al-Hasan ibn Ali al-Washsha, from Abd Allah ibn Sinan, from his brother Muhammad, from Ja'far al-Sadiq (AS), from his father, from his grandfather, from our master al-Husayn ibn Ali (God's blessings be upon them), who said: The Commander of the Faithful Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) visited Salman the Persian in his illness and said: O Abu Abd Allah, how have you fared this morning in your sickness? He said: O Commander of the Faithful, I praise God greatly, and I complain to you of much distress. He said: Do not be distressed, O Abu Abd Allah, for no one of our Shi'a is afflicted with pain except on account of a sin that has gone before from him, and that pain is a purification for him. Salman said: If the matter is as you have described — and it is as you have described — then we have no reward in any of this apart from purification. Ali (AS) said: O Salman, you do have reward, through patience in bearing it, through humble entreaty of God, exalted be His name, and through supplication to Him; by these two, good deeds are written for you and your degrees are raised. As for the pain itself, that is purification and expiation and nothing else. He said: Then Salman kissed him between the eyes and wept, and said: Who would have made these things clear to us, were it not for you, O Commander of the Faithful? (Tibb al-A'imma, vol. 1, p. 15)
Imam al-Husayn (AS) relates: Salman the Persian had fallen ill, and my father the Commander of the Faithful (AS) went to visit him. He said: Salman, how are you bearing your illness? Salman said: I praise God greatly, and I complain to Him of the suffering I endure. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not be troubled! The pain of our Shi'a is on account of deeds they have done in the past, and pain is a purification for them. Salman said: If it is so, then we gain no reward from illness and are merely purified! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: It is not so; in illness, because of your patience in bearing it, and the humble entreaty you make before God, and the prayers you offer, good deeds are written for you and your degrees are raised. But the pain itself, as an expiation, has only the role of purification. Imam al-Husayn (AS) said: Salman rose, kissed the Commander of the Faithful (AS) between the eyes, wept, and said: Were it not for you, O Ali, who would have taught us these things?
Abd Allah ibn Sinan, from his brother Muhammad ibn Sinan, who said: Ja'far ibn Muhammad (AS) said: There is no one who fears an affliction and forestalls it with supplication but that God turns that affliction away from him. Do you not know that the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said that the Messenger of God (PBUH) said: O Ali — I said: At your service, O Messenger of God — he said: Supplication turns back affliction even when it has been firmly decreed. al-Washsha said: I asked Abd Allah ibn Sinan: Is there a supplication appointed for that? He said: I have indeed asked al-Sadiq (AS) about this, and he said: Yes; as for the supplication of the weak among the Shi'a, for every ailment there is an appointed supplication; but as for the supplication of those endowed with insight, there is no appointed supplication for any of this, because the supplication of those who possess insight and have attained maturity is never veiled. (Tibb al-A'imma, vol. 1, p. 15)
Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: Whoever fears something and prays for its removal before it comes upon him, God turns that affliction away from him. The Messenger of God (PBUH) said to the Commander of the Faithful (AS): O Ali, supplication turns back affliction, even if it has been firmly fixed in God's decree. The narrator says: I asked Imam al-Sadiq (AS): Is the effect of such a supplication as you describe temporary and limited? He said: The supplication of ordinary people (the weak) does indeed have a temporary effect; but the supplication of the Shi'a who possess insight and are complete in faith has a lasting effect, for their supplication is not veiled anywhere in existence.
Fadala, from Aban ibn Uthman, from Abu Hamza al-Thumali, from al-Baqir (AS), who said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever is stricken by pain in his body, let him seek protection for himself and say: I seek refuge in the might of God and His power over all things; I place myself in the protection of the Almighty of heaven; I place myself in the protection of Him with whose name no illness can do harm; I place myself in the protection of Him whose name is blessing and healing. For when he says this, no pain and no illness will harm him. (Tibb al-A'imma, vol. 1, p. 17)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whenever you feel a pain in your body, take refuge with God at once and say: Refuge in the might of God and His power from all illnesses. Refuge in the Almighty of heaven. Refuge in Him who, if He is a person's refuge, nothing can harm that person. Refuge in God, whose name is blessing and healing. If you do this, no pain or illness will harm you.
From Abu al-Jarud, from Abu Ishaq, from al-Harith al-A'war, who said: I complained to the Commander of the Faithful (AS) of a pain and ache in my body, and he said: When one of you suffers pain, let him say: In the name of God and by God, and God's blessings be upon the Messenger of God and his family; I seek refuge in the might of God and His power over whatever He wills, from the evil of what I find. For when he says this, God turns the hurt away from him, if God the Exalted wills. (Tibb al-A'imma, vol. 1, p. 17)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whenever pain or illness comes upon someone, let him say: 'Bismillahi wa billah, wa salla'llahu ala rasulillahi wa alihi; a'udhu bi-izzati'llahi wa qudratihi ala ma yasha'u min sharri ma ajid' (In the name of God and by God, and God's blessings be upon the Messenger of God and his family; I seek refuge in the might of God and His power over whatever He wills, from the evil of what I find), so that God may drive the pain away from him.
(We say: such protective invocations from the Commander of the Faithful (AS) are very numerous in the traditions. In our view, what is effective in them and is the key to the matter is the servant's state of urgent need and his turning wholly to his Lord, not any particular formula. That is why the Commander of the Faithful (AS) used a different wording on each occasion; what is common to all the wordings of these invocations is taking refuge in God. For certain reasons it is not our practice to relate these protective invocations, and it is not our practice to state those reasons either.)
