We, the physicians, have now come to accept a fact known to our
patients for centuries: that healing is from God, and we are just an
instrument of the Healer. We give the same medication to two
different patients with the same type of medical problem or perform
similar operations on two patients otherwise at the same risk and
one will survive and the other one doesn't. It is more than simple
luck. As Socrates put it, "I dress the wound and God heals
it." This was also acknowledged by the Prophet Abraham,
"and when I am ill, it is He who cures me" (Quran
26:80). God himself attests to it by saying "If God touches
thee with an affliction, no one can remove it but He"
(Quran 6:17).
Healing
from the Quran
The Quran
is not a textbook of medicine, rather it contains rules of guidance
that if followed will promote good health and healing. This is why
the Quran calls itself a book of healing.
"O mankind, there has come unto you a direction from your
Lord and a healing for the heart and for those who believe in
guidance and mercy" (Quran 10:57).
"We have sent down in the Quran that which is healing and a
mercy to those who believe" (Quran 17:82)
Healing
from the Quran is of three types:
a.
Legislative effect: This includes faith (iman) in God as not only
the Creator but the Sustainer and the Protector. This also includes
the medical benefits of obligatory prayers, fasting, charity and
pilgrimage.
b. Health Guidelines: Health-promoting items from the Quran and the
tradition of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) including the
use of honey, olives, fruit, lean meat, avoiding excessive eating,
and the prohibition of alcohol, pork, homosexuality, sexual
promiscuity and sex during menstruation.
c. The direct healing effect of the Quran: Recitation of Quran by
the ill or for the ill (ruqya) has shown to have a direct healing
effect. This most likely uses the medical benefits of echo.
Echo of sound is such a powerful force that it has been used to
blast off mountains. Now the miniaturized version of echo is used in
medicine to break kidney stones (lithotripsy), gallstones, and even
vegetations in the subendothelial bacterial endocarditis (SBE).
Listening to the recitation of the Holy Quran has been shown in a
study conducted by Dr. Ahmed E. Kadi and his associates to lower
blood pressure, heart rate, and to cause smooth muscle relaxation in
Muslim Arabs, non-Arab Muslims and even in non-Muslims. It is
postulated that the echo target of “Alif Lam Meem” (the first
three words of Surat AlBaqarah-the 2nd chapter of the
Quran) is in the heart and that of Ya-seen (chapter 36) is in the
pituitary gland of the brain. Thus the Prophet Mohammad always
stressed reading the Quran (Quran-recitation) loudly and not
silently by saying, "The comparison between a silent reader and
a recitor is like a bottle of perfume when it is closed and when it
is opened."
Use of
Meditation in Prayer and Healing
Meditation
includes acts of remembrance and communications with God as ordained
to us.
1.
"When my servant asks you (O Muhammad) about me, (tell them)
I am close to them: I listen to the prayer of each supplicant when
he asks Me. Let them listen to My call and believe in Me, that they
may walk in the right way" (Quran 2:186).
2.
"Your Lord says: "Call on Me and I will answer your
call" (Quran 40:60).
3.
"Those who believe and whose hearts find rest in the
remembrance of God, for in the remembrance of God do hearts find
rest" (Quran 13:28).
4.
"Remember Me, I will remember you; thank Me and reject Me
not" (Quran 2:152).
5.
"Remember thy Lord much and praise Him in the evening and
morning" (Quran 3:41).
6.
"Such as those who remember God standing, sitting and
reclining" (Quran 3:191).
7.
"and men who remember God much and women who remember God,
God has prepared for them forgiveness and a vast reward"
(Quran 33:35).
8.
"O you believe! Remember God with much remembrance and
glorify Him in the morning and evening" (Quran 33:41-42).
Sayings
of the Prophet Muhammad
The Prophet Muhammad, like all other prophets of God, was engaged in
the remembrance of God most of the time. He is known to have said:
1.
