What is Prophetic Medicine?

The Medicine of Muhammad (S), or Ṭibb An-Nabī in Arabic, also known as Prophetic Medicine, encompasses the body of his recorded sayings, actions and approvals concerning health and disease as found in the hadith and biographical literature. While many such verified statements and approvals exist in the historical record, the term “Ṭibb An-Nabī ” was not used by the Prophet (S) himself or the earliest companions. The first book to use the term was written by Alī Al-Rida (d. 818 CE) while compilers of hadith collections started using the term when classifying ḥadith literature around three centuries after the Hijra.¹ The most popular current work on the subject was later written by Imam Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawzīyah (d. 1350 CE),² with other classical scholars like Imam Jalal Ad-Dīn As-Suyutī, Diya Ad-Dīn Almaqdisī, ‘Abdul Malik bin Habīb, and Nur Ad-Dīn Ibn Jazzar also writing treatises on Ṭibb An-Nabī .

When considering the subject of Prophetic Medicine, it is important to realize that concepts of health and treatment of disease do not begin and end with Prophet Muḥammad (S), because he (S) himself encouraged humanity to continuously seek knowledge, study the natural world and realized that new cures would be discovered to improve future health outcomes. He laid the foundation of principles that govern spiritual, physical and emotional health and offered many specific statements and advices pertaining to health. However, he (S) never claimed to provide a comprehensive system of treatments for every conceivable disease. Thus, both non- Muslims and, especially Muslims, should not fall into the misconception that Prophetic medicine is meant to be a comprehensive or exclusive system of prescriptions for every ailment.

Nonetheless, the principles and practices of Prophetic Medicine that have been provided are considered by the majority of Islamic scholars to be authoritative and beneficial for believers based on Divine Revelation. Allah states about Muḥammad (S) in the Qur’an itself:

“Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a Revelation revealed” (Qur’an 53:3-4).
“Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example for whoever has hope in Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah often.” (Qur’an 33:21)
“Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it. And whatever he forbids you from, leave it. And be conscious of Allah. Surely Allah is severe in penalty.” (Qur’an 59:7)

The principles and practices of Prophetic Medicine are considered by the majority of Islamic scholars to be authoritative and beneficial for believers based on Divine Revelation.

From the ḥadith literature, an example that demonstrates the Divine origin of certain Prophetic advice emerges from his miraculous night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and ascension into the heavens:

The Messenger of Allah (S) said, “I did not pass by an assembly of Angels on the night that I was taken on the night journey (Al-Isra wal Mi’raj), except that they said: Oh Muhammad (S), order your nation with hijama (wet cupping as a treatment). (Sunan Ibn Majah)

Another example concerns a man who came to the Prophet (S) complaining of abdominal pain. The Prophet (S) advised him to take honey but his condition did not initially improve, so he (S) advised him to take it four times until the Prophet (S) said, “Allah has spoken the truth and your brother’s abdomen has lied.” He gave the honey the fourth time and he was cured. ³

Despite the strong evidence that the Prophet’s (S) advice and guidance was based on Divine Revelation, a few Muslim scholars, including Ibn Khaldun (d. 808 A.H.), consider some Prophetic statements concerning health and disease to be based on the knowledge and culture prevalent in his time, and not necessarily based on Divine Revelation. The majority opinion of scholars has rebutted that his statements and actions are based on Divine Revelation by default, except for a few rare and exceptional instances when he (S) himself indicated that he was not speaking based on Revelation.⁴ They also point out that there are Prophetic statements concerning health that are sometimes general commands and sometimes case-specific advices.⁵ Case-specific advises are not necessarily intended as commands for the entirety of Muslims.

In any case, all Muslim scholars are unanimous that the Qur’an and Sunnah offer many useful principles that govern health and disease, as well as some specific practices, such as the use of honey and Qur’anic verses for healing.

Since the majority of Muslim scholars and believers consider Prophetic medicine to be based on Divine Revelation, it follows that this body of advice does not require modern “scientific validation”. The benefits of following his guidance are not restricted to the physical realm, but also to the metaphysical, which does not easily lend itself to empirical study. Thus, modern scientific findings can and should be used to support aspects of Prophetic Medicine, but it does not require them.

Thus, modern scientific findings can and should be used to support aspects of Prophetic Medicine, but it does not require them.

In this regard, Imam Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawzīyah states in his seminal work on Ṭibb that: “Further, it is a fact that comparing the Prophetic medicines to the medicines that regular doctors prescribe is just like comparing regular medicine to folk medicine…The Prophets provide us with a kind of medicine that the doctors can barely understand or reach by their experimentation, hypothesis and theories. The Prophets deliver remedies that cure the heart from whatever attacks it. These Prophetic remedies strengthen the heart and increase reliance and dependence on Allah…” ⁶

Thus, Prophetic guidance is unique in that it simultaneously confers both physical and spiritual benefits. However, this fact can also make it difficult to conduct comprehensive double- blind placebo studies on Prophetic practices, though they are certainly still possible and encouraged.

