Miracle of the Holy Qur’an & Sunnah in the Field of Preventative Medicine
The definition of modern preventative medicine is that it is a branch of
knowledge that has to do with protection against microorganisms that may
cause physical disease and against psychological disease, in the individual...
and in society. Microorganisms are the cause of bacterial and other kinds
of disease, and they are regarded as a community of living beings, most of
which we cannot see with our eyes, but they exist everywhere, in the air,
in water and in dust, on our bodies and in our mouths and intestines, and
sometimes even in the food we eat. Some of them are beneficial and some are
harmful. There are many different families and types of them, and they
differ in size. The smallest of them are the viruses, followed by microbes,
funguses, protozoa, various kinds of parasitic worms, and finally parasitic
arthropods or insects.
There are three sources or habitats of them, namely man, animals and the
environment (dust and water).
The texts of Shari‘ah (Islamic legislation) enumerate several methods
regarding the eradication of these organisms from their habitats and
preventing them from causing harm to man, by establishing rules of
cleanliness such as washing the hands and forearms, wiping the head and
ears, washing the feet and washing the mouth and nose five times a day,
washing each part three times.
Allah, the Exalted, says:
“O you who believe! When you intend to offer As-Salah (the prayer), wash
your faces and your hands (forearms) up to the elbows, rub (by passing wet
hands over) your heads, and (wash) your feet up to the ankles. If you are
in a state of Janaba (i.e. after a sexual discharge), purify yourselves
(bathe your whole body)…” (Al-Ma’idah, 5:6)
(from Islamic Medicine: The Key to a Better Life by Yusuf Al-Hajj Ahmad,)
The definition of modern preventative medicine is that it is a branch of
knowledge that has to do with protection against microorganisms that may
cause physical disease and against psychological disease, in the individual...
and in society. Microorganisms are the cause of bacterial and other kinds
of disease, and they are regarded as a community of living beings, most of
which we cannot see with our eyes, but they exist everywhere, in the air,
in water and in dust, on our bodies and in our mouths and intestines, and
sometimes even in the food we eat. Some of them are beneficial and some are
harmful. There are many different families and types of them, and they
differ in size. The smallest of them are the viruses, followed by microbes,
funguses, protozoa, various kinds of parasitic worms, and finally parasitic
arthropods or insects.
There are three sources or habitats of them, namely man, animals and the
environment (dust and water).
The texts of Shari‘ah (Islamic legislation) enumerate several methods
regarding the eradication of these organisms from their habitats and
preventing them from causing harm to man, by establishing rules of
cleanliness such as washing the hands and forearms, wiping the head and
ears, washing the feet and washing the mouth and nose five times a day,
washing each part three times.
Allah, the Exalted, says:
“O you who believe! When you intend to offer As-Salah (the prayer), wash
your faces and your hands (forearms) up to the elbows, rub (by passing wet
hands over) your heads, and (wash) your feet up to the ankles. If you are
in a state of Janaba (i.e. after a sexual discharge), purify yourselves
(bathe your whole body)…” (Al-Ma’idah, 5:6)
(from Islamic Medicine: The Key to a Better Life by Yusuf Al-Hajj Ahmad,)
