13 – DEATH-PREPARATION FOR DEATH

The following information has been derived from the booklet, Safar-i-âkhirat, by Sayyid Abdulhakîm bin Mustafa Arwâsî ‘rahmatullâhi aleyh.’ The booklet has not been printed.

Discreet men and women who have îmân and who have reached the age of puberty are termed mukallaf. It is sunna for those who are mukallaf to remember death very often. For, remembering death urges to hold fast to the commands and to avoid the prohibitions. It reduces the temptation to commit harâm. Our Prophet (sallallâhu ’alaihi wasallam) declared: “Remember death very often; it ruins tastes and terminates amusements!” Some men of tasawwuf made it a habit to remember death once every day. Muhammad Bahâuddîn-i Bukhârî (quddisa sirruh) would imagine himself dead and interred twenty times every day.

To die does not mean to cease to exist. It is an event that does not annihilate existence. Death is the termination of the soul’s attachment to the body. It is an act of the soul leaving the body. Death is a matter of man’s changing from one state into another. It is to migrate from one home to another. ’Umar bin Abdul’azîz (rahmatullâhi ’aleyh) said, “You have been created only for eternity, for endlesness. Only, you will migrate from one home to another!” Death is a blessing, a gift for the Believer. It is a disaster for the sinful. It is relief for the poor, and torment for the rich. Wisdom is a gift endowed by Allâhu ta’âlâ. Ignorance is the cause of straying from the right way. Cruelty is man’s ugly aspect. Worship brings good humour, joy, and a sacred light to the eyes. Weeping with fear of Allah polishes the heart. Laughter dopes the heart with venom. Man does not wish death. Yet, in fact, death is more useful than mischief. Man likes to live. Yet, in fact, death is better for him. With death the true Believer gets disentangled from the torment and exertion of this world. With the death of the cruel, countries and peoples attain relief. It will be pertinent to quote an old couplet of poetry, which was inspired by the death of a cruel enemy of the religion:

Neither he had comfort, nor did people see peace with him.
He’s at last tumbled down; patience, o thou, who’ll be with him!

A Believer’s soul leaving his body is like the emancipation of a slave from prison. Once dead, a Believer does not want to return to this world. Only martyrs want to come back to the world so that they may be martyred once more. The world’s goodness is all

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gone. What is left behind is only its cares. Death, therefore, is now a gift for every Muslim. A person’s faith can be protected only by his grave. The first of the gifts that will be presented to Believers is the relief in death. What will relieve a Believer is only attaining to Allâhu ta’âlâ. For every Believer death is better than life. Death is useful even to disbelievers.

You have been chasing something quite volatile. You do not even turn to look at what will remain eternally. Indeed, you have been running away from it! If a person’s death has no value, his life has no vaule, either. Death is loved because it takes one to Allâhu ta’âlâ. If I love a person, I love his staying here as well as his death. Will a lover not want to meet his beloved? When Hadrat Azrâîl ‘alaihis-salâm’ (Angel of Death) asked the Prophet Ibrâhîm ‘alaihis-salâm’ for permission to take away his soul, Hadrat Ibrâhîm said, “Will a lover take away his beloved one’s soul?” But when Allahu ta’âlâ sent a message through Hadrat Azrâîl ‘alaihis-salâm,’ saying, “Will a lover shirk from meeting his beloved one?”, Hadrat Ibrâhîm invoked, “O my Allah! Take away my soul at once!”

For a Believer who obeys Allah’s commandments, nothing is more pleasing than death. A Believer who loves attaining to Allâhu ta’âlâ will wish for death. Death is a bridge that leads a lover to his beloved. The desire to meet the beloved is a great and high grade. A Believer who has attained this grade will not wish for death to be delayed. Longing for Allâhu ta’âlâ, he will wish to attain to Him, to see Him. A person who loves Paradise and prepares himself for Paradise will love death. For, without death Paradise is inaccessible.

A person’s îmân is determined at his last breath. Once a person has attained this greatest of fortunes, Allâhu ta’âlâ’s blessings begin to come upon him. At that moment he certainly becomes happy. The fortunate person is such that Hadrat Azrâîl ‘alaihis-salâm’ comes to him and says, “Don’t be afraid. You are going to the Erhamurrâhimîn (the most compassionate of the compassionate). You are arriving in your own home. You are attaining to a great fortune!” For such a person there is no other day more honoured than this. This world is a stopover. Compared with the other world, it is a dungeon. This transient being is only a vision. Like a shadow, it gradually recedes, and goes away. A hadîth-i-sherîf declares, “Men are asleep. They will wake up when they are dead.” Life in this world is like a dream. With the awakening of death the dream will be over, and the real life will

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commence. A Muslim’s death is life, eternal life!

