Health Care in the Muslim World

Muslim narrated from Jabir Ibn Abdullah that the Prophet said: "For every disease, there is a cure. When the cure hits the disease, he (the sick) will be cured by Allah's will."


The 20th century has seen many startling advances in the field of medicine and health-care


All of us have come into contact in some way or another with these advances; from birth to today


We have seen a revolution in both diagnostic techniques and in treatment; fibre-optic cameras can be placed in the body from all possible sources and can be used to diagnose disease, to take biopsies of tissue and even as treatment.


X-Rays are no longer the only way to look into a human; we have ultrasound that monitors the fetus; and CT and MRI scans for all sorts of investigations; we have new complicated blood tests that can also be used for diagnosis


Coupled with this there has been a revolution in treatment; surgery has become much less invasive with the use of key-hole surgery; anesthesia has become much safer; people can receive transplants; and several drugs have revolutionised medicine


So this century has undoubtedly seen spectacular advances in the field of healthcare; most of these advances have occurred in the West and this is the subject of my talk today


Many Muslims are eclipsed by the health-care system of the West; they see the systems in their own countries as backward and those in the West as very modern


That is why the rich people from the Muslim countries choose to come to Britain or the USA for their medical treatment


In my talk I want to consider the reasons why this gulf has developed; is it due to a lack of doctors, or a lack of nurses, or a lack of MRI scanners, or a lack of a particular drug; or is the problem completely unrelated to these practical considerations


Initially I want to focus on the idea of healthcare and medicine; then I want to examine why the West is at the forefront of developments in healthcare and medicine and what is lacking in the Muslim countries to explain these trends


Medicine and healthcare did not develop overnight; indeed they have developed over many centuries; indeed the West has not been at the forefront at healthcare the entire time; in the past the Romans and the Egyptians and the Muslims were the leaders in the field of healthcare


Indeed in the past the Muslims led the world in many fields, and in particular in the field of medicine (I will give some examples later)


So what are the reasons that many people think lie behind our failure to take the lead in healthcare in the 20th century.

Lack of doctors or expertise; untrue since there are thousands of doctors throughout the Muslim countries; indeed many of them are experts in their subjects; in fact many of the top doctors in the West are Muslim; e.g. Magdi Yaqub or the Pakistani neurosurgeon who gave evidence in the Louise Woodward trial. Competition to enter medical school in the Muslim countries is very high


Lack of money; as discussed in previous weeks, the Muslim countries are the richest in world in terms of resources


Lack of facilities; again in general many of the Muslim countries have facilities; especially in the private sector; it is very easy to import technology from other countries; so foreign equipment is very common in our countries


So what is it about the West that made her the leader in this field; and placed the Muslim countries a poor second


The West has certain ideas about life as we have mentioned in previous circles; in general society in the West is unified upon the idea of capitalism; this practically means the people detach religion from the affairs of life; they believe in freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of ownership and personal freedom; they believe in man’s own ability to formulate a system of laws by which we can live life; they therefore always refer to the mind of man when any dispute or problem occurs


These same views that the West hold affect the manner in which she views the issue of healthcare; so throughout the whole of medicine in the West you can see that it is characterised by the ideas of capitalism; seeking benefit and avoiding harm


So people think that medical treatment increases their lifespan; they want to live to an older age; they try and design creams to get rid of wrinkles; they try and isolate the gene responsible for death; some doctors say they want to be frozen and brought back to life in 100 years once doctors have learnt how to do it. They want to try and use genetic cloning to produce super humans. They have no worries about issues such as adultery so IVF can be used by the unmarried; even gays can be parents


So the reason for the healthcare system is dictated by the ideology that they have adopted; it is natural for man to suffer from illnesses and he wants his illness and hardship to be alleviated; this is what the healthcare system tries to do; in the West they view this issue from the angle of benefit and harm; more healthy people; more workforce; more production; more benefit; longer life; more benefit


However in the Muslim countries there exists no such motivation on the basis of an ideology; yes the people want to be cured but the people believe that their lifespan is fixed; the doctors do not have conviction in capitalism and nor do the people; so you may have some doctors practicing privately for excess money but this mentality does not pervade throughout the society


Similarly the governments in our countries don’t feel any great desire to treat the people’s illnesses; and this associated with the other problems in Muslim countries such as corruption, political instability and technological backwardness dictate that the Muslim world remains backward in terms of medicine.


