Exorcism In Islam

Exorcism in Islam, known as aza'im (IPA: [ʕazaʔim]), is part of a wider body of Islamic medicine called "prophetic medicine". Ruqya (Arabic: رقية‎, IPA: [ruqja]), on the other hand, summons jinn and demons by invoking the names of God, and to command them to abandon their mischiefs and is thought to repair damage believed caused by jinn possession, witchcraft (sihr) or the evil eye.

Islamic Religious Context
Muslims Believe in jinn, and other spiritual beings, all are the creation of Allah, The Khaliq(Creator). Jinn is an Arabic collective noun deriving from the Semitic root jinn (Arabic: جَنّ / جُنّ‎, jann), whose primary meaning is "to hide". Some authors interpret the word to mean, literally, "beings that are concealed from the senses". Such creatures are believed to inhabit desolate, dingy, dark places where they are feared. The jinn are subtle creatures created from fire and air (marijin min nar) thought to be able to possess animate and inanimate objects. Unlike demons, they are not necessarily evil, but own a capacity of free-will. The demons are believed to infect the metaphorical heart (qalb), turning the soul and thoughts away from that which is good. By means of this, a strong affection by devilish whisperings is compared to devil-possession.

Reasons For Possession
A possession by a jinni can happen for various reasons. Ibn Taymiyyah explained a Jinni could sometimes haunt an individual, because the person could (even unintentionally) harm the jinni; urinating or throwing hot water on it, or even killing a related jinni without even realizing it. In this case the jinni will try to take revenge on the person. Another cause for jinn possession is when a jinni falls in love with a human and thereupon the jinni possesses the human. Some women have told of their experiences with jinn possession; where the jinn tried to have sexual intercourse from inside their bodies. Thirdly, it occurs when a jinni is evil and simply wants to harm a human for no specific reason, it will possess that person, if it gets the opportunity, while the human is in a very emotional state or unconsciousness.

Islamic Exorcists
Al-Jzari (1987) and Al-Daramdash (1991) list several characteristics for a Quranic-Healer including belief in God, following the prophet Muhammad's practice as personified by Islamic saints, believe that the Quran can influence evil spirits, must be a righteous person and doing nothing that is forbidden, have knowledge of the world of evil spirits, know which Surahs to use for specific types of spirits, have a sense of good-will to help people attacked by evil spirits, not be distracted by sexual dynamics during the process and be mindful of God during throughout the process in order to avoid infiltration by evil spirits.

Exorcism Islamic Law
Prohibited techniques often utilize shirk, which is found in practices that prepare amulets or talismans. This is prohibited because shirk is the sin of practicing idolatry or polytheism i.e. the deification or worship of anyone or anything besides the singular God. Many times Qur'anic verses are added throughout the recitation when using these objects in order to 'mask' their shirk. However, Muslims believe that Allah has provided sufficient cures in executing an exorcism, therefore exorcists should not have to rely on methods involving shirk.