According to truth-seeking scholars, ihsan (perfect goodness) is an action of the heart that involves thinking according to the standards of truth; forming the intention to do good, useful things and then doing them; and performing acts of worship as best as possible and in the consciousness that God sees them. To attain perfect goodness, an initiate must establish his or her thoughts, feelings, and concepts on a firm belief, and then deepen that belief by practicing the essentials of the religion and training his or her heart to receive Divine gifts and be illuminated by the light of His manifestations. Only one who has attained such a degree of perfect goodness can really do good to others just for the sake of God, without expecting anything in return.

According to a Prophetic saying, perfect goodness is that you worship God as if you were seeing Him; for even if you do not see Him, He certainly sees you. The most comprehensive and precise meaning of perfect goodness is that there is no fault in an initiate’s action, and that he or she is always conscious that God is always watching. An initiate must concentrate on his or her actions with all of his or her will, feelings, awareness, and outer and inner senses. An initiate who is aware of God’s supervision to this degree, and who therefore strives to act in the best way possible, cannot help but do good to others. Doing good to others then becomes an essential attribute of his or her nature, and radiates as light radiates from the sun.

Ihsan, in the sense of doing good to others, is summed up in the Prophet’s principle of desiring for one’s fellow believer whatever one desires for oneself. Its universal dimension is defined in the following Prophetic Tradition:

Surely, God has decreed that you excel in whatever you do. When you lawfully punish someone by killing, do it kindly; when you slaughter an animal, slaughter it kindly. Let him who will slaughter it sharpen his knife and avoid giving the animal much pain.

Consciousness of goodness is like a mysterious key that opens the door of a virtuous circle. An initiate who opens that door and steps into that illuminated corridor enters the “spiral” of a mysterious ascension, as if stepping onto an escalator. In addition to being endowed with this virtue, the correct use of one’s free will to do good and refrain from evil will result in an advance of two steps for each step taken: Is the reward of excellence other than excellence? (55:60). As we read in commentaries on the Qur’an or books of the Prophetic Traditions:

Once God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, he who was truthful and confirmed, asked his Companions about the verse: Do you know what Your Lord means by this verse? The Companions answered: God and His Messenger know better. He explained: The reward of the one upon whom I conferred belief in Divine Unity is nothing but Paradise.

When the consciousness of goodness invades one’s heart like clouds of rain, Divine favors begin to pour down. The possessor of such a heart, addressed by the verse: For those who do good is the greatest good, and even more (10:26), feels the profound pleasure of having been created as a human being.

In addition to the blessings of Divine grace in return for good actions, Divine gifts issue from God’s Graciousness and Kindness in return for a heart’s sincere intention. We are unable to conceive of or describe such gifts.

A sound heart leads one straight to God without any deviation, and goodness is the heart’s greatest and most rewarding action. Goodness is the safest way to ascend the slopes of sincerity, the most secure means to reach the peaks of being approved by God, and the consciousness of self-possession before the Eternal Witness. Of the many people equipped with belief, as well as deep fear and reverence for Him, who have taken the wings of good action and set out toward Him, only a few succeed in reaching the peak. May those who have not yet reached it try their utmost to do so. Those who have reached the peak feel deeply the ugliness of whatever God dislikes and are immune to it, while they are ready to do whatever He likes and to adopt such as their second nature.

O God! Favor us with a good, happy end in all our affairs, and save us from humiliation in the world and punishment in the Hereafter. Assign for us from awe of You such amount that it may intervene between us and any disobedience to You. And bestow blessings and peace on Muhammad, our master and the master of those distinguished with perfect goodness, and on his Family and Companions, all of them.

As I gave my ears to the speakers, my mind took me all the way back to 1966. I realized that throughout the years I had witnessed many different developments without understanding what they really meant. A historical incident came to my mind: following the discovery of electricity, an exhibition was set up to present it to the public. At the exhibition, a guest asked Benjamin Franklin, “What is this new energy good for?” He replied with a question: “What is a newborn child good for?” It was obvious that human beings could not appreciate innovation very quickly. Yet, today we realize the importance and potential of this wonderful energy source.

Similarly, I had no idea that meeting Fethullah Gulen forty-three years ago would be the turning point of my life. He was a unique teacher who constantly astonished us with his extraordinary ideas. He was a person who did not limit his ideals to suggestions but acted upon them; hence, he was practicing what he taught. Gradually, I realized that his teachings, manners and unique behavior were no different to the teachings of the Holy Qur’an and the Messenger of God. In actual fact it seemed as they were a carbon copy of the Qur’anic doctrines.

