Prophetic Medicine: ‘A Holistic Approach to Medicine’

Abstract

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5915/42-1-4736 Al-Bukhārī, Muslim, al-Tirmidhī, and many others did exhaustive research to collect the sayings and traditions of our beloved Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم into books of hadīth. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya and al-Dhahabī, two great Islamic scholars, collected reports related to health hygiene, diseases, and remedies from these books into scholarly works for the general populace, who held great reverence and love for Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and desired to know his opinions on every subject, including health and Never claiming to be a physician himself, and many times directing his companions to seek the help of a doctor, the Prophet صلى اله عليه وسلم nonetheless on many occasions was reported to have given advice on simple ailments he encountered. These reports came to be termed as prophetic medicine. In the realm of health, hygiene, prevention, and treatment of maladies, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم employed both popular remedies of his time as well as spiritual remedies. The latter comprised recitation of verses of the Glorious Qur'an, supplications or supererogatory prayers on various occasions, with succes ses recorded by various companions . Thus , his was a true approach to problems of health. Prior to Is lam, the spiritual aspects of cure were left to the pries ts , and the treatment of the body was in the domain of medical practitioners. By combining the two, and blending these philosophies together, our Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم can be considered one of the first to use a truly holistic approach to the cure of disease.