What is tibb al-nabawi?
What do we actually mean by tibb al-nabawi, or prophetic medicine?
There are detailed classical works devoted to the subject, and it can be approached as a field in its own right. But for the purposes of this discussion, I want to keep it practical. I am using the term to describe an approach to health based on the Quran and the Sunnah, and particularly the way the prophetic model brings together physical, spiritual and everyday life. That includes the way we eat, moderation, fasting and the use of particular foods. It includes spiritual means of healing and practices such as hijama, or cupping. But I do not want us simply to take a list of individual remedies and think that this is the whole of prophetic medicine. The lifestyle itself matters.
Is everything described as tibb al-nabawi revelation?
I do not think we should answer that too simplistically. The Prophet ﷺ received revelation, of course, but the Sunnah itself also shows a distinction between revelation and matters in which he expressed a human judgement about worldly affairs. One of the clearest examples is the well-known incident concerning the pollination of date palms. When his initial opinion about the practice proved not to be beneficial, he explained that it had been his own judgement, and distinguished that from what he conveyed from Allah. (Sahih Muslim)
So when we look at prophetic medicine, we need to be thoughtful about what exactly we are looking at. There are teachings with an explicitly religious dimension, there are particular treatments reported from the Prophet ﷺ, and there is also a much larger medical tradition that developed later. Classical Muslim medicine did not develop in isolation; Muslim physicians engaged extensively with the Greek medical tradition and incorporated, tested and developed knowledge from the cultures around them.
There was significant influence from the medical knowledge that existed at the time. We have a lovely example of this in Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). Urwah once asked her where she had acquired such an extensive knowledge of medicine. She explained that towards the end of the Prophet’s ﷺ life, when he became ill, delegations would come from different parts of Arabia and recommend treatments for him. She would listen, learn from them and administer those treatments.
إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ كَانَ يَسْقَمُ عِنْدَ آخِرِ عُمُرِهِ، فَكَانَتْ تَقْدَمُ عَلَيْهِ وُفُودُ الْعَرَبِ مِنْ كُلِّ وَجْهٍ، فَتَنْعَتُ لَهُ الْأَنْعَاتَ، وَكُنْتُ أُعَالِجُهَا لَهُ، فَمِنْ ثَمَّ
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would become ill towards the end of his life, and delegations of the Arabs would come to him from every direction and prescribe treatments for him. I would administer them to him, and that is how I learnt.”
(Musnad Ahmad)
I think that is important. It shows us that seeking treatment and learning from the medical knowledge available to people was entirely compatible with reliance upon Allah. It also reminds us that some of the treatments used in that period belonged to the medical knowledge and circumstances of the time. We should not assume that every medical practice found in early Muslim society was itself revelation.
At the same time, there are principles within the Sunnah which are timeless. That is what I am most interested in. Prophetic medicine should not be presented as a replacement for modern medicine, or as a reason not to see your GP or specialist. But there is a great deal within the prophetic way of life that we can bring into our own lives, and we can do that out of love for the Prophet ﷺ and a desire to follow his Sunnah.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
مَنْ أَحْيَا سُنَّتِي فَقَدْ أَحَبَّنِي، وَمَنْ أَحَبَّنِي كَانَ مَعِي فِي الْجَنَّةِ
“Whoever revives my Sunnah has loved me, and whoever loves me will be with me in Paradise.”
(Jami al-Tirmidhi)
So we will look at some of those foods and practices, but I want to keep coming back to the bigger picture. What is the purpose of health?
What is the purpose of health?
Why are we trying to preserve it in the first place?
For the believer, health cannot simply be about living longer, looking better or avoiding disease. The body matters enormously, but it is not the final destination. We are preparing to meet Allah, and the Quran tells us that what will matter on that day is the state of the heart.
Allah says:
يَوْمَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ
“The Day when neither wealth nor children will be of any benefit, except one who comes to Allah with a sound heart.”
(Surah al-Shuara, 26:88–89)
So whatever we are going through, and whatever form of healing we are seeking, there is a physical dimension to restoring health, but there is also the health of the heart.
The Prophet ﷺ gave us this extraordinary image:
أَلَا وَإِنَّ فِي الْجَسَدِ مُضْغَةً، إِذَا صَلَحَتْ صَلَحَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ، وَإِذَا فَسَدَتْ فَسَدَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ، أَلَا وَهِيَ الْقَلْبُ
“Indeed, in the body there is a piece of flesh which, if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. Indeed, it is the heart.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)
This hadith comes at the end of the Prophet’s ﷺ teaching about halal, haram and doubtful matters. So when he speaks about the soundness of the heart here, he is not simply making an anatomical observation. He is talking about the moral and spiritual centre of the human being. That is very relevant to health because we can spend enormous amounts of energy looking after the outside while neglecting what is happening within us.