A villager was told that he was going to die. He asked where he would go after he was dead. When they told him that he would go to Allâhu ta’âlâ, he said, “I am no more afraid of death, which will take me to my Allah, who is the only source of benevolence.”

When Mevlânâ Celâleddîn-i-Rűmî (quddisa sirruh) saw Hadrat Azrâîl, he said, “Come quickly, o my dear, come quickly. Take me to my Allah, quickly!”

The throes of death are more violent than all worldly pangs. But they are milder than all the torments in the next world. At the time of death, a Believer sees the angels of mercy and the houris of Paradise, which gives him so much pleasure that he does not even feel the pangs of death. His soul leaves him with utter ease, and he attains blessings.

Every Muslim has to prepare himself for death. For doing this he must do tawba (penance). He must be extra careful not to remain under the obligation of human rights. That is, he must pay the rights and dues to their owners and please their hearts. It is necessary also to pay Allah’s rights. The most important of these rights is to carry out Islam’s five commandments. A person who does not perform the salât has not paid Muslims’ rights. For, during the sitting postures of each salât it is our duty to pray for Believers by saying, “Wa ’alâ ’ibâdillahissâlihîn.” Those who do not perform the salât deprive Believers of this prayer by not saying this prayer, which is Believers’ right.

It is wâjib to prepare for death by paying debts and returning the things borrowed to their owners, and to write your will. Please see pages 799 and 1007 in the Turkish original version.

Because death may come all at once, it is wâjib to provide for the execution of those punishments of Hadd and Ta’dhîr for which there is no forgiveness or which have not been forgiven yet though their forgiveness is possible. That is, it is necessary to ensure the worldly punishments for those sins that have been known. An unpardonable sin is to swear at Server-i-âlam (sallallâhu alaihi wasallam). The pardonable hadds, that is, punishments, are the punishments of such sins as fornication, theft, slander, and taking alcoholic drinks in the world.

Those who are ill must especially hurry to carry out these acts that are wâjib.

An ill person’s bed, sheets, underwears must be clean. They must be changed often. For, cleanliness affects the heart and soul

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greatly. And cleanliness of the heart and soul at the time of death is more important than at other times. Treatment of an ill person is permissible. But Allâhu ta’âlâ, alone, creates healing and effectiveness in medicine. If Allâhu ta’âlâ wills, He does not create any effectiveness in medicine. If this were not the fact, every ill person would be cured by treatment.

Severely ill people must not be injected with consolatory medicine. It would be an act of torture for the ill, which is not permissible. Seriously ill people must not be taken to a hospital. Great effort must be made so that the ill person will die in his home, in the presence of his household and pious people; Qur’ân-al-kerîm must be read near him, and he must be inculcated with the Kalimat-i-shahâda.

During an illness knowledge of îmân and faith must be the major topics of all conversations. Visitors must talk on this subject and, if no one comes, the ill person must read information about the Hereafter. If he cannot read books, he must think about the Hereafter. He must be told stories indicating the fact that Allâhu ta’âlâ is very compassionate. He must be reminded that sins are nothing compared to Allah’s compassion. His hope of pardon and forgiveness must be very strong.

An ill person must take more care than at any other time not to omit his daily prayers. He must fill his heart with love of Allâhu ta’âlâ and say the Kalima-i-tawhîd very often. He must give great care to do the commandments of the Sharî’a. He must make an oral or written will.

An ill person must have great love for Imâm Ali (radiyallâhu ’anh) and his offspring. For, it has been unanimously stated by the savants of Ahl-as-sunna that love for the Ahl-i-bayt produces îmân at the last breath.

A person on his deathbed must say the Sűra Ikhlâs [Qulhuwallâhu ahad] very frequently. Next to his deathbed must be a framed inscription of the Kalima-i-tawhîd.

Changing the place of an ill person’s bed or his room gives relief to him. If possible, he must have an ablution. Because such women as servants, cooks and nurses are not his mahram, they are a great religious hindrance to him. An ill or old person’s daughter cannot take the place of his wife. She cannot do his mahram services. To be free from danger, an ill or old person must marry the woman who is serving him. Without taking any

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heed of gossip, he must have a wife with nikâh[1] -young as she may be- who will serve him.