Yunus ibn Zabyan, from Jabir, from Abu Ja'far (AS), who said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever wishes that food should not harm him, let him not eat until he is hungry and his stomach is clear; and when he eats, let him pronounce the name of God, chew well, and leave off eating while he still has an appetite for the food and still has need of it. (Tibb al-A'imma, vol. 1, p. 29)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not eat until you are hungry and your stomach has emptied. When you eat, say 'In the name of God' and chew well. And leave off the food while you are not yet sated and your stomach is not yet full.
From Aban ibn Uthman, from Abu Hamza al-Thumali, from Abu Ja'far Muhammad al-Baqir (AS), who said: A man of Hamdan complained to the Commander of the Faithful (AS) of pain in his back and of lying awake at night. He said: Place your hand on the spot of which you complain and recite three times: 'It is not for any soul to die save by God's leave, at a term appointed. Whoever desires the reward of this world, We shall give him of it; and whoever desires the reward of the Hereafter, We shall give him of it; and We shall reward the grateful' [Qur'an 3:145]; and recite seven times 'Indeed We sent it down on the Night of Destiny' to its end [Qur'an 97]. Then you shall be healed of your ailments, if God the Exalted wills. (Tibb al-A'imma, vol. 1, p. 30)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: For back pain, place your hand on the place of the pain and recite this verse three times: 'It is not for any soul to die save by God's leave, at a term appointed. Whoever desires the reward of this world, We shall give him of it; and whoever desires the reward of the Hereafter, We shall give him of it; and We shall reward the grateful' [Qur'an 3:145]. Then recite Surat al-Qadr seven times. God willing, you will be well.
From Abaya ibn Rib'i al-Asadi: he heard the Commander of the Faithful (God's blessings be upon him) instruct one of his companions who had complained to him of sorcery, saying: Write this on a piece of gazelle parchment and hang it upon yourself, and it will not harm you and its guile will have no way to reach you: 'In the name of God and by God; in the name of God and what God wills; in the name of God, there is no strength and no power save through God. Moses said: What you have brought is sorcery; God will surely bring it to nothing. Indeed God does not set right the work of those who spread corruption. So the truth was established and what they were doing was rendered void; they were vanquished there and turned about, humbled' [Qur'an 10:81-82; 7:118-119]. (Tibb al-A'imma, vol. 1, p. 36)
For deliverance from sorcery the Commander of the Faithful (AS) used to say that this text should be written on a piece of paper and carried on one's person: 'In the name of God and by God; in the name of God and what God wills; in the name of God, there is no strength and no power save through God. Moses said: What you have brought is sorcery; God will surely bring it to nothing. Indeed God does not set right the work of those who spread corruption. So the truth was established and what they were doing was rendered void; they were vanquished there and turned about, humbled' [Qur'an 10:81-82; 7:118-119].
From al-Asbagh ibn Nubata al-Sulami, from the Commander of the Faithful (AS): al-Asbagh said: I took this protective invocation from him (AS), and he said to me: O Asbagh, this is the invocation against sorcery and against fear of the ruler. You say it seven times: 'In the name of God and by God: We shall strengthen your arm through your brother and give you both an authority, so that they shall not reach you. Through Our signs, you two and those who follow you shall be the victors' [Qur'an 28:35]. And you say it seven times over the face of water when you have finished the night prayer, before you begin the day's prayer; then it shall not harm you, if God the Exalted wills. (Tibb al-A'imma, vol. 1, p. 35)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) used to say: To recite seven times 'In the name of God and by God: We shall strengthen your arm through your brother and give you both an authority, so that they shall not reach you. Through Our signs, you two and those who follow you shall be the victors' [Qur'an 28:35] — especially after the night prayer — is a protection against sorcery and against the ruler.
For one who is seized with fear at night, and for a woman who lies awake from pain: 'So We sealed up their ears in the cave for a number of years; then We raised them up, that We might know which of the two parties would better reckon the length of their stay' [Qur'an 18:11-12]. (Tibb al-A'imma, vol. 1, p. 36)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: For one who is afraid at night or cannot sleep: 'So We sealed up their ears in the cave for a number of years; then We raised them up, that We might know which of the two parties would better reckon the length of their stay' [Qur'an 18:11-12].
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Muslim said: I asked Abu Ja'far Muhammad al-Baqir (AS): May we seek protection by means of any of these incantations? He said: Only by means of the Qur'an, for Ali used to say: Many of the incantations and amulets are a form of associating partners with God. (Tibb al-A'imma, vol. 1, p. 48)
We asked Imam al-Baqir (AS): Are these things that are written as prayers and protective charms sound? He said: A protective invocation must be only from the Qur'an. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) used to say: Many prayers and amulets are a form of associating partners with God.
From him, that he said: Give him wine vinegar to drink, for wine vinegar kills the creatures of the belly. (Tibb al-A'imma, vol. 1, p. 65)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Take wine vinegar, for it destroys the worms of the belly.
From Ammar al-Nawfali, from Abu Abd Allah (AS), tracing it back to the Commander of the Faithful (AS), who said: Reciting the Qur'an, using the toothstick, frankincense and honey clear away phlegm. (Tibb al-A'imma, vol. 1, p. 66)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Several things dispel phlegm and the listlessness it brings: reciting the Qur'an, using the toothstick, frankincense, and honey.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: What an excellent oil is the oil of ban; it is a safeguard, a remembrance and a security against every affliction. So anoint yourselves with it, for the prophets (God's blessings be upon them) used to use it. (Tibb al-A'imma, vol. 1, p. 94)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Make use of the oil of ban, for it is a safeguard, a remembrance and a security against afflictions. The prophets used to use this oil.
(The oil of ban is the oil of the seed of the moringa tree, the 'miracle tree'. It grows in the southern Himalayas, North Africa, and Baluchistan in Iran.)