Ibn Al-Qayyim wrote this some seven centuries ago, and it has become one of the most timely books in the Islamic library. Health, diet and natural remedies now occupy a large part of how people think about their lives — and a work approaching all three from the Qur'an and the Sunnah has found a readership its author could not have anticipated.
The Reasoning Behind It
The argument is simple. The Qur'an and the Sunnah are what a Muslim returns to for how to live. There is no reason to exclude the body from that. So Ibn Al-Qayyim does what he does everywhere else: he sets out the verses and the statements of the Prophet ﷺ and builds on them.
What It Contains
The Prophet's ﷺ guidance across a wide range of health matters — the treatment of specific ailments, preventive practice, the etiquette of visiting the sick, and the attitude a Muslim should hold toward illness itself. Both halves are covered: treating what has gone wrong, and the habits that keep a body sound.
The closing chapters carry an extensive glossary of remedies: herbs, foods and natural substances mentioned in the texts, each described with its properties and uses. For many readers this is the section they return to most.
This Edition
A new revised Arabic edition printed in full color on glossy paper with pictures and illustrations throughout. That matters more here than in most books — a glossary of plants is far more usable when you can see what is being described.
A Note on Reading It
This is a classical work of prophetic medicine, valued for its guidance and scholarship. It is not a substitute for a qualified physician, and Ibn Al-Qayyim would not have suggested otherwise — the Prophet ﷺ instructed his Companions to seek treatment, and doing so is itself the Sunnah.
Related Reading
الوصف بالعربية
الطب النبوي للإمام ابن قيم الجوزية رحمه الله، في طبعة عربية جديدة منقّحة ملوّنة بالكامل مع الصور والرسوم على ورق صقيل.
كتبه المؤلف قبل نحو سبعة قرون، فإذا هو من أوفق كتب المكتبة الإسلامية لزماننا: إذ صارت الصحة والغذاء والتداوي بالطبيعة شغل الناس، فوجدوا مصنَّفًا يعالج الثلاثة من الكتاب والسنة.
وحجّته يسيرة: القرآن والسنة هما مرجع المسلم في شأنه كله، ولا وجه لإخراج البدن من ذلك. فصنع فيه ما صنع في غيره: ساق الآيات وأقوال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وبنى عليها.
ويتناول هدي النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم في علاج الأمراض والوقاية منها وآداب عيادة المريض وموقف المسلم من البلاء، ويختم بـمعجم واسع للأدوية من الأعشاب والأطعمة وما ذُكر في النصوص، مع بيان خواصها ومنافعها — وهو أكثر ما يرجع إليه القراء.
تنبيه: هذا كتاب من كتب الطب النبوي الكلاسيكية، وليس بديلًا عن الطبيب المختص؛ فقد أمر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم بالتداوي، والأخذ بالعلاج الطبي من السنة.