Visitors to an ill person must not stay very long. Even if they are people loved by the ill person, they must leave early. If an ill person asks, they must stay a little longer and, asking for permission after a while, they must leave if he does not ask them to stay. It is not right not to let anyone enter a seriously ill person’s room. Pious people must enter the room and stay there long enough to say the Sűra Ikhlâs once, even if the ill person does not want them to. You should not deprive the ill person with the excuse that the doctor said that no one must see him or talk to him. Pious people must enter his room and recite the Sűra Yâsîn-i-sherîf. It would be useful even to say it secretly.

People with an ill person must not say exciting things that may worsen his illness; they must not tell stories or start conversations on such topics as newspapers, property, trade, politics and governments.

The person on his deathbed must eat what is halâl. As far as possible, he must eat things prepared after saying the Basmala and other prayers by vigilant-hearted people who have ablution.

People with an ill person must tell religious tales and quote the words of the Awliyâ, of savants, and of pious sages. They must elevate his love for these people. Talking about the Awliyâ-i-kirâm ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaihim ajma’în’ causes Allah’s compassion.

When the symptoms of death are seen, children, people who are junub, and menstruating women must not be allowed into his room. Great care must be taken not to leave any pictures in the room, nor even in the house. Some savants or pious sages must be with him and try to get him to say the Kalima-i-tawhîd without forcing him. He must not be oppressed to say it; those who are with him must say it loud enough to let him hear, but he must not be annoyed. If he says it once he need not be coached to say it again. If he says other things, he must be reminded to say the Kalima-i-tawhîd once more. That is, his last word must be the Kalima-i-tawhîd. It is sunna for those who are with him to say, “lâ ilâha illallah,” once without forcing him. It is preferrable for those who will remind him to say the Kalima-i-tawhîd not to be his adversaries or inheritors. If no others are available his inheritors

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[1] Contract of marriage as prescribed by Islam, as explained in the previous chapter.

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can do it.

It is an important sunna to recite (or read) the Sűra Yâsîn in the presence of the ill person. A hadîth-i-sherîf declares, “If you say the Sűra Yâsîn-i-sherîf in the presence of an ill person, he will die satiated with water and enter his grave satiated with water.” That is, he will not feel the thirst caused by the throes of death. Since the Sűra Yâsîn-i-sherîf tells about the things that will happen after the Resurrection, explains that this world is transitory and foretells the blessings in Paradise and the torment in Hell, when it is said in the presence of an ill person he will have heard the things that will cause him to die with îmân. Reciting (or reading) the Sűra Ra’d facilitates the soul’s leaving the body. According to Hanafî Madhhab, when a person dies he becomes najs. The Qur’ân can be read at some distance and silently, but not near him. However, he does not become najs according to the other three Madhhâhib.

Even the dead will hear and get benefits from the Qur’ân read. It is a sunna for those who carry a janâza (dead person’s body) to the grave or who visit a grave to say some part of the Qur’ân and present the thawâb to the dead person’s soul without thinking of any worldly recompense.

It is a sunna to make the dying person drink some water. This becomes wâjib (a religious command) if it is seen that he needs water. And this necessity becomes even stronger if it is seen that he feels relieved upon drinking the water. It is declared in a hadîth that at that moment of death Satan shows (the dying person) some pure water and says, “I shall let you drink this if you say that you worship none but me.” There are ten benefits in reciting (or reading) the Sűra Yâsîn-i-sherîf:

1 - The hungry person will become satiated. That is, his food will come to him unexpectedly.

2 - The thirsty person will find water enough to satisfy him fully.

3 - The person without clothes will find clothes.

4 - The ill person whose time of death has not come will recover.

5 - The ill person whose hour of death has come will not feel the throes of death.

6 - As he dies, the angels of Paradise will come to him and show themselves to him.

7 - The fearful person will become secure against what he

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fears.

8 - A stranger lonely in a place will find someone to help him.

9 - It will become easy for a bachelor to get married.

10 - Lost or missing property will be found.

However, it must be read with belief and one must intend for these things.

Our Prophet (sallallâhu ’alaihi wasallam) declares, “When a sűra is recited (or read) in the presence of a dying person, an angel for each letter (of the sűra) will come and pray so that his soul will leave him with ease. As he is washed, they will keep him company. As his janâza is carried, they will go with him. They will attend at his janâza namâz. They will be with him during his interment. They will pray for him all the time.” Another hadîth-i-sherîf declares, “If the Yâsîn-i-sherîf is read (or recited) in the presence of a Muslim who is ill, the angel named Ridwân will bring him sherbet from Paradise. He will give away his soul sated with water. He will go to his grave sated. He will not need water.”

