Al-Jami` al-Sahih (Sahih al-Bukhari) of Imam Bukhari Al-Jami` al-Sahih, known as Sahih al-Bukhari, is a recognized collection of hadiths of the Prophet SAW. It was compiled by Muhammad b. Isma`ilal-Bukhari (194-256/ 810-870). The hadiths were arranged in 97 books (kutub, the plural of kitab) with 3,450 chapters (abwab, its singular is bab). They were classified according to subject matters on Fiqh. In addition, the other subjects such as theology, ethics and medicine are found as a separated kitab in Sahihal-Bukhari. The Sahih al-Bukhari is recognized by the overwhelming majority of the Muslim scholars to be one of the most authentic collections of the hadith or Sunnah of the Prophet SAW. Imam Bukhari spent sixteen years compiling the hadiths of the Prophet SAW, and ended up with 2,602 hadiths (9,082 with repetition). Sahih al-Bukhari has been commented by many scholars.
Al-Bukhari’s criteria for acceptance of hadiths into his collection were amongst the accepted criteria of Muslim scholars of hadith. Each report in his collection was checked for compatibility with the Qur’an, and the veracity of the chain of reporters had to be painstakingly established. It is not merely its authenticity that makes this particular collection arising interested by Muslim scholars, but also the vital role it played in developing the concept of health medicine, prevention and treatment of disease relevance to this age.
HADITHS ON HEALING OF DISEASES
Two Hadith were narrated by Ibn `Abbas and another was by Jabir b. Abd Allah.
First: “Healing is in three things: a gulp of honey, cupping, and branding with fire (cauterizing), however, I forbid my followers to use branding with fire (cauterization) (al-Shifa’ fi thalatha: sharbat `asal, wa shartah mihjam, wa kayyah nar, wa anha ummati `an alkayy).
Second: “Healing is in three things: cupping, a drink of honey and cauterization (branding with fire) but I forbid my followers to use cauterization (al-Shifa’ fi Thalatha: fi Shartati Mihjam, aw Sharbat Asal, aw Kayy bi Nar, wa Anha Ummati an al-Kayy).”
In another version, it was narrated by Jabir bin Abdullah that he heard the Prophet said: “If there is any healing in your medicines, then it is in cupping, a drink of honey or branding with fire (cauterization) that suits the ailment, but I don’t like to be (cauterized) branded with fire”
In his interpretation of the above hadiths, Ibn Hajar (773–852/1372-1449) reminded us that the treatment of disease does not predestine only three methods of healing namely a gulp of honey, cupping, and branding with fire (cauterizing). In trying to answer the question, why did the Prophet SAW mention only three methods of healing?, Ibn Hajar clarified that the Prophet SAW mentioned only three methods of healing mainly because they were usul al-ilaj, the principle of treatment of disease. In addition, it was widely known among the Arab in that time.
It is possible that this belief was the result of Muslim’s discoveries during that time that the cause of disease was mainly blood (damawi) or yellow bile (safrawi) or black bile (sawdawi) or phlegm (balghi). This implies that the Arab in that time viewed the nature of disease in terms of philosophy and looked upon it as a disturbance in the equilibrium of the body’s blood, yellow bile (safrawi), black bile (sawdawi) and phlegm (balghi). Thus, the disease, which is caused by one of them should be treated either by hijamah (taking the impure blood from the body) or honey. If we failed to treat a disease by the mentioned method, then, it must be treated by cauterization
or surgery as in our time. The latter could not be more than a last option to which physicians had to consider when a gulp of honey, cupping(al Hijamah) and pharmaceutical treatments failed.
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~ HEALTH AND MEDICINE IN THE ISLAMIC TRADITION BASED ON DR Nurdeen Deuraseh
* Senior Lecturer Faculty of Human Ecology Universiti Putra Malaysia 43400 UPM Serdang,
Selangor, MALAYSIA
~ THE BOOK OF MEDICINE (KITAB AL-TIBB) OF SAHIH AL BUKHARI JISHIM 2006
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Hi Teratai
ReplyDeleteInteresting post, especially the bit about balancing humours in the body, given many alternative medicines like acupuncture are also concerned with rebalancing the body so that it can heal itself.
We are a group of people interested in hijama and therefore are running a blog on the subject of hijama: www.ahealth.co.uk where therapists and patients can connect with each other and share their knowledge and experience.
Please take part by contributing your comments and maybe even a guest blog-post if there is any hijama-related topic that you want to discuss.
Thanks
Shuaib
www.ahealth.co.uk
Thank you very much. Insya ALlah I will share whatever I know about Hijama.
ReplyDeleteAs a doctor and a surgeon, it would be impossible for me to practice medicine and surgery without ignoring some hadith. For example, I do not subscribe to the hadith from "Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith (Hadith 1796)
ReplyDeleteThe Prophet (peace be upon him) said: There is no hamah, no infection and no evil omen; if there is in anything an evil omen, it is a house, a horse, and a woman. " There are many versions of this hadith from Bukhari. (There are many other problems with this hadith which I will not discuss here).
What is against my principle as a doctor is the part regarding '"no infection" i.e. disease are not contagious. Of course, there other hadiths which suggests that the prophet believes that leprosy and plague are contagious. Also, there are modern day apologists who tries to soften the prophet’s stance by adding in parenthesis "(no contagious disease is conveyed without Allah's permission)". This is also problematic for us who follow the scientific method, we believe that when Allah created His creation, He also give them their fitrah. We believe that micro-organisms can give rise to infection and the infection spreads. All modern doctors including myself believe that this is highly probable, and we fashion our practice of aseptic technique, isolation, vaccination and use of antibiotics around this belief.
So it does come to my mind, "Am I guilty of not following the teachings of the prophet?"
But another hadith that I learned as a fourteen year old saved me. There are three versions of this hadith from Muslim regarding cross-pollination of date flowers mistranslated in this version below as grafting. The hadith reads:
Sahih Muslim Hadith - 1099
Narrated Talhah ibn Ubaydullah
I and Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) happened to pass by people near the date-palm trees. He (the Prophet) said: What are these people doing? They said: They are grafting, i.e. they combine the male with the female (tree) and thus they yield more fruit. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: I do not find it to be of any use. The people were informed about it and they abandoned this practice. Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) (was later) on informed (that the yield had dwindled), whereupon he said: If there is any use of it, then they should do it, for it was just a personal opinion of mine, and do not go after my personal opinion, but when I say to you anything on behalf of Allah, then do accept it, for I do not attribute lie to Allah, the Exalted and Glorious.
With this hadith I can practice scientific medicine without guilt.
I believe that many things said by the prophet are his opinion and unlike so many people who believe that the hadith are also revelations from Allah.
Therefore, I do not prescribe blood-letting/cupping (Shartati mihjam), no drinking camel urine no ajwa as part of my treatment.
I wish many more people know about this hadith. I suspect it is purposefully hidden. I also know some who claim that the parts of it are false additions.