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IMPORTANCE OF HEALTH IN ISLAM Our Prophet ‘sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam’ praised medical science in various ways. For example, he declared: “Knowledge is of two kinds: physical knowledge and religious knowledge.” That is, by saying that the most necessary kinds of knowledge are religious knowledge, which will protect the soul, and knowledge of health, which will protect the body, he declared that first of all it is necessary to try to keep the soul and the body healthy. This hadith-i-sharif [1] is written on the three hundred and eighty-first page of the book Riyad-un-nasikhin, which also writes that it has been quoted from the book Zubda-tul-akhbar. There are also those (savants) who say that these are the words of Imam-i Shafi’i ‘rahmatullahi ta’ala aleyh’. Every word of this great imam [2] is an explanation of ayat-i-karimas [3] and hadith-i-sharifs. Islam commands us to learn physical knowledge before religious knowledge. For all kinds of virtuous deeds can be done with a healthy body. As it is taught in all universities today, medical science is of two sections: the first one is hygiene, that is, the preservation of health; the second one is therapeutics, the treatment of diseases. The first one is of primary importance. It is the first task of medical science to protect people against diseases, to preserve their health. For the most part, a diseased person remains damaged and unhealthy, even if he is cured. Islam has guaranteed and ensured hygiene, the first task of medical science. In the second part of Mawahib-i ladunniyya, it is proved through ayat-i-karimas that Qur’an-al-kerim recommends both sections of medical science. Rasulullah ‘sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam’ used to correspond with Heraclius, the Greek Byzantine emperor. They used to exchange messages. We can read the words and the letters of both parties in books. The originals of the letters exist in the two hundred and thirty-eighth page of the Turkish translation of Mawahib-i ladunniyya. GLOSSARY [1] hadith (sharif): a saying of the Prophet (‘alaihi ‘s-salam). [2] imam: profound ‘alim; founder of a madhhab. [3] Ayat al-karima: a verse of al-Qur’an al-karim. Knowledge is (made up) of four (parts): 1- The knowledge of Fiqh for the maintenance of faith; 2- The knowledge of Medicine for the maintenance of health; 3- The knowledge of Sarf and Nahw (Arabic grammar) for the maintenance of language; 4- The knowledge of Astronomy so as to be aware of the times. Hadith-i sharif -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://yahyasheikho786.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/importance-of-health-in-islam/ |
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