Ibn al-Qayyim: Patience Preserves the Health of Hearts and Bodies

Ibn al-Qayyim said in The Prophetic medicineregarding patience:

 

Patience is half of faith; for this is a quality composed of patience and gratitude (shukr). As one of the ancestors (salaf) has said: Faith is in two halves: one half patience, one half gratitude. And the Most High said: Indeed in that there are signs for each one who is patiently persevering and truly grateful[Surah Ibrahim: 5].Patience in relation to faith is like the head in relation to the body. It is of three types:

 

• (1) patience concerning the obligations (fard) laid down by Allah, that one should not neglect them;
• (2) patience in abstaining from actions forbidden by Him, that one should not commit them;
• (3) patience concerning His judgments (qada’) and decrees (qadar), that one should not resent them.

Whoever perfectly fulfills these three degrees has perfected patience. For the pleasure of this world and the next, their blessings, and victory and conquest can only be reached over the bridge of patience, just as no-one reaches Paradise except by crossing over the Path. ‘Umar b. al-Khattab said: We attained the best of life through patience.

If you reflect on the degrees of perfection acquired in the world, you will see that they are all dependent on patience. And if you reflect on imperfection, which one is blamed for possessing, you will see it all stemming from lack of patience. Thus courage and purity, goodness and love of others, all this is the patience of an hour.

Most sicknesses of the body and heart arise simply from lack of patience. And there is naught like patience for preserving the health of hearts, bodies and spirits. For it is the great remedy, the mighty tiryaq, even if it were to contain only the company of Allah “for Allah is with the patient” [Surah Al-Baqarah:153], and His affection for them for indeed “Allah loves those who are patient“[Surah Al-Imran:146], and His giving victory to His people ‘for victory comes with patience’; and that it is a good for the people of patience, “And if you show patience, that is indeed the best course for those who are patient” [Surah An-Nahl: 126], and that it is the cause of prosperity, “O you who believe! Persevere in patience, vie in perseverance, be ever vigilant, and fear Allah, that perchance you may prosper” [Surah Al-Imran:200].

Source : http://www.healthymuslim.com/articles/gangs-ibn-al-qayyim-patience-preserves-the-health-of-hearts-and-bodies.cfm

 

Allaah Has Combined All of Medicine (at-Tibb) in Half a Verse of the Qur’aan

All praise is due to Allaah and may the prayers and salutations be upon His Messenger, to proceed:

Allaah the Most High said, “…And eat and drink and be not excessive (therein)…” (al-A’raaf 7:31)

Ibn Katheer commented upon this verse:

 

One of the Salaf said: Allaah has combined the entirety of medicine (at-tibb) in half a verse, “And eat and drink and be not excessive…”

Al-Qurtubi commented upon this verse, after mentioning that excessive eating is makrooh (disliked), he mentions the benefits of eating little:

 

… In eating little there are many benefits. From them that a man becomes of sounder body, of better memory, purer in understanding, (requiring) less sleep, and lighter in (his) soul…

Then he mentioned the harms of eating excessively:

 

… and in eating much there is the overstuffing of the stomach and putrefaction of undigested food, and from this the variety of diseases are produced, and thus he requires treatment more than what the one who eats little requires. Some of the physicians said, “The greatest treatment (dawaa’) is (appropriate) estimation of (one’s) food (intake).” And the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) has explained this meaning sufficiently and completely which does away with the speech of the physicians, so he said, “The son of Aadam does not fill a container worse than his stomach. It is sufficient for the son of Aadam to take enough morsels of food to keep his back straight (keep him able-bodied). And if it is necessary, then a third for his food, a third for his drink, and a third for his breath.”…

Then a little later al-Qurtubi says:

 

And it is mentioned that (the caliph) ar-Rasheed used to have a shrewd Christian physician who said to Alee bin Hasan, “There is not in your Book (the Qur’aan) anything of the knowledge of medicine, and knowledge of is of two types, knowledge of the religions and knowledge of the bodies.” So he said to him, “Allaah has combined all of medicine in half a verse in our Book.” So he said, “What is it?” He said, “The saying of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic: And eat and drink and be not excessive.”…

And Imaam ad-Dhahabi in his book “at-Tibb an-Nabawi” (p. 34-35) says:

 

The Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) said: “The son of Aadam does not fill a container worse than his stomach. It is sufficient for the son of Aadam to take enough morsels of food to keep his back straight (keep him able-bodied). And if it is necessary, then a third for his food, a third for his drink, and a third for his breath.” This was reported by an-Nasaa’ee and at-Tirmidhee, who said, “Hasan Saheeh” … and this is one from the aspects of preserving health.Alee bin Hasan said: “And Allah, the Sublime and Exalted has combined the whole of medicine in (just) half a verse, so He, the Most High said, “And eat and drink and be not excessive…”

