Allah sent Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) with a religion that covers all aspects of life. Prophetic medicine is derived from verses of holy Qur’an and authentic hadiths of the prophet. It focuses mainly on the treatment with the verses of the holy Qur’an, prayers, Dikrs etc. It also includes the teachings of the prophet about health and medical science, medicines he advised to take, things he asked to avoid, things he warned about and good habits in personal hygiene & care.
One of the famous sayings of the prophet of medical science is the following hadith. It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (رضي الله عنهم) that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: “Allah has not sent down any disease but He has also sent down a cure for it.” [Saheeh al-Bukhaari, 5678]
According to Ibn ul Qayyim (رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰ) (a great Islamic scholar), the principles of bodily medicine are three:
- The preservation of health,
- The expulsion of harmful substances,
- Protection from harm.
The main sources of Prophetic medicine are the holy Qur’an and authentic hadith. The secondary sources are the researches and studies conducted by various Islamic scholars, institutions and organizations on the light of holy Qur’an and authentic hadith.
The Qur’an is not a book of medicine. Rather this is a kind of exaggeration coined by some Muslims. It is a book of guidance for mankind. This does not mean that there are no other miraculous aspects to the Qur’an. Rather in some verses Allah mentions things about the design of the human body, the stages of its creation and development, some natural phenomena, cures for various diseases etc. With regard to cures for various diseases, This includes healing the heart (mental or spiritual disease) and physical healing.
For example, Allah mentions honey in the Qur’an and says that it is a healing for mankind. And He mentions the principle of preserving good health and guarding against sickness. So whoever says that the Qur’an says a lot about medicine in this regard is right, but whoever goes beyond that is exaggerating.