Medicine and Healing in Islam

1. Medicine and Healingin Islam Rels 120 Religion, Spirituality & Health March 2014

2. Religious teachings on healing “There is no disease that Allah has created, except that He also has created its treatment” • Physical, mental and spiritual health are dependent on living an observant and morally righteous life • Duties of each Muslim: • To be a vice-regent (deputy, representative) of God on earth • To worship God (Allah is “god” in Arabic) • To do good for oneself and others; to avoid wrong 120 appleby

3. Physical and Mental Ailmentsin the Qur’an Physical: blindness, deafness, lameness, leprosy Mental: psychosis, neurosis (sadness, anxiety) Hierarchy of medical treatments: • Prevention of illness through cleanliness and healthy lifestyle • Prevention through religious observances: reading and reciting the Quran, prayers • Take appropriate measures of rest and self-care • Prevent and treat sources of loneliness, alienation, lack of self-worth • Curing illness (physical and mental) through scientific medicine or surgery 120 appleby

4. Medieval Islamic Medicine “By 900 AD Islam started to develop and practice a medical system slanting towards science…Islamic doctors strived to find healing procedures, with Allah's permission, that looked at the natural causes and potential treatments and cures. “The Medieval Islamic world produced some of the greatest medical thinkers in history, they also made advances in surgery, built hospitals, and welcomed women into the medical profession.” http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/medicine/medieval-islamic-medicine.php The vessels anatomy chart from the collection of Sami Ibrahim Haddad. 120 appleby

5. The Father of Islamic Medicine - Al Razi Medieval Muslims were the first to establish hospitals, paid for by the charitable donations known as Zakat tax • Islamic hospitals were in existence by the 8th century and became widespread across the Islamic world • Hospitals provided care to the sick, sent physicians and midwives into poorer, rural areas, and educated physicians in medical sciences and research Author of 200 books on the science of medicine 120 appleby

6. Popular reprint of a 500-year-old book • Contents • http://www.ukbooksplus.com/doc/mop.pdf 120 appleby

7. Sources of Illness • Illness results from disobedience or spiritual neglect • Failure to preserve health • Failure to obey religious laws and practices Illness is caused by these failures and is understood as a punishment for the person’s faults 120 appleby

8. Sources of Illness • Illness is a warning to the person • Take stock of one’s performance of religious observances • Assess one’s observance of cleanliness and nutrition • Assess one’s practices of generosity and kindness to family and community members • Illness functions to refocus person’s lifestyle and activity levels 120 appleby

9. Sources of Illness • Illness has been caused by a “Djinn” • Spirits both good and bad • Humans made of earth; • angels made of light; • djinn / spirits made of fire • May cause mental illness or madness • Some people can control spirits and cause someone else to be ill • Requires exorcism by an imam or Sufisaint Spiritual illness requires spiritual realignment of person toward submission and obedience 120 appleby

10. God’s Sovereignty over Life • All life comes from God – the creator of all • God provides for people – one’s life, one’s body, children, money, etc. • No person owns his or her own body • No person has control over his or her own life or death 120 appleby

11. Discoveries of science and medicine • Scientists discover truths about the world God has provided • Medical techniques and discoveries represent an identification or understanding of God’s laws and the Prophet Muhammad’s teachings • All medical cures, answers and remedies are provided by God through religious beliefs and practices • Foundation of health = clean, regulated, healthy lifestyle 120 appleby

12. The Example of the Prophet All aspects of the Muslim’s life are regulated: • What and how to eat • When to sleep, when to pray, when to work • How to live as a healthy and good person • How each person manages their family, work, money, good deeds • One’s responsibilities and contributions to one’s community • The Prophet Muhammad’s life is a model for all Muslims; the early Muslim community is a model for all Muslim communities The Seven Phases of Prophet Muhammad's Life • Indeed there is for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern. (Qur'an 33:21) 120 appleby

13. Responsibilities of the sick person • Prayer • 5 obligatory prayers per day • Prayer for healing • Read and recite the Quran • Strengthen one’s belief and faith in God • Examine one’s conscience and religious observance of rituals • Seek closer knowledge of God and God’s will • Examine one’s relationships with family, community and friends • Seek medical treatment for a cure 120 appleby

14. Responsibilities of the community Individual health and community health are interconnected; everyone is affected by individual illnesses and diseases • Healing benefits persons, families, and communities • Healthy practices and moral behaviour strengthen health throughout society • Provide comfort and care for the ill person • Pray for healing, comfort and strength for the ill • Visit the sick; both visitor and ill person benefit; sick persons may be closer to God during their illness 120 appleby

15. Responsibilities of theMuslim physician • Maintain awareness of self as an instrument of God’s healing • Remember that God provides remedies for illness • When healing is not possible, comfort and pain relief is still required • When death is imminent, strengthen person’s faith in God, relieve stress of leaving life and family, assure person of new life in Paradise 120 appleby

