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Professor Omar Hasan Kasule Sr. MB ChB (MUK), MPH (Harvard), DrPH (Harvard) Professor of Epidemiology and Bioethics at the Faculty of Medicine and Chairman of the Human and Medical Ethics Committee at the King Fahad Medical City Ministry of Health Saudi Arabia.
Islamic Medicine: Concept &
Misunderstandings 1: semantics
·
A major
intellectual turning point in the Islamic Medicine Movement was the seminar of
the Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia in July 1995 at which a definition
of Islamic medicine was presented
·
The semantic confusion between the adjectives
'Islamic' and 'Muslim' was explained. ‘Islamic’ refers to values, ideas,
guiding principles, and application of the Qur'an and 'Muslim' refers to people
who self-identify as Muslims as well as their activities and institutions. They
may not follow all the teachings of Islam.
·
Islamic medicine, the ideal, is not the same as
Medicine of Muslim societies, which is the actual historical or contemporary
experience of Muslim societies.
Islamic Medicine: Concept &
Misunderstandings 2: alternative definitions
(a)
Tibb Qur'an
(b) Tibb Nabawi
(c) Medicine in the
early Muslim state
(d) Traditional'
Medicine of Modern Muslim societies
(e) ijtihad on ethical, legal and moral issues in Medicine
(f) Ethics of
physicians
(g) Scientific and
medical miracles of the Holy Qur'an
(h) Alternative
medicine
(i) Providing
services for the needy
(j) Advocating or
lobbying for the less privileged
(k) Elimination of
social causes of ill-health
(l) Basic and
applied research.
Definition of Islamic Medicine 1
·
Islamic
medicine was defined as ‘…medicine
whose basic paradigms, concepts, values, and procedures conform to or do not contradict
the Qur'an and sunnat. It is
not specific medical procedures or therapeutic agents used in a
particular place or a particular time.
·
Islamic medicine is universal, all-embracing,
flexible, and allows for growth and development of various methods of
investigating and treating diseases within the frame-work described above’.[1]
Implications of the definition 1
·
This definition calls for the basic transformation
of medical systems. Islamic medicine thus becomes the result of an Islamic
critique and reformulation of the basic paradigms, research methodology,
teaching, and practice of medicine.
·
The end-results of the process will not be a
medical system, therapies, or procedures for Muslims only but for the whole of humanity because Islam is a set of universal and objective values. This is not
theologizing, localizing, or parochializing medicine but making it excellent
for all humanity. The process of Islamization covers all systems of medicine.
·
Priority is for western medicine because of its
dominance. We have to start by critically examining and reforming the
methodology of research. Knowledge is produced by research and we have to be on
the producing and not the consuming end of the knowledge process.
Implications of the definition 2
·
The definition resolved
the confusion reigning until then that Islamic medicine was the medicine
practiced in the early centuries of Islam and its surviving versions as
traditional medicine called unani medicine in south Asia and known by
other names in other countries.
·
The definition
opened the way to many developments whose success we are celebrating now 20
years later. The new paradigm was that modern scientific medicine could be
considered Islamic if practiced within the Islamic moral framework and
according to the dictates of the shari’at.
Consequences of the definition 1: Teaching
Islamic Medicine at Faculties of Medicine
·
The first
development was the introduction of curricula teaching medicine with an Islamic
input at faculties of medicine that was pioneered by the International Islamic
University of Malaysia in 1997 and was adopted by numerous others in Malaysia
and other parts of the world.
·
The Islamic
input consisted of 1. Integration of knowledge (takaamul al ma’arifat)
that involved integrating Islamic epistemological and philosophical concepts in
medical knowledge and 2. Practical aspects of medical jurisprudence (fiqh
tibbi) dealing with issues of taharat, ibadat, and mu’amalaat
for patients and their families.
·
Faculties of
medicine taught and assessed their students on integrated medicine. They held
academic meetings for their academic staff to discuss and learn more about
integrated medicine. They also formed councils, consortia, and association to
coordinate their efforts[2].
Consequences of the definition 2: Theory and
principles of Islamic Medical ‘ethics’
·
The second
development was the emergence of a distinct Islamic medical ethical formulation
based on purposes of the Law (maqasid al shari’at)[3]
and principles based on principles of the Law (qawa’id al fiqh)[4]. The
word ethics is used here reluctantly because in Islam ethics is part of the Law
(shari’at) and is not a separate entity.
·
The Islamic
ethical theory and principles have been employed in addressing ethical dilemmas
arising out of modern developments in medical technology.
·
Ijtihad
maqasidi based on purposes of the Law (maqasid al shari’at) has been
a very effective tool in addressing ethical dilemmas for which there is no
direct textual references in the Qur’an and sunnat.
Consequences of the definition 3: Practicing
Islamic Medicine at Islamic Hospitals 1
·
The third development
was the foundation of Islamic hospitals in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East
that practiced scientific medicine within an Islamic ethical, legal, and social
context.
·
These hospitals
are forming consortia[5] to
share experiences and offer shari’at compliant medical services.
·
The Faculty of
Medicine of the International Islamic University in Malaysia played a
pioneering role by establishing a shari’at compliant teaching hospital,
this development is expected to be emulated in other countries.
Consequences of the definition 4: Islamic
health care system
·
We are now at
the dawn of the fourth development that will witness the emergence of an
Islamic health care industry that will provide an integrated health care system
consisting of hospitals, polyclinics, diagnostic centers, pharmaceutical
production etc. A unique feature of this industry will be its reliance on the
Islamic banking and financial systems.
·
The Islamic
health care industry will join other phenomena of civilizational revival /
reconstruction in the ummat: the Islamic banking industry, the Islamic
insurance industry, the Islamic halal food industry etc.
Consequences of the definition 5: Futuristic
outlook Islamic Health research system
·
I give myself
the liberty to dream that the Islamic medical education and medical delivery
systems that are in their infancy at the moment will in the next 20 years grow
into giants and that they will have the resources to start an Islamic medical
research system based on the Islamic moral values and maqasid al shari’at.
·
All humanity
will be grateful to Muslims for developing this alternative to the present
system of research for new treatments that has a major irreconcilable conflict
of interest: the pharmaceutical industry that sells and reaps huge profits from
new drugs is also the one that designs, funds, and carried out drug research.
·
Regulatory bodies
do not have resources to police the drug development process thoroughly. Governments cannot take over the funding of
drug research because of the high cost and the financial risk involved.
References
[2] Consortium of Islamic Medical Colleges (CIMCO)
a part of the Federation of Islamic Medical Associations (FIMA), The
Association of Faculties of Medicine in Indonesia
[3] Abu
Ishaq Ibrahim bin Musa AlShatibi. Al Muwafaqaat fi usuul al shari’at. Dar Ibn
affan Al Khobar Saudi Arabia 1997.
[4] Majallat al Ahkaam al Adliyyat Dar Ibn Hazm
Beirut 2004 G / 1424H
[5] Islamic Hospital Consortium in Malaysia and
the Association of Islamic Hospitals in Indonesia (MUKISI)