Voices of Islam (215 page)

Three degrees of knowledge are expressed in the Qur’an: knowledge by inference (
‘ilm al-yaqin,
‘‘the Knowledge of Certainty,’’ 102:5), knowledge by perception or observation (
‘ayn al-yaqin,
‘‘the Eye of Certainty,’’

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102:7), and knowledge by experience or intuition (
haqq al-yaqin,
‘‘the Truth of Certainty,’’ 69:51). The fi type of knowledge depends primarily on inductive reasoning and leads to knowledge as a probability. The second type of knowledge is based on perception or empirical scientific observation. This corresponds to ‘‘the facts as I see them.’’ The third type of knowledge depends on experience, or at times, spiritual intuition.
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There are many Traditions related from the Prophet Muhammad regard- ing knowledge. ‘‘Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave.’’ ‘‘To seek knowledge is the duty of every Muslim, whether man or woman.’’ ‘‘Seek knowledge, even if it be in China.’’ ‘‘He who leaves his home in search of knowledge walks in the path of God.’’ ‘‘He who seeks knowledge does not die.’’
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Medicine and healing in the Islamic world began with the Medicine of the Prophet and expanded over the centuries to include what is today known as ‘‘Islamic Medicine.’’ Underlying both the Medicine of the Prophet and Islamic Medicine was a form of practical philosophy (
hikma ‘amaliyya
), which today is understood as ‘‘Moral Healing.’’

When the Muslims encountered other cultures and civilizations that had preceded Islam, they were able to integrate the arts of medicine from these other cultures including Greece, India, and Persia. They preserved and per- fected these medicinal arts at a time when, in the case of Greek knowledge; for example, the civilization that had been its basis had declined and lost its body of knowledge. Extending as it did from Spain to Southeast Asia, the Islamic world was able to incorporate much of this knowledge with just one caveat: the body of knowledge that was incorporated into Islamic medicine could not contradict the belief in One God. This was true of many sciences, including the science of medicine and healing.

One of the greatest Muslim theologians, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 1111
CE
), taught that the study and practice of medicine is
fard kifaya:
it is neces- sary for a suffi number of Muslims to learn medicine in order to meet the community’s needs. Many practitioners of Prophetic Medicine expressed the view that ‘‘after faith, the practice of medicine is the most meritorious service in God’s sight.’’
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THE MEDICINE OF THE PROPHET

The goal of the Medicine of the Prophet is to restore the nature created by God (
fitrat Allah
) from imbalance back to balance. This nature is referred to in the Qur’an: ‘‘Set thy face, [oh Muhammad], as a primordial monotheist (
hanifan
), toward the nature of God (
fitrat Allah
), upon which He has cre- ated the human being. There is no changing the creation of God. That is the upright religion, but most people know it not’’ (Qur’an 30:30). In the view of Islam, the human being is not born in a state of original sin, but in a state originated by God. This natural disposition is a nature that has the

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potential to sense the order, balance, harmony, and equilibrium in the universe as well as within the self. The acceptance of this nature originated by God comes from the covenant that the human being accepted when God formed the human soul (
nafs
) by blowing the Divine Spirit into it (Qur’an 7:172). This is what gives meaning to the human being. Having accepted the covenant at creation as part of the nature originated by God, the human being was then given the trust of nature as God’s representative on Earth (Qur’an 33:72).

As the trustee of the natural world, human beings have certain duties and obligations that were acknowledged as part of their original nature. Prophets are sent by God to remind human beings of their duties and obligations and the rewards or punishments for performing or not performing these obligations. In this sense, every revealed book sent by Allah through a Prophetic Messenger is a reminder (
dhikra
). Revelation is of two kinds: First, the created order is itself a revelation, and second, the Revealed Books of Allah’s Messengers are an additional kind of revelation that serve as a reminder and a source of guidance from God.

Many verses of the Qur’an refer to God as the ultimate Healer and to the Qur’an as a means of healing. ‘‘When I am ill, it is [God] who cures me’’ (Qur’an 26:80). ‘‘We reveal from the Qur’an that which is a healing and a mercy for the believers’’ (Qur’an 17:82). ‘‘If God touches you with affliction, none can remove it but He’’ (Qur’an 6:17). ‘‘Oh humankind! There has come to you counsel from your Lord and a healing for what is in your hearts; this is a guidance and a mercy for the believers’’ (Qur’an 10:57).

