Al-Dā' wa'l-Dawā' (The Disease & the Cure) — Ibn al-Qayyim

Ibn al-Qayyim · commentary (sharḥ) by Sheikh ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Badr

My running notes from the Sheikh’s commentary, read alongside the physical copy. One entry per lesson / set of pages — what the Sheikh explains, plus any benefits worth noting.

Why this book was written

Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) wrote this book in response to a man who was suffering from serious sins and a deep-rooted, destructive habit. The man knew its danger and wanted to be saved, so he asked Ibn al-Qayyim for a cure — and this book was the answer.

From Sheikh ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Badr (commentary)

• “I believe the person who asked Ibn al-Qayyim was a sincere individual — so Allah blessed his question and made it the cause for this book to be compiled.”
• “I also say: a sinner struggling with sins he cannot rid himself of should stay close to the scholars and the circles of knowledge, and be patient.”

This book has been praised by many people of knowledge, and it draws deeply on reflections from the Qur’an and the Sunnah.

📖 Key Arabic Terms & Honorifics

A running glossary — I add to this as new terms come up in the commentary.

Lesson 1 — «Page 15 · Introduction»

🗒️ Commentary

1 · Why he wrote it

• This is the question the whole book is built on — the reason Ibn al-Qayyim wrote this blessed work. A man was suffering from a trial (left unnamed, implying a great sin) that was deep in his heart and soul. He knew its danger and the great harm it caused; he tried to free himself from it by every means he could, but his soul refused — so he asked for help to be guided to salvation.
• This suffering is the reality for many people today, especially through technology and modern devices. The door to looking at harm has opened like never before: filthy images and immoral acts are everywhere — may Allah protect us. This breeds addiction to that filth. People know it brings only sickness of the heart and misery; they want to stop and purify their souls, yet they find themselves unable to.

2 · The cure begins with lowering the gaze

• The cure the book points toward begins with a direct command from Allah — to lower the gaze and guard one’s chastity (an-Nūr 24:30). He then gave the same command to the women (an-Nūr 24:31), to the end of the verse — both men and women are caught in this habit.

[!quote] Qur’an — An-Nūr 24:30–31 ﴿قُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا فُرُوجَهُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَزْكَىٰ لَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا يَصْنَعُونَ﴾ — النور ٣٠ “Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Indeed, Allah is aware of what they do.”

﴿وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ﴾ — النور ٣١ “And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their private parts…” (to the end of the verse).

3 · Written for everyone, not one man

• Ibn al-Qayyim did not write this answer only for that one man, but for anyone who studies it. The book’s context, and what comes at its end, shows that the man’s trial was forbidden love.
• The man wanted to be free of the evil his nafs kept pushing on him. We see the same today — devices, forbidden scenes, and vile films stir evil desires and destroy people, and all of it blocks the remembrance of Allah. So the questioner’s words apply heavily today, and this book should be spread.

4 · He began with a hadith of hope

• Ibn al-Qayyim began his answer with an amazing hadith — a beautiful, excellent choice. Though the questioner felt his illness was impossible to cure with no way out, this hadith removes that hopelessness for anyone struggling with illness — mental, physical, or spiritual. People suffering from desires or sickness often think there is no cure; sometimes even medical experts say so. But Allah سبحانه وتعالى sends down healing: doctors may give up, then Allah makes it easy — a certain herb, drinking Zamzam, or turning to Him with sincere duʿāʾ — and the illness is lifted.

5 · The cure covers heart, soul & body

• The imam opened with a hadith from Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. He said it covers illness of the heart, soul, and body — not only physical illness, as many assume when they read it, but also spiritual diseases: desires, doubts, sins, and faults. All of these have a cure by Allah’s will.

[!quote] Hadith — Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (illness & cure) «ما أنزلَ اللَّهُ داءً إلَّا أنزلَ لهُ شِفاءً»

“Allah has not sent down any illness except that He also sent down a cure for it.” (al-Bukhārī — sahih)

6 · Even trials come with treasures

• In another sound hadith, the Prophet ﷺ woke one night alarmed and told them to wake the dwellers of the chambers for prayer — showing that with every trial Allah also sends down good.

[!quote] Hadith — the night of trials & treasures (al-Bukhārī) «سُبْحانَ اللَّهِ، ماذا أُنزِلَ اللَّيْلةَ مِنَ الفِتَنِ؟ وماذا أُنزِلَ مِنَ الخَزائِنِ؟ مَن يُوقِظُ صَواحِبَ الحُجُراتِ»

“Glory be to Allah! What trials have been sent down tonight, and what treasures? Who will wake the dwellers of the chambers [so they may pray]…” (al-Bukhārī, from Umm Salamah — sahih)

7 · The Qur’an names both illness and cure

• Illness and its cure are both mentioned in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Qatādah said the Qur’an names both.