Even in medicine, we increasingly talk about whether the way somebody lives is aligned with what matters to them. We see it in burnout. A person may be capable, hardworking and outwardly successful, but if they spend years living in a way that is fundamentally at odds with their values, something eventually begins to give.
For a Muslim, we have to ask: what has Allah created me to do? What are the gifts He has given me, and how am I supposed to use them?
I knew from about the age of ten that I was fascinated by health. I was fascinated by the human body that Allah had created, and particularly by the idea of preserving health. It was not even initially about reversing disease. I wanted to understand what a healthy human being looked like and what allowed the body to remain well.
Then I went to medical school, and I remember feeling that we moved very quickly from physiology into pathology. We learnt how the body works, and then suddenly we were learning what happens when everything goes wrong. I kept thinking: but what does it actually mean to be healthy? How do we preserve that state before somebody develops disease?
That area has grown enormously in recent years through lifestyle medicine, and it is probably one of the reasons I find so much resonance between my medical interests and the Sunnah. When you begin working seriously with sleep, food, movement, stress and the way somebody lives, you can sometimes see substantial changes in their health. I have seen this particularly in metabolic problems such as type 2 diabetes, and in people struggling with problems such as migraines. That does not make conventional medicine unnecessary. There is a reason medicine is a profession and why we have specialists, investigations and treatments. But there is a great deal we can influence before and alongside those interventions.
And again, this brings us back to the heart.
Spiritual health
There is a saying attributed to Ali ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه:
أَلَا وَإِنَّ مِنَ الْبَلَاءِ الْفَاقَةَ، وَأَشَدُّ مِنَ الْفَاقَةِ مَرَضُ الْبَدَنِ، وَأَشَدُّ مِنْ مَرَضِ الْبَدَنِ مَرَضُ الْقَلْبِ. أَلَا وَإِنَّ مِنَ النِّعَمِ سَعَةَ الْمَالِ، وَأَفْضَلُ مِنْ سَعَةِ الْمَالِ صِحَّةُ الْبَدَنِ، وَأَفْضَلُ مِنْ صِحَّةِ الْبَدَنِ تَقْوَى الْقَلْبِ
“Among afflictions is poverty, and worse than poverty is sickness of the body, and worse than sickness of the body is sickness of the heart. Among blessings is abundance of wealth, and better than abundance of wealth is health of the body, and better than health of the body is the taqwa of the heart.”
(Attributed to Ali ibn Abi Talib in Nahj al-Balagha)
That, for me, gets to the heart of the subject. Physical health is a tremendous blessing, but the health of the spiritual heart is greater still.
In Islamic language, the heart is associated not only with emotion but with understanding and perception. Allah says:
فَتَكُونَ لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ يَعْقِلُونَ بِهَا
“…so that they may have hearts with which to understand.”
(Surah al-Hajj, 22:46)
So when we speak about the heart in this context, we are not confusing the physical organ with the spiritual heart. They are not the same thing, although Islamic language uses qalb in both senses. The physical heart responds to what happens throughout the body, while the spiritual heart is affected by what we repeatedly expose ourselves to, what we do, what we consume and the state in which we live.
Fudayl ibn Iyad, one of the great early worshippers, is reported to have said:
شَيْئَانِ يُقَسِّيَانِ الْقَلْبَ: كَثْرَةُ الْكَلَامِ، وَكَثْرَةُ الْأَكْلِ
“Two things harden the heart: excessive speaking and excessive eating.”
(Ibn Hibban, Rawdat al-Uqala)
That is interesting because eating seems like such a physical act, yet the early Muslims were very conscious of its spiritual effects. How much we eat affects our energy, our sleep and our ability to worship. What we repeatedly say and listen to also affects us. Gratitude affects us. Fear affects us. Our relationships affect us.
The human being is constantly taking things in. Physically, psychologically and spiritually, we respond to the life we are living. That is why, when we talk about healing, I do not think we can separate one part of ourselves from another. The health of the heart has to remain at the centre of the conversation.
Balance between body, mind and soul
There are a few key principles that I think sit at the heart of tibb al-nabawi. One is this balance between mind, body and soul, and the understanding that the body is an amanah, a trust from Allah.
