The protection of life and health occupies an important place in the Islamic understanding of the human being. Islam does not present illness as a condition before which a person should remain passive: it encourages responsibility, knowledge and the search for treatment.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
“For every disease there is a remedy, and when the remedy is applied to the disease, it is cured by the permission of Allah.”
This hadith is reported in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (2204) and carries a particularly significant message: healing ultimately belongs to Allah, but human beings are called upon to seek the means through which healing may be achieved.
The Qur’an and Natural Remedies
The Qur’an itself draws human attention to nature.
Speaking about bees and honey, it states:
“From their bellies comes forth a drink of varying colours, in which there is healing for people.”
(Qur’an, 16:69)
The Qur’anic reference to honey, however, should not be transformed into the claim that honey can indiscriminately cure every disease.
Indeed, the verse concludes by referring to those who reflect.
Nature may contain substances with important properties, but studying them, understanding their effects, determining appropriate dosages and scientifically assessing their safety and effectiveness are part of human responsibility.
Prevention Before Treatment
One of the most remarkable aspects of the Prophetic tradition concerns epidemics.
The Prophet ﷺ established a very clear principle: when plague affected a territory, those outside it should not enter, while those already there should not leave because of the outbreak. This principle is reported in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (5728).
We should not automatically impose contemporary medical concepts upon a society that existed fourteen centuries ago. We can, however, clearly recognise an important principle of contagion prevention and collective responsibility.
This is accompanied by an Islamic culture that places considerable importance on personal cleanliness, balanced nutrition, moderation and care for the body.
The Great Era of Medicine in Islamic Civilisation
Over the following centuries, these principles developed within Islamic civilisation alongside knowledge inherited from Greek, Persian, Indian and other intellectual traditions.
Muslim physicians and scholars did not merely preserve earlier knowledge. They translated it, organised it, debated it and further developed it through observation and medical practice.
Among the most important figures was Abū Bakr al-Rāzī (Rhazes), a physician and scholar who produced major clinical works, as well as Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna), physician, philosopher and scientist.
His monumental Al-Qānūn fī al-Ṭibb — The Canon of Medicine — systematically organised much of the medical knowledge available in his time. Its influence extended throughout the Islamic world and later reached Europe through Latin translations.
This history reminds us of something fundamental:
Knowledge does not belong to one civilisation alone.
Every generation receives knowledge from those that came before it, examines it, develops it and should pass it on, improved, to the generation that follows.
Modern Medicine and Prophetic Medicine Should Not Be Adversaries
Today, an artificial opposition is sometimes created between modern medicine, natural remedies and what is known as al-ṭibb al-nabawī, or Prophetic medicine.
Such an opposition can be misleading.
A Muslim can recognise the spiritual value of guidance contained in the Qur’an and Sunnah while, at the same time, relying on contemporary medicine, hospitals, physicians, medicines and treatments whose effectiveness has been scientifically demonstrated.
Faith should not be used to persuade a patient to abandon necessary medical treatment.
Likewise, a substance does not automatically become safe simply because it is natural. Traditional remedies and natural substances can and should be scientifically studied. When their benefits and safety are demonstrated, they may find an appropriate place in healthcare.
Faith and Science
For a believer, seeking medical treatment does not mean having less trust in Allah.
It means making responsible use of the intelligence, knowledge and means that Allah has made available to humanity.
The history of medicine within Islamic civilisation demonstrates how fruitful the relationship between faith and rational inquiry can be. Ibn Sīnā, al-Rāzī and many other scholars belonged to a civilisation in which investigating the human body and seeking remedies for disease did not represent a rejection of knowledge, but rather its expansion.
Today, we possess instruments those generations could hardly have imagined: advanced diagnostics, robotic surgery, genetics, organ transplantation, cancer therapies, biotechnology and artificial intelligence applied to medicine.
The question for a Muslim should therefore not be:
“Must we choose between faith and modern medicine?”
The question should be:
“How can we responsibly use all the knowledge that Allah has allowed humanity to attain in order to protect life?”
Protecting Life
The preservation of life, ḥifẓ al-nafs, occupies a central place in the Islamic legal tradition and among the higher objectives of the Sharīʿah.
For this reason, the European Muslims League believes that health promotion, prevention, scientific research and access to medical care are also matters of human dignity.
Medicine will continue to advance and will probably contribute to further extending human life.
But living longer cannot be our only objective.
We must live better, protect the elderly, care for those who suffer, prevent disease and ensure that advances in medicine are also accessible to the poorest populations.
Science searches for healing. Faith gives healing a moral responsibility. And the protection of life brings them together in the service of humanity.
European Muslims League – EML
Medicine and Islam: Faith, Science and the Search for Healing