[!quote] Athar — Qatādah (raḥimahu -llāh) «إنَّ القرآنَ يَدُلُّكم على دائِكم ودوائِكم؛ فأمَّا داؤُكم فالذُّنوبُ، وأمَّا دواؤُكم فالاستِغفارُ»

“The Qur’an points you to your illness and your cure: your illness is sins, and your cure is seeking forgiveness.” (reported from Qatādah — an athar, not a prophetic hadith)

8 · Why starting with this hadith gives hope

• Starting with this hadith is powerful. Someone drowning in hopelessness — certain there is no way out — hears «the Prophet ﷺ said: Allah sent down a cure for every illness». It puts energy in the heart to act, removes despair, and brings hope of healing.

9 · “For every illness, a cure” — more narrations

• Several sound narrations reinforce it.

[!quote] Hadith — “for every illness a cure” (Muslim; Abū Dāwūd) «لِكُلِّ داءٍ دواءٌ، فإذا أُصِيبَ دواءُ الداءِ بَرَأَ بإذنِ اللهِ عزَّ وجلَّ» “For every illness there is a cure; when the cure meets the illness, the person is healed by Allah’s will.” (Muslim, from Jābir — sahih)

«ما أنزلَ اللهُ داءً إلَّا أنزلَ له شفاءً، عَلِمَهُ مَن عَلِمَهُ وجَهِلَهُ مَن جَهِلَهُ» — وفي روايةٍ: «إلَّا داءً واحِدًا: الهَرَمَ» “Allah has not sent down a disease without also sending down its cure — known to some, unknown to others.” Another version: “except one illness — old age.” (Abū Dāwūd & al-Tirmidhī, from Usāmah ibn Sharīk — sahih)

10 · The cure must come from knowledge

• “Known to some, unknown to others” is a warning: people who speak about medicine — of body or heart — without knowledge do great harm. How many have treated others ignorantly and left them worse, their “cure” causing severe conditions. The same is true in religion — those who speak without knowledge drag the questioner into serious problems.

[!quote] Hadith — the sin of ruling without knowledge (Abū Dāwūd) «مَن أُفْتِيَ بغيرِ عِلمٍ كان إثمُهُ على مَن أفْتاهُ» “Whoever is given a verdict without knowledge, its sin is upon the one who issued it.” (Abū Dāwūd & Ibn Mājah — hasan)

Lesson 2 — «Page 15–16 · Introduction (cont.)»

🗒️ Commentary

1 · An ignorant fatwa can kill

• Ibn al-Qayyim adds a new point supporting the previous meaning. The Prophet ﷺ condemned people who gave a ruling without knowledge that led to a man’s death — asking why they did not simply ask when they did not know.

[!quote] Hadith — “the cure for ignorance is to ask” (Abū Dāwūd) «قَتَلوهُ قَتَلَهُمُ اللهُ، ألَا سألوا إذْ لم يَعلَموا؟ فإنَّما شِفاءُ العِيِّ السؤالُ» “They killed him — may Allah destroy them! Why did they not ask when they did not know? The cure for ignorance is only to ask.” (Abū Dāwūd, from Jābir — hasan)

• If this happened in his ﷺ time, what about now? Ignorant fatwas spread like wildfire through modern devices, built on falsehood, leading people into sin and forbidden acts.

2 · Ignorance is a disease; asking is its cure

• The Prophet ﷺ taught that ignorance is a disease and its medicine is to ask. Allah Himself commanded turning to the people of knowledge.

[!quote] Qur’an — An-Naḥl 16:43 ﴿فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ﴾ — النحل ٤٣ “So ask the people of knowledge, if you do not know.”

• Ibn al-Qayyim said: “He informed us that ignorance is an illness, and that its cure is asking.”

Lesson 3 — «Page 16–17 · Introduction (cont.)»

🗒️ Commentary

1 · The Qur’an itself is a cure

• Ibn al-Qayyim explains that Allah told us the Qur’an is a cure — stated in several places in His Book. Its healing cures the heart of doubts and desires, and cures the body of disease. Allah placed immense blessing and healing in it; what matters most is how one seeks healing with it.

[!quote] Qur’an — Al-Isrāʾ 17:82 ﴿وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴾ — الإسراء ٨٢ “And We send down of the Qur’an that which is a healing and a mercy for the believers.”

2 · How the Qur’an heals — al-Fātiḥah as ruqyah

• The clearest proof of how the Qur’an heals is the hadith of Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī. A group of the Prophet’s ﷺ companions passed a tribe that refused to host them. Then the tribe’s chief was stung, and they begged the companions for help. One companion offered ruqyah on the condition they be hosted; the tribe agreed. He recited Sūrat al-Fātiḥah, and the chief stood up completely healed — no trace of pain.
• Venom can spread fast and kill once it reaches the heart, yet the man rose as if he had never been ill — cured by al-Fātiḥah alone. The Prophet ﷺ approved it as ruqyah. This is why al-Fātiḥah is called ash-Shāfiyah (“the Healer”).