An ill person must rely upon Allah’s pardon and forgiveness. He must say, “My Allah will forgive me.” Allâhu ta’âlâ says in a hadîth-i-qudsî, “I shall meet My slave as he expects Me to (meet him). Then, always expect goodness from Me!” The Sarwar-i-âlam ‘sallallâhu alaihi wasallam’ said three days before his death, “Die expecting goodness from Allâhu ta’âlâ!” It is a sunna for those who are with an ill person to say things that will elevate his hope for goodness and to remind him that we expect our Allah’s forgiveness. When it is seen that he is in the state of death, it becomes wâjib to say things that will increase his hope for Allah’s compassion. If he has some omitted prayers of namâz, it is sunna to encourage him to make tawba for them.

His debts must be paid as soon as he dies. Unless his debts are paid his soul will not attain to the grade of the good. Also, the Mahr, the money paid for a nikâh by the husband to the wife, which he did not pay to his wife at the time of marriage, is his debt. His other debts would be zakât and fitra that he did not give, if there are any, and things obtained by theft and usurpation, if there are any. If it is impossible to pay his debts before he is interred, one of the walîs [close relatives] of the dead person undertakes his debts by method of Hawâla. The debts belong to him now. Thus, by the consent of the owners of the rights, the dead person has been freed from his debts. From now on the debts will be the walî’s obligation. Though this way does not

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completely suit the method of hawâla, it has been permitted by the Sharî’a on account of the needy state the dead person is in. Sarwar-i-âlam (sallallâhu ’alaihi wasallam) did not want to perform the janâza prayer for a person who had died indebted. One of the Sahâba, who was named Abű Qatâda-i-Ansârî (radiyallâhu ’anh), accepted to undertake the dead person’s debt by this method. Upon this, he (the Prophet) (sallallâhu ’alaihi wasallam) accepted to perform the janâza prayer. The dead person’s debt was two dinârs, that is, two mithqals [two 4.8 gram coins of gold]. Rasűlullah (sallallâhu ’alaihi wasallam) said to Abű Qatâda, “Has this debt of two gold coins been transferred unto you, and has the dead person been freed from the debt?” When Abű Qatâda said, “Yes.” Rasűlullah (sallallâhu ’alaihi wasallam) performed the janâza prayer. As it is seen, the dead person will be freed from his debt even when a non-relative undertakes the debt. The person who undertakes the debt should say to the creditor, “Make the dead person halâl (forgive him)!” By such act of mutual forgiveness the dead person will be completely free from his debt.

After the dead person is freed from others’ rights either by this way or by other ways prescribed by the Sharî’a, it is necessary to fulfil his last will. The will that requests the doing of something sinful is invalid. Such wills will not be fulfilled. Thus, the dead person will not be deprived of the thawâb and the prayers caused by his will.

It is not permissible to wish for death in order to get rid of an illness or worldly trouble. It is sunna to entreat Allâhu ta’âlâ for death for fear of religious trouble and mischief. So is the case with wishing to be martyred in the way of Allah. Also, it is permissible to wish for death when you are in Mekka-i Mukarrama or Medina-i-munawwara or near the grave of a Walî ‘qaddas-Allâhu ta’âlâ asrârahum ul-’azîz.’

It is mustahab to wish for death in order to attain to Allâhu ta’âlâ. A hadîth declares, “If a person loves to see Allâhu ta’âlâ, Allâhu ta’âlâ loves to see him, too.”

Medical treatment, that is, to go to a doctor and to use medicine, is sunna. A hadîth-i-sherîf declares, “Cure your illness! For, Allâhu ta’âlâ has created remedies and medicine for every illness except that of death.”