He is Alee bin al-Hasan bin Shaqeeq bin Muhammad bin Deenar bin Mush’ab, Abu Abdur-Rahman al-’Eedee al-Marwazi (d. 215H), the Imaam, the Haafidh, the Shaykh of Khurasaan, he came to Baghdad and narrated from the likes of Ibrahim bin Tahman, Abdullaah Ibn al-Mubaarak, Sufyaan bin Uyainah and others, and Ahmad bin Hanbal, Yahya bin Ma’een and others narrated from him, and his ahaadeeth are in the Six Books. He was a haafidh of a great amount of knowledge, and a haafidh of many books, including the Tawraat and Injeel and he debated the Jews and Christians. His biography can be found in all the major books of Rijaal.

And you can refer to an earlier article on the same subject, from the words of Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, as well as this article from the speech of Ibn al-Qayyim.

Source : http://www.healthymuslim.com/articles/fnkaf-allaah-has-combined-all-of-medicine-at-tibb-in-half-a-verse-of-the-quraan.cfm

 

Imaam Al-Shaafi’ee on the Importance of Learning Medicine

by abuiyaad,

Imaam al-Dhahabi wrote in Al-Tibb al-Nabawi(Dar Ihyaa al-Uloom, Beirut, pp. 228-229):

 

Chapter: Regarding the Encouragement of Teaching medicineHis (alayhis salaatu was-salaam’s) saying, “Allaah did not send down a disease except that it has a cure” has already preceded. We say: This (hadeeth) necessitates the mobilization the people’s [lofty] concerns [for medicine] and incitement of (their) determinations to learn medicine. And it has already preceded that medicine is a skill. Imaam al-Shaafi’ee said, “I don’t know of a knowledge more noble than medicine after the halaal and haraam.” And he used to be concerned (and grieved) over what the Muslims had neglected of medicine, and he would say, “They have neglected one third of knowledge and have entrusted it to the Jews and Christians.” And he used to say, “Indeed the Ahl al-Kitaab have dominated us with respect to medicine.” And al-Shaafi’ee, alongside his greatness in the knowledge of the Sharee’ah, and his great skill in Arabic was also insightful in medicine. The writer (i.e. al-Dhahabi) says: And I have seen our Shaykh, Shaykh Ibraaheem al-Raqiyy to be insightful in medicine, and likewise our Shaykh, Shaykh Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyyah, and Shaykh Imaad al-Din al-Waasitee (rahimahullaau ta’aalaa) [were insightful in medicine]. Hippocrates and others have said, “Medicine is inspired by Allaah,” and Hippocrates is the chief of this discipline. His school of thought regarding it is the sound, correct school of thought. He was followed therein by Galen who is the leading scholar of this discipline as well, and both of them are venerated a great deal by the physicians.

There are some nice benefits from this quote, from them:

 

Boost Your Immune System For The Winter

The cold days of the winter months in particular, see a rise in respiratory tracts infections such as colds and flu. So as winterapproaches, it’s worth taking steps to boost your immunity.

If you are fit and your immune system is healthy, your body can often fight off infections that cause upper respiratory infections without developing sniffles, coughs, sneezes or sore throats. It is usually when the body is lacking in nutrients, stressed or feeling tired and run down, that symptoms tend to strike.

An Immune-Boosting diet

When it comes to boosting the immune system, diet should always come first. Even a minor lack of some nutrients can lower your immunity and lead to increased risk of disease. For example, viral infections are more likely in those lacking selenium or Vitamin C, both of which help to suppress the activation of viral genes. The cold sore virus (Herpes simplex) and recurrent candida (thrush) are also more common when iron levels are depleted.

To boost immunity, maximize your intake of fruits and vegetables. Try to eat as many as possible raw or lightly steamed to preserve their nutrient content. But winter warmers such as soups and stews are also great for boosting immunity.

essential fatty acids are also important for immune function. They regulate the way immune cells react to chemical signals, known as ‘cytokines’ and shield immune cells against damaging by-products of your metabolism, such as free radicals. So aim to increase your intake of oily fish, or take fish oil supplements.

 

Stress and its impact on the heart and body

Anger, negative thinking and stress are considered destructive factors for the health of heart and body, So Islam orders us to stay away and avoid them …

The Messenger of Allah peace be upon him wasn’t be angry to any life matters. His satisfaction and anger were for Allah .He, therefore, was the happiest and the most stable and tranquility person, and gave us the best examples of this.

