’ān is a cure and other parts are for other things. It means the whole Qur’ān. Also in Sūrah al-Bayyinah: “Those who disbelieve from among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) and al-Mushrikūn were not going to leave (their disbelief) until there came to them clear evidence” [98:1].
The “min” there doesn’t mean some of them believed, as it is mostly translated—they were all disbelievers. So “min” can sometimes mean “a part of” and can also be used to describe exactly what the thing is.
The entirety of the Qur’ān—all of it—is a cure. The Qur’ān is a cure for diseases of the heart. If you are greedy, be reciting the Qur’ān. If you have hasad, be reciting the Qur’ān. If you have confusion, if you are lazy, if you suffer from infatuation toward a woman—make tadabbur (تدبر—contemplation), pay attention to the Qur’ān.
Also for the soul, read the Qur’ān if attacked by jinn. Not just al-Fātihah, not just al-Falaq—every part of the Qur’ān is a cure.
A Practical Example from the Sunnah
One day ‘AbduLlāh ibn Mas’ūd was walking in the street when he saw a man rolling on the ground. He read something in the ears of the man, and the man stood up (healed). When the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was told what ‘AbduLlāh ibn Mas’ūd did, he asked him: “What is it that you recited to his ear?” ‘AbduLlāh said he recited the last four verses of Sūrat al-Mu’minūn (23:115-118).
When ‘AbduLlāh said that to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), the Prophet said: “I swear by the One in Whose hand is my soul, if a man makes this du’ā’ with yaqīn (يقين—certainty) about getting a response, and that no one accepts du’ā’ except ALlāh—if he recites it toward a mountain, it will be pulverized.” (If one reads this for any problem, as the Prophet had said, it will be solved bi-idhnillāh.)
Ibn ul-Qayyim’s Testament on the Qur’ān
Ibn ul-Qayyim said: “ALlāh has not sent down anything from the heaven as a means of cure that is more encompassing and beneficial, greater, more effective, more impactful, or more influential in removing sickness than the Qur’ān.”
There is no cure better than the Qur’ān—as the Yoruba would say, “gbogbonise” (all-encompassing). The more you read and study the Qur’ān, the more you get solutions to your problems. Read the Qur’ān, ponder on the Qur’ān, follow the injunctions.
The Qur’ān Cures Physical Diseases Too
The Qur’ān is a cure for everything. Ibn ul-Qayyim gave examples because some people think it is only for diseases of the heart and soul. They don’t know that it also cures diseases of the body. It will cure your cancer, obesity, and others.
Long ago, Ibn Hazm said: “We used the Qur’ān to heal tumors, and we tried it many times.” This is not to say you shouldn’t go to the hospital—use both. As you are in the hospital, be reading the Qur’ān. The Qur’ān first, then the hospital. It’s not to say, “They have said we shouldn’t go to the hospital again!” No, it is to tell you, as a Muslim, you have the Qur’ān sent by ALlāh. Even the medicine you want to use was sent by ALlāh, so they are not exclusive. Do them together.
Brothers, don’t leave the Qur’ān. We have been seeking cures while abandoning the Qur’ān—add it. Don’t abandon the Qur’ān. Take the Qur’ān first.
The Hadith of Sūrat ul-Fātihah as Cure
It is authentically reported in Sahīh Muslim:
A number of companions of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) made a journey. They continued until they stopped to rest in one small village and pass the night, but the people rejected them—they didn’t want them to stay over. The head of that community was stung by a scorpion. They began to make efforts to cure the man using all means of treatment.
One of them said: “Maybe we should go to that group of men. Maybe we should approach those men that we rejected—maybe one of them will have something we can give to our head.” They told the companions: “Our head has been stung by a scorpion. We have made serious efforts with everything in our disposal, but all are not bringing any benefit to him. Does anyone of you have something we can give him?”
One of the companions said: “Wallāhi, I can read something to that man and he will be cured, but the problem is we requested to stay with you, but you rejected hosting us. So I wouldn’t read anything unless you give recompense.”
So they came to a peaceful agreement on goats/sheep—some scholars said it was 30 goats. They agreed and went. He was blowing on the leg and reciting Sūrat al-Fātihah.
It was as if the man was freed from a rope he was tied with. Some scholars said he recited it seven times. The man stood up walking—he didn’t have any problem again. (We continue explaining this hadīth next week, inshāALlāh.)
Let’s go back to the Qur’ān, O people.
Q&A Session
Question: A student of knowledge who finds it hard to contemplate on the Qur’ān—what advice do you have?
Answer: Remove things that preoccupy your mind. You are planting—you add fertilizer, you add water, but you must remove the weeds too. Leave social media; it will distract you. Another thing is mixing with different types of people. You want to be everywhere. It means your mind will be divided—you don’t have your mind to yourself. You have too many things on your mind.
If you want to be able to ponder on the Qur’ān, then you have to be able to gather your mind. You shouldn’t be the type whose mind is everywhere—you want to be everywhere, you want to respond to everything. You are busy on social media. You have different things on your mind to settle—you want to do this, do that.
You must have your mind to yourself. What doesn’t concern you, you don’t go there or respond to it. You reduce your “talk, talk, talk”—you reduce many things. You should be reserved and have your attention focused on yourself.
May ALlāh preserve the Shaykh upon goodness. Āmīn.
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