Taking Medicine During Illness is Permissible and a Source of Cure
Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
◈ Meaning of Ṭibb
The term Ṭibb refers to both physical and spiritual healing.
- باب طب (naṣr, ḍarb): to treat
- باب طبّب (taf‘īl): to administer treatment
- باب تَطَبَّب (tafa‘‘ul): to become a physician
- باب استطب (istif‘āl): to prescribe medicine
[al-Munjid: p. 506]
◈ Prophetic Hadiths on Seeking Treatment
➊ Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) narrated:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
«ما أنزل الله داء إلا أنزل له شفاء»
“Allah has not sent down any disease except that He has also sent down its cure.”
[Bukhārī: 5678, Ibn Mājah: 3439, Nasā’ī al-Sunan al-Kubrā: 4/369]
➋ In the ḥadīth of Usāmah (رضي الله عنه):
Some Bedouins asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): “Shall we not take medicine?” The Prophet (ﷺ) replied:
«نعم، عباد الله تداووا فإن الله لم يضع داء إلا وضع له شفاء إلا داء واحدا… قال: الهرم»
“Yes, O servants of Allah! Take medicine, for Allah has not made a disease without appointing a cure for it — except one.”
They asked: “O Messenger of Allah, what is that?” He replied: “Old age.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Abū Dāwūd: 3264, Aḥmad: 1/446, Tirmidhī: 2038, Ibn Mājah: 3436, Ibn Ḥibbān: 6062, Ḥākim: 4/399]
➌ Ibn Mas‘ūd (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:
«إن الله لم ينزل داء إلا أنزل له شفاء علمه من علمه وجهله من جهله»
“Indeed, Allah has not sent down a disease except that He has also sent down its cure. Whoever knows it knows it, and whoever is ignorant of it remains ignorant.”
[Aḥmad: 1/446, Ḥākim: 4/399]
