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Book of Healing - Qur'anic Healing - Physical Healing in the Qur'an

Physical Healing in the Qur'an

Tags: Qur'an, Honey, Barakat, Fruit, Mountains, Gardens, Cleanliness, Suratu'l-Muzzammil

1. The wise Qur'an is the incomparable wisdom-filled Book of God, the Blessed, the Exalted. This heavenly guide Book, which being based on complete and clear guidance and teachings related to the religious and worldly betterment and success of man, is full of wisdom-filled secrets of every kind of health and soundness. It is not only a belief, but also a fact that the great Qur'an is the eternal speech and eternal treasure of God, the One. That is, where this exalted Book is as the primordial light and secret of secrets in the Word "Be (kun)" and in the Divine Pen and the way it is in the Guarded Tablet with grandeur and luminosity (43:4, 85:22), it is a priceless treasure at every level. Definitely you are aware of the law of treasures (15:21) which, due to its paramount importance, is mentioned time and again, as extremely necessary laws are frequently mentioned. Since everything comes down from the treasures of God, the Exalted, therefore, from the beginning of the history of humanity till today, the way all religious and worldly sciences and arts came into existence initially and the way they expanded and progressed, are all due to the luminous sources of the holy Qur'an.

2. We would also like to mention here that, one bright proof of the wise Qur'an, being incomparable and comprehensive of all the sciences, is that it has been revealed from the higher world, perfectly adorned with the characteristics, virtues, realities and recognitions of the command "Be", the Divine Pen, the Guarded Tablet and the Treasures of God. Thus, truly speaking, the holy Qur'an is the greatest favour of God to mankind, for it contains the most perfect guidance for the betterment and health of soul and body and religion and the world of man (16:89).

3. Now we come to the core of the subject in which we have to explain, supported by evidence, how along with spiritual healing, the secrets of physical healing are also contained in the wise Qur'an. In this regard, first of all, it is necessary to believe that the thing which the Qur'an has ordained unlawful, is harmful to the health of both the body and the soul or to one of them. That which the Qur'an has ordained as lawful, and which is also within the limitation of moderation, does it guarantee the safety of both body and soul, or not? Although the supreme purpose of each and every command of the Qur'an and Islam is nothing but the pleasure of God, the great reward which is accrued from this sincere act is not only in the Hereafter, but also in this world. The soul and the body share together in every reward of this world. For instance, think in the light of science about the importance of purity in Islam, or look at the postures of the prayer (namaz), such as standing and sitting, bowing and prostrating from the medical point of view, or similarly, think about the fasting in the month of Ramadan. In short, there is not a single aspect of Qur'anic teachings, in which in addition to the betterment of the intellect and soul, physical health is not kept in view as much as possible.

4. The physical healing and its great importance in the wise Qur'an can also be estimated from the noble verse in which God, the True Wise and the Absolute Doctor, regarding the medicinal efficacy and benefit of honey, says: "In it (honey) is healing for mankind (nas)." (16:69). It should be remembered that here the word "mankind" is used in an absolute sense. That is, there is no restriction and condition of time, place, age, etc. This means that it works like an elixir, not only for every kind of sick people, but is also extremely beneficial for the healthy people of every age, whether they live in hot countries or in cold regions, whether they belong to the ancient times or to the modern scientific age. Without any discrimination and difference, it is extremely efficacious and beneficial for all human beings. This also shows that it is a remedy for all diseases, for in the above noble verse, it challenges every disease. Further, this point should also be mentioned here that (in the above verse), attention is drawn to the medicinal efficacy and benefit of all kinds of fruits and flowers, when God, the Knowing, the Wise, commanded the bee: "Then eat of all fruits" (16:69).

5. If you think in the light of the Qur'an about the word barakat and the subject of barakat, God willing, your precious knowledge will increase greatly. The greatness of barakat is such that it is used for God Himself and (His) Supreme Name (7:54, 55:78). Barakat means abundance of blessings and favours and their perpetuity and continuity. Then the word mubarak (blessed) (3:96, 6:92) is used for the Ka`bah and the noble Qur'an. Physical barakat (blessings) are kept by God, the Sustainer of the world, in mountains and in the water of rain (41:10, 50:9). God has not called a tree, fruit and oil mubarak directly, except the olive tree and its fruit and oil (24:35). Certainly its allegorical meaning can be something else, but literally it means nothing but the olive tree. Thus its barakat is entirely different from that of the mountains and water, and that is the abundance in its medicinal efficacy and powers, which you can also see in the pharmaceutical books.

6. There are certain secrets hidden in those things by which God has sworn in the wise Qur'an, such as, the fig and the olive (95:1). Several secrets are hidden in this verse. One of them is that two treasures of health are hidden in the fruit of fig and in the oil of olive.