It’s rarely for the Messenger of Allah to spend a day without facing events of anger and emotion and stress but we did not know he was angry except when someone exceed the limits of Allah. The Prophet deals with any problem calmly and patiently. This is what makes people entering the religion of Allah in crowds. Therefore, God praise him in the Holy Quran: “And you on an exalted standard of character”(Al-Qalam:4).

Recent scientific studies have shown that psychological tension, stress and anger are considered destructive factors to human health and heart and it may lead to serious diseases like cancer!

Researchers believe that, despite the fact that exercise and good diet and other factors which have vital importance to heart health, the social factors, happiness, a sense of satisfaction and perfection and work towards a goal in life have an impact in their turn.

The Prophet ordered his companions to repeat important words that express satisfaction, in mornings and evenings. This is:
“I declare to Accept Allah as my Lord, to accept Islam as a religion and to Muhammad as Prophet and Messenger” Who say it ten times in the morning and evening, it will be really on God to reward him in the Day of Resurrection.
The researchers maintain that satisfaction is one of the most important remedies for any mental illness.

 

The Mineral Iron Is Essential For Good Health

Iron is one of the most important of all nutrients – without it, your body can’t make hemoglobin, the substance that gives blood its red color. It’s hemoglobin that transports oxygen via the blood to every living cell in the body. Your body needs iron for healthy blood and muscles. It plays an essential role in the production of the body’s white blood cells and in the activities of the immune system.

As well as circulating in the blood, iron is also stored in the liver and other organs, and is available to make up for day-to-day variations in the amount of iron in the diet.

There are two types of iron in food:

 

Type of food and the emotional status

It was finally clarified that the type of food affects the emotional status of the human being and some processed types may cause diseases. …

In the modern era, the scientists start to invent new techniques of food processing, and the food styles the people follow had changed. The scientists had not realized that such new styles would harm people as the percentage of physical and psychological diseases had increased because of processed foods.

But if we revert to the Holy Quran, we will find the divine order for people to eat the lawful foods which Allah, the Almighty Had created for them. He says: “O you who believe (in the Oneness of Allâh – Islâmic Monotheism)! Eat of the lawful things that we have provided you with, and be grateful to Allâh, if it is indeed He Whom you worship” (172: Al Baqara). Therefore, the scientists confirm that the best type of food is what we find ready in the nature before the human hand poison it!

A study, conducted by a research team at College London, had concluded the possibility of having relationship between depression and consumption of processed foods as people who consume larger amounts of vegetables, fruits and fish are less exposed to depression.

The team who conducted the research says that this is the first time the relationship between depression and diet is being watched in Britain. The data of the diet of 3500 persons at the middle age were studied and then compared with the cases of depression after five years as published in the British Journal of Psychiatry. The people participated in the study were classified into two groups: first group’s diet depends on vegetables, fruits and fish, and the second group’s diet depends on processed and fatty foods.

Do not eat processed and junk foods! This is the newest advice given to you by the Nutritionists. Studies verified that canned meat products and foods containing preservatives and ready to eat meals (like Hamburgers, etc) have harmful effects on the person’s emotional status, so if you want to enjoy emotional stability and quietness, have physical health and live longer you have to stay away from these foods.

It was verified through this study that the percentage of depression in people who had larger amounts of natural foods is 26% less than people who had processed foods like Mortadella, Hamburgers and Junk foods, on the other hand, the percentage of depression among people consuming larger amounts of processed foods is 58% higher than people who consumed less amounts of these foods.

The scientists says that there is a research which concluded that people following the Mediterranean diet are less exposed to depression, also there are many researches that connect between the type of diet and the diseases of the humans.

 

Understand Your Digestive System to Improve Health

Digestion is not just about getting food in and out; it is the absorption and assimilation of nutrients for the nourishment of the whole body, as well as construction and repair of cells.Digestion is actually a complex combination of biological interactions and chemical reactions taking place at every stop along the digestive tract or the gut. It takes place in three main areas of the body: the mouth, the stomach, and the small intestines.

The gut is home to the largest part of the body’s immune system, protecting us against foreign invaders by producing acids and colonies of beneficial bacteria that act as a defense against pathogens that find their way inside your body. The gut is a hugely important part of the body and is called our ‘second brain’ by many scientists because of how its extensive network of nerve cells interact with the brain and central nervous system.

Digestion Starts in the Mouth

The digestive process begins when we put food in our mouths. Our teeth and tongue break the food into smaller particles so that digestive juices and enzymes can get to a larger surface area of the food and begin to break in down, known as mastication.