The Qur’an also gives guidance that promotes good health: ‘‘Oh people, eat what is lawful and wholesome from [the foods of] the Earth’’ (Qur’an 2:168). The Qur’an also counsels people to select the best foods (Qur’an 18:19) and enjoy them: ‘‘Eat of the good things that we have provided for you’’ (Qur’an 7:160). Moderation is stressed: ‘‘Eat and drink, but do not be profl ate’’ (Qur’an 7:31), as well as the avoidance of excess (Qur’an 20:81). Muslims are also enjoined to fast from food and drink during the daytime hours of the month of Ramadan, to learn self-restraint (Qur’an 2:183).

Prohibited actions in the Qur’an that lead to an imbalance in health include the eating of pork and alcohol consumption.
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The Qur’an also forbids excessive eating, which leads to obesity and other medical problems: ‘‘Eat and drink, but do not be excessive’’ (Qur’an 7:31). Good health is considered a great blessing in Islam. On the Day of Judgment, the human being will be questioned about how she respected and maintained the bless- ings of God that she received: ‘‘Then you will be questioned about [God’s] blessings on that day’’ (Qur’an 102:8). The Qur’an establishes three general rules for the maintenance of health and well-being: the preservation of bodily health, the expulsion of harmful substances, and protection from harm that might occur to the body from unlawful or injudicious actions. In his

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book,
Medicine of the Prophet,
the noted Hanbali scholar Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 1350
CE
) comments on how the Qur’an applies each of these rules:

In the Qur’anic verses on fasting, the preservation of health is emphasized as a greater requirement than the religious obligation to fast. ‘‘If any of you are ill or on a journey, [then fasting should be made up from] a set number of other days’’ (Qur’an 2:184). Ibn Qayyim comments, ‘‘[God] permitted a sick person to break the fast because of illness, and [He permitted] the traveler [to break the fast] in order to preserve his health and strength. [This is because] fasting while traveling might cause injury to health through the combination of vigo- rous movements and the consumption of vital bodily energy, which often is not properly replaced due to lack of food. Thus, He permitted the traveler to break his fast.’’
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With regard to the expulsion of harmful substances, the Qur’an states: ‘‘If any of you are sick or has an ailment in his head, then [he can make] com- pensation [for not being able to complete the Hajj pilgrimage] by fasting, almsgiving, or sacrifice’’ (Qur’an 2:196). Ibn Qayyim explains: ‘‘[God] gave permission to the sick and to anyone with an ailment in his head
...
to shave his head while in the state of pilgrim sanctity (
ihram
). This was to evacuate the harmful vapors that brought about the ailment to his head through being congested beneath the hair. When the head is shaved, the pores are opened and these vapors make their way out. This kind of evacuation is used to draw an analogy for all other kinds of evacuation where the congestion of matter would cause harm.’’
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Ten actions of the body considered to cause imbalance when they are blocked or restrained are the following: the blood when agitated, the semen when moving, urine, feces, gastric gases, vomiting, sneezing, sleep, hunger, and thirst. Ibn Qayyim continues: ‘‘The Most High drew attention to the least signifi t [aspect of impurity]—the vapor congested in the head—to indicate the importance of evacuating what is more serious. Such is the method of the Qur’an: to give instruction about the greater through men- tioning the lesser. In the verse of ablution the Most High refers to protection from harm: ‘If you are sick or on a journey, or one of you comes from the privy, or you have been in contact with women, and you can find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth’ (Qur’an 4:34). He permitted the sick person to desist from using water and to use earth instead, in order to protect the body against harm. Here again, attention is drawn to take the necessary precautionary measures against anything which could harm the body internally or externally.’’
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Treatment of illness by the Prophet Muhammad as recorded in the Hadith was of three kinds: treatment with natural medicines, treatment with ‘‘divine medicines’’ (recitation of the Qur’an and prayers), and treatment with a com- bination of these two. However, a traditional doctor or a physician (
hakim
)

