Is ruqya permissible in Islam?

Yes. Scholars across the four schools accept ruqya, and the classical position sets out three conditions for it to be lawful:

• The content must be pure. Quranic verses, the names and attributes of Allah, or authentic supplications. Nothing unknown, coded, or unintelligible.
• The language must be understood. Arabic, or wording whose meaning is clear, so that nothing hidden is being invoked.
• The belief must be correct. The reciter and patient both hold that the cure is from Allah, not from the syllables, the reciter, or any object.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, was asked about ruqya and permitted it on the condition that it contains no shirk. That single condition is the dividing line.

Where any of these three break down, the practice stops being ruqya and becomes something else entirely.