الْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ الَّذِي هَدَانَا لِهَـذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لِنَهْتَدِيَ لَوْلا أَنْ هَدَانَا اللّهُ لَقَدْ جَاءتْ رُسُلُ رَبِّنَا بِالْحَقِّ وَنُودُواْ أَن تِلْكُمُ الْجَنَّةُ أُورِثْتُمُوهَا بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

Prophet used medicine himself and prescribed medicine for his family and Companions

Ibn al-Qayyam wrote : It was part of the guidance of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم to use treatment for himself and to advise those in his family and companions to seek treatment if they were afflicted by illness. However, neither he nor his companions used complex medicines known as Aqrabadhin~أَقْرَبَاذِينَ (pharmaceutical compounds). Instead, they predominantly used simple, single-ingredient remedies, sometimes combining these with another ingredient that would enhance its effect or reduce its intensity. This approach was typical of the medical practices of many nations, including the Arabs, Turks, and all the Bedouin people. Only the Romans and Greeks focused on complex medications.

Physicians have agreed that whenever healing can be achieved through diet, one should not resort to medicine, and whenever a simple remedy is sufficient, one should avoid using complex compounds. For any illness that can be managed through food and dietary measures, there is no need to use medicines.

A physician should not be overly eager to prescribe medicines, for if the medicine finds no illness in the body to counteract, or encounters an illness it does not match, or is administered in an excessive quantity or potency, it can disrupt health and cause harm. Experienced physicians tend to prefer using simple remedies, and they form one of the three branches of medical practice.

The principle here is that medicines are similar to food: societies and groups whose diets are based mainly on simple, single ingredients tend to have very few illnesses, and their medical treatments are also simple. Urban dwellers, who consume complex foods, often require complex medicines, as their illnesses tend to be more complex, so compound medicines are more suitable. People in rural and desert areas typically have simpler illnesses, which can be effectively treated with simple medicines. This reasoning is sound within the framework of medical practice.

Additionally, we say there is another aspect here, in which conventional medicine is to true medicine what folk remedies are to professional medicine. Even expert physicians admit this: some believe their medical knowledge is based on analogy, others believe it is derived from experience, while others claim it is based on inspirations, dreams, or intuition. Some acknowledge that much of it was observed in animals, such as cats that lick oil from lamps to treat themselves after eating poisonous creatures, or snakes that rub their eyes on certain leaves when their vision dims. Likewise, certain birds are known to drink seawater when constipated. These behaviors, along with similar observations, are recorded in the early teachings of medicine.

And how does all this compare to the divine revelation Allah inspired in His Messenger, guiding him on what is beneficial and harmful? The knowledge of medicine they possess in comparison to this revelation is like comparing human sciences to the knowledge brought by the prophets. In fact, there are remedies revealed that cure illnesses in ways that the minds of the most learned physicians have not conceived, nor have their sciences or experiments reached. These include spiritual and heart-based remedies, such as strengthening the heart, placing trust in Allah, relying on Him, turning to Him, humbling oneself before Him, sincerity, giving charity, supplicating, repenting, seeking forgiveness, showing kindness to others, relieving the distressed, and easing the burdens of those in difficulty.

These remedies have been experienced by various nations, regardless of their differing religions and beliefs, and they have found these to have effects in healing that are beyond the reach of the knowledge, experience, or reasoning of even the most skilled physicians.

We, along with others, have experienced many instances of these spiritual remedies, witnessing them accomplish what physical medicines cannot. In fact, when compared to these remedies, physical medicines seem as rudimentary as folk remedies do to professional physicians. This aligns with divine wisdom, as there are different types of remedies. When the heart connects with the Lord of all worlds—the Creator of illness and cure, the One who directs nature according to His will—it gains access to treatments beyond those available to a heart that is distant and turned away from Him. It is well-known that when the spirit, soul, and nature are strengthened, they work together to resist and overcome illness. So, how can anyone deny that a person whose nature and spirit are strengthened, who delights in closeness to the Creator, who finds solace and love in Him, who enjoys remembrance of Him, who directs all his power and energy towards Allah, and who seeks His help and trusts in Him, would find in this the greatest cure? Such strength can entirely remove pain, and only the most ignorant, veiled, and spiritually distant from Allah would deny this.

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