Although we were aware of such Prophetic traditions as fasting on Mondays and Thursdays and also staying vigil at night, we had never witnessed anyone practicing these until we met Gulen. He would observe this Prophetic fast even in the tremendous heat of the summer in Izmir. Inspired by his total commitment to Prophetic tradition, we would hand him a list of the names of those of us who also wished to practice their faith as he did. Like an affectionate father, he would wake us up in the night so that we could perform the voluntary prayers (tahajjud) and join him at Suhoor (the pre-dawn meal to sustain us through the all-day fast). It was not easy to control the carnal self but the self-discipline and the feeling of tranquility that originated from this Prophetic tradition made it a unique experience.

During our stay at the boarding facility in Izmir, we also received additional lessons in our dorms. We were supported with supplementary classes which helped our education at local state schools. Our teachers were also experts on Islamic studies. They would work additional hours to help us with our studies, and even during lunch they would sit with us in the canteen to eat. Of course, they were all paid something for their efforts. However, Gulen was different. Salary meant nothing to him because he would spend most of it on students who were so poor that they did not even have pocket money. He refused to take any money for the additional work he did. There were times when he had given ten lessons in a day and then he took on the duty of staying at the dorm throughout the night. We were shocked to find out that he even paid for the food, electricity and water during his stay there. Talking about the notion of self-sacrifice is one thing, but witnessing it with your own eyes was an extraordinary experience which planted many new seeds in our souls.

We were amazed by the way he explained incidents that had occurred over one thousand four hundred years ago. He would explain stories about the Companions of the noble Prophet as if he had been among them at that very moment. His sermons were all about the practical interpretation of the Holy Qur’an. Everything we experienced felt like an original event. It was as if we were hearing the revelations from the Holy Qur’an for the first time in our lives. He was encouraging us to follow the example of the Prophet and his beloved Companions, and we were making the effort to do so. With every effort we made, a new door opened before us. It was as if we were entering into an entirely different realm as we tried to emulate the actions of the Companions. Eventually, there was no room for indolence or lassitude in our lives. As the famous Sufi poet Yunus Emre said, we enjoyed the gratification of being reborn with each new day.

Then came the day when we were encouraged to engage in educational activities that would benefit the whole of humanity. In all of us there was a unique sense that persuaded us to open a new era in the field of education. People who observed our dedication from outside were fascinated by our enthusiasm. One after another they came running to lend a helping hand. Students, teachers, merchants, shop owners and businessmen were all united in the goal of establishing educational facilities. Before long, private schools were established all over Turkey, followed by hundreds of schools all over the world. At the same time we started publishing educational materials, beginning with a bulletin titled Zuhur (Emergence). Eventually, this led to the establishment of magazines, journals, newspapers, radio and TV stations. These efforts, encouraged by Gulen, became so popular that a new horizon had opened before us of a global dialogue between cultures and faiths.

As dedicated volunteers of education and dialogue carried the welcoming smile of Anatolia around the globe, many sincere souls were attracted by its warmth. They began to visit Turkey, the home country of these self-sacrificing educators. Their visits were not like those of tourists. They had come to observe and understand the source of the enormous sincerity and the unique hospitality of the Anatolian people. On returning to their homelands, they explained what they had witnessed. You could see the excitement on their faces even after many months had gone by since their visit. This was another fruit of global dialogue.

As the conference continued at the Catholic University in Melbourne, my memories confirmed the significance of the work that had begun in Izmir many years before. Speakers constantly emphasized the praiseworthy efforts of these extraordinary educators and champions of dialogue. Silently, I said to myself, “What a great distance has been covered.”

One of the speakers was Orhan Cicek, Executive Advisor of the Australian Intercultural Society. He stressed that this conference was a great opportunity to strengthen Muslim–Christian relations. He said that this event, in which prominent academics from Australia and overseas were explaining their views and suggestions in relation to the vision of Gulen, was also paving the way to strengthen the multicultural structure and harmony of Australian society. He concluded with a wish that the event would become an important step towards cooperation that would attend to the common problems of humanity.

It was a wonderful event that gathered academics from Australia, Turkey, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria and Indonesia. The conference dealt with the different aspects of the Gulen Movement and its practical approach to intercultural and interfaith dialogue.

During my visit to Australia, I also had the pleasure of meeting Barney Zwartz, a renown columnist from one of Australia’s biggest newspapers. In our conversation, he asked me about the future of this education and dialogue movement. He wondered how far it would go. I explained that we wished to reach every human being in the world and become true friends with them. He smiled and asked if such a dream was possible. I replied with an analogy. I said there is a story about an ant that decided to make the holy pilgrimage to Mecca. When they asked him, “How do you plan to reach Mecca with those tiny feet of yours?” the ant answered, “I am aware of the fact that I will never get there, but the least I can do is to die on the way.” On hearing this, Barney asked me, “Can I be your baggage?”

