-Dr. Md. Habeeb Haris
The role and concept of a medical practitioner/health care worker in Islam is different from that in the Western system.
The Quran declares that the cure comes only from Allah: “And when I am ill, it is He who cures me”. (Shoora 26:80).
The Prophet ﷺ defined the doctor’s role and the mental approach he should have as the seeker of Allah's Shifa saying, “Indeed, Allah has sent down the disease and the cure and he made a cure for every disease. So seek it.” (Abu Dawud)
Explaining the role of a Doctor, Imam Ghazali (RA) explains:
“A doctor has the ability to get close to Almighty Allah on the basis of his knowledge, and will get reward because of his knowledge, as he is His agent.” (Ihya ul uloom)
It's clear from the above that a Muslim doctor acts as a Khalifa (representative/agent) of Allah in bringing cure and relief to the patient.
Shaikh Dr Mateen A Khan, a medical practitioner and a contemporary Islamic Scholar, explains this beautifully: "The cure which the doctors seek comes from Allah, but they become the means for it! Although Allah is al-Shāfi, the doctor is the agent through whom He heals.
In this is the beauty and honor of being a healthcare practitioner. It demands from us a constant connection with Allah. A health practitioner, who loses his or her connection with Allah, has lost his or her connection with the source of treatment and health. It is entirely up to Him if He wishes to guide you towards a cure or to allow you to move away from it. Whereas a healthcare practitioner, who retains this connection, will always benefit not only him or herself but the patient and community." (https://enterthesunnah.com/2017/08/03/thoughts-on-the-relationship-between-a-healthcare-practitioner-and-al-shafi/)
The following Hadith Qudsi can act as a guide for the Muslim doctors in developing this special spiritual connection with Allah and becoming some one who facilitates 'Shifa' from Allah to the patients, which is a form of His infinite Mercy.
Abu Hurairah (RA) reported that the Messenger of Allah, ﷺ, said:
“Allah the Almighty has said: ‘Whosoever acts with enmity towards a closer servant of Mine (wali), I will indeed declare war against him. Nothing endears My servant to Me than doing what I have made obligatory upon him to do. And My servant continues to draw nearer to Me with supererogatory (nawafil) acts so that I shall love him. When I love him, I shall be his hearing with which he shall hear, his sight with which he shall see, his hands with which he shall hold, and his feet with which he shall walk. And if he asks (something) of Me, I shall surely give it to him, and if he takes refuge in Me, I shall certainly grant him it.'” (Sahih Al-Bukhari)
Indeed, a spiritually oriented doctor is a Wali (friend) of Allah in this aspect. Ignoring this vital spiritual dimension of treatment will limit one's clinical effectiveness, despite all of one's medical qualifications and skills.
There is a need to spiritualise the process of medical treatment and approach it as a way of holistic Healing of the sick. The patients learn their approach to disease and treatment from the doctors' words, behaviour and approach. If doctors ignore God in all this, then the patients too will adopt a soul-less, materialistic and mechanical approach to their treatment, ignoring the need for invoking God in healing. And this has an impact on the wider society too. The way the society views disease and process of cure has to be brought in line with the Islamic ideology and spirituality.
Giving a practical shape to this spiritual role of a medical practitioner, the Prophet ﷺ taught us beautiful short Duas to be read for invoking Allah's Shifa for a patient, along with the appropriate medical treatment. These duas re-orient both the doctor as well as the patient towards the real source of cure and establishes a spiritual relationship between them, instead of just a professional or transactional relationship. This is the beauty of the Islamic approach to Medical practice.
There are many Sunnah Duas that can be recited for the benefit of the patients such as:
أَذْهِبِ الْبَأْسَ رَبَّ النَّاسِ وَاشْفِ أَنْتَ الشَّافِي لَا شِفَاءَ إِلَّا شِفَاؤُكَ شِفَاءٌ لَا يُغَادِرُ سَقَمَاً
Take away the hardship, O Lord of mankind, give shifaa, You are the One who cures, there is no shifaa except Your shifaa, a cure that will not leave any sickness. (Bukhari & Muslim).
Or one can say seven times:
أَسْأَلُ اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ رَبَّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ أَنْ يَشْفِيَكَ
“I ask Allah the Exalted, the Lord of the Great Throne, to heal you.” (Tirmidhi)
Reciting these Duas and having a correct intention (Niyyah) during the treatment will transform the routine medical practice into an act of worship and give it a spiritual dimension. The modern materialistic way of medical practice has taken out God completely from the process of Healing, whereas Muslims are required to put God at the centre of their medical practice by following His Shariah guidelines and beseeching for His Help and Guidance in their clinical work.
Spiritual Benefits for Doctors and Health Care Professionals:
Almost Unlimited spiritual rewards
Allah says, "And if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole mankind." (Quran, 5:32)
From this we can just imagine the almost unlimited spiritual rewards from Allah for the doctors.
Relief from sufferings of Aakhirah
The Prophet ﷺ said, “He who alleviates the suffering of a brother out of the sufferings of the world, Allah would alleviate his suffering from the sufferings of the Day of Resurrection.” (Sahih Muslim)
Angels' Dua of forgiveness
Ali (RA) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“When a Muslim visits his sick brother in the morning, seventy thousand angels make dua for his forgiveness till the evening. And when he visits him in the evening, seventy thousand angels make dua for his forgiveness till the morning, and he will be granted a garden for it in Jannah.” (Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud)
Allah's Nearness and Pleasure
In a Hadith qudsi it is related that Allah will say to a person, ‘Son of Adam, I was ill and you did not visit Me.' He will say, 'O Lord, how could I visit You when You are the Lord of the universe?' He will say, 'Do you not know that My slave so-and-so was ill. If you had visited him you would have found Me with him.' (Muslim)
All these spiritual benefits, forgiveness & nearness of Allah are for a single visit to a patient. What would it be for continual treatment and care!
Approaching patients with this mindset in our daily practice will give us a better understanding of our elevated role and make all our efforts a form of worship.
Medical Practice as a means of Tazkiya of Ruh and Qalb (Spiritual purification):
The doctor who knows that he is just an agent and representative of Allah in treating the sick will never become arrogant or over-confident as he knows the limits of his role. Also he will never be frustrated or depressed when his treatment fails when Allah's permission for cure doesn't come.
The doctor sees human suffering, helplessness and death so closely that it can become a source of softening of his heart, opening his eyes to the temporary nature of Dunya and it's enjoyment and create a concern for Aakhirah. This indeed is a powerful way of Tazkiya of his Heart and soul. The human sympathy that the medical practice demands helps in overcoming selfishness and individualistic approach to life.
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