Introduction
In the Name of Allah, the All-Beneficent, the All- Merciful. O Allah shower Your mercy on Muhammad and his infallible progeny, the best physicians of every time and age.
Physicians write medical prescriptions for their patients to follow specific procedures of treatment or to procure their medicine. The word prescription is from the word prescribe, which etymologically is from the Latin word praescribere, itself a composition of the words prae (pre) and scriber (scribe). Hence, the word prescription literally means something that has been previously written.
Sometimes, the word prescription has also been employed to signify a religious instruction for spiritual reform. Such usage is very apt, since the fundamental reality of the human being is his spirit, and the origin of many physical maladies stem from spiritual imbalances.
In this treatise our main focus is to unravel the religious prescriptions introduced by God and His Apostles for those who practice medicine, and to endeavor to manifest some of the most beautiful attributes of God. A doctor has the potential to exemplify in himself divine attributes such as al-Muhyi (the Reviver), al-Shafi (the Healer), al-Muʿafi (the Bestower of health), al-Sattar (The Concealer of defects), etc. If he appreciates his potential to manifest such beautiful attributes and begins seriously working towards their realization, he would qualify to be God’s agent on earth.
The Holy Qur’an, alluding to the potential of divine successorship bestowed by Allah to every human being, says:
وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَكُمْ خَلَائِفَ الْأَرْضِ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَكُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ دَرَجَاتٍ…
It is He who has made you successors on the earth, and raised some of you in rank above others… (Sura al-An’aam, 6:165).
Notice that the phrase ‘jaʿalakum khalaʾifa fi al-ard’ reveals that all the human beings have the potential to be His successors on the earth. In other words, the human fabric has been woven in such a way that it has the potential to be a suitable candidate for divine successorship.
In the story of the creation of Adam mentioned in the beginning of the Qur’an, when Allah informs the angels that He is going to place a successor on the earth (Qur’an 2:30), the angels, having considered the nature of an earthly creature who possesses the faculties of appetite (shahwah) and anger (ghadab) and thus can cause mischief and evil, ask:
أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَنْ يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَاءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ
Will You set in it someone who will cause corruption in it and shed blood, whilst we celebrate Your praise and proclaim Your sanctity? (Surah al-Baqara, 2:30).
In response, Allah says:
إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
Indeed, I know what you know not. (Surah al-Baqara, 2:30).
In other words: O angels, there are some divine names that you are unaware of. And that is what makes you unqualified to be My successors.
Then Allah introduces the reason for Adam being worthy of his position as the successor of God on earth. He says:
وَعَلَّمَ آدَمَ الْأَسْمَاءَ كُلَّهَا…
And He taught Adam the names, all of them … (Surah al-Baqara, 2:31).
Adam was taught all the divine names and hence his qualification to represent God on earth. This is because successorship only makes sense when the successor (khalifah) possesses the attributes of the succeeded one (mustakhlaf ʿanhu). Although the angels enjoyed exalted stations, they did not manifest all the divine attributes of perfection. It was only Adam who
was able to manifest them.
Alluding to the reality of al-khilafah al-ilahiyyah (divine successorship), ʿAllamah Tabatabaʾi says:
ومن شأن الخلافة أن يحاكي الخليفة من استخلفه في صفاته وأعماله فعلى خليفة الله في الأرض أن يتخلق بأخلاق الله ويريد ويفعل ما يريده الله
Succession necessitates that the successor reveals the one whom he succeeds in his attributes and actions. Hence it is upon the successor of Allah on earth to embellish himself with the traits of Allah, and desire and perform what Allah desires.1
What is essential to understand here, however, is that although this story is mentioned as a particular narrative, it is actually an ongoing reality, and ‘Adam’ must not be restricted to the first Adam, but rather to the Adamic example, which refers to every human being.
To be clear of this veracity, look at the following verse:
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنَ السَّاجِدِينَ
Certainly, We created you, then We formed you, then We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate before Adam.’ So they [all] prostrated, but not Iblis: he was not among those who prostrated. (Surah Al-A’araaf, 7:11).
Observe here that instead of mentioning the step-by- step creation of Adam, the father of human beings, Allah employs the second person plural pronoun kum (“you” plural), i.e. all human beings, signifying the Adamic reality, which has the potential to manifest all the divine names.
An entity of such reality, having realized its potential, becomes deserving of such an exalted rank whereby the angels are ordered by Allah to prostrate before it.
We must understand that teaching the names to Adam in verse 2:31, is not any kind of conceptual transfer of mental ideas. It is the construction of the human reality to have the potential to manifest all the attributes of Allah, whether those of majesty or beauty.
And when the human being realizes this potential, he deserves to become the true successor and vicegerent of God on earth. The infallible Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt (ʿa) having realized this potential would say that they are the most beautiful names of Allah. Amir al-Mu’minin (ʿa), for example, in a lengthy tradition is reported to have said:
نَحْنُ الأَسْمَاء الْحُسْنَى الَّتِى إِذَا سُئِلَ اللهُ تَعَالَى بِهِ أجاب
We are the most beautiful names by which, if Allah the Exalted is asked, He responds.2
Various works have been written on the characteristics a doctor must have in order to qualify as an ideal doctor. Distinguished practitioners such as Apostles, Hippocrates (460-370 BC), Galen (130-210 CE), Razes (864- 390 CE), and Avicenna (980-1037 CE), among other esteemed giants of medicine, have always stressed the importance of the excellent character of the medical practitioner.
Some of the well-known treatises written specifically in this regard are al-Razi’s Akhlaq al-Tabib (Ethics of the Physician) and al-Ruhawi’s Adab al-Tabib (Etiquette of the Physician). Both have made allusions to the instructions of the great physicians of the past like Hippocrates and Galen.
Although this short treatise is a small step towards reminding the esteemed physicians of their important role and duty, it is meant for all those who are curious in knowing the truths of what must transpire between the doctor and the patient.
We sincerely pray to Almighty Allah to enable our esteemed doctors to implement the prescriptions conveyed by His Apostles, so that they can serve in the best manner possible and exemplify excellent morals and represent God on earth.