Abdullah Aymaz is an author of numerous books in Turkish. He is also a columnist at Zaman, a leading newspaper in Turkey.

Note

1. On 21 July 2009, Barney Zwartz article analyzing the Gulen movement appeared in The Age newspaper.

In reality, people who habitually go to sleep very late at night have difficulty waking up in the morning. This happens because of disturbances in the body’s internal clock or circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms are important in determining the sleeping and feeding patterns of all creatures.

There are clear patterns of brainwave activity, hormone production, adjustments to body temperature, blood pressure and many other biological activities linked to this daily cycle.

It is known that melatonin, a hormone with a high level of concentration at night and low levels during daytime, regulates the circadian rhythm.2 However, there are other factors that activate or inhibit the internal body clock and several studies have demonstrated that light on the eye’s retina is a more powerful influence on human circadian rhythms.

Blue light

As light that is radiated from the sun travels through the atmosphere, some shorter wavelengths of light, such as violet and blue, are absorbed by gas molecules and then scattered all around the sky. This gives the sky a blue appearance. According to Dr. Mark Rea, director of the Lighting Research Center, our daily rhythms are in fact blue sky detectors, and he notes, “Blue sky is ideal for stimulating the circadian system because it’s the right color and intensity, and it’s ‘on’ at the correct time for the right duration, the entire day.”3

Researchers have used light for jet-setters, sleep-troubled patients, and shift workers to set their body clocks and solve sleep problems. Moreover, they claim the dogma that the 24-hour biological clock is set by light alone is a misconception that many scientists have believed for years.4 Steven Lockley of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a Harvard research and teaching affiliate says, “The visual system in humans is most sensitive to green light, but when we exposed twelve healthy young men and women to the same amount of either green or blue light, their 24-hour rhythms shifted twice as much with blue than with green.”5 After exposure to blue light, their body clocks were rearranged by three hours, whereas the effect of green light was a change of about 1.5 hours. So, if your eyelids get heavy around 11 p.m., 6.5 hours of exposure to blue light will keep you up until 2 a.m. Since television and computer screens produce blue light, watching them too much at night may inappropriately affect the sleep cycle.6 However, if a change in shift makes you sleepless at 4 a.m., proper blue light therapy might help you sleep three hours longer.

To reduce the impact of synthetic light on our biological system, lighting manufacturers have been developing dynamic lighting control led by computer based systems. For example, to perk people up in the morning, the lamp increases the blue light concentration. After lunch, it again produces more blue light to counter afternoon sleepiness. In Europe, such systems have already been installed in some places including some hospitals, business offices, town halls and traffic-control centers.

Keeping all this in mind, we see how blue light affects our daily life. So, sleeping in some parts of the daytime can have advantages and disadvantages for sustaining optimal performance.

Daytime sleep in Prophetic tradition

If we turn our attention to the life of the Prophet Muhammad, (peace and blessings be upon him) we see how he successfully set an example for his Companions. It was the practice of the Prophet and his Companions not to sleep after the dawn prayer, the first of the five daily prayers, as it is a time of blessing. He would read some parts from the Qur’an and reflect on the universe and its Creator at a time when concentration is at its peak and the mind is clear of daily worries. Once dawn broke, the Prophet would pray and then speak with people who stayed behind for some time. Therefore, some of the early Muslims disliked the idea of sleeping immediately after dawn because being awake at this time was encouraged. In his Risale-i Nur collection, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi explains the three types of daytime sleep as follows:

The first is “ghaylula.” This is from pre-dawn to forty minutes or so after the sun has risen, the time when prayer is lawful but reprehensible. Sleep at this time is contrary to the practices of the Prophet, since according to hadiths, it leads to a decrease in one’s livelihood and to its being unfruitful. The time most appropriate for preparing to labor for one’s sustenance is when it is cool. When this time has passed, lethargy descends. It has been established through numerous experiences that just as this is detrimental to that day’s labor and indirectly to one’s livelihood, so also is it the cause of unfruitfulness.

Based on our limited knowledge about blue light, by sleeping at this time we may cause our biological rhythms to delay because of missing the right blue intensity at the correct time, which can result in a shift in sleep period and other shifts in daily cycles.

