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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