Healthcare As A Chapter of Human Rights in Islam Commands Muslims To Follow - Whoever Saves The Life Of A Person Saves The Life Of The Whole Of Humankind
By
Arman Neyazi, New Age Islam
11 May 2021
Love The
Creation Of Allah To Show Your Gratitude To Him And Love Yourself As True
Manifestation Of The Teachings Of Islam
Main
Points:
1. Keeping
Healthy Is The True Manifest Of Teachings Of Islam.
2. The mental,
physical and social health of human being is at the centre of all Islamic
teachings.
3. A human
being should be thankful to Allah and take care of His beautiful gift – health.
4. Islam
recommends medical therapy and other methods of treatment.
5. No wonder
Islam's Golden Age produced the greatest physicians of the age whose work
founded the present practice of medicine in Europe and then the world.
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Love the
creation of Allah to show your gratitude to Him and love yourself as the true
manifestation of the teachings of Islam
Islam, the
universal religion commands human being to be mindful of theirs and others
health. Islamic traditions of health justify the saying ‘a healthy mind lives
only in a healthy body’. People of the world in general and the Ummah in
particular should be advocates of healthy surrounding and clean atmosphere.
Allah the Most Merciful says in the Holy Quran:
‘And We send down of the Qur’an that which is
healing and mercy for the believers…’ Quran
17:82
‘And when I am ill, it is He who cures me.’
Quran 26:80
‘…Say,
“It is, for those who believe, a guidance and cure…’
Quran 41:44
And
consider the following Hadees highlighting the importance of health:
“A stronger believer is better than a weak
believer” (Part No. 3; Page No. 205)
The human
being, as the best creation of Allah, has been commanded to respect the right
of Medical care of a fellow being to acknowledge with respect the creation of
Allah, the Most Merciful.
The mental,
physical and social health of human being is at the centre of all Islamic human
rights teachings. Every Surah, every Ayat so much so that every word of the
Holy Quran is dedicated to the welfare of human being. Allah, the Most Merciful
is mindful of all His creation irrespective of its genre as none of them is
created without reason. The Holy Quran and Hadees traditions have abundant
numbers of suggestions regarding the importance of health and methods of cure
from the illness. Allah has bestowed
human being with wisdom and intellect of highest degree so that it understands
what his Creator commands him to do in respect of human rights.
Allah, the
Almighty says in the Holy Quran that He is the creator of man and being the
perfectionist, that He is, man is also a perfect creation. Consider the
following Ayat:
And We did certainly create man out of clay
from an altered black mud. ... (Surah Al-Hijr Verse 26) - Sahih International
Who has perfected everything He created. And He
originated the creation of humankind from clay. Then He made his descendants
from an extract of a humble fluid, (Surah As-Sajdah--7:8) — Dr Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran
After
creating a perfect human being He bestowed wisdom and intellect that were
needed to control him from everything causing harm to his life. The Holy Quran
says:
"Verily, your own self has rights over
you, so fast and break your fast, pray and sleep." (Surah Az-Zumar:62) -Sunan Abi
Dawud
The Ayat
mentioned above is a clear indication of Allah, the Best Creator has commanded
men to look after themselves and their brothers to the best of their power and
ability. If a human being does not look after himself and overlooks others
health-related necessities, it will be like disrespecting his spiritual
abilities bestowed by Allah, the Self-Existing by Whom all subsist (the
Al-Qayyum) on them.
Allah, the
Creator, has created the human being with the superlative system having
enormous potentials. The human being is one of the most important thread in
Allah’s creation of the universe therefore it should be thankful to Allah and
take care of His beautiful gift – health. Imagine the depth of the kindness of
Allah that He has commanded us to take care of our health and has sent cure of
the ailments through His Book, the Holy Quran and wisdom of Prophet Muhammad
(SAW) in the form of Hadees traditions and narrations.
Islam takes
the Health and Medicare of people as human rights of utmost importance as the
following Ayaat and Hadees traditions show:
....do not put yourselves into destruction... — (Surah Al-Baqarah - 195) - Mufti
Taqi Usmani
….. and a cure for the ailments of your hearts,
… (Surah Yunus -
57) — Mufti Taqi Usmani
‘…There emerges from their bellies a drink,
varying in colours, in which there is healing for people.’ (Surah An-Nahl – 69)
Following
Ayat of the Holy Quran is for the members of the medical fraternity who do not
care for their own lives while saving the lives of their patients.
.... and whoever saves the life of a person is
as if he has saved the life of the whole of humankind. (Surah Al-Maidah - 32) — Mufti Taqi
Usmani
Islam
and Individual Health
Various
Ayaat and Hadees traditions point towards the importance of being health
conscious. There are recommendations for the people to follow to make the world
capable of maintaining healthy traditions, cultures and atmosphere.
Your body has a right over you, your eyes have
a right over you ...." — Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Hadith 127
There are two gifts which many men are
unmindful about – good health and leisure.’ (Bukhari)
'Ask Allah for Forgiveness and Health, for
after being granted certainty, one is given nothing better than Health.' (An
Nasai)
Aisha (RA)
reported:
The
Prophet Muhammad (SAW), sent for Uthman ibn Mazh’un and he came. The Prophet
said, “O Uthman, do you not desire my practice?” Uthman said, “O Messenger of
Allah, no by Allah. I seek your practice.” The Prophet said, “Verily, I sleep
and I pray, I fast and I break my fast, and I marry women. Fear Allah, O
Uthman, for your family has rights over you and your guest has rights over you.