It is written in the second volume of Mawâhib-i-ladunniyya that our Prophet ‘sallallâhu ’alaihi wasallam’ would use three kinds of medicine. He would say âyats from the Qur’ân or other

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prayers. He would use medicines discovered by scientific research. He would apply a mixture of these two. He would say, “A person who does not expect shifâ from the Qur’ân cannot get shifâ.” The hadîths stating that reciting the sűra of Fâtiha is a shifâ (healer) of illnesses are written in the tafsîrs of Beydâwî and Cherhî and in Tafsîr-i-mazharî, which is written by Hadrat Sanâullah-i Dahlawî. Imâm Qushayrî says that if the six âyats of shifâ[1] in the Qur’ân are written on a dish and then melted by means of some water put in the dish, an ill person who drinks the water will be healed by Allâhu ta’âlâ. Âyats and prayers are absolute healers. But there are conditions to be observed. It is essential that the person who says or writes the âyat or the prayer and the ill person must believe in its effectiveness. An ill person must observe a diet against harmful foods and doubtful medicines, abstain from extreme cold or heat, do what is prescribed to be necessary, and avoid harâm and cruel acts. A hadîth-i-sherîf declares, “Prayers made in a state of oblivion and unawareness of Allâhu ta’âlâ are not acceptable.” Whenever ill, our master Rasűlullah (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wasallam) would say the (two) sűras of (Qul a’űdhu) and breathe them on himself.

The âyats for shifâ (healing) are the following: The last part of the fourteenth âyat of Sűra-i-Tawba, the middle part of the fiftieth âyat of Sűra-i-Yűnus, the middle part of the sixty-ninth âyat of Sűra-i-Nahl, the first part of the eighty-second âyat of Sűra-i-Isrâ, the eightieth âyat of Sűra-i-Shu’arâ, the middle part of the forty-fourth âyat of Sűra-i-Fussilat. By means of some coloured liquid, e.g. saffrony water, these are written in a bowl, and the writing is melted with rain water. The wife is asked to present some of the money which she was given as mahr, and some honey is bought with the money. Then the honey is mixed with the water and the mixture is drunk. As well, the âyats for shifâ can be written on a piece of paper by a person with an ablution and the piece of paper can be put in some water in a container.

While explaining the thirteenth bigoted creed held by the Shiites, the book Tuhfa states in its final pages: When Hadrat Imâm Ali Ridhâ arrived in Nishâpűr, more than twenty thousand savants and disciples of the Ahl-as-sunna met him. They begged him to quote a hadîth-i-sherîf communicated by his ancestry. Mentioning the names of all his ancestry, Hadrat Imâm recited

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[1] Good health; recovering from illness; restoration of good health.

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the following hadîth-i-qudsî: “Lâ ilaha illallah is My fortress. The person who has said this has entered My fortress. And he who has entered my fortress has escaped My torment.” Hadrat Imâm Ahmad ibn Hanbal said that if this hadîth-i-qudsî is said together with the names of its conveyors and breathed on an insane person he will regain his mental health. If it is said and breathed upon an ill person he recovers. This fact is also stated by Ibni Esir ‘rahmat-ullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaihim’ in his book Kâmil. I have explained how to say this hadith-i-qudsî to an ill person in the part entitled “Birleţelim-Seviţelim (Let Us Unite and Love One Another) in my Turkish book Hak Sözün Vesikalarý (Documents of the Right Word)[1]

First you say “Estaghfirullah” twenty-five times, saying the last one up to “...wa atűbu ilayh.” Then you say the Sűra-i-Ikhlâs eleven times, the Sűra-i-Fâtiha seven times and the following prayer thirty-three times: “Allahumma salli wa sallim ’alâ sayyidinâ Muhammadin wa ’alâ âli sayyidinâ Muhammad.” Then you send the thawâb for these prayers to the souls of our Prophet (sallallâhu ’alaihi wasallam), of the Ashâb-i-kirâm (ridwânullâhi ’alaihim ajma’în), and of the Awliyâ (rahmatullâhi ’alaihim ajma’în), and also to the souls of the Silsila-i-aliyya-i-Nakshibandiyya by mentioning their names. Then you invoke Allâhu ta’âlâ and beg Him to heal you for the sake of these great people. You repeat these prayers every morning and every evening, take the necessary medicines, and observe the diet prescribed for your illness. The great savant Hadrat Abdullah Dahlawî says in the twenty-eighth letter of his book Maktűbât, “You ask for prayers. So I send you both of the Shajaras [Silsila]. Reciting the Fâtiha once for the souls of the first list and once for the souls of the second list, you invoke Allâhu ta’âlâ through them!” He says in his hundred and seventeenth letter, “Whenever you have a problem invoke Allâhu ta’âlâ through these great people! Trust yourself to Him! Allâhu ta’âlâ will accept the prayers sent through these great people and give you your religious and worldly needs.” He either blesses you with healing directly or sends you the doctor or the medicine that He has made a means for your healing and then cures you through means. For, it is His divine way to create through means. For this reason, it is sunna to hold fast to means. Names of the great savants are

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[1] English version of the book is available from Hakîkat Kitâbevi, Fâtih, Istanbul, Turkey.

