Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
1- Energy therapy involves two different branches. The first is offered in special hospitals with certain methods that are free of polytheist rituals and phrases. There is no harm, as far Islam concerned, in practicing and undergoing this type of therapy.
2- The other branch, however, includes prohibited practices. The type mentioned in the question belongs to this prohibited branch of energy therapy since it is composed of Buddhist rituals. The advocates of this kind of therapy try to deceive people by claiming that it is merely another form of Islamic ruqyah. This is a big lie. Islamic ruqyah depends only on the noble verses of the Quran and the authentic hadiths of the Prophet.
In responding to your question, Dr. Abdullah Al-Faqih, Supervisor of Fatwa Center at Islamicweb.com, states:
The energy therapy mentioned in the question is definitely prohibited. Such kind of therapy is no more than polytheist rituals which are performed in East Asia. As the questioner said, it is a Japanese practice called Reiki Jin-Kei-Do.
Visiting the Healing Touch Web site, one realizes that it propagates Buddhism, a polytheist religion based on worshiping others than Allah. The site admits that one who seeks this kind of therapy must be a Buddhist to attain the highest level of benefit.
If one wants to make use of this kind of therapy, one should swear allegiance to Buddha and his teachings. The apparent minor details of this therapy are available and attainable, but the principal facts and details are available only for Buddhists.
According to the Web site, this kind of therapy involves daily tasks that include practicing yoga exercises, reading Buddhist books, and repeating the oath of allegiance. Such acts, in fact, are kufr (disbelief in Allah), which must be denounced and rejected no matter what title or name they come under.
The world today witnesses a wave of calls for Buddhism, especially in the areas of medication and sports. Thus, Muslims must be on the alert.
To claim that such therapy is known in Islam under the name of ruqyah is brazen lying. In Islam, ruqyah means reciting parts of the Quran or some supplications mentioned by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). They are based on belief in the Oneness of Allah, not in Buddha and his teachings. This fact draws a demarcation line between monotheism and polytheism, belief and disbelief.
So, we warn Muslims against such programs and new polytheist calls that corrupt the faith and damage Muslims creeds.
📚 Read Also: Are There Healing Verses in the Qur’an?
Almighty Allah knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.