Verily, your own self-has rights over you, so fast and break your fast, pray
and sleep.” Source: Sunan Abu Dawud 1369
Allah,
Al-Shafi (the Healer) recommends Islam to take a walk after dinner that now the
medical fraternity also proposes people to do for better health. Consider the
following Ayat and the Hadees:
They say, “What sort of messenger is he that
eats and walks in the markets?… (25:7).
“I raced
with the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and beat him in the race. Later, when I had put
on some weight, we raced again and he won.” [11, 16(p26),17]
Cleanliness:
A Part of Piety and Health
Being clean
is one of the most important tenets of being healthy so Allah, the Most
Gracious commands the believers in the Holy Quran to maintain cleanliness as it
is a way of piety. Consider following Ayat and Hadees in this regard:
O you who have believed, when you rise to
[perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over
your heads and wash your feet to the ankles. (Surat Al-Maidah: 6) - Sahih International
According
to Imam Ali (AS):
“Piety.
. . heals the diseases of your body” (Imam Ali, 1380,658).
Following
Ayat of the Holy Quran commands the Muslims not to fast during a journey or if
they are ill and if fasting is harmful to their physical health.
[Fasting
for] a limited number of days. So whoever among you is ill or on a journey
[during them] - then an equal number of other days [are to be made up]. And
upon those who are able [to fast, but with hardship] - a ransom [as substitute]
of feeding a poor person [each day]. And whoever volunteers good [i.e., excess]
- it is better for him. But to fast is best for you, if you only knew. (Surah Al-Baqarah - 184 ) — Saheeh
International
Taking
Medicine for Cure
As
described in the following Ahadees, Islam recommends medical therapy and other
methods of treatment.
Narrated by
Usamah Bin Shareek (AS);
‘I was with the Prophet (PBUH), and some Arabs
came to him asking, “O Messenger of Allah, should we take medicines for any
disease?”
He said, “Yes, O You servants of Allah take
medicine as Allah has not created a disease without creating a cure except for
one.”
They asked which one. He replied “old
age.” Sunan Abu Dawood 3: Chapter 29,
Hadith 3855
Narrated
Abu Hurairah:
The Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said: The best medical
treatment you apply is cupping. Sunan Abu Dawood 3: Chapter 29, Hadith 3857
Narrated
Salmah:
the maid-servant of the Messenger of Allah صلی
اللہ علیہ وسلم,
said: No one complained to the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم of a headache but he told him
to get himself cupped, or of a pain in his legs but he told him to dye them
with henna. Sunan Abu Dawood 3: Chapter 29, Hadith 3858
Narrated
Abu Kabshah al-Ansari:
The Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم used to have himself cupped
on the top of his head and between his shoulders, and that he used to say: If
anyone pours out any of his blood, he will not suffer if he applies no medical
treatment for anything. Sunan Abu Dawood 3: Chapter 29, Hadith 3859
Some of
the Famous Physicians Of Islamic Golden Age
Islamic
Golden Age understood to have begun during the reign of Abbasid caliph Harun
al-Rashid between the 8th century to the 14th century is known for the Islamic
scientists and physicians who brought glory in the field of science and
medicine. Various scientist and
medicinal luminaries experimented in science and medicine that are still
considered as the pioneering work in their respective fields and are consulted
for new researches.
Here are
some of the Islamic Golden Age luminaries from the field of medicine:
Ali ibn
Sahl Rabban al-Tabari
Ali ibn
Sahl Rabban al-Tabari stressed the necessity of ties between psychology and
medicine
Muhammad
bin Sa'id al-Tamimi
Muhammad
bin Sa'id al-Tamimi is known for his study in compounding medicines, especially
for his medicinal compound used as an antidote to poison or snake bite.
Ali ibn
al-'Abbas al-Majusi
Ali ibn
al-'Abbas al-Majusi’s book ‘Kitab al-Maliki translated as the Complete Book of
the Medical Art. ‘Kitab al-Maliki was used as a textbook of surgery across Europe.
Muhammad
ibn Zakariya al-Razi
Muhammad
ibn Zakariya al-Razi is known as the First Doctor in Islam. He was a physician,
alchemist and philosopher.
Abu-Ali
al-Husayn ibn Abdullah ibn-Sina (Avicenna)
Abu-Ali
al-Husayn ibn Abdullah ibn-Sina is known as Avicenna in the West and regarded
as ‘Father of Early Modern Medicine’ was a physician of the tenth and eleventh
centuries.
(Inputs
from various Wikipedia)
As per
‘As-Suyuti’s Medicine of the Prophet’:
The Prophet not only instructed sick people to
take medicine, but he himself invited expert physicians for this purpose. —
As-Suyuti’s Medicine of the Prophet p.125
Islam has
been the greatest proponent of human rights. World nations and international
organisations fighting for human rights have taken guidance from the Islamic
texts and Hadees traditions to constitute their preamble of human rights. Among
the most important points of human rights in Islamic traditions is the
recommendation for health. Islam as a universal religion has directed the world
population to ascertain the fulfilment of health-related needs.
In the
present pandemic situation, all the human being in general and the Muslims, in
particular, must try their best to reach to heal the pain of the patients of
Covid-19 as the Holy Quran says: .... and whoever saves the life of a person is
as if he has saved the life of the whole of humankind. There can not be any
better worship and charity than saving a life.
And
Allah knows the best.
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Arman
Neyazi is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-human-rights/healthcare-human-rights-islam-quran/d/124816