7. All fruits contain physical healing, therefore they can be used for healing and cure. The proofs of this fact are:

  1. All fruits are revealed from the Divine treasures of Paradise (15:21).
  2. They receive the barakat of the rain of mercy (50:9).
  3. In a sense they are tabarruk (benedictory gift) of the peaceful sanctuary (enclosure of the Ka bah) (28:57).
  4. It is also a great merit of the fruits that the bounties of Paradise are compared with them (47:15).
  5. As God rolls up the universe and makes it a hidden pearl (21:104, 39:67), similarly, in the external world the Divine Hand, by squeezing the tasteless wood of the tree makes it a fragrant and tasteful fruit. And this is a great miracle for the people of insight. Thus, that pearl is medicine for the intellect and soul and this fruit is medicine for the body.

8. There are manifold barakaat (pl. of barakat) in the exterior and interior of the mountains. Among these barakat, there are countless medicinal herbs, whose wealth cannot come to an end, as long as the world exists. Perhaps you may have seen an attractive spring and the freshness and succulence of wild flowers in the meadow on a mountainside. In fact, this attraction of the scenery of the colourful flowers invites us to think that, in each of them there is a very precious medicine, such as the wild rose, which through its language of pleasant colour and smell, says: See there is a wealth of healing hidden in the treasure of my existence.

9. The holy Qur'an says: "We cause to grow with it (water) well planted orchards full of beauty and delight". (27:60). God be praised! The heart-soothing beauty of gardens, whether it is newly sprouted verdure or the emerald floor, flower-scattering trees and scent-sifting pleasant breeze under the cool shade, the singing of melodious birds, the swinging of the branches of the weeping willow, the swaying of the poplar, all these and many other alluring scenes are included in the beauty of a garden, seeing which the melancholy of the heart disappears. And this is an essential remedy.

10. In order to prevent physical diseases, work, exercise and movement is extremely necessary, for the law of the Qur'an implies that the external and internal creation and completion of man is impossible without hard work and toil (90:4). No soul is charged beyond its capacity (2:233). When man is in the womb of a mother, the law of nature compels him to move and when he is born, this movement, which is seemingly disorganised, increases day by day and becomes stronger and stronger. In short, the great secret of health and success is hidden in constant movement and hard work.

11. Some people are afraid that, if they have less time to sleep at night, they will fall sick. In their case, this may be true due to their habit, but the reality is what the Qur'an teaches, that those mu'mins, who cherish religious and worldly progress and success, have to sleep very little (25:64, 51:17). The same way is taught by the pure sunnat of the holy Prophet that, particularly in the beginning, hard work is indispensable. In any case, there cannot be any disease in whatever the holy Qur'an ordains. There is but health.

12. What is the greatest obstacle in the path of spiritual progress? It is the animal soul or the carnal soul, which you cannot remove, but you can purify and dissolve it by trampling on it and its desires. There are many ways of trampling on it, but the most effective method is rising at night (and doing `ibadat) (73:6). This method, in addition to being effective in trampling the animal soul, is also effective in straightening the speech. Here, by speech, first is meant `ibadat-u dhikr, and secondly, every kind of speech. Not only does the pronunciation become clear by the vigil of the night, but also every kind of speech and expression becomes purified by its blessing, from all kinds of slips and becomes acceptable to and understandable by all.

13. When you brush your teeth well, take a bath, wear clean clothes and do `ibadat in a pure and clean place, this helps you to concentrate and attain more and more pleasure from it. What is the secret of such a spiritual sweetness and pleasure in which the help of material things is sought? The secret is that, so long as the soul is in this world, it is linked with the body and so long as the body is alive, it is with the soul. Thus it is necessary that the body, in all its work, should receive help from spiritual health and purity and the soul from physical health and cleanliness.

14. The physical and spiritual health and spiritual wisdom lie in that you should remember God in the evening and sleep on time and be grateful to God, the Great, the Exalted, for the great favour that He, the Benevolent, in His infinite mercy, has appointed Hazrat `Izra'il, may peace be on him, to make you sleep and Hazrat Israfil, may peace be on him, to wake you up. If you obey God and the Prophet in the true sense, then certainly you will see how miraculously they become your friends (21:103, 41:30-31). You should work hard in the beginning and according to the Suratu'l-Muzzammil, you should get up at midnight or a little before or after. It (should be noted) that tenderness of the heart is extremely necessary in order to forget things other than God and to be lost in His name. According to the proverb "a handful out of a heap", we have confined ourselves to citing only a few examples of "physical healing in the Qur'an".

Wa's-salam.
18 Ramazan al-mubarak, 1406/28th May, 1986.

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