al-Amrad aw al-Tibb al-Nabawi - al-Diya al-Maqdisi
- Author died
- 643 AH
- Editions
- Dar Ibn 'Affan
Kitab al-Amrad wal-Kaffarat wal-Tibb wal-Ruqyat (Arabic: كتاب الأمراض والكفارات والطب والرقيات, lit. 'The Book of Illnesses, Expiations, Medicine, and Incantations'), also known as al-Tibb al-Nabawi (Prophetic Medicine), is a hadith treatise on medicine, sickness, and spiritual healing compiled by the Hanbali traditionist Diya al-Din al-Maqdisi (569–643 AH / 1173–1245 CE) .
Background and Purpose
In his opening preface, al-Maqdisi relates that he compiled the work in response to a request from some of his peers to gather authentic hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ concerning medical treatment alongside reports recorded in well-known compilations . He chose to commence the compilation with traditions discussing how illnesses serve as expiations (kaffarat) that elevate spiritual ranks and erase sins before addressing medical remedies and incantations .
Titles and Historical Transmission
The work is referenced in classical bio-bibliographical literature under differing titles:
- Ibn Rajab recorded it in Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila under the title Kitab al-Amrad wal-Kaffarat wal-Tibb wal-Ruqyat .
- Al-Sakhawi cited it in al-I'lan bi-al-Tawbikh li-man Dhamma al-Tarikh as al-Tibb al-Nabawi .
- Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani documented his chain of transmission back to al-Maqdisi in al-Majma' al-Mu'assas and al-Mu'jam al-Mufahras, referring to the text as al-Tibb al-Nabawi .
- Al-Rudani recorded his chain of transmission for the work in Silat al-Khalaf bi-Mawsul al-Salaf, noting that it is called al-Tibb al-Nabawi and also known as Kitab al-Amrad wal-Kaffarat wal-Tibb wal-Ruqya .
Manuscripts and Modern Publication
Surviving manuscript copies of the work include two codices preserved in the Egyptian National Library (Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya): MS 536 Tibb Tal'at (comprising 21 folios) and MS 2 Tibb Taymur .
The treatise was edited by Abu Ishaq al-Huwayni and published by Dar Ibn 'Affan in a single volume (first edition 1413 AH / 1993 CE; second edition 1420 AH / 1999 CE) . Al-Huwayni based his edition on a ten-folio manuscript lacking a title folio, adopting the title recorded by Ibn Rajab to match the book's subject matter, and supplemented passages in the work with commentary from Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya's Zad al-Ma'ad . Al-Huwayni also produced an abridgment of the work titled Tawfir al-Awqat bi-Mukhtasar Kitab al-Amrad wal-Kaffarat wal-Tibb wal-Ruqyat .
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