al-Tibb al-Nabawi li-Ibn al-Qayyim
- Author died
- 751 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Hilal
Al-Tibb al-Nabawi (Prophetic Medicine) is a specialized treatise by the Hanbali scholar Ibn al-Qayyim (691–751 AH / 1292–1350 CE) that examines the medical guidance, health practices, and physical and spiritual remedies attributed to the Prophet Muhammad . Originally written as the fourth volume of his encyclopedic work Zad al-Ma'ad fi Hady Khayr al-'Ibad (Provisions for the Hereafter in the Guidance of the Best of Servants), it has frequently been published and circulated as an independent book .
Purpose and Approach
In his introduction, Ibn al-Qayyim states that the Prophet was sent primarily as a spiritual guide and caller to God rather than a physician, meaning that physical medicine serves as an auxiliary means when bodily necessity arises . He characterizes Prophetic medicine as definitive and grounded in divine revelation, arguing that its efficacy depends on the patient's receptivity and conviction . At the same time, he integrates classical humoral and experiential medical principles, acknowledging that physical remedies interact with bodily temperaments, seasons, locations, and personal habits .
Ibn al-Qayyim divides the therapeutic methods of the Prophet into three overarching categories :
- Natural remedies (al-adwiyah al-tabi‘iyyah), consisting of simple dietary items and natural substances .
- Divine remedies (al-adwiyah al-ilahiyyah), encompassing spiritual supplications, invocations (ruqyah), and the recitation of the Quran .
- Composite treatments that combine natural and spiritual remedies .
He highlights that the customary practice of the Prophet and his companions favored simple, single remedies (mufradat) and dietary management over complex compound formulas (aqrabadhin), aligning with the broader medical tradition of the Arabs and desert peoples .
Structure and Contents
The work opens each clinical chapter by citing the relevant hadith from major collections such as Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, followed by a discussion of its medical rationale, physiological benefits, and practical applications .
The treatise is organized into several primary divisions:
- Natural Treatments: Over thirty chapters addressing specific physical ailments, such as fever, digestive distress, the plague, dropsy, pleurisy, wounds, and sciatica, alongside procedures such as cupping (hijamah), cauterization, and dietary regimens .
- Spiritual and Combined Treatments: Over twenty chapters detailing spiritual remedies and supplications for afflictions such as the evil eye, scorpion stings, grief, anxiety, panic, insomnia, and witchcraft .
- Preventative Health and Ethics: Chapters dedicated to the preservation of health (hifz al-sihhah), including guidelines on diet, drink, clothing, housing, sleep, eye care, bodily posture, and psychological well-being . It also includes legal and ethical rulings regarding medicine, such as the prohibition of treating ailments with unlawful substances (muharramat), the avoidance of contagious vectors, and the civil liability (daman) incurred by unqualified practitioners who cause harm .
- Alphabetical Pharmacopeia: A comprehensive alphabetical dictionary of simple foods, herbs, and natural substances mentioned in the Sunnah (such as honey, dates, vinegar, and various meats), outlining their temperaments, physical properties, and therapeutic uses .
Reception
Scholars and commentators have noted the work for its extensive compilation of Prophetic traditions related to healing and its rare blend of traditional jurisprudence with natural medicine . Modern scholars have observed that Ibn al-Qayyim expanded broadly on practical remedies because physical treatments do not constitute binding legal injunctions (ahkam shar‘iyyah), noting that while the spiritual supplications (ruqyah) remain fixed, physical remedies in the text are evaluated alongside empirical medical consultation .
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