The three types of Tibb

We’re halfway through Ramadan 2018, and at Inspirited Minds, we are feeling positive about ourselves and our efforts. We have learnt about the alien concept of loving ourselves in May, and some of us have taken on challenges to fundraise for the vital work we do, but more importantly, we want to check in with you. How are you?

Some of you may be quite well, others may be struggling with the fasts, there may be some who are just neutral and there may be some who are struggling with the spiritual side of things. All of these states are completely okay as everyone is different, but we wanted to spend Ramadan part 2 talking about a forgotten way to give you a boost – mentally, physically and spiritually.

We’ll be spending June talking about Tibb An-Nabawi – Prophetic Medicine, because we fully believe in a holistic approach for a healthier lifestyle for the body and soul, which is exactly what Tibb An-Nabawi covers. The unfortunate thing is, Tibb An-Nabawi, which is a revelation that was gifted to the Prophet (ﷺ) as shifaa (healing) for a number of ailments from Allah, has been lost until very recently. Alhamdulillah there is now a rise in interest in Tibb An-Nabawi, in terms of natural medicine and homeopathy, furthermore the connection between tibb and the body and mind have been really quite astounding, but we’ll go into that a bit later.

For now, let’s focus on what Tibb An-Nabawi actually is. As mentioned earlier, it is healing that was given to the Prophet Muhammed (ﷺ) through divine revelation and don’t forget that Allah has not sent down an illness without a cure [Bukhari]. So, whilst some of these cures may be in Tibb, a lot of people may challenge this hadith by saying “what is the cure for cancer?” or other life-threatening and chronic illnesses – the answer is, some cures are yet to be discovered, and Allah alone knows when they will be found. Not to mention, that the Sunnah lifestyle can actually help reduce the risk of such illnesses.

Ibn Qayyim Al Jawziyya in his book “Tibb An-Nabawi – Prophetic Medicine” (which is the most comprehensive and most used book on this topic FYI – definitely worth a read!) he mentions that Tibb is divided into 3 types:

1. Natural
2. Divine
3. Natural and divine combined.

Natural Tibb covers things such as eating and consuming specific foods and herbs, observing and responding to natural bodily reactions such as creating a balance between hot and cold temperatures, making sure you get the right amount of nutrients, sleep, activity and adopting a Sunnah style method of eating and drinking.

Divine Tibb covers things like Ruqyah – using Quranic verses to calm, prevent or heal a person, tasbeeh (short, repetitive glorification of Allah and seeking forgiveness), salah (prayer), dua (supplication) and an upcoming article on this soon: Hijamah (cupping), which is the extraction of toxic/harmful blood that has a number of other benefits! Therefore, type 3 is a wonderful concoction of both of the above – can it get more holistic than that? We would also like to take this timely opportunity to say that Tibb only reinforces the idea that mental health in Islam is also treated in a holistic way, and it isn’t something that has been ignored or dealt with in a solely spiritual way.

So, what is this week’s #Tibboftheweek?

Zaytoon – Olive!

Olives and their trees have been mentioned many times in the Quran and their oils in hadith, its health benefits that have been discovered with modern science are really amazing too. Ibn Qaiyyim talks about various types of olives and the oils they produce such as black olives produce hot and wet oil, while oil from unripe olives is cold and dry, and olive oil in general helps the body against poison, works as a laxative and rids the body of worms. Some other health benefits include:

1. High in brain-protective antioxidants.
2. Appears to decrease the risk of depression, with a diet that has less trans fats.
3. Increases brain-boosting chemicals.
4. May help prevent stroke, reduce the risk of breast cancer, and degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
5. Moisturises your skin and prevents it from ageing prematurely.

“Eat the oil and use it on your hair and skin, for ur comes from a blessed tree.”
~ Tirmidhi

These are only a handful, and we highly encourage you to find out more for yourself!

Let’s not forget:

“There lies within the body a piece of flesh. If it is sound, the whole body us sound, and if it is corrupted, the whole body is corrupted. Verily, this piece is the heart”
~ Bukhari

Therefore we should remember to look after our hearts, the seats of our bodies, and the centre of our intelligent and emotional facilities to ensure the rest of us is healthy and complete too. With the end of Ramadan fast approaching, this is the perfect opportunity to implement good habits and regular tibb to carry on throughout the rest of the year!

What is your #Tibboftheweek?