قراءة المعوذتين
Reciting Surah al-Falaq and Surah an-Nas each night, then wiping the hands over the body — a nightly protective practice.
كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا أَوَى إِلَى فِرَاشِهِ كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ جَمَعَ كَفَّيْهِ، ثُمَّ نَفَثَ فِيهِمَا فَقَرَأَ فِيهِمَا: قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ، وَقُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ، وَقُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ، ثُمَّ يَمْسَحُ بِهِمَا مَا اسْتَطَاعَ مِنْ جَسَدِهِ
“Each night before sleeping, the Prophet ﷺ would cup his hands, breathe into them while reciting Surahs al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq, and an-Nas, then wipe over as much of his body as he could reach.” (meaning, not a literal translation)
'A'ishah reported doing the same for him during his final illness, wiping with his own hand for its greater blessing — an account commentators note as showing the practice continued to be observed even when he was too unwell to perform it fully himself.
Ibn al-Qayyim treats this alongside other ruqyah practices as legitimate spiritual treatment, provided it uses only Qur'an and comprehensible, permissible supplication. He groups this specifically with the ayat al-Kursi practice covered in its own entry, as part of a broader nightly protective routine rather than a single isolated act.
As a devotional practice, this isn't something modern research addresses directly — it's presented here purely within its religious and textual context, not as a claim with a measurable physical mechanism.