Nursi goes on:

The second is “faylula.” This is from the afternoon prayer till sunset. This sleep leads to a diminution of life, that is, it makes life that day shorter and makes it pass in a state of semi-sleep due to drowsiness, thus causing a physical deficiency to life. So too in an immaterial aspect, since most of the results of that day, material and immaterial, become apparent after the afternoon prayer, to pass that time in sleep as though prevents those results being seen and makes the day as though not lived.

The third is “qaylula,” which is in accordance with the Sunna of the Prophet. It is from mid-morning to just past noon. This sleep is part of the Sunna since it allows a person to rise at night to pray. So also in the Arabian Peninsula to rest from work at noon when it is intensely hot is the custom of the people and of the area, so has further strengthened this Practice of the Prophet. This sleep increases both life and sustenance. For half an hour’s qaylula sleep is the equivalent of two hours’ sleep at night. That means it adds one and a half hours to a person’s life every day. It saves one and a half hours from the hand of sleep, the brother of death, and makes it live, adding it to the time of working for one’s livelihood.8

Recently, this type of sleep or nap has been strongly advised for health and for enhancing daily performance. “When I was at NASA we gave the pilots a planned nap in the cockpit,” says Rosekind, a board member of the National Sleep Foundation. “While two pilots flew the plane, the third would have forty minutes to nap. We found they would sleep for twenty-six minutes, which boosted their performance by 34% and their alertness by 54%.”9 He explains that the pilots were able to improve their performance significantly, and he adds that the effects of a short nap of less than a half hour lasted for two to three hours. Similar research shows that in this way you can make yourself more alert, reduce stress, and improve cognitive functioning, which means more patience, less stress, better reaction time, increased learning, and more efficiency.

Each day our daily life gets faster and we unintentionally ignore our body and its need for rest, which leads to sleep deprived eyes, disturbed sleep cycles, stress, and so on. Sleeping well keeps us alive longer. But this does not mean sleeping for a long time, which increases the risk of death. What we learn from the Prophetic tradition and research into the effects of light on our biological clocks can help us to find and to arrange proper times for sleeping and coordinating our daily activities. Once we achieve this, benefits in spiritual life, health, social interactions, learning and thinking clearly will follow.

Notes

1.National Sleep Foundation

2.Cimo M, “New Math: Two Plus Two Equals Three,” Lighting Research Center News, January 23, 2006; Arendt J, Melatonin, “Circadian Rhythms, and Sleep,” The New England Journal of Medicine (2000) Vol. 343, No. 15.

3.Cimo, 2006.

4.Cromie J.C, “When light has you singing the blues,” Harvard University Gazette, Sept 23, 2003.

5.Ibid.

6.Raloff J, “Light Impacts,” Science News Online, May 27, 2006.

7.Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Flashes, Twenty-eighth Flash, Sözler Publications, Istanbul: 2000, p. 367.

8.Ibid.

9.Hatfield H, “The Power of Napping,” WebMD Feature; Bill Anthony, PhD, author, Art of Napping; professor, Boston University. James Maas, PhD, professor of psychiatry, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. Mark Rosekind, PhD, president, chief scientist, Alertness Solutions; board member, National Sleep Foundation, Cupertino, Calif.

An appropriate understanding of the Islamic view of neighborliness requires examination of the main teachings of Islam. The Arabic word Islam derives from the root “salaam,” which literally means peace, submission, and obedience. Accordingly, the goal of an Islamic life is to attain peace and happiness in this world as well as in the hereafter by faith and by obedience to God. Achievement of peace and harmony within one’s self, in the community and all over the world is the essential objective of Islamic teachings. Islam is not a new religion. It is, in essence, the same message and guidance which God revealed to all prophets, as indicated by the following Qur’anic verse: 

Say, we believe in God and that which has been revealed to us, and that which was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes and that which was given to Moses and Jesus and to other prophets, from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to him we submit. (Al Imran 3:83)

There are two main sources of Islamic teachings: the Qur’an, which is the revealed word of God, and the prophetic traditions of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. The principles of neighbor relationships that we will discuss below are based on these two main sources.

In Islam, the rights which people have over one another are considered extremely important. According to Islamic teachings, God can forgive all sins except the ones that are related to the rights of others. These rights are categorized and classified in a very detailed way. These include the rights of family members over one another, the rights of relatives, the rights of community members and the rights of neighbors over one another.

Definition of Neighbors in Islam

In Arabic, the word neighbor (jaar) refers to believers and unbelievers, religious and irreligious, friends and enemies, foreigners and fellow countrymen, those who treat you well and those who would do you harm, relatives and strangers, those whose houses are near yours as well as those who are further away. In the fourth chapter of the Qur’an, entitled Nisa (Women) God commands us to Serve God, and join not any partners with Him; and do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbors who are near, neighbors who are strangers, . . . (Nisa 4:36).

