Can We Be Healed Through Someone’s Prayers For Us?
Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Question
Can we be healed through someone’s prayers for us? I believe the prayer of someone I considered for marriage healed me.
Answer
I pray you are well.
Yes; dua is a powerful means to achieve anything. It is a servants expression of need before Allah, and He can grant what is requested – even healing. In reality, only Allah heals. Every means and approach we use, or that which others use for us, is just that: a means.
We can understand this from the dua of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, “O Allah, Lord of Humanity; remove the harm, and heal it. You alone are the healer. There is no healing save Yours. [Heal it with such a healing] that leaves no illness.” (Ahmad)
So, could you have healed from the prayers of those who prayed for you? Yes, of course.
Good Character Heals Too
The compassion you received from the person you communicated with could also have been a very real means of healing. We see this in the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace. His kind treatment of others left a lasting impact on everyone he met.
Sometimes, experiencing kindness and compassion from others opens doors towelling from our wounds, because that compassion and kind treatment and kindness speaks to our traumas in a nurturing way. Such kind treatment soothes and heals.
It is said that the words ‘insan’, for human being, is either derived from a word relating to forgetting, or a word expressing intimacy. This ‘intimacy’ or ‘need to feel loved for who we are’ is a key human need. Children who do not receive such love don’t develop as well as those who do receive it. This shows the central importance of good character as it is embodied and emphasised by the Sunna.
Finding a Spouse
I think it’s wise for you to work on healing yourself and getting to a comfortable place in your practice of Islam, before you commit to marriage. In any case, find someone who, not only lives Islam, but someone who has good character and is supportive.
Looks, wealth, status, etc all have their place, but it’s kind treatment and a desire to please Allah – especially through interaction with others – which makes a good spouse. Take things slowly. May Allah facilitate what is best for you in the easiest way.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History, he moved to Damascus in 2007, where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Quranic recital. He was able to study an extensive curriculum of Quranic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.
