Loving the Sunnah: Taking Prescription Medicine from the Sunnah

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

It is a settled doctrine of every believer that Allah is the intrinsic cause of every gain and loss in this world as well as in the next world. Without the Divine Will not a speck of gain or loss can be caused to anyone.

The only way to fortify against all physical and spiritual injuries and harm is for person to place himself under the protection of Allah, and by his actions he should attempt to make himself capable of entering the Divine shelter.

How many times do you just go to the doctor and take the doctor's prescription without remembering Allah is Ash-Shaafi (the Healer) and following one of the prescribed cures from the Sunnah?

What is the first thing you do when you have a headache? Grab a Tylenol or a Panadol?

Sayyidah Aisha reported that when any of the members of the household fell ill Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to blow over him by reciting Mu'awwadhatain (Surah Al-Falaq and Surah An-Naas), and when he suffered from illness of which he died I used to blow over him and rubbed his body with his hand for his hand had greater healing power than my hand. [Related by Muslim]

Imam Malik recorded from Sayyidah Aisha: "Whenever the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) suffered from an ailment, he would recite the Mu'awwadhatain, blow over his hands, and then wiped his whole body with those hands. When his pain became acute on his death-bed, I would recite the Mu'awwadhatain, blow over his hands, and then he wiped them over himself, because my hands could not be the fitting substitute for his blessed hands. [All these narratives have been adapted from Ibn Kathir].

Encourage others to do this, teach your children, and do it for others when they are sick.

Surah Al-Falaq directs how to seek the Divine protection against hardships and worldly calamities, and Surah An-Naas tells the way to seek Divine protection against the calamities of the Hereafter. We are to seek refuge from the evil that is the cause of all sins, namely, the whisperings and insinuations of Shaytan as the anguish and distress of the Hereafter is most severe. The Qur'an appropriately emphasizes at the end to seek Allah's protection against these evil powers.

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّ‌حْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّ‌حِيمِ
قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَ‌بِّ ٱلْفَلَقِ ﴿١﴾ مِن شَرِّ‌ مَا خَلَقَ ﴿٢﴾ وَمِن شَرِّ‌ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ ﴿٣﴾ وَمِن شَرِّ‌ ٱلنَّفَّـٰثَـٰتِ فِى ٱلْعُقَدِ ﴿٤﴾ وَمِن شَرِّ‌ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ ﴿٥

Say, "I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak (1) From the evil of that which He created (2) And from the evil of darkness when it settles (3) And from the evil of the blowers in knots (4) And from the evil of an envier when he envies." (5) [Qur'an, Al-Falaq 113]

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّ‌حْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّ‌حِيمِ
قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَ‌بِّ ٱلنَّاسِ ﴿١﴾ مَلِكِ ٱلنَّاسِ ﴿٢﴾ إِلَـٰهِ ٱلنَّاسِ ﴿٣﴾ مِن شَرِّ‌ ٱلْوَسْوَاسِ ٱلْخَنَّاسِ ﴿٤﴾ ٱلَّذِى يُوَسْوِسُ فِى صُدُورِ‌ ٱلنَّاسِ ﴿٥﴾ مِنَ ٱلْجِنَّةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ ﴿٦

Say, "I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, (1) The Sovereign of mankind. (2) The God of mankind, (3) From the evil of the retreating whisperer - (4) Who whispers [evil] into the breasts of mankind - (5) From among the jinn and mankind." (6) [Qur'an, An-Naas 114]

May Allah grant us excellent health so we may be able to worship Him better and cure those who are sick quickly. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam