Prescription 8: Avoiding The Pitfalls Of Destruction
من تطبب فليتق الله
Amir al-Mu’minin (ʿa) is reported to have said:
من تطبب فليتق الله ولينصح وليجتهد
Whosoever practices medicine must be conscious of Allah (fa liyattaqi Allah), show good will, and struggle.1
Although being a tabib is a highly recommended occupation in Islam, it requires one not only to be academically competent, but also spiritually seasoned. This is because there are so many circumstances in which one can falter if one is not careful. In order for the tabib to guarantee his success and salvation in this world and the Hereafter, he must never forget this important prescription.
The fundamental term for being careful from falling into the pitfalls of spiritual ignominy is taqwa. When employed in the context of the abovementioned hadith it simply means to be careful and wary of God, the natural result of which would be to adhere to whatever He commands, and refrain from whatever He prohibits. And this can only be realised when one is aware of what is lawful and what is unlawful according to Islam.
For this reason, doctors must be fully vigilant of their boundaries and acquire the essential Islamic directions from the books of Islamic Law authored by the great authorities of Islamic jurisprudence.
If a doctor is oblivious of this, instead of earning great reward, he would suffer from continual sin.
The state of taqwa is so important that Islam considers it as a determining factor for measuring the greatness of a human being. The Holy Qur’an says:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ وَأُنْثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ
O mankind! Indeed We created you from a male and a female, and made you nations and tribes that you may identify yourselves with one another. Indeed, the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the most God- wary among you. Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, All- Aware. (Surah al-Hujraat, 49:13).
Due to the nature of his occupation, the physician is vulnerable to many quagmires of spiritual destruction, and if he is not careful, he can deviate and devastate his spiritual edifice.
Some of the numerous pitfalls worthy of consideration are as follows:
Submission To Greed
Sometimes a doctor’s greater concern is the wealth he accumulates and not the treatment for which he strives. This is one of the most dangerous pitfalls into which a doctor can fall. In such a case, the process of treatment actually turns into a purely insensitive mechanical activity, and not a delicate, friendly, and divine occupation. Such types of doctors never attain success in life, unless of course success is defined by the accumulation of wealth and material prosperity. One who has understood the potential of the human being to become a reflection of divine attributes will never sacrifice this exalted aim for the transient mundane pleasures of life.
One of the tangible manifestations of greed is the acceptance of bribery from people. Bribery for the sake of prolonging an illness, causing greater complications in the patient, receiving a specific patient with more care and advantage, and so many other forms of corruption, are well-known to the doctors of the contemporary world. This is one of the most spiritually devastating pitfalls about which every intelligent doctor must be vigilant and careful. Earning extra wealth by spoiling the treatment of a patient for the sake of relieving his enemy is a very ignorant step, the reason being that besides its worldly and other-worldly consequences, the doctor is not sure if he would even live for one more week to be able to spend that money.
The following are noteworthy traditions of the Ahl al-Bayt (ʿa) about the evil consequences of greed:
A) Greed is Coupled with Inner Trouble
Amir al-Mu’minin (ʿa) is reported to have said:
اَلْحَرِيصٌ تَعِبٌ
B) Greed is Coupled with Shamelessness
Amir al-Mu’minin (ʿa) is reported to have said:
لا حياء الحريص
C) Greed is Coupled with Inferiority
Amir al-Mu’minin (ʿa) is reported to have said:
الْحَرْصُ ذَلَّ وَعِنَاء
D) Greed is Actual Poverty
Amir al-Mu’minin (ʿa) is reported to have said:
الحريص فقير ولو مَلَكَ الدُّنْيا بحذافيرها
E) Greed does not Increase Sustenance
Amir al-Mu’minin (ʿa) is reported to have said:
الحرص ينقصُ قَدر الرَّجُلِ وَلَا يَزِيدُ فِي رِزْقه
All these profound traditions consist of subtleties worthy of mention, but due to the limited scope of this work we will not go into detail. However, it is imperative for the esteemed readers to reflect on them and understand the crux of this degrading characteristic.
The esteemed Egyptian Physician Abu al-Hasan ibn Ridwan (d. 453 AH/1061 CE), quotes Hippocrates to have said that one of the essential characteristics of a doctor is:
أن تكون رغبته فى إبراء المرضى أكثر من رغبته فيما يلتمسه من الأجرة، ورغبته في علاج الفقراء أكثر من رغبته في علاج الأغنياء
His desire to cure the patient must be greater than his desire of the payment that he solicits; and his desire in curing the poor must be greater than his desire to treat the affluent.7
Submission To Base Desires
The doctor deals with the human body and in some circumstances handles patients who are of the opposite gender. If he is not careful and submits to his carnal desires he would fall into the quagmire of constant sin. Each of the five senses has its own role to play in the development of a human being. The insightful scholars say that the doors of Hell are seven in number, whereas the doors of Heaven are eight.8
The reason is that both the doors of Hell as well as Heaven share seven doors, while Heaven has a unique door which cannot be shared by Hell. The common doors of Hell and Heaven are as follows:
The five senses (sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing)
The faculty of khayal (which imagines physical forms)
The faculty of wahm (which imagines particular meanings)
The unique door of Heaven is the intellect. One can engage in sin through any of the aforementioned seven doors, but not through the intellect. The intellect is a door which would never allow one to sin.
Therefore, the doctor must consider how to employ the faculties he enjoys. If he succumbs to his base desires and employs them in the path of disobeying the Creator, he would actually be entering the Hell-Fire, and would plummet to the confines of beastliness or even lower than that. The Holy Qur’an says:
وَلَقَدْ ذَرَأْنَا لِجَهَنَّمَ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنْسِ لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ آذَانٌ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا أُولَٰئِكَ كَالْأَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْغَافِلُونَ
Certainly, We have created for Hell many of the jinn and humans: they have hearts with which they do not understand, they have eyes with which they do not see, they have ears with which they do not hear. They are like cattle; rather they are more astray. It is they who are the heedless. (Surah al-A’araaf, 7:179).
Therefore, the doctor must endeavor to be steadfast in fighting his inner temptations and direct all his faculties of perception by the intellect.
Submission To Personal Antipathy
In the same way that lust and material desire may compel the unprincipled physician to taint himself with sin, anger can also induce him to indulge in activities that would ruin his life. Those physicians who have hatred vis-à- vis a specific race or a specific person are vulnerable to indulge in activities that would never be forgiven unless the victim forgives.
Antagonism and hatred that leads to worsening the health of the patient or prolonging the same, for example, is one of the most dangerous pitfalls into which a doctor can fall. Although it is possible that no one may come to know of his deceptions, he cannot escape the All-Aware Creator who is closer to him than his own jugular vein (50:16). In the well-known mystical terms of Amir al-Mu’minin (ʿa) in the supplication that he taught to his close companion Kumayl ibn Ziyad, he says:
ولا يمكن الفرار من حكومتك
And it is impossible to escape from Your sovereignty.9
The doctor is completely held by Allah’s power each and every moment, and hence he has no way to escape. He is totally under divine sovereignty and control.
Aversion and enmity for a fellow brother or sister has been highly discouraged in Islam, unless its root is divine. In simpler words, if one shows aversion and enmity against the enemies of God, His Apostles, His close servants, His religion, etc., then it is not only quite understandable, but also very laudable and praiseworthy. This is because it is, in reality, aversion and enmity against the enemies of human perfection and its causes. The Holy Qur’an says:
قَدْ كَانَتْ لَكُمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ فِي إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ إِذْ قَالُوا لِقَوْمِهِمْ إِنَّا بُرَآءُ مِنْكُمْ وَمِمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ كَفَرْنَا بِكُمْ وَبَدَا بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةُ وَالْبَغْضَاءُ أَبَدًا حَتَّىٰ تُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ إِلَّا قَوْلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ لِأَبِيهِ لَأَسْتَغْفِرَنَّ لَكَ وَمَا أَمْلِكُ لَكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ رَبَّنَا عَلَيْكَ تَوَكَّلْنَا وَإِلَيْكَ أَنَبْنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ
There is certainly a good exemplar for you in Ibrahim and those who were with him, when they said to their own people, ‘Indeed we repudiate you and whatever you worship besides Allah. We disavow you, and between you and us there has appeared enmity and hate forever, unless you come to have faith in Allah alone,’ except for Ibrahim’s saying to his father, ‘I will surely plead forgiveness for you, though I cannot avail you anything against Allah.’ ‘Our Lord! In You do we put our trust, and to You do we turn penitently, and toward You is the destination.’ (Surah al-Mmutahana, 60:4).
If aversion and enmity, on the contrary, is due to ignorance, personal misconceptions, petty issues, etc. then one must try to reform oneself. If a physician’s aversion vis-a-vis a patient is due to his short- sightedness and ignorance, then he would certainly fall into sin.
Consider the following traditions that highly discourage enmity and hatred against people:
A) Enmity is Ignorance at its Peak
Amir al-Mu’minin (ʿa) is reported to have said:
رأسُ الْجَهْلِ مُعادَاةُ النَّاسِ
The peak of ignorance is enmity against the people.10
B) Enmity Destroys the Heart and Inherits Hypocrisy
Imam al-Baqir (ʿa) is reported to have said:
إِيَّاكُمْ وَالْخَصُومَةَ فَإِنَّهَا تُفْسِدُ الْقَلْب وَ تُورِثُ النِّفَاقَ
Beware of enmity for indeed it corrupts the heart and inherits hypocrisy.11
C) Hatred is a Spiritual Malady
The Holy Prophet (S) is reported to have said:
دَبَّ إليكم داء الأمَمِ قَبْلَكُمُ الْبَغْضَاء وَالْحَسَدُ
The malady of the nations prior to you has spread to you: hatred and jealousy.12
A similar tradition is also reported from Imam Jaʿfar al-Sadiq (ʿa), with the addition of the following noteworthy phrases:
وهي الحالقة حالقة الدين لا حالقة الشعر
And they [hatred and jealousy] shave off, shave off the religion, not the hair.13
Submission To Discrimination
Attending to certain patients before those who have a greater right of being attended to, is one of the most despicable quagmires into which a doctor can fall. The fact that a certain patient is related or known to the doctor or is one who has assisted him in the past, does not legitimize the doctor’s act of preferring that patient over another. Sometimes the reason is even worse, for example racial discrimination; just because the doctor prefers a specific race to another, he attends to members of that race quicker, more welcomingly, and more attentively. Such attitudes are sometimes referred to as al-ʿasabiyyah, which signifies a sense of favouring and defending one’s kindred and those with whom one has some kind of affinity or relation.
The affinity may also be due to the similarity of profession or a special relationship, such as that of a teacher and pupil, or similar.
The Ahl al-Bayt (ʿa) have condemned this devastating vice. Consider the following narrations:
1. Imam al-Sadiq (ʿa) is reported to have said:
من تعصب أو تعصب لَهُ فَقَدْ خَلَعَ رِبقَةَ الإِيمَانِ مِنْ عنقه
One who practices ʿasabiyyah or the one on whose behalf it is practiced, the tie of faith is taken off his neck.14
In another tradition he (ʿa) is reported to have said:
من تعصب عصبه الله بعصابة مِنْ نَارٍ
Whosoever practices ʿasabiyyah (against someone), Allah shall wrap around him (ʿasabahu) a fold (ʿisabah) of fire.15
The foundation of such an attitude was laid by the accursed Shaytan, who, in the beautiful words of Amir al-Mu’minin (ʿa) is called Imam al-Mutaʿassibin (the Leader of the prejudiced ones). He did not bow down before Adam because he was created from clay while Shaytan was created from fire. In his well-known sermon known as al-Qasiʿah, Imam ʿAli (ʿa) says:
اعْتَرَضَتْهُ الْحَمِيَّةُ فَافْتَخَرَ عَلَى آدم بخلقه وتعصب عليه لأصْلِهِ فَعَدو الله إمَامُ الْمُتَعَصِينَ وَسَلَفَ الْمُسْتَكْبِرِينَ الَّذِي وَضَعَ أَسَاسَ الْعَصَبِيَّةِ
Bigotry stood in his way. Consequently, he boasted over Adam through his creation and discriminated against him on account of his origin. Thus, this enemy of Allah, the Leader of the prejudiced ones (Imam al-Mutaʿassibin) and the forerunner of the proud, lay the foundation of prejudice.16
If we reflect on the above expressions of Amir al-Muʾminin (ʿa) painstakingly, we will come to realise how powerfully the Imam (ʿa) has articulated the relationship between Shaytan and ʿasabiyyah. The apparent import of the above expressions reveals that this discriminatory attitude began with Shaytan.
He is the one who laid its foundation: wadaʿa asas al-ʿasabiyyah. Furthermore, he is also the teacher of the same, for an Imam is a guide to either truth or falsehood, and Iblis is reckoned by Amir al-muʾmnin (ʿa) as Imam al-Mutaʿassibin, which alludes to the fact that he calls others towards this despicable trait. Another veracity worthy of mention is that the very nature of Shaytan contains the trait of being prejudiced and discriminatory. This can be substantiated by the following verse of the Qur’an:
قَالَ لَمْ أَكُنْ لِأَسْجُدَ لِبَشَرٍ خَلَقْتَهُ مِنْ صَلْصَالٍ مِنْ حَمَإٍ مَسْنُونٍ
Said he, ‘I was not the kind to prostrate before a human whom You have created out of a dry clay [drawn] from an aging mud.’ (Surah al-Hijr, 15:33).
Commenting on this verse, the late ʿAllamah Tabatabaʾi says:
قوله تعالى: (قال لم أكن لأسْجُدَ لِبَشَرٍ خَلَقْتَهُ مِنْ صَلْصَالٍ مِنْ حمإ مَسْنُونٍ) في التعبير بقوله: (لَم أكن لأسجد) دون أن يقول: لا أسجد أو لست أسجد دلالة على أن الإباء عن السجدة مقتضى ذاته
Regarding Allah’s words: Said he, ‘I was not the kind to prostrate before a human whom You have created out of a dry clay [drawn] from an aging mud.’ His expression ‘lam akun li asjuda’ (“I was not of the kind to prostrate”) and not ‘la asjudu’ (“I will not prostrate”) or ‘lastu asjud’ (“I will not prostrate”) shows that his denial to prostrate was a result of his essence. [In simpler terms, his essence was such that it simply was unable to prostrate].17
In light of the aforesaid, if any physician normally deals with his patients according to ʿasabiyyah and prejudice, he is actually adopting a demonic demeanour.
The yardstick of preference must be the commonly accepted phenomenon of ‘first come first serve’ unless the case is urgent and the condition of a specific patient is severe and serious or any other reason endorsed by Allah.
Submission To Indifference
Indifference can stem from different things: laziness, impatience, personal adversities, etc. The doctor who has happily and seriously devoted himself with this divine career must be extremely stern on himself when it comes to emotions. He must resist the waves of difficulties and must always employ his intellect as he continues with his work.
Otherwise, he would fall into situations that cannot be rectified. The doctor must understand that he is dealing with the lives of his patients and hence being indifferent to them just because of personal problems can cause complications and harm which he would not be able to salvage.
In conclusion, one of the most important Qur’anic prescriptions for every physician who is vulnerable to so many pitfalls of spiritual destruction, is to be God-wary and pious. So powerful and important is this prescription that it brings one extremely close to Almighty Allah.
Allah says in the Holy Qur’an:
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الْمُتَّقِينَ
…and be wary of Allah, and know that Allah is with the God-wary. (Surah al-Baqara, 2:194).
And in chapter 16, verse 128 He says:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ مُحْسِنُونَ
Indeed, Allah is with those who are God-wary and those who work beautifully. (Suran an-Nahl, 16:128)
Perhaps one may ask that if it is explicitly clear in the Holy Qur’an that Allah is closer to every human being than his own jugular vein (wa nahnu aqrabu ilayhi min habl al-warid),18 what is the difference between such proximity and that which is indicated in the abovementioned verses through the preposition maʿa (together/with) which signifies closeness?
We will say: the difference is great; whereas the universal existential proximity pertains to everything and everyone, the specific proximity mentioned in the above verses is attained through self-struggle and self-discipline. Technically, the former is called al-qurb al-wujudi (existential proximity), whereas the latter is known as al-qurb al-suluki (proximity attained through spiritual wayfaring), indicating that whereas the former is essentially existing, the latter must be acquired through suluk ila Allah (wayfaring to Allah) as taught by the insightful scholars who draw their teachings fundamentally from the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (S) and his infallible household (ʿa).
- 1. Al-Qadi al-Nu’man al-Maghribi, Da’aʾim al-Islam, v.2, p. 144.
- 2. Al-Amadi, Ghurar al-Hikam, 241.
- 3. Al-Amadi, Ghurar al-Hikam, 10499.
- 4. Al-Amadi, Ghurar al-Hikam, 691
- 5. Al-Amadi, Ghurar al-Hikam, 1753.
- 6. Al-Amadi, Ghurar al-Hikam, 1550.
- 7. Qutb al-Din al-Daylami al-Lahiji, Mahbub al-qulub, v.2, p. 93.
- 8. Mulla Sadra, al-Asfar al-arba’ah, v.5, p. 330; also see Khwajah Nasir alDin Tusi’s Aghaz wa anjam, Section 14, pp. 57-58
- 9. Shaykh ‘Abbas al-Qummi, Mafatih al-jinan, pp. 99-104.
- 10. Al-Amadi, Ghurar al-Hikam, 524
- 11. ‘Allamah Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, v.75, p. 186, Beirut ed.
- 12. Shaykh al-Saduq, ‘Uyun akhbar al-Rida (‘a), v.1, p. 313.
- 13. Sharif al-Radi, al-Majazat al-nabawiyyah, p. 174.
- 14. Shaykh al-Kulayni, al-Kafi, v.2, p. 307.
- 15. Shaykh al-Kulayni, al-Kafi, v.2, p. 308.
- 16. Sharif al-Radi, Nahj al-balaghah, Sermon 192.
- 17. ‘Allamah Tabatabaʾi, al-Mizan fi tafsir al-Qurʾan, v.12, p.155.
- 18. Holy Qurʾan, 50:16.