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written in the Turkish original version of Endless Bliss, in the fifty-second chapter of the third part.

The author of the book Tafsîr-i-’Azîzî (rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’aleyh) says: For forty days you say Sűra-i-Fâtiha forty-one times between the sunna and the fard of morning prayer. You pronounce the last letter (Mim) of the Basmala together with the second letter (Lam) of Sűra-i-Fâtiha. [That is, you say, “...Rahîm-ilhamdu...”] Any prayer you will send after this will be accepted. If you breathe it on some water and have a bewitched person drink the water the person [if it is not his predestinated time of death] will recover and the spell will be broken.

It is written in the interpretation of the third âyat of Sűra-i-Talâq in the book Tafsîr-i-Mazharî, “In order to be safe against religious and worldly harm and to attain to goodnesses, Hadrat Imâm Rabbânî Mujaddid-i-alf-i-thânî (rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’aleyh) would say, “Lâ hawla walâ quwwata illâ billah,” five hundred times every day. This is called kalima-i tamjîd. [Please see the eleventh chapter in the second part of the Turkish original version]. And he would also say the salawât a hundred times both before beginning and after finishing the Lâ hawla. A hadîth-i-sherîf: “A person who wants Allâhu ta’âlâ to give him a blessing which is permanent must say, ‘Lâ hawla walâ quwwata illâ billah,’ very much!” A hadîth-i-sherîf, which exists in the Sahîhayn, declares, “This is a treasure of the treasures of Paradise.” Another hadîth-i-sherîf declares, “Saying the Lâ hawla walâ quwwata is medicine for ninety-nine illnesses, the lightest of which is hemm.” Hemm means sorrow, melancholy, boredom.

The author of Fawâid-i-Uthmâniyya (rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’aleyh) says, “If the Fâtiha, the Âyat-al-kursî and the four sűras beginning with “Qul...” are said seven times each and then breathed on an ill person, it will be effective against a spell, the evil eye, and biting or stinging of (poisonous) animals. Also, saying and breathing them on some salt and melting it in water and then drinking the water or pouring it on a wound has been tried.” The four sűras beginning with “Qul...” are the sűras of Kâfirűn, Ikhlâs, and Mu’awwizateyn.

It is said at the end of the book Bostan-ul-Ârifin that Rasűlullah ’sallallâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ visited ’Uthmân bin Abil’as ’radiallâhu anh.’ He was very ill and was in great pain. Rasűlullah said to him, “Rub the painful area with your right hand seven times, and every time you do so, say this: ’A’űzu bi’izzetillâhi ve qudretihi min sharri mâejidu wa uhâziru.”

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Uthmân reported that he did as he was told, and soon thereafter experienced a full recovery. Abdullah ibni Mas’űd said that if someone reads every morning and evening the first four âyats of Sűra Baqara, the Âyat-al Kursî, and then the following two âyats, and the last three âyats of Sűra Baqara, Satan will not enter his house. If you read this to an insane person he will recover. Anyone who is in trouble should read “estaghfirullah” (which means repentance) very often.

The book Hazînat-ul-asrâr says: ’Umar-ul-Fârűq (radiy Allâhu ’anh) said that Rasűlullah (sall Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) declared: “Fâtiha-i sherîfa, Âyatalkursî, Ikhlâs-i sherîf and those sűras titled Qul a’űdhu are read on rain-water seventy times each. Those who drink this water successively seven mornings will have a full recovery from illness and pain.” [For making ready that water, some pious Muslims must meet somewhere and read the above-mentioned surâs by breathing them on the water.] Imâm-i Ahmad, and Tirmuzî, and Nesâî, and Hâkim, and Bayhakî report that Sa’d Ibni Mâlik (radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh) said that Rasűlullah (sall Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) declared. “Yűnus (Jonah) ’alaihi’s-salâm prayed in the dolphin reciting the 87th ayât of Sűra Anbiyâ [His prayer was accepted and it was revealed that all the wishes of Muslims who will pray reading it will be granted up until Doomsday.] It is certain that when a Muslim prays by reading that âyat-i-kerîma his wishes will be accepted by Allâhu ta’âlâ.” It is said in a report that this ayât should be recited forty times.

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