The Prophet of Mercy Website

It was from the Prophet's (peace be upun him) guidance to treat himself and he ordered those of his family and companions afflicted with illness to seek treatment.

He (peace be upun him) said: “Allah has not sent down any malady but that He sent down its cure.” And he (peace be upun him) said, “O servants of Allah, seek treatment.”

He (peace be upun him) had three types of treatment for an ailment: by natural medicines, by divine remedies and by a combination of both.

He (peace be upun him) prohibited treatment by intoxicants or anything impure.

He (peace be upun him) used to visit the sick among his companions. He visited a Jewish boy who used to serve him, and visited his uncle who was a polytheist. He invited both of them to Islam, and the Jewish boy accepted it but his uncle did not.

He (peace be upun him) would come close to a patient sit near his head and inquire about his condition.

It was not of the Prophet’s (peace be upun him) guidance to assign a specific day or time for visiting the sick. On the contrary, he urged his people to visit the sick anytime of the day or night - at all times.

a. His Guidance in Using Natural Medications

He (peace be upun him) said: “Fever (or high fever) is a hot breath of Hell, so cool it down with water.”

He (peace be upun him) said: “When one of you gets a fever, sprinkle water on him for three nights before dawn.”

When he (peace be upun him) had a fever, he would call for a waterskin, empty it on his head and bathe. When once fever was mentioned in the presence of the Prophet (peace be upun him) and a man cursed it, he said: “Do not curse fever, for it removes sins the way fire removes impurities from iron."

A man came to him saying that his brother complained of diarrhoea. The Prophet (peace be upun him) told him, “Give him honey to drink.” He (peace be upun him) would mix it with water and take it on an empty stomach.

Some people who had come to Madinah complained of dropsy, so the Prophet (peace be upun him) told them: "Why don't you go to the camels reserved for charity and drink some of their milk and urine. They did so and were cured.

When the Prophet (peace be upun him) was wounded in the Battle of Uhud, [his daughter] Fatimah took a piece of straw, burned it until it was ash and pasted it to the wound to stop the blood. He (peace be upun him) sent for [his companion] Ubayy bin Ka`b , a doctor, who cut one of his veins and cauterized it. And the Prophet (peace be upun him) said: “There is cure in three things, a drink of honey, cupping and cauterizing by fire. But I forbid my people from cauterization.” And he (peace be upun him) said, "I do not like to be cauterized."
This indicates that cauterizing should only be a last resort when necessary because of the intense pain it causes when treating a lesser pain.

He (peace be upun him) had cupping done to him and paid the cupper his wage. He (peace be upun him) said: “The best treatment is cupping.” He had it done on his head while in the state of ihraam due to headache and on his hip to relieve pain. He (peace be upun him) used to cup himself in three places: one between his shoulders (on his back) and two on the jugular veins. He was cupped three times between his shoulders after eating from the poisoned lamb. He (peace be upun him) also recommended cupping to his companions.

No one complained of headache but that the Prophet (peace be upun him) told him: "Avail yourself of cupping." And no one complained of pain in his legs but that he told him: "Use henna."

Salma, Umm Raafi`, a servant of the Prophet (peace be upun him), reported: “He never suffered a sore spot or the prick of a thorn but that he applied henna to it."

And he (peace be upun him) said: “The treatment for sciatica is to drink the fat of a sheep's tail on an empty stomach - a part of it each day"

For the treatment of constipation, he (peace be upun him) said, "Take sana and sannoot, for in them is a cure for every ailment except death."

And he (peace be upun him) said: “Your best kohl is antimony. It clears the eyesight and helps hair to grow.”

And he (peace be upun him) said: “Whoever takes seven 'ajwah dates in the morning will not be harmed that day by poison or magic.”

And he (peace be upun him) said: "Do not compel your patients to eat and drink, for Allah is feeding them and giving them drink.”

He (peace be upun him) prevented Suhayb  from eating dry dates while he was suffering from an eye ailment and allowed him just a few. He prevented Ali  from eating fresh dates for the same reason.

He (peace be upun him) said: “If a house fly should fall in someone's drink submerge it therein, for in one of its wings is an illness and in the other is its cure."

He (peace be upun him) said: “Talbinah comforts the heart of a sick person and removes some of his depression.”

And he (peace be upun him) said: “Take black seed, for in it is a cure for every ailment except death.”

And he (peace be upun him) said: “Flee from the leper like you would flee from a lion.” He also said: “A sick person must not be brought in among healthy ones.”

Among the delegation of Thaqeef was a leper, so the Prophet (peace be upun him) sent word to him, saying, "You may return, for we have accepted your pledge.”

b. His Guidance in Treatment with Recitation

The Prophet (peace be upun him) used to seek Allah’s protection from the jinn and from the evil eye of humans. He (peace be upun him) also told people to use ruqyah on those affected by an evil eye.
He (peace be upun him) said, "The eye is true, and if there was anything faster than fate it would be the evil eye. When one of you is asked to, he should take a bath."

He (peace be upun him) once saw a girl whose face showed the effect of jinn.
He (peace be upun him) said: “Make ruqyah for her, for she has been afflicted by the gaze.”

He (peace be upun him) said to one of his companions who had treated someone with a poisonous bite with Surah Al-Fatihah and cured him, "How did you know it is a ruqyah?”

A man came to him and said, "A scorpion bit me last night." The Prophet (peace be upun him) replied, “If you had, upon nightfall, recited, 'A`uthu bikalimaatillaahi at-taammaati min sharri ma khalak" (I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from the evil of what He created), it would not have harmed you."

When someone complained of an ailment or suffered from a sore or an injury, he put some saliva on his index finger, touched the ground with it, raised it and said:
"In the name of Allah, the dust of our earth with the saliva of one of us will cure our patient with the permission of our Lord."

One of his companions complained of a pain, so he (peace be upun him) told him:
“Put your hand on the part of your body that is painful and repeat seven times: "A`udhu bi`izzatillaahi wa qudratihee min sharri ma ajidu wa uhaadhir." (I seek refuge in the honour and ability of Allah from the evil I find and fear).”
When he (peace be upun him) visited a member of his family who was ill, he would wipe over the patient with his right hand and supplicate: "Allaahumma rabban-nasi, adhhibil-ba'sa, washfi, antash-shaafi, la shifa'a illa shifa'uka, shifa'an la yughadiru saqaman." (O Allah, Lord of mankind, remove the ailment and cure. You are the curer; there is no cure but Your cure, a cure that leaves no illness.)" And when he visited a patient he would say: “La ba'sa, tahoorun in shaa' Allaah. (No harm, it is purification, Allah willing.)”

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