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never treated a physical illness without paying attention to the moral aspect of healing as well. As one of the better-known exponents of the Medicine of the Prophet, Ibn Qayyim commented that the moral dimension of healing was part of God’s Law (
Shari‘a
): ‘‘As for the guidance of the Prophet on physical medicine, it came as a completion of his religious law (
al-Shari‘a
) and was equally to be used when needed.’’
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At another place in the text, he noted, ‘‘Restoration of the body without restoration of the heart is of no benefi However, damage to the body when the spirit is restored brings only limited harm, for it is a temporary damage that will be followed by a permanent and complete cure.’’
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A tradition from Usama ibn Sharik reported the following discussion: ‘‘I was with the Prophet when a Bedouin came and asked him, ‘Oh Messen- ger of God, do we have to take medicine for treatment of illnesses?’ The Prophet said, ‘Yes. Oh servants of God, take medicine, for God Almighty has not created a disease without having created a remedy for it except one disease.’ When they asked what this disease was, he said, ‘Old age.’’’ Ibn Qayyim comments on this tradition:

It is possible that [the Prophet’s] words, ‘‘For every disease there is a remedy,’’ are to be taken in a general sense, so as to encompass fatal illnesses and those which no physician can cure. In that case, God the Most Glorious has appointed remedies to cure them but has concealed the knowledge of such remedies from humankind, and has not given the human being the means to discover them. For created beings have no knowledge, except what God teaches.

Therefore, the Prophet indicated that healing is dependent on the concur- rence of the medicine with the illness. For every created entity has an opposite and every disease has an opposite as a remedy by which it can be treated. The Prophet also indicated that the cure is dependent on the suitability of the remedy to the disease, in addition to its mere existence. For when a medicine is too potent for the illness or is administered in excess, it transforms the original illness into another. When [the cure] is insufficient for the illness, it does not fully com- bat it and the treatment is defective; when the healer is unable to identify the right medicine, healing does not result. When the body is not receptive [to the medicine] or the faculties are incapable of bearing it, or there is some other fac- tor preventing its influence, a cure will not be obtained, because of the lack of compatibility. But when there is complete compatibility, a cure must inevitably occur. This is the best of the two assumptions in the traditions.

The second assumption is that within the general meaning it is the particular which is intended, especially seeing that what is contained within an expression is much greater than what comes out from it and this is common usage in every language. Thus, the meaning would be: God has not made any disease that can be treated without making a remedy for it. This does not include those diseases which are not receptive to medicine.
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As for those who are reluctant to seek any treatment at all for their illnesses, Ibn Qayyim reassures them that seeking treatment does not negate trust in

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God’s will (
tawakkul
) any more than does eating or drinking to repel hunger or thirst. He states: ‘‘The reality of the divine unity is only made complete by direct use of the means that God has appointed as being essential to bring about certain effects, according to God’s command and the Shari‘a.’’
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From the time of the revelation of the Qur’an, the Prophet and many of his followers would recite verses of the Qur’an to a sick person as a method of healing. This practice was known as
ruqya.
The Medicine of the Prophet sees the healing effects of the recitation of the Qur’an to be achieved in two ways: through the meaning of the Qur’an for those who understand it and through the sound of the Arabic words of the Qur’an, even for those who do not understand.

The Traditions also refer to the healing power of scents: ‘‘A sweet scent is the nourishment of the spirit; the spirit is the instrument of the faculties, and the faculties increase with scent. For it is beneficial for the brain and the heart and the other internal organs; it makes the heart rejoice, pleases the soul, and revitalizes the spirit.’’
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Listening to singing was also recommended as a means of healing by some physicians. According to the Egyptian scholar Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 1505
CE
): ‘‘Listening to singing is the scent of souls, the calmer of hearts, and the food of the spirit. It is among the most important kinds of psychological medicine. It is a cause of pleasure, even for some animals. Pleasure in moder- ation purifi the innate heat [of the body], strengthens the function of the faculties, slows down senile decay by driving out diseases, renders the complexion clearer, and refreshes the whole body. By contrast, an excess of pleasure makes the illnesses of the body increase.’’
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There was a difference of opinion on the legality of listening to music. Some scholars saw a benefit in music, but others could not differentiate between music that infl med the passions and music that fostered spirituality and healing. Ibn Qutayba (d. 889
CE
), who was perhaps the most famous cultural historian of the Abbasid period (750–1258
CE
), fully approved of the psychological and medicinal effects of music and especially singing. He wrote, ‘‘Songs and harmonious chants clarify the brain, sweeten the character, animate the soul, clear the blood, improve and help persons with thick diseases, and develop all the natural qualities of a human being. Listening to singing is recommended in the treatment of some diseases, especially those due to spleen.’’
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