Understanding The Prophet's Life
From Issue: 560 [Read full issue]
Prophetic Medicine
A common concern among some students of the Sunnah is with the 'medicine of the Prophet'. They focus their energy and concern on the medicines, nutriments, herbs, grains, and other things from what the Prophet, peace be upon him, described as being medicines in the treatment of some bodily defects or illnesses. They quote well-known hadiths in this regard, for example:
"The best of what you can use as medicine is cupping." [Al-Tabarani]
"[It is incumbent] upon you [to treat] with this black seed, for in it there is healing for every ailment except al-sam, and that is death." [Ibn Majah]
"Wear kohl with antimony for it clears the vision and makes the hair grow." [Al-Tirmidhi]
These prescriptions and their likes are not of the spirit of the Prophetic medicine. Rather, its spirit is preservation of the life and health of the human being, and soundness of the body and its strength, its right to rest when tired, to food when hungry, and to treatment when ill. Its spirit is that the seeking of treatment does not contradict faith in predestination (al-qadr), nor reliance upon God. Its spirit is that for every ailment there is a cure, and confirmation of the law of God (sunnat Allah) in respect of contagion; the legitimization of quarantine for health reasons; the concern for hygiene of the person, the house and the road; and the prohibition of pollution of water and land; the emphasis on prevention above cure; the stipulation of relaxation to preserve bodily well-being; and the preservation of the health of the mind alongside bodily health - and other teachings which represent the reality of the Prophetic medicine, in those aspects of it which are true for every time and place.
The means change at times, from age to age, from one situation to another. Indeed it is inevitable that they should change. So, when a hadith stipulates a particular means, that is only to be taken as an explanation of the reality of its time: we are not bound by it, and we are not restricted to it.
Compiled From:
"Approaching the Sunnah: Comprehension & Controversy" - Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, pp. 139-141