In the middle of Taiz city, Yemen, the entire four-story house reverberates with the Quraniq recitation coming from the old recorder on the second floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A common practice during funeral ceremonies in Yemen, the recitation this time is for a different reason.<\/p>\n
The place is filled with people who have travelled from across Yemen,\u00a0waiting for hours for a chance to meet the\u00a0sheikh\u00a0for Ruqyah Shari\u2019ah (divine healing recitation).<\/p>\n
The sheikhs here recite the Quran and occasionally perform cupping therapy (Hijama) on visitors suffering from simple headaches to life-threatening diseases like cancer.<\/p>\n
Many have come in the belief that his recitations will spiritually cure their illnesses.<\/p>\n
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch<\/p>\n
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on
\n Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters<\/p>\n
Others seek treatment here because they do not have access to qualified medical healthcare in hospitals.<\/p>\n
In her 60s, Fatima, who is battling stomach cancer, says that after she felt unwell, she tried seeking medical treatment at various hospitals across the Taiz governorate, and even travelled to Aden, but to no avail.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sister advised me to visit a sheikh of Ruqyah Shari\u2019ah because she had suffered from similar symptoms and felt better. I went because I simply didn\u2019t have an alternative,\u201d Fatima says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘I realised the sheikh couldn’t actually do anything; he was just trying to make money by reciting the Quran over patients’<\/p>\n
– Fatima, Ruqyah patient<\/p>\n
She continued visiting the sheikh for six months, as he kept reciting the Quran over her.\u00a0Though the pain would occasionally subside before returning, she says she did not get better.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe kept telling me that I had been struck by the evil eye and that recovery takes time,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n
However, after six months, Fatima could no longer eat as her condition worsened and the pain became unbearable.<\/p>\n
When she went back, she says the sheikh realised how dire her situation had become.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me my situation was very dangerous and that I needed to see a tumour specialist,” she says, adding, \u201cIt was then that I realised the sheikh couldn’t actually do anything; he was just trying to make money by reciting the Quran over patients.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fatima says he had been paying the sheikh 12,000 Yemeni riyals (approximately $7) per week, an amount that is much less compared to what she now needs to pay to treat her cancer.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A street sign advertises Quranic healing for the evil eye, magic and jinn possession in Taiz, Yemen (Nasser Al Sakkaf)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cCancer treatment in Yemen is incredibly difficult because there are no precise diagnostic devices or advanced treatment methods. Those who cannot afford to travel abroad for treatment simply die at home,\u201d Fatima says, as the details about her illness remain unclear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She has not yet been scanned to see if other parts of her body are affected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Many cancer patients in Yemen, those who can afford international travel, leave to find better care.<\/p>\n
However, as the domestic healthcare system lies in collapse, most patients struggle to access qualified medical treatment at home.<\/p>\n
Challenges to accessing healthcare\u00a0<\/p>\n
With limited access to education, women who travel from rural areas vastly outnumber men who\u00a0rely on spiritual healing as a replacement for clinical medicine, as the Ruqyah Shari\u2019ah centres have spread across Yemen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Khadijah al-Ghaili, who is in her 50s, suffers from shortness of breath. She travelled from a village 80 kilometres away to visit a famous sheikh of Ruqyah who also treats patients using cupping therapy.<\/p>\n
<\/a> <\/p>\n Ten years after the air strikes began, Yemenis hope for an end to ‘journey of suffering’<\/p>\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n Al-Ghaili acknowledges that proper healthcare is available in private hospitals, but because the costs are very high, she preferred to try Ruqyah.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPrivate hospitals require a lot of money that I simply cannot afford, so I chose to come to this sheikh as an alternative,\u201d al-Ghaili says.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a good alternative because it was recommended by our Prophet, and our grandparents used it back when there were no hospitals.\u201d<\/p>\n Unable to afford medical healthcare, Khadijah places deep faith in the effectiveness of Ruqyah and cupping.<\/p>\n So far, the sheikh has performed cupping on six different areas of her body over three separate sessions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe shortness of breath is still there, but there is no pain after the cupping. I believe I will get better once I finish my sessions with the sheikh,\u201d she stressed.\u00a0<\/p>\n ‘It is the needy who fall victim to both the collapse of the healthcare system and the deception of these religious traders’<\/p>\n –\u00a0Dr Adel, tumour specialist<\/p>\n According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Yemen suffers from a severe shortage of skilled health workers, with 18 percent of districts across the country completely lacking doctors.<\/p>\n Over 50 percent of health facilities are entirely non-functional.<\/p>\n Many of the nation’s most qualified health professionals have left in search of better opportunities abroad.\u00a0The impact on healthcare has been profound.<\/p>\n Today, Yemen\u2019s physician ratio stands at a mere 0.1 doctors per 1,000 people, far below the regional average of 1.1, according to the World Bank.<\/p>\n By comparison, the global average is 1.9, the Arab world sits at 1.2, and other fragile, conflict-affected regions average 0.5 doctors for every thousand people.<\/p>\n Prophetic medicine<\/p>\n The popularity of Ruqyah sheikhs is growing not only in Taiz but across various governorates. Because Ruqyah is a recognised practice in Islam, the issue lies not with the practice itself, but with how differently it is understood from one person to another.<\/p>\n A Ruqyah practitioner for more than 20 years, the faith healer who uses the\u00a0pseudonym Abu Ahmed is in his 60s.\u00a0He believes that while Ruqyah is important for many patients, it does not replace clinical medicine in hospitals.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Yemen-Child-Cemetery-AFP-2019.jpg.webp\")
<\/p>\nYears of conflict and severe funding shortages have led to the collapse of Yemen\u2019s healthcare system, leaving over 20 million Yemenis, nearly half the population, without access to basic medical care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Yemen-farmers-vegetable-field-Ramadan-Sanaa-20-April-2021-Huwais-AFP.jpg.webp\")
<\/p>\n