There are three definitions of neighborhood in the Muslim tradition. According to Al-Uza’i and Ibn Shihab as recorded in the authentic prophetic traditions of Bukhari, the definition of neighbor includes “forty houses in each direction, (right, left, front, and back).” Ali, the son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and the fourth caliph, is reported to have said, “Whoever hears the call (for prayer) is a neighbor.” Some Muslim scholars have declared that whoever lives with a man in a locality or a city is a neighbor. This opinion is based on a verse from the chapter entitled “The Confederate Tribes” (Ahzab 33:60).

According to Islamic teachings, the closest neighbor is one’s spouse. The next closest neighbor is the one whose door is closest to yours. It is narrated from the Prophet’s wife Aisha that she asked, “O messenger of God! I have two neighbors, to which one of them should I give a gift?” The Prophet said, “To the one whose door is nearest to yours.” According to Muslim historians, the closest neighbor at the time of this question was not a Muslim. From this prophetic tradition, it is clear that when it comes to the observation of neighbors’ rights, it makes no difference whether the neighbors are Muslim or non-Muslim. Furthermore, from this prophetic tradition we understand that Muslims are encouraged not only to treat our neighbors kindly, but also to exchange gifts with them. The wording of the tradition does not indicate whether or not the one with whom we exchange gifts is a Muslim.

The concept of the neighbor is not restricted to those who live in buildings near your home. A roommate in a dorm, the person sitting next to you on a bus or at a bus stop are considered neighbors. The list can be extended to consider a colleague in the office or a person enjoying the fresh air next to you in a public garden.

Importance of Neighbors and Their Rights

According to Islamic teachings, refraining from harming one’s neighbor is a part of faith. The Prophet sometimes used to show the importance of teachings by saying, “Whoever believes in God and the Last Day, let him do such-and-such . . . .” Among the prophetic traditions that employ this method of conveying a message is the following narrated from Abu Hurayra: “Whoever believes in God and the Last Day should not harm his neighbor.”

Another important teaching of God’s Messen¬ger showing the importance of neighborliness is narrated from Anas: “By Him in Whose hand is my soul, no man truly believes until he loves for his neighbor what he loves for himself.”

The Prophet stated that treating our neighbors well is a part of being a Muslim. Abu Hurayra narrated that the Prophet said, “Be God-fearing: you will be the best in worship among the people. Be content with your lot: you will be the most grateful of people. Like for people what you would like for yourself: you will be a believer. Treat your neighbor well: you will be a Muslim.”

Other important teachings on neighborliness include visiting neighbors when they are ill, consoling them at times of sorrow and congratulating them at times of joy, not staring into their house, not staring at what they carry into their house and not looking at their womenfolk, taking care of their family’s needs when they are absent, and forgiving their mistakes. 

Good Relations with Neighbors

The importance of having good relationships with neighbors is sometimes emphasized in general as in the following tradition narrated from Abdullah ibn Amr: “The best of friends, in God’s sight, is the one who is best to his friend; and the best of neighbors, in God’s sight, is the one who is best to his neighbor.” Sometimes very specific aspects of neighbor relationships are pinpointed, but the recommendations do not stop there. We are encouraged not only to have good relations with our neighbors, but also to initiate good deeds. For instance, we are recommended to be the first to greet a neighbor. Kindness to neighbors is always presented as the norm.

In Islam, being good to one’s neighbors encompasses a number of deeds: visiting them, being kind to them in general, and helping them when they need our help. The recommendations even go as far as buying similar things for our neighbors’ children to those we buy for ours. If we are unable to do this, we are discouraged from showing our neighbors’ children what we bought for our children.

Narrated from Aisha, the Prophet said, “Gabriel kept recommending me to treat my neighbor well until I thought that he would tell me to make him one of my heirs.” Abda ibn Ali Lubaba narrates from the Messenger of God: “No deed which harms a neighbor can be regarded as insignificant.”

We should share what we have with our neighbors. Narrated from Abu Dharr the Prophet stated, “Whenever you cook some stew, add extra water to it, then look for some household in your neighborhood and give it to them in kindness.”

In his historic sermon during the Farewell Pilgrimage, in which he summarized the most important points of his teachings, the Prophet did not fail to mention neighbors and emphasized their rights to such an extent that the eminent companion Abu Umama also thought that the Prophet would make neighbors heirs: “I heard the Prophet when he was seated on his she-camel during the Farewell Pilgrimage, saying, ‘I enjoin you to treat your neighbors well,’ and urging their good treatment so much that I thought, he is going to give them the rights of inheritance.”

