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The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ prohibited talismans (tamā’im – تَمآئِم) or amulets (rouqā – رُقًى) on which words of shirk (polytheism – شِرْك) are written. However, those containing the Names of Allāh, verses from the Qur’ān (القرآن), or invocations of Allāh (dhikrou l-Lāh – ذِكر اللّٰه) are permitted.
Also allowed are talismans containing the names of the People of the Cave (‘asmā’ou ‘ahli l-kahf – أَسْمَاء أَهْلِ الكَهْف), as there is barakah (blessing – بَرَكَة) in these names. Scholars from the past, such as Ṣalāḥou d-dīn aṣ-Ṣafḍiy, an 8th-century Hegira scholar, stated in his book Dhakhā’irou l-Qaṣr (ذخائر القصر): “These names are beneficial; this one for such-and-such, that one for another matter (…)”
The same applies to the names of the angels, such as Jibrīl, Isrāfīl, ʿAzrā’īl, and Mīkā’īl, which also carry barakah. Therefore, it is permissible to write these names and carry them to benefit from their barakah. What is not permissible is writing the names of stars, or the names of chiefs among the demons, and seeking barakah through them.
The tamā’im that the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ forbade were the necklaces that the Arab idolaters (mushrikīn – مُشْرِكِين) used to hang around their children’s necks before accepting Islam. They believed these necklaces protected by themselves against the evil eye without the Will of Allāh; they did not acknowledge that it is Allāh, by His Will and Power, who wards off harm and evil.
Here are the words of the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnah wa l-Jamā‘ah confirming this ruling:
Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalāniyy, in his book al-‘Amāliy, reports from ʿAmr ibnu Shuʿayb, who reports from his father, who reports that his grandfather said: “The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ taught us words which we would recite before sleeping to be protected from fear.”
In the version reported by ʿIsmā’īl:
أعوذ بكلمات الله التامة من غضبه وعقابه ومن شر عباده ومن همزات الشياطين وأن يحضرون
'ʾAʿūdhu bi kalimāti l-Lāhi t-tāmmāti min ghaḍabihi wa ʿiqābihi wa min sharri ʿibādihi wa min hamazāti sh-shayāṭīni wa ʿan yaḥḍurūn'
'ʾAʿūdhu bi kalimāti l-Lāhi t-tāmmāti min ghaḍabihi wa ʿiqābihi wa min sharri ʿibādihi wa min hamazāti sh-shayāṭīni wa ʿan yaḥḍurūn'
ʿAbdou l-Lāhi ibnu ʿAmr taught this wording to those who had reached puberty so they could recite it before sleeping; for those not yet of age, it would be written and hung around their necks.
Al-Ḥāfiẓ adds: “This ḥadīth is ḥasan [reliable]. At-Tirmidhiyy reported it from ʿAliyy ibnu Ḥajar, from ʿIsmā’īl ibnu ʿAbbās; similarly, an-Nasā’iyy reported it from ʿAmr ibnu ʿAliyy al-Falās, from Yazīd ibnu Hāroun.”