Ma Yafaluhu al-Atibba wa al-Daun bidaf Shar al-Taun
- Author died
- 1033 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Bashā’ir al-Islāmiyyah lil-Ṭibā‘ah wal-Nashr wal-Tawzī‘
Ma Yafaluhu al-Atibba wa al-Daun bidaf Shar al-Taun (Arabic: ما يفعله الأطباء والداعون بدفع شر الطاعون, "What Physicians and Supplicants Do to Ward off the Harm of the Plague") is a concise treatise on the medical and spiritual responses to epidemic disease by the Palestinian-born Hanbali jurist and scholar Mar'i al-Karmi (d. 1033 AH / 1624 CE).
Background and Composition
Al-Karmi authored the treatise in response to a direct inquiry regarding the efficacy of prayers and remembrances (adhkar) in repelling the plague, and whether medicine has any viable role or benefit in treating it. The author concluded penning the work on the night of Sunday, approximately forty degrees after the night prayer, on 11 Rabi' al-Awwal 1031 AH (1622 CE).
The treatise functions largely as a summary of the practical medical and devotional questions examined in al-Karmi's larger twenty-chapter work, Tahqiq al-Zunun bi-Akhbar al-Taun ("Verifying Beliefs Regarding Reports of the Plague"), to which he directly refers readers seeking broader discussions. While later bibliographies frequently cite the title with the preposition li- (li-Daf' Shar al-Taun), the author's own manuscript reads bi-Daf' (bi-Daf' Shar al-Taun).
Contents and Themes
The work analyzes plague through both physical medicine and Islamic theology, addressing four core themes:
- Etiology and Medical Debates: Al-Karmi presents classical medical definitions of the plague, quoting Ibn Sina on toxic swellings appearing in soft bodily tissue, underarm areas, and behind the ears, as well as the humoral view attributing epidemics to corrupted air. He contrasts this with the theological viewpoint: if corrupted air were the sole cause, epidemics would infect all humans and animals uniformly rather than selectively affecting certain households while leaving neighboring houses untouched. The treatise highlights religious texts attributing plagues to the prevalence of sin and to the unseen stabbing of the jinn (wakhz al-jinn), as recorded in hadith literature.
- Reconciliation of Treatment and Predestination: Addressing fatalistic arguments that medical treatment is pointless in the face of predetermined lifespans, al-Karmi cites Ibn Hazm and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya to argue that seeking medical remedies is itself part of the divine system of secondary causes (asbab), no different from eating to ward off hunger or seeking shelter from extreme cold and heat.
- Medical and Dietary Regimens: The work outlines physical interventions discussed by physicians and jurists, including scarification, bloodletting (fasd)—noting Zakariyya al-Ansari's critique of contemporary doctors who neglected it—dietary adjustments, the use of cooling agents, vinegar, violet oil (reported from Imam al-Shafi'i), and syrups mentioned by Najib al-Din al-Samarqandi.
- Devotional Remedies and Refutation of Astrology: Al-Karmi collects established supplications, Quranic chapters (Surat al-Baqarah, Ayat al-Kursi, and the Mu'awwidhat), glorification formulas (tasbih), and invocations utilizing God's names to seek protection from harm. He concludes with a refutation of astrologers and soothsayers who claimed to predict epidemics through celestial movements, citing prophetic prohibitions against divination and demonstrating the failure of astrological predictions regarding the founding and rulers of Baghdad.
Manuscripts and Publication
An autograph manuscript of the text is preserved at the Egyptian National Library (Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya) within an archival compilation (no. 1781 F), comprising four folios written in twenty-five lines per page with authorial margin additions. The work was edited by Khalid ibn al-Arabi Mudrik and published in Beirut by Dar al-Bashair al-Islamiyya in 1421 AH (2000 CE) as part of the Liqa' al-Ashr al-Awakhir bi'l-Masjid al-Haram series.
Answer updated