Christian and Jewish Neighbors in Islam

History bears witness to the fact that Christians and Jews, the “People of the Book”1 as they are called in the Qur’an, have lived alongside Muslims in many regions of the Islamic world, secure in the knowledge that they, their honor, and their wealth were safe, enjoying a good neighborly relationship, with good treatment and freedom of worship. Their ancient churches still exist in Muslim villages clinging to mountaintops, surrounded by Muslim community who upholds the well-being of their Jewish and Christian neighbors. When the Prophet was about to pass on to the next world, he stated: “I place in your trust the People of the Book, the Christians and Jews.” When ‘Umar was in the throes of death due to a dagger wound, he warned: “I place the People of the Book among us in your trust. Fear God regarding them and treat them justly.”

Islam aims at spreading mutual love and affection among neighbors. The ways in which people may achieve this are many, and include attitudes ranging from making sure that your neighbor does not sleep hungry while you sleep well fed, to the exchange of gifts. The Muslim attitude toward neighbors includes wishing for their neighbors what they wish for themselves. It includes the sharing of happiness and sorrow. It prohibits spying on them, gossiping about them, and harming them in any way. Instead it establishes respect for their privacy, and keeping common use areas-such as apartment building entrances, streets and sidewalks-clean. The Prophet also said, “Among the things that bring happiness to a Muslim in this life are a righteous neighbor, a spacious house, and a good steed.”

We have tried to shed some light on the Muslim attitude toward neighbors and the importance of neighbor relationships in Islam. The Islamic tradition in this respect is fairly rich and invites the interested reader to further research. A healthy society can be established only through healthy neighborhoods. Education is the key to instilling healthy attitudes of neighborliness in our children as well as in adults. This concept deserves discussion in the classrooms of public schools as well as in seminars and conferences in universities. This flower should be given to all societies as a gift and love should be shared in the community through knowledge.

Footnote

1. Although ahl al-kitap, “People of the Book,” is commonly considered to be referring to Christians and Jews, Islamic tradition accepts, in general terms, other belief systems like Zoroastrians, Buddhists, or Hindus under the same category, as their major tenets of faith are similar to that of Islam’s.

The example of Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace, is explicitly commended in the Qur’an as the best pattern for believers to follow. Therefore, the practice and precepts of the Prophet have been a source of legal judgements and general guidance in the affairs of Muslims since the earliest days of Islam, a source which supplements and is second only to the Qur’an. Since health is so important a part of human well-being, it is not surprising that Muslims over the centuries devoted so much effort to recording and reflecting upon what the Prophet taught about maintaining good health, preventing and curing diseases and ailments.

The most widespread book on ‘Prophetic Medicine’ was that written by Ibn Qayim al-Jawziyiah (691-751AH / 1293-1351). But there are scores of manuscripts on the subject in world libraries and museums. After a preliminary study, I found references to some forty different books (some published, most manuscripts, some lost) with the title ‘Prophetic Medicine’. In his 1985 paper on Islamic heritage, S. Abdullah al-Habashi of Yemen mentioned 23 monographs by different authors on plagues and infectious diseases – I could add a further 16 on the same subject. He went on to write a book on infectious diseases as related to Prophetic Medicine, with a Foreword by the late Sheikh al-Azhar. ‘Abd al-Halim Mahmud.

Recently, the number of publications on Prophetic Medicine as a whole or on different areas of it has been growing rapidly. There are many books and articles, referenced with ahadith (sayings) of the Prophet on the curative properties of honey, black seed (Nigella Sativa), senna (Casiacutifolia), henna (Lawsonia Inermis), aloes (Aloe Vera), garlic and onions, olive oil, etc.; on the positive health benefits of breast feeding, and of the Islamic practices of fasting, prayers, ablution, cleaning the teeth and mouth, etc. Doctors in particular have been very active in elucidating the relevant ahadith and their importance to health promotion and disease prevention. Papers are published almost weekly on Islamic teachings related to health concerns, for example on food and drink (prohibition of excess, of pork, blood, and intoxicant drugs like alcohol), on circumcision, on sexuality and marriage (particularly with regard to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS).

There is growing interest, too, reflected in the volume of publications, in spiritual medicine which treats psychological ailments believed to be produced by evil jinn (evil spirits). Die treatment usually includes reciting particular chapters or verses of the Qur’an, certain supplications attributed to the Prophet, and making incantations.

Current issues in medical ethics from an Islamic perspective have also received a great deal of attention in recent times. There are literally hundreds of articles, books and doctoral dissertations on organ transplantation, brain death, new methods of procreation including test-tube babies and surrogacy, abortion, contraception, cloning and genetic engineering.

