As far as Islamic Shari`ah is concerned, there is nothing wrong with blowing on a sick person as it has nothing to do with magic spells, although it may appear like that to some people. It is mentioned in many hadiths that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to blow on sick people and they used to be cured by the blessings of Allah’s words. Blowing on and rubbing the head, face, or body of a sick person was a common practice among all the Companions of the Prophet.
Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, former president of the Islamic Society of North America, states: Breathing out or blowing on is mentioned in the Qur’an and Hadith in many places. It is called nafkh or nafth. Almighty Allah created man by blowing into him His spirit. (Al-Hijr: 29; Sad: 72; As-Sajdah: 9) The end of this world and the resurrection will be ushered in by an angel blowing into the trumpet. (nafkh As-Sur, Az-Zumar: 68, Yasin: 51) It is mentioned that Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) performed some miracles by blowing on a sick or dead person. Dam-e-Isa is quite a famous expression in Islamic literature.
It is mentioned in many hadiths that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also used to blow on sick people and they were cured by the blessings of Allah’s words. Lady `A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said, “Whenever someone from the family of the Prophet got sick, the Prophet used to recite Surat Al-Falaq and Surat An-Nas (the prayers that begin with a`udhu, especially the last two surahs of the Qur’an) and then he used to blow his breath onto that person. When the Prophet himself was in his last illness, I recited the same verses and blew my breath onto his hand and then rubbed him with his own hand, because the Prophet’s hand had more blessing than mine” (Muslim). It is also mentioned in some hadiths that it was the habit of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to sleep on his right side and then before sleeping he used to recite Ayat Al-Kursi, Surat Al-Ikhlas (no. 112), Surat Al-Falaq (no. 113) and Surat An-Nas (no. 114). He then used to cup both his hands, breathe into them, and then he would rub them all over his face and body (Al-Bukhari).
Blowing on and rubbing the head, face, or the body of a sick person was a comm
on practice among all the Companions of the Prophet. Allah’s word, the Qur’an, has many blessings and it has a great healing power. However, we should keep in mind that only the Qur’an and authentic Prophetic prayers (ad`iyah masnunah) should be used for this purpose. It is better to be done by the elders in the family or by some pious Muslims in the community.
Blowing has nothing to do with magic spells, although it may appear like that to some people. Muslims only rely on Allah. We pray only to Him and we seek His help through our prayers. Some scholars used to say that the blessings in the blowing comes from dhikr and the reading of the Qur’an. Our breath participates in mentioning the name of Allah, so it also receives the blessing of His Name.