Prophet Mohammad guides scientists to medicine
Establishing a healthy society can be just achieved when healthy prophetic guidance is applied, said doctors in a scientific symposium organized by Life Makers Forum on the occasion of World Health Day, April 7.
The symposium, held at the University of Science and Technology, has tried to discuss the health principals depending on Prophet Mohammad’s traditions, practice and sayings on hygiene, sanitation and treatment of diseases called al-Tibb al-Nabawi, the prophetic medicine, by Muslims all over the world.
Global pharmaceutical institutions recently found that chemical therapies or medicines cannot completely cure mental, physical or psychological illnesses, doctors said. So, they began to look for another kind of therapies in the roots of medicine, including the Prophet Mohammed’s traditions which are rich in advice and instructions on such matters.
Prophetic medicine has been founded in preventive health which is preceding the medical therapies and considered the base of any healthy society. The Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him, laid down the foundation for a social order in which every member of society was advised to maintain a healthy life, physically, psychologically, and spiritually. No aspect of life was to be disregarded.
As a matter of fact, there are several such sayings in which the Prophet laid great stress on how to prevent your body from the different diseases by taking or doing some simple preventive things. For instance, the Prophet once said, “When one of you yawns, he should try to restrain it with the help of his hand since it is the devil that enters therein.”
Yawning is a common physiological event. However, when a person yawns, he deeply inspires breathing in the germs in the air. So, the prophet stressed on the hand to be placed before mouth when the person yawns.
In recent times, various studies have proven that sleeping on right side is the best position to get a perfect sleeping. Such thing was practiced by the Prophet before around 14 centuries when he used to sleep on his right side, putting his right hand under his right cheek and encourage his friends to do it.
Thus, sleeping on the right side is the correct position as the left lung is smaller than the right one and the pressure on the heart would therefore be less, the liver would not be suspended, and the stomach would be on it and so emptying its contents would be quicker. Moreover sleeping on the right side is one of the best medical interventions to facilitate the excretion of the mucous secretions of the left respiratory bronchioles.
For the practicing Muslim, prayer forms the pillars of his day. He wakes at dawn to pray, breaks at noon to pray, again in the later afternoon, again at dusk, and prays one last time before retiring to bed. He washes up briefly before prayer, and then retires to a clean spot in a room to bow and prostrate symbolically to God, turning to Him for guidance and expressing gratefulness for all God has given him.
These physical movements that a Muslim does during prayer have been proven to be a good exercise for heart, spine, memory and concentration abilities. Moreover, they strengthen the joints and muscles and stimulate blood circulation. Consequently, they also prevent the stagnation of blog in the veins of the legs which may lead to coagulation and other problems.
“O you who believe fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you so that you can learn Taqwa” (Quran). For much of human history, fasting has been guided by intuition and spiritual purpose. Today, the understanding of human physiology confirms the powerful healing effects of fasting.
Besides nurturing resistance and ability to face hardships and endurance, fasting reflects on outward physical appearance by cutting out gluttony and getting rid of excess fat. The benefits of fasting on health do not stop there but are instrumental in alleviating a number of physical diseases, including those of the digestive systems, such as chronic stomachache, inflammation of the colon, liver diseases, indigestion, and conditions such as obesity, arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, asthma, diphtheria and many other maladies.
The Prophet Mohammed, realizing the bad consequences of dental health on the digestive system and its different organs, advised his companions to keep their teeth clean as much they can. So, many Muslims have used to clean their teeth, using miswak (siwak) or teeth cleaning sticks on the recommendation of the Prophet Mohammed who said, “Siwak cleanses the mouth and pleases the Lord”, and “if I had not found it hard for my followers or the people, I would have ordered them to clean their teeth with siwak for every prayer.”
Research indentified a total of 19 natural substances found within the miswak that benefit dental health. It contains a number of natural antiseptics that kill harmful microorganisms in the mouth; tannic acids that protect the gums from disease; and aromatic oils that increase salivation. Doctors in the symposium, titled The Scientific Miracles in the Prophetic Medicine, also laid great stress on the prophet’s daily common food to show its amazing benefits. For example, the Prophet used to take a honey drink, a teaspoon of honey mixed well with a cup of honey, in the early morning before eating anything.
The recent medicine discovers that such drink is working to activate the digestive system to work in a better way. Furthermore, honey has been shown to be far superior to conventional antibiotics in treating infections and without the negative side effects associated with antibiotic use. It is amazing that the bacteria-killing properties of honey increase two-fold when diluted with water.
Although the Prophet lived around 14 centuries ago in simple surrounding environment without technology or advanced devices, he pay more great attention to the blood and its affect on the person’s life. Hejama, cupping, is one of the therapeutic processes practiced by the Prophet for removing unclean blood from his body. It was narrated that the Prophet used to undergo hejama on the head and between his shoulders and he used to say, “Whosoever removes this blood, it will not harm him that he does not take any other medical treatment.”
The hejama is advised for disease caused by dampness, such as low back pain, lumbago, sciatica, pain in the arms and shoulders, pain in the legs and muscular parts of the body, stomachache, vomiting, headache, migraine, sprains, insomnia, etc. The prophetic medicine is rich of advices to be a clear massage for Muslims to keep a healthy body and soul and to have faith in both physical and spiritual treatment. It is also a command to people to strive hard to find newer medicines and newer remedies. “The medicine will not stop at the medical discoveries found today in the medicine of the Prophet Mohammed. It will keep on discovering many new amazing things everyday in such prophetic medicine and many scientific miracles in the Holy Quran,” said Dr. Adel Hassan, a consultant of internal diseases at the Science and Technology University Hospital.