[!quote] Hadith — al-Fātiḥah as ruqyah (al-Bukhārī & Muslim) «وما يُدْرِيكَ أنَّها رُقْيَةٌ؟ … قد أصَبْتُم، اقْسِموا واضْرِبوا لي معكم بسَهْمٍ» “How did you know it was a ruqyah? … You did right; divide [the payment] and assign me a share with you.” (al-Bukhārī & Muslim, from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī — sahih)

Lesson 4 — «Page 17 · Introduction (cont.)»

🗒️ Commentary

1 · Ibn al-Qayyim’s own experience

• This is an experience shared for encouragement — though the hadith and the Prophet’s ﷺ approval are already sufficient proof. Scholars often add such stories to reinforce the evidence. Ibn al-Qayyim relates that while staying in Makkah he would fall ill without access to medical help, so he treated himself by reciting Sūrat al-Fātiḥah — with amazing results — and advised others, who found the same benefit.

2 · Guide the patient to treat himself

• Note: many people search for a professional healer — “Do you know a rāqī?”, “Can you point me to one?”, even “Are you a healer?”. The blessed way Ibn al-Qayyim points to is to guide the patient to perform ruqyah on himself.
• Muṭarrif ibn ʿAbdullāh visited a sick man who asked him, “Make duʿāʾ for me.” He replied: “Make duʿāʾ for yourself — for the duʿāʾ of one in desperate need is answered.” The one in severe pain feels what others do not, so his own duʿāʾ for himself is stronger. Rather than only saying “I’ll make duʿāʾ for you,” encourage him to do it himself.

[!quote] Qur’an — An-Naml 27:62 ﴿أَمَّن يُجِيبُ الْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ وَيَكْشِفُ السُّوءَ﴾ — النمل ٦٢ “Is He [not best] who responds to the distressed when he calls upon Him, and removes the evil…?”

Lesson 5 — «Page 17–18 · Introduction (cont.)»

🗒️ Commentary

1 · Healing needs yaqīn (certainty)

• Some say, “I used al-Fātiḥah or other cures but wasn’t healed,” or “let’s try.” Saying “let’s try” shows weak yaqīn. One needs certainty and trust in Allah.

[!quote] Hadith — call on Allah with certainty (al-Tirmidhī) «ادْعُوا اللَّهَ وأنتُم مُوقِنونَ بالإجابةِ» “Call upon Allah while you are certain of being answered.” (al-Tirmidhī, from Abū Hurayrah — hasan)

2 · Why healing is sometimes delayed

• Ibn al-Qayyim noted that benefiting from these cures — Qur’anic verses, dhikr, and duʿāʾ — needs a receptive patient and a strong practitioner. In themselves they are certainly a cure; if healing is delayed, it is due to those factors, not the remedy — like an arrow shot with a loose grip, where the weakness is in the shooter, not the arrow. It also requires removing anything forbidden. One must meet the conditions of duʿāʾ and dhikr to gain the desired effect.

Lesson 6 — «Page 21 · Fundamentals of Supplication»

🗒️ Commentary

1 · Chapter: dua is among the most beneficial cures

• Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) titles this chapter: “Dua is among the most beneficial cures.” Since the whole book is about the disease and the cure, dua is one of the most beneficial cures for every disease and every calamity.
• A Muslim should increase his attentiveness to dua in every type of trial — whether he suffers from poverty, sickness, weakness of body or strength, trials regarding his children (such as disobedience), harm from those who overpower or hurt him, or any other kind of trial. The treatment for all of it is dua, for dua is an effective and beneficial treatment.

2 · Dua as the enemy of calamity

• The author (رحمه الله) brings evidences for the great benefit and blessing of dua. He says dua is the enemy of calamity: it repels it, treats it, prevents its descent, and removes or lightens it once it has descended.
• So dua benefits both what has already descended and what has not yet descended — by repelling it or diverting it. This benefit is great, but it comes with conditions of dua, which the author will go on to detail, along with the rulings indicated by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.

3 · “Dua is the weapon of the believer”

• Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) says dua “is the weapon of the believer,” citing a narration in al-Ḥākim’s al-Mustadrak from ʿAlī (رضي الله عنه), that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said this.
• The chain of this hadith is weak (ḍaʿīf) and not confirmed as authentic from the Prophet ﷺ — it contains a narrator whose reports are rejected. Even so, the meaning holds: dua repels calamity just as an enemy is repelled by a weapon.

[!quote] Hadith — “Dua is the weapon of the believer” (al-Ḥākim’s al-Mustadrak, from ʿAlī رضي الله عنه — weak/ḍaʿīf) «الدُّعَاءُ سِلَاحُ الْمُؤْمِنِ»

“Dua is the weapon of the believer.” (chain contains a rejected narrator — not confirmed from the Prophet ﷺ; cited for its meaning, not as an authentic hadith. Spot-check exact wording/chain against al-Ḥākim’s Mustadrak.)