Traditional Medicine

As lbn KHaldun observes in his famous Muqaddimah, the pre – Islamic Arabs used a sort of folk medicine based on herbs and plants tested by experience and handed down. At the time of Prophet Muhammad, there were surgeons adept at treating wounds, abscesses and other minor operations, and also some renowned physicians like al-Harith ibn Kalada of Ta’if who had travelled to Jundishapur (near Ahwaz in Iran) to gain more knowledge. The Prophet asked his cousin Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas to consult al-Harith when Sa’d fell ill after the conquest of Makkah in 8AH(630).

Cupping, venesection and cautery were all common pre-Islamic treatments endorsed by the Prophet with some reservation against cautery. Cupping with blood-letting was definitely encouraged by him and there are tens of ahadith related to this procedure. It is interesting to note that cupping and cautery are still widely practised in Arab countries, especially among villagers and Bedouins.

Recently, Dr. Mansoor Suliman of the medicine faculty of King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, published a paper on ‘The myth and reality of treatment by cautery’ in Alternative Medicine (1986, 1(3), pp.237-40). He studied 500 patients treated with cautery and modern techniques for different ailments. He found that cautery was useful in treating diarrhoe where 45% of those cauterized showed marked improvement. Cautery was useless for jaundice, haemolytie blood diseases, respiratory diseases, other infectious diseases and cancers, though it was helpful in stopping bleeding. Diathermy (cautery) is also used in modern medicine to treat epistaxis, cervical erosion, to stop bleeding during operations, and to remove warts and other skin tumours. There are also different types of modern heat therapy e.g. infrared and laser therapy.

Cupping and blood-letting were used widely in the past to treat different ailments e.g. hypertension, polycythemia, and even heart failure. Modern medicine rarely, if ever, resorts to such measures.

The pre-Islamic Arabs believed in supernatural forces such as evil spirits, the evil eye and so on, and sought to counter them with spells, amulets, talismans and other animistic practices. The Qur’an (see 72.6) deplored all such rituals of seeking refuge from evil spirits as a pseudo-worship and therefore a sort of polytheism. The Prophet Muhammad scorned superstitious beliefs. Al-Bukhari records his saying: ‘There is no Adwa (i.e. contagion) [except by the will of Allah]; no Safar [the pagan Arabs believed that Safar, the last month in the lunar calendar, can cause malady. Safar could also refer to huge ‘snakes’ that dwell in the abdomen of some people and cause serious disease]; no Ha’ma [i. e, vengeful ghosts of the dead that hover around the living].’ And Tirmidhi records the Prophet saying: ‘Whoever wears an amulet has relapsed into shirk (polytheism). Whoever goes to a fortuneteller or a divine and asks him about anything, his prayers extending for four nights will not be accepted.’ In another hadith, he said: ‘Magic spells, amulets and the like are shirk.’ Polytheism is considered in Islam the worst of sins, the one that will never be pardoned by God until the person repudiates all forms of polytheism and reverts to pure, original monotheism. The Muslim should have faith in God alone, in whose control lie the causes of health and disease, life and death, in fact of all things, small or large.

Diseases and ailments are considered in Islam as a type of tribulation which expiates sin. Those stoics who forbear to complain and endure in dignity are rewarded in this world and on the Day of Judgement. Al-Bukhari, Muslim and Ibn Hanbal record the Prophet’s saying: ‘Never a believer is stricken with discomfort, hardship, illness, grief or even anxiety but that his sins are expiated.’ However, the Prophet also always urged Muslims to seek remedies for their ailments: ‘O servants of God, seek medical treatment, for God has established a remedy for every malady, clear to whoever knows it and unclear to whoever does not know it’ (recorded by Ahmad ibn Hanbal). In another hadith (in al – Bukhari),he said: ‘0 servants of God! seek remedy for He who established the malady has already created its cure and remedy.’

Muslims are thus encouraged by their religion to search for cures and new modalities of treatment, and apply them if they prove successful. Islam exhorts Muslims to keep healthy as health is one of God’s most precious gifts. Islamic teachings which prohibit alcohol, intoxicants, fornication, adultery and consumption of pork, blood or carrion, and which, at the same time, command cleanliness by frequent ablutions and baths with water, frequent daily cleaning of teeth, physical exercise, are all most beneficial to the maintenance of individual and public health.

The teachings of the Prophet Muhammad radically changed the mode of life, beliefs and customs of the pre-Islamic Arabs. The Muslim became a shining pearl in the jahiliyya community, as lie was chaste and clean inside and outside. Islam inspired Muslims to search for knowledge and wisdom. The Prophet said: ‘Search for knowledge and wisdom even as far as in China’, as China was the farthest country known to Arabs.