There is a beautiful hadith about Abdullah ibn Amr, who was fasting during the day and spending the night in prayer. The Prophet ﷺ said to him:
يَا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ، أَلَمْ أُخْبَرْ أَنَّكَ تَصُومُ النَّهَارَ وَتَقُومُ اللَّيْلَ؟ قُلْتُ: بَلَى يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ. قَالَ: فَلَا تَفْعَلْ، صُمْ وَأَفْطِرْ، وَقُمْ وَنَمْ، فَإِنَّ لِجَسَدِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا، وَإِنَّ لِعَيْنِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا، وَإِنَّ لِزَوْجِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا
“O Abdullah, have I not been informed that you fast during the day and stand in prayer throughout the night?” He said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.” He said, “Do not do that. Fast and break your fast, pray at night and sleep, for your body has a right over you, your eyes have a right over you and your wife has a right over you.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari)
I think this is such an important hadith, telling us that our body has rights. It is striking that the Prophet ﷺ is actually teaching moderation in worship. If even an act of worship can become excessive when it causes us to neglect other rights, then that principle surely has something to teach us about the rest of our lives as well.
There is a balance. You have a right to worship, but you also have a right to sleep. Your body has rights, and the people around you have rights. We are not meant to destroy ourselves in the pursuit of something good.
Seek treatment
Another principle is that we seek treatment. There has been discussion among scholars about the circumstances in which treatment is recommended or necessary, but the prophetic encouragement to seek a cure is very clear. The Prophet ﷺ said:
مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ دَاءً إِلَّا أَنْزَلَ لَهُ شِفَاءً
“Allah has not sent down a disease except that He has also sent down its cure.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari)
And in another hadith:
تَدَاوَوْا عِبَادَ اللَّهِ، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمْ يَضَعْ دَاءً إِلَّا وَضَعَ لَهُ شِفَاءً
“Seek treatment, servants of Allah, for Allah has not made a disease without also providing a cure for it.”
(Sunan Abi Dawud and Sunan Ibn Majah)
That does not mean treatment has to take one particular form. It certainly does not mean that because we believe in healing through the Quran and Sunnah, we should refuse medication or not see a doctor. We use the means that are appropriate to us. That may be medication, surgery, dietary change, psychological therapy or, where it is safe and appropriate, a complementary treatment.
We also have to use judgement. Not every treatment that calls itself “natural” or “holistic” is necessarily effective or harmless. But neither should we assume that healing can only come through one route. We seek sound treatment, we use our reason, and we remember that whatever means we use, Allah is the One who places shifa in it.
Why do we want to recover? At the most basic level, so that we can live well, fulfil our responsibilities and worship Allah as fully as we are able. We should not leave ourselves suffering unnecessarily, and nor should we leave the people around us without care when something can be done to help them.
The principle remains the one we have already seen in the words of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him):
وَإِذَا مَرِضْتُ فَهُوَ يَشْفِينِ
“And when I am ill, it is He who heals me.”
(Surah al-Shuara, 26:80)
Another principle is moderation and avoiding excess. Allah says:
وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا وَلَا تُسْرِفُوا ۚ إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ
“Eat and drink, but do not be excessive. Surely He does not love those who are excessive.”
(Surah al-Araf, 7:31)
We normally hear this verse in relation to food, but the principle of avoiding excess is much wider. Too much sleep can be harmful. So can too much exercise. Even something halal can become harmful when we have no boundaries around it. Too much sugar, too much television, too much time online. The problem is not necessarily the thing itself. Sometimes it is simply that we have lost all sense of proportion.
Then there is afiyah. We spoke about it at the beginning because I think it is such a rich concept. Al-Abbas once asked the Prophet ﷺ to teach him something to ask Allah for. The Prophet ﷺ told him:
سَلِ اللَّهَ الْعَافِيَةَ
“Ask Allah for afiyah.”
When al-Abbas returned and asked him again, the Prophet ﷺ said:
يَا عَبَّاسُ، يَا عَمَّ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ، سَلِ اللَّهَ الْعَافِيَةَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ
“O Abbas, O uncle of the Messenger of Allah, ask Allah for afiyah in this world and the Hereafter.”
(Jami al-Tirmidhi)
Afiyah is difficult to capture in a single English word. It includes wellbeing, safety and protection from harm. It is much closer to wholeness than simply being able to say, “I do not have a disease.”
There is also the Quranic principle of halal and tayyib. Allah says:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ كُلُوا مِمَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ حَلَالًا طَيِّبًا وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ ۚ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ
“O humanity, eat from what is lawful and good on the earth, and do not follow Satan’s footsteps. He is truly your sworn enemy.”
(Surah al-Baqarah, 2:168)
I think tayyib is very important here. We can become so focused on whether something is technically halal that we forget to ask whether it is actually good for us. Is it wholesome? Is it beneficial? Is this something I should be putting into my body regularly?
Something can be halal without being the best choice to eat in unlimited quantities. So where we have a choice, we should look for what is both halal and tayyib and try to keep the way we eat and live as wholesome as we reasonably can.
Delivered by Dr Saania Bhatti to the Al Manaar Convert Club on 11th August 2026.