Important here to bear in mind that medicine is not just taking a drug; it is the whole process of studying a problem in an enlightened manner, meticulous research and the finding of innovative solutions.


This does not occur in the Muslim world because no ideology unites the people; neither Islam or capitalism


When Islam used to unite the people we can see that the Islamic state was the leading nation in the world; we can also see the Islamic contribution to medicine and healthcare


If we look to the Islamic Khilafah in the past we can see that health care system that existed at a time when Europe was undergoing the so-called "dark ages"


In El-Shaam, in Damascus, in Jerusalem, in Persia, Baghdad, Cairo, Tunisia, Morocco and Spain saw some of the best hospitals in the world; with medical schools for teaching and research


Many of the Muslim physicians pioneered surgical techniques and other treatments such as al-Razi, ibn Rushd, al-Zahrawi and even ibn-Maimon (a Jew from Spain; was the physician to Saluhudin Ayyubi)


In Islam the healthcare was not for the reason of prolonging life or playing with the laws of Allah but rather in response to the command of Muhammad (SAW) when he said "For every disease, there is a cure. When the cure hits the disease, he (the sick) will be cured by Allah's will."


So the Muslims found cures on the basis of Islam(striving for Allah's pleasure); and the society solved its problems on the basis of Islam


The Khalif realised his obligations before Allah and made sure sufficient resources were allocated to health-care; "The Imam is a shepherd and he is responsible"; Muhammad (SAW) was once given a gift of a few physicians and he made them at the state’s disposal


The treatment under the Islamic ideology did not look to the belief of the sufferer; or his tribe; or his wealth; but rather treated all individuals as citizens of the Islamic state; compare this to the situation today; you can buy someone’s kidney in Pakistan, if you are poor you get imitation drugs; certain hospitals that belong to the missionaries


The hospitals used to have single sex wards again an issue which was from the social system of Islam; female doctors would tend to the women and male doctors to the men; compare this with capitalism


Health-care was seen as a basic necessity not as a luxury like it is seen today; with the likes of BUPA and other private schemes


So the Muslims advanced in the past since they understood their basis in life and were able to respond to it correctly; so military advances occurred in order to spread Islam and protect the Islamic aqeeda, not just to fuel the economies of the enemy; advances in astronomy occurred not for academic reasons but because Muslims needed to locate the Qiblah; advances in medicine occurred not so that we could stay young forever or tamper with Allah’s creation rather because Muhammad (SAW) ordered us that; Imam Ahmad narrates from Anas that the Prophet peace be upon him said: "Allah has created the illness and the cure. So seek a cure."


So the reason we lag behind the world today is very simply the fact that we no longer adhere to our basis for solving disputes; the Islamic basis is no longer the arbiter of disputes in our society; so we should not view the issue of health care as the most important issue in our lands but rather we should just view it as the inevitable consequence of not solving our problems according to Islam


The situation we face therefore is unique in one way and not unique in another


It is unique in that Islam ruled this earth for 1300 years and that it is an unnatural situation for us to be ruled over with kufr


However, many nations in the past declined and revived again once they found the correct tool of revival; no nation ever revived with technology or healthcare; rather they revived when they adopted a comprehensive basis in life with which to solve their problems; look to Germany and Japan who were destroyed by the second world war but now enter the 21st century as strong and powerful nations


Look to Britain and the manner in which the capitalist ideology transformed her from an island to a leading nation


Then look to the treachery of our rulers who were conniving with the kuffar to keep the Ummah declined; to steal her wealth; and to leave her reliant on the kafir and kufr


Inshallah, we should work to bring back the Khilafah, which is a serious task on all of our necks; which Allah will account us for.