Once Islam became established as a civilization and empire, the medical sciences and wisdom of different nations were translated into Arabic and then incorporated in the traditional medicine.

Greek medicine, most notably the works of Hippocrates and Galen, received great attention. They were translated mainly during the rule of the ‘Abbasid Caliph al-Ma’mun (late 8th and early 9th century). The four humours were at that time accepted as the basis of medical theory. Both theory and practice flourished and were developed enormously not least in the area of the design and administration of hospitals – by some of the greatest figures In medical history, such as al-Razi (in the West known as Rhazes, d.925), Ibn Sina (Avicenna, d. 1037), at-Zahrawi (Abuleasis, d. 1013), Ibn al-Nafis (d.1288), ‘Ali ibn al-’Abbas al-Majusi (Haly Abbas, d.994) among many others. Within the same inclusive Islamic civilization, there were also many non-Muslims who achieved eminence for their encyclopaedic learning and skill as physicians, the best known being the Jewish philosopher, Musa ibn Maimun (Maimonides), the Christians Bakhtishisha who worked for the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, and Hunayn ibn Ishaq who worked for Caliph al-Mutawakkil and had been the chief translator of Galen, Hippocrates, Plato and others.

The Muslim and non-Muslim physicians, pharmacists, surgeons, opthalmologists etc. wrote huge works in Arabic and added their wisdom, knowledge gained by experience and experimental procedures, to the previous knowledge gained from the ancient Greeks and other peoples.

Although some of the original works are no longer extant, a huge amount of this Islamic medical knowledge contained in books and manuscripts is still accessible in many libraries and museums. Also, many of the original works were translated into Latin and thence into European vernaculars and provided the basis of modern medicine after the intellectual renaissance of Europe: the Latin texts of Arabic originals can still be read.

The Islamic world suffered from internal feuds and wars resulting in its weakness and gradual disintegration. The Mongols and Tartars (under Genghis Khan and Hulagu) dealt crushing blows to Islamic civilization in the eastern part of the empire from Samarkand to Baghdad and beyond towards Egypt. In the western domains of Islam, Christian Spaniards not only rebelled against Muslim overlords, they set about systematically removing Muslims and their civilization front the Iberian peninsula despite eight centuries of mutual tolerance between Muslims, Jews and Christians under Islamic rule: Granada fell in 1492.

The Islamic world became intellectually stale and very little innovative scientific work was produced. Even the great medical works such as those of lbn Sina, al-Zahrawi, lbn al-Nafis etc. were not kept alive except in isolated centres. Exceptionally, in the Indian subcontinent lbn Sina’s al-Qanun (Canon) continued to be the standard text for physicians with additions front ancient Hindu medicine. This style of healing is still active in India and Pakistan and known as Unani medicine, its practitioners being known as hakims rather than doctors.

In the Arabic-speaking world, by contrast, only a few people could read and understand al-Qanun or other great works, the later physicians depended on the Tazkarat Dawud of Dawud al-Antaki, a work quite inferior to the writings of Ibn Sina or al-Mansuri or al-Razi. With further passage of time, many of the traditional healers and physicians were unable to read and understand even Tazkarat Dawud. Many reverted back to animistic practices including the prescription of amulets, charms and talismans which are all prohibited in Islam.

The growing interest over the last two decades in herbal medicine has made it a profitable subject area for publishers. Some of them have begun to publish abridged versions of the works of Ibn Sina. Indeed, there are almost weekly additions to the popular literature on herbal medicine, most of it containing nothing new. However, there are a few physicians (mostly Western-educated) both in Arab countries and else where who have published the results of modern researches in pharmacology and biochemistry. The work of Dr Hassan Shamsi Pasha in this field is a good example. Also, many centres have sprung up in the Arab world for the study of traditional and Islamic medicine which organize conferences and symposia to encourage and enable new research in this field.

Conclusion

A lot of work has been going on to revive both traditional herbal medicine and Prophetic medicine in many Arab and Islamic countries. There is, however, a great need to improve on traditional medicine and integrate it with the national medical system. The majority of physicians and pharmacists, trained in Western medicine, lack even rudimentary knowledge of traditional medicine and are therefore hostile towards it. This negative attitude will not disappear unless the medical curricula in universities include training in traditional and Prophetic medicine. Equally, there is a need to educate herbalists and practitioners of traditional medicine to improve their standards of understanding and their techniques in preparing and prescribing traditional remedies.