Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 3515
حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي الْخَصِيبِ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ عِيسَى، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ أَبِي سُفْيَانَ، عَنْ جَابِرٍ، قَالَ كَانَ أَهْلُ بَيْتٍ مِنَ الأَنْصَارِ يُقَالُ لَهُمْ آلُ عَمْرِو بْنِ حَزْمٍ يَرْقُونَ مِنَ الْحُمَةِ وَكَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَدْ نَهَى عَنِ الرُّقَى فَأَتَوْهُ فَقَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّكَ قَدْ نَهَيْتَ عَنِ الرُّقَى وَإِنَّا نَرْقِي مِنَ الْحُمَةِ . فَقَالَ لَهُمُ " اعْرِضُوا عَلَىَّ " . فَعَرَضُوهَا عَلَيْهِ فَقَالَ " لاَ بَأْسَ بِهَذِهِ هَذِهِ مَوَاثِيقُ " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAlī ibn Abī al-Khaṣīb narrated to us: Yaḥyā ibn ʿĪsā narrated to us, from al-Aʿmash, from Abū Sufyān, from Jābir, who said: A household among the Anṣār, known as the family of ʿAmr ibn Ḥazm, used to perform ruqya for venomous stings. The Messenger of Allah had forbidden ruqyas, so they came to him and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, you have forbidden ruqyas, but we perform ruqya for venomous stings.’ He said to them, ‘Present it to me.’ They presented it to him, and he said, ‘There is no harm in this one; these are pledges.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The text reports a general prohibition followed by approval of this particular ruqya. The final phrase هذه مواثيق is rendered literally as ‘these are pledges’; its precise force is unclear from this short passage.
فَعَرَضُوهَا عَلَيْهِ فَقَالَ " لاَ بَأْسَ بِهَذِهِ هَذِهِ مَوَاثِيقُ " .
مَوَاثِيق is literally ‘covenants/pledges’; the English witness renders the phrase ‘this is confirmed,’ which is interpretive and does not preserve the Arabic plural noun.
What is intended by calling these ruqyas مَوَاثِيق (‘pledges/covenants’)?
قَالَ كَانَ أَهْلُ بَيْتٍ مِنَ الأَنْصَارِ يُقَالُ لَهُمْ آلُ عَمْرِو بْنِ حَزْمٍ يَرْقُونَ مِنَ الْحُمَةِ وَكَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَدْ نَهَى عَنِ الرُّقَى فَأَتَوْهُ فَقَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّكَ قَدْ نَهَيْتَ عَنِ الرُّقَى وَإِنَّا نَرْقِي مِنَ الْحُمَةِ .
The report first says the Prophet had forbidden ruqyas generally, then relates approval of this specific ruqya for venomous stings.
Should the general prohibition and specific approval both remain as separate statements?