Saliva, which helps to lubricate food as we chew it and makes it easier to swallow, contains an enzyme known as amylase. This crucial enzyme splits complex carbohydrates, such as bread, pasta and rice (also known as starches), into simpler components ready for further digestion further down the tubes.

Saliva is an alkaline substance, because the membranes of our mouth and tongue are not designed to withstand strong acids. If our mouth juice were acid instead of alkaline, our teeth would crumble and fall out.

 

Islam treats obesity

It is the disease of this era which exhausts the resources of countries; did Islam get any treatment for that disease? Let us read…

What is obesity?

Obesity is defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. A crude population measure of obesity is the body mass index (BMI), a person’s weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of his or her height (in meters).

A person with a BMI of 30 or more is generally considered obese. A person with a BMI equal to or more than 25 is considered overweight.

Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Once considered a problem only in high income countries, overweight and obesity are now dramatically on the rise in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in urban settings.

Facts about obesity

According to the figures of the world health organization (WHO) in 2005 approximately 1.6 billion adults (age 15+) were overweight and at least 400 million adults were obese.

WHO projects that by 2015, approximately 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more than 700 million will be obese and at least 20 million children under the age of 5 years are overweight globally in 2005.

Causes of obesity

The fundamental cause of obesity and overweight is an energy imbalance between calories consumed on one hand, and calories expended on the other hand. Global increases in overweight and obesity are attributable to a number of factors including a global shift in diet towards increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat and sugars but low in vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients; and a trend towards decreased physical activity due to the increasingly sedentary nature of many forms of work, changing modes of transportation, and increasing urbanization.

What are the consequences of obesity?

 

Doctor, heal thy patient !!

By Shobha Shukla, CNS,

We are indeed living in hostile times. There is violence not only at the war front, but also in our homes, on the roads and even in hospitals. It seems as if each of these places has become a battlefield. Hospital rage is increasingly becoming a common phenomenon. Every day, we hear about patients’ relatives creating a ruckus in hospital premises, protesting against doctors’ apathy—either treatment is not given timely or it is wrong treatment. Sometimes doctors also retaliate in self defense to show that they are above reproach like Caesar’s wife.

Gone are the days of the family physician who used to be not only a healer of the body but also of the mind—a friend, guide and curer, all rolled into one. But this is the era of modern economic theories where the patient is a customer who buys the services of the doctor. So where is the scope for any love being lost between them?

Dr Rajesh C Shah, a renowned surgeon and medico legal expert of Ahmedabad was recently in Lucknow for the Foundation Day celebrations of CSM Medical University. In an exclusive interview to CNS he spoke about the steady erosion in patient- doctor relationships.

He reminiscenced, “During my student days, we were taught that a doctor should consider the patient as god. He should treat him as a family member. Unfortunately that relationship is no more—chiefly because of the Consumer Protection Act which brought into its purview the medical profession also, way back in 1993. This Act has gone a long way in creating consumerism in the profession, and this has eroded its nobility due to the law of the land.”

He said, “In the past if a patient complained of a headache problem, I would prescribe a simple analgesic, and ask him to report back after 3 or 4 days. Only if the ache persisted, would I go for other tests. But my present duty is to explain to the patient all the possibilities at the first instance only. Obviously, then the patient wants to know all possible lines of treatment/ diagnostic tests available. Suppose I suggest a CT scan to a poor labourer, then what will happen to him? His headache may be cured by a simple tablet, but to save my own skin, I have to mention CT Scans and thus create a bigger headache of doubts in his mind, and also the desire to go for the best treatment, which may be out of his reach. Ultimately the result is a rise in treatment costs, and this has created dissatisfaction in society. The format of the present Consumer Act, as applied to the medical profession, needs some changes. Either the cases should go to civil court only, or there should be some judiciary from the medical profession to help.”

He agreed that there should be accountability on part of the doctors, and they should be punished if found guilty. But in 99% of the Consumer Court cases, the verdict has been in favour of the doctors. Yet, the trial faced by a doctor is no less a punishment as it sullies his reputation and makes him suspect of misconduct, even though he has not been negligent. So winning the case loses its sheen.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of turbulence in patient-doctor relationship these days. The ethical, moral and monetary values of society have changed drastically in recent times. This is reflected in the medical profession also. Consumerism has eroded the nobility of this profession, because of the law of the land. Also, patients have become more informed and knowledgeable these days and this has created a lot of friction. Dr Shah was of the opinion that if doctors spend more time in their consulting room, then they will never have to spend time in the courtroom.