16. Medicines • Care is taken to avoid medicines which contain alcohol or include products from non-halal meat sources • If an unlawful medication is necessary for preserving life, and no alternative source is available, then it may be used • A patient who is fasting may receive injections, have blood tests, accept medications through patches, and gargle • A fasting patient will not accept ear or nose drops, suppositories or inhalers 120 appleby

17. Modesty • Both men and women are required to dress in a modest way • Undressing for a medical examination or medical care is likely to be uncomfortable • Every effort should be made to provide a health care provider of the same gender as the patient • If this is not possible, another family member will remain with the patient if there is consent for a treatment or examination 120 appleby

18. Birth Rituals • At the time of birth, a Muslim father will recite a call to prayer into each of the baby’s ears • Shortly after birth, a piece of a date or a drop of honey will be placed on the infant’s tongue • The placenta is regarded as a sacred part of the human body – it must be buried • The infant’s hair is shaved, usually 7 days after birth • Male children are circumcised 120 appleby

19. Infancy • Muslim women breastfeed their infants for 2 years • If another woman breastfeeds an infant, she is regarded as a second mother • Her children will be considered siblings • This means that Muslim women will be unlikely to donate breast milk or feed their child from a milk bank • If a Muslim woman is to receive post-natal care in the home, health care providers should dress modestly and remove their shoes when entering the house, especially if it is carpeted 120 appleby

20. End of life • At the end of life, the dying process need not be prolonged; Life-sustaining treatment may be withdrawn • Suicide, euthanasia and assisted suicide are forbidden as human life is sacred • Visitors may read from the Qur’an and say prayers for the dying person’s soul which does not leave the body until it has been buried • If alert, the dying person may recite the Shahadah • The dying person’s body should face towards Mecca, and upon death, should be covered by a sheet 120 appleby

21. After death Unless absolutely necessary under law, no autopsy will be permitted. It is permitted to donate organs if another person’s life will thereby be saved; not all Muslims will donate or receive organs, however. Muslims will often be buried on the same day as they die – if not, the following day Muslims do not generally have viewings or wakes, although non-family members may visit the family for 3 days after the death to offer their condolences The person will be buried facing Mecca 120 appleby

22. Understanding Death Like some Jews and Christians, Muslims believe that the present life is only a trial preparation for the next realm of existence Muslims believe in a Day of Judgment, resurrection, Heaven and Hell When a Muslim dies, he or she is washed, usually by a family member of the same gender, wrapped in a clean white cloth, and buried with a simple prayer preferably the same day. Muslims consider this one of the final services they can do for their relatives, and an opportunity to remember their own brief existence here on earth. The Prophet taught that even after death, a Muslim will benefit from his or her own acts of charity, knowledge passed on to children, and prayers on their behalf by a righteous child. 120 appleby

23. Honey, Hadiths, and Health Reflections of Author Amy Rowe: • Significant cultural and racial diversity among Muslims in the Boston area • Men more often identified as representatives of Muslim communities than women • Large range of beliefs, practices and interventions regarding health and healing • Scientific, biomedical, traditional Islamic medicine, folk remedies, social services, and Qur’aniccommandments 120 appleby

24. Honey as an alternative medicine Example of the Prophet: • Muhammad advises drinking honey to heal a stomach ailment; man is cured Prophetic Medicine – Honey (video clip); http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFrAT0dSKiY Modern medical research discoveries about honey: • antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal effects • relieves stomach upset and ulcers • aids healing of external wounds, infections and acne • soothes a sore throat Honey – The Healing for Mankind (video clip); (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwaT9aw6IGg ) 120 appleby

25. Former (?) practices • Drink ink used by scribes to copy the Quran • Wrap pages taken from the Quran around a wound • Wear an amulet to protect against evil djinn • Visit the grave of a holy person • Drink water from any well near the grave 120 appleby

26. Prayer of the Muslim Physician Praise be to God, The Creator of the Universe, Who taught us: "Whoever saves a human life, has saved the life of all mankind."(Qur'an 5:32) Give us the knowledge, the skills, and the will to serve fellow humans. Give us the wisdom to comfort and console all toward peace and harmony. Help us alleviate human sufferings. Give us the strength to admit our mistakes, amend our ways, and forgive others. Give us the devotion to serve the poor, the hungry, the destitute, and homeless with honor, love, dignity, and piety, with patience and tolerance, with knowledge and vigilance, with thy love in our hearts, compassion for thy servants, and desire for thy mercy for all those who are instruments of thy healing. Amen. 120 appleby

27. Portfolio items: Part 1 • Spiritual Assessment = The Spiritual Involvement & Beliefs Scale • Group Spiritual Practice = The Spiritual Practice of Kindness Part 2 • Spirituality in Muslim traditions – see Islamic Observances & Spiritual Practices (21 March) Part 3 • Illness, healing, wholeness in Islam – see Mediciine & Healing in Islam (1 April) Part 4 • In-class QUIZ (4 April) Additional item for this portfolio • Questions completed for film “Me & the Mosque” – see 28 March 120 appleby