Assalaamu alaykum. A friend of mine told me that her Shaykh knows Ruqyah (healing through Quranic recitation and supplication). Her Shaykh said that there is a surah or a verse (I cannot remember what she told me) that can make a person blind for a while (I cannot remember how long the duration is that she told me) if they say it a certain amount of times or a few times (I cannot remember that either). She said that her Shaykh did this to an officer cause he got pulled over for speeding, but he did this for an emergency because he had to go to the hospital. Once he recited the surah or a verse, the officer became blind, and he never got a ticket. Could you please tell me whether this is correct Islamically? May Allah reward you.

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

Perhaps your friend is referring to the statements of some scholars that some verses are a protection for the Muslim against the one he fears would oppress him, so that Allah, the Exalted, would screen him from his oppressor's eyes. For example, he may recite the following verses (which mean):

- {And We have put before them a barrier and behind them a barrier and covered them, so they do not see.} [Quran 36:9]

- {And when you recite the Quran, We put between you and those who do not believe in the Hereafter a concealed partition.} [Quran 17:45]

This was reported in Seerat Ibn Hishaam, Zaad Al-Maʻaad, and other books. Imaam Al-Qurtubi underlined in his Tafseer (exegesis) book that some of the righteous predecessors recited this (second) verse as protection against the enemies and related a relevant story that had happened to him personally.

Ibn Al-Qayyim wrote:

"The Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, commanded ʻAli to sleep in his bed that night (the night of the Hijrah [emigration]). A group of Qurayshi men gathered in front of the house of the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, laying a tight siege to it and waiting for him to come out and vying with one another who would be the most wicked one (and kill the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam). He then came out, took a handful of dust, and sprinkled it on their heads while they did not see him at all, and he was reciting the verse: {And We have put before them a barrier and behind them a barrier and covered them, so they do not see.} [Quran 36:9]" [Zaad Al-Maʻaad]

Al-Qurtubi wrote:

"Asmaa' bint Abi Bakr, may Allah be pleased with them, said, 'When Soorah Al-Masad (Ch. 111) was revealed, the one-eyed Umm Jameel bint Harb came crying to look for the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, with a stick in her hands while he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was sitting in the courtyard of the Sacred Mosque with Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him. When Abu Bakr saw her, he said to the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, 'She is coming, and I fear that she will see you!' The Messenger of Allah said, 'She will not see me,' and he recited verses from the Quran, seeking a firm handhold by it. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, recited the verse: {And when you recite the Quran, We put between you and those who do not believe in the Hereafter a concealed partition.} [Quran 17:45] So she stood before Abu Bakr and did not see the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. She said, 'O Abu Bakr! I was informed that your companion has insulted me!" He, may Allah be pleased with him, said, 'No, by the Lord of this House, he has not insulted you.' She turned and walked away, saying, 'Quraysh knows that I am the daughter of its most noble man!'

Kaʻb ibn Maalik, may Allah be pleased with him, said, 'The Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to shield himself from the disbelievers with three verses:

1) {We have placed over their hearts coverings, lest they understand it, and in their ears deafness.} [Quran 18:57]

2) {Those are the ones over whose hearts and hearing and vision Allah has sealed, and it is those who are the heedless.} [Quran 16:108]

3) {Have you seen he who has taken as his god his (own) desire, and Allah has sent him astray due to knowledge and has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart and put over his vision a veil.} [Quran 45:23]

So when the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, recited them, he would be shielded from the eyes of the polytheists.'

Ka'b, may Allah be pleased with him, said, 'I informed a man from Ash-Sham of this. He then traveled to the lands of the Romans and was taken captive there. After a while, he escaped from the Romans and they went out after him. He recited these verses, and, although they were with him on the same road, they were not able to see him.'

Ath-Thaʻlabi said, 'A man from Ar-Rayy was told about Ka'b's narration. He was later captured in Daylam, where he stayed for some time before escaping. They went out searching for him, so he recited these verses. When they finally caught up with him and his clothes were almost touching their clothes, they were still unable to see him.'"

Al-Qurtubi added:

"In addition to these verses is the verse from SoorahYaa Seen: {And We have put before them a barrier and behind them a barrier and covered them, so they do not see.} [Quran 36:9] And a similar thing happened to me in our land of Andalusia, in Qurtubah (Cordova). I had escaped from the enemy and took shelter in a corner of their fortress. Two knights were sent out to search for me, while I was sitting on the ground with nothing screening me from them. I recited (the verse from) Soorah Yaa Seen and other verses from the Quran. The two knights passed by me and then returned from where they had come, with one of them saying to the other, 'This man is a demon!' So Allah, the Almighty, blinded them from seeing me, and all praise is due to Allah for this."

It is prescribed for the Muslim to recite the Quran as protection and to ask Allah for safety by reciting it. There is no religious impediment to reciting such verses as Ruqyah for the purpose of protection.

Allah knows best.