Muslim believers do not suffer from the modern misconception that all scientific findings are considered “absolute truths” while religious teachings are based on “blind faith”. Scientific findings can and should be used to gain greater understanding of the natural world and improve the human condition, but they cannot be considered as unchallengeable “absolute fact”. In fact, many modern scientists have challenged such notions based on several reasons. These have been summarized by other experts to include the fact that scientific findings are (a) intentionally restricted to matter and observed phenomena, which excludes the metaphysical a priori, (b) not always neutral and objective- confirmation bias, subjectivity, and mal-intent can and do creep into the observation, analysis and interpretation of results, (c) constantly evolving and in a state of flux, (d) explained equally well by multiple theories and hypotheses, (e) often falsely assumed to be fully reproducible, and (f) unable to prove or disprove the validity of moral and ethical practices.⁷

Besides its relationship with science, it is also important to understand the relation between Prophetic Medicine and Islamic Medicine and Unani Medicine. Islamic Medicine is a system that conforms to Islamic teachings but is broader in scope than Prophetic Medicine as it continues to incorporate medical advances that do not contradict Islamic teachings. The Islamic Medicine Association of North America offered the following definition of Islamic Medicine: “The most up-to-date medical science and technology combined and conforming with the Divine teachings of Islam.”⁸

Unani Medicine refers to a system of Ancient Greek medicine (“Unani” literally means “Greek” in Arabic) that was later adopted by Muslim physicians of the Middle Ages and is currently practiced primarily by naturopathic Muslim physicians in the Indo-Pak sub-continent. The adoption of Greek medicine by Muslim physicians, including the famous Avicenna (d. 1037 CE, Ibn Sīna in Arabic) and Abu Bakr Al-Razi (d. 925 or 935 CE) of the Golden Age, and later principles of modern-day medicine, were strong signs of the tolerance and flexibility within the Islamic medical tradition. However, we should not make the mistake of equating Islamic medicine with Unani medicine. Muslim physicians had no qualms in adopting certain teachings of traditional Greek medicine, including the concept of the four elements (earth, water, air, and fire), four humors (blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm), and temperaments even though they could not strictly be considered Prophetic or Islamic teachings. Similarly, current Muslim physicians have had no reservations about compromising their faith in adopting certain principles and practices of modern, secular conventional medicine that do not contradict Islamic principles. This adoption has notably occurred despite the fact that modern medicine formally denies the existence of God and rejects notions of spiritual and Divine healing.

References:

1. See Elgood, Cyril (1962). The Medicine of the Prophet. Medical History 6(2): 146-153. According to Elgood, current manuscripts of Alī Al-Rida’s treatise called “Al-Risalah Al-Dhahabiah” are not authentic, and the oldest available manuscript was written by Shaykh Abu Nu’aym Al-Isfahani (born C.E. 936/7).

2. Al-Jawzīyah, Imam Ibn Qayyim. At-Ṭibb An-Nabawī (Healing With the Medicine of the Prophet), trans. By Jalal Abualrab, Riyadh: Darussaam Publishers, 1999.

3. Abu Said Al-Khudrī narrated that: “A man came to the Prophet (S) and said, ‘My brother has some abdominal trouble.’ The Prophet (S) said to him ‘Let him drink honey.’ The man came for the second time and the Prophet (S) said to him, ‘Let him drink honey.’ He came for the third time and the Prophet (S) said, ‘Let him drink honey.’ He returned again and said, ‘I have done that.’ The Prophet (S) then said, ‘Allah has said the truth, but your brother’s abdomen has lied. Let him drink honey.’ So he made him drink honey and he was cured.” (Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Bukhārī 5684)

4. For example, Anas ibn Malik (RA) reported: “The Messenger of Allah (S) passed by people grafting trees. The Prophet said, “It would be better if you did not do that.” They abandoned the practice and there was a decline in the yield. The Prophet passed by again and said, “What is wrong with your trees?” They said, “You said not to do so.” The Prophet said, “You have better knowledge of the affairs of your world.”” In another narration, the Prophet said, “If doing so would benefit them, then do so. Verily, I had an opinion, so do not blame me for my opinion. If I tell you something about Allah, adhere to it. I never lie about Allah Almighty.” (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)

5. An example of a general command is the hadith: “There is healing in three: a cupping operation, a drink of honey, and cauterization with fire, but I forbid my nation from using cauterization.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5357) An example of a specific advice for a specific situation is to be found in the following hadith: “Sa’d bin Abī Waqqas narrated that: ‘I suffered from an illness. The Messenger of Allah (S) came to pay a visit to me. He put his hands between my nipples and I felt its coolness at my heart.’ He said: ‘You are a man suffering from heart sickness. Go to Al-Harith ibn Kaladah, brother of Thaqif. He is a man who gives medical treatment. He should take seven ajwah dates of Medina and grind them with their kernels, and then put them into your mouth.’” (Sunan Abī Dawud 3875)

6. Al-Jawzīyah, Imam Ibn Qayyim. At-Ṭibb An-Nabawī (Healing With the Medicine of the Prophet), trans. By Jalal Abualrab, Riyadh: Darussaam Publishers, 1999, pp 21-22.

7. See Feyerabend, Paul (1984). Against Method. London: Verso; Guenon, Rene (1996). The Crisis of the Modern World, trans. Marco Pallis and Richard Nicholson. Ghent, New York: Sophia Perrenis et Unversalis, 4th ed; Aronowitz, Stanley (1988). Science As Power: Discourse and Ideology in Modern Society. Univ. of Minnesota Press, preface; Barzun, Jacques (1964). Science: The Glorious Entertainment. New York: Harper and Row; Fikes, Bradley J. (January 4, 2016). Most Biomed Studies Irreproducible, Reviews Find. San Diego Union-Tribune; and Ahmad, SF and Ahmad, SS (2014). God, Islam & The Skeptic Mind, 2nd ed.

8. Elkadi Ahmad (1984). Islamic Medicine in North America. Journal of Islamic Medical Assoc.;16: 8-10.

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