Q. I read in a book about the Prophet’s medicine that a particular substance is effective to cure heart disease. However, the book mentions that it should be administered in a certain way, and that the person should perform the ablution, i.e. wudhu, before administering it. My question concerns the necessity for the ablution. Why? May I also ask whether there is really a type of medicine that can be correctly attributed to the Prophet? How to refer to it?

Ahmad Sajid

A. Much has been made in recent years of the advice the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave on different occasions on the treatment of certain ailments and complaints endured by his companions. What we have to remember is that the Prophet was not a medical doctor, or a specialist in any branch of human knowledge. He never went to any school, nor studied under any teacher of any sort. What he learned came to him through two different ways: Revelation from God, and personal experience. The first method applies only to his message which deals with belief and faith. It may include some instructions on dealing with a particular situation, if and when God deemed that to be necessary.

When the Prophet gave an opinion about something that is not related to religion, he made clear that he formed that opinion on the basis of information passed to him by God, or else it was subject to the rule he himself outlined: “You know what relates to your present life better.” Thus, unless we have some clear indication from him that a particular treatment is effective for a particular condition, we assume that his use or recommendation of that treatment is based on personal experience, which may be superseded as human knowledge improved.

Besides, when you look at what is included in books that discuss what is termed as “the Prophet’s medicine” you find that it is mostly based on the use of food, plants or seeds that were available at the time. Most of them are still available, but some may not be. There is nothing special about it. Indeed the Prophet and his companions were willing to put any new information they might receive from any source to good use.

I discussed this issue with an Islamic scholar who is at the same time a medical doctor. He tells me that all that is included under the “Prophet’s medicine” is based on human knowledge at the time. Only what is stated in the Qur’an or the Hadith as useful carries further endorsement. Otherwise, there is no special status for, say, cupping that makes it always more effective than anything human experience may discover in future.

Sighting the Jinn

Q. Could you please throw some light on the question of seeing the jinn, or being harmed by them. For example some people said they saw two of them in the form of children playing on a balcony. What does the Qur’an say about this? Is it possible to see the jinn in a dream?

W. Akhtar

A. The jinn is a different type of creation from us, yet, like us, they have been given freedom of choice in the question of faith and belief. Therefore, they are required to believe in Islam in the same way as human beings. Surah 72 of the Qur’an is entitled Al-Jinn and it speaks of some of them listening to the Qur’an and believing in it. The same incident is also mentioned in Surah 45, Al-Ahqaf. From both reports of the event we learn that they were also required to believe in the message of the Prophet Moses. They include some believers and some unbelievers, which are in majority. However, we cannot see them, but they see us as mentioned in Surah 7, Verse 27. So when people speak about seeing the jinn in any shape or form, it is all untrue, because we cannot see them. They are created from a totally different substance. While we are created from clay, they are created out of fire.

Can they harm us? We do not have anything in the Qur’an or the authentic Sunnah to suggest so. It is more accurate to say that they have their own world and we have ours. They cannot inflict harm on us. What people speak about describing someone as being possessed by the jinn cannot be substantiated. It is untrue.

Having said that, we have to draw a particular distinction. Satan belongs to the jinn. He and his offspring are among the unbelievers of the jinn. They try hard to persuade us to commit sins and acts of disobedience of God. But they are limited to promptings and trying to encourage us to disobey God. They have no power over us to force us into such actions. Anyone who is a good believer will be able to resist them easily.