"There is a polish for everything that removes the rust and
the polish for the rust-of- heart is the dhikr (remembrance) of God."
2.
He was asked which people are most virtuous and most highly esteemed
by God on the Day of Judgement. The messenger of God (P) replied
"Those who remember God often."
3.
It is narrated in a hadith Qudsi (direct revelation to Prophet
Muhammad) "God Most High says I am as my Servant thinks I
am. I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention
of Me by himself, I make mention of him to Myself. If he makes
mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly
better than his. If he comes closer to Me a hand span, I come closer
to him arms-length, if he comes to Me walking, I come to him
running."
Thus
meditation/remembrance has been a practice of all Sufi sheikhs. In
the words of Sheikh al-Mursi "dhikr (meditation) pleases God,
defeats and drives evil forces, increases livelihood, makes the
personality more prestigious, cleanses the heart, removes the faults
and saves the tongue from lying, gossip, backbiting and hypocrisy
while engaged in the remembrance of God."
Seeking
Help with Prayers
According
to Imam Ghazali, illness increases faith and brings man closer to
God. Knowing this nature, we are told by the Quran -
"O you who believe, seek help with patience and prayers, as God
is with those who patiently persevere" (Quran 2:153).
The
Prophet Muhammad used to comfort the ill when he visited them and
would say the following prayer:
"O
Allah remove the hardship, O Lord of mankind, grant cure for You are
the Healer. There is no cure but from You, a cure which leaves no
illness behind."
He would
also make following prayer for his own health:
"O
Allah cure my body, cure my heart and cure my eyesight from any
illness" (repeated 3 times).
Do
Prayers Work?
Yes they
do. Dr. Larry Dossey in his book "The Healing Words"
has documented the healing effects of prayer. Citing one example
from the research conducted by Dr. Byrd at San Francisco General
Hospital in 1988, 393 critically ill heart patients admitted to the
intensive care units over a 10-month period were divided into two
groups. Patients categorized into group (A) were prayed for by name
until they left the hospital. Those in group (B) were not
prayed for. Those giving the prayers were not told how to pray. The
results were very interesting. Those prayed for left the hospital
early, had a lower incidence of cardiac arrest, 2-1/2 times less
incidence of congestive heart failure and required 1/5th less
antibiotics. The research team also observed that prayer combined
with loving care worked even better. Men who had angina
pectoris and a loving, caring wife, reported a 50% reduction in
angina than men who were single or divorced.
Prayers
work for us even while we are sleeping. The Prophet Muhammad advised
us to say prayers from Quran (Surah Ikhlas, Al Falaq, Annas and/or
last verse of Al Baqra (2:286) before going to sleep.
My Own
Practice
I do
dhikr in all my free time, especially while driving, and I pray for
myself, my family, my friends and my patients by name, knowing that
cure is only from God.
One time I visited a critically ill patient who had an adrenal tumor
(pheochromocytoma) and was in hypotensive shock. I asked her what I
could do for her and she, out of desperation (doctors had told her
she wouldn't make it) asked me to pray. So I placed my hand over the
site of the tumor and made the prophetic prayer and left. The next
day when I came, I was surprised to see her sitting up in bed
smiling. She told me that in the evening, the radiologist x-rayed
her again and found no trace of the tumor. He could not explain it
but thought that the arteriogram might have infarcted the tumor.
The
Sufi Practices
In the
treatment of diseases, Sufis use prayers and the knowledge of
specific verses of the Quran and the names of Allah. This is called
the Science of Tawidh (Taweez). They use science of numerology
associated with Arabic alphabets. Some sample tawidh is given for
illustration. One must know the healing is not in a piece of paper,
words or numbers, but only from Allah. In my humble opinion, Tawidh
is only a way to become God-conscious and receive His mercy as a
result.
Shahid
Athar, M.D. is a Clinical Associate Professor of
Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Athar is also
the Chairman of the Islamic Medical Association of North American
and a member of the Islamic Academy of Sciences (IAS).
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