Kamil Ahmad – Al-Da wal-Dawa (The Disease & The Cure) by Ibn al-Qayyim
AI: Summary ©
The speaker introduces a new book on sexual desire and the topic of pornography, which affects everyone. They discuss the book of Al W clustery by Sheikh Islam carriery, which describes a man who attempted to develop a disease and was treated with medication. The book is designed to provide guidance and a cure for all illnesses, including those related to the heart, soul, and body, and can be used for various conditions. The speaker also discusses the importance of acceptance and discerning strength for cure, and provides examples of how the church has used medicine to treat illnesses.
AI: Summary ©
I'd like to welcome you all to this
first
session of
our new book
in which we will be commencing
with a da with dua.
And I would especially like to,
welcome,
our new members,
our new,
students who are joining us,
for the first time.
The book that we are starting
is.
First of all, let's go through the title
of the book.
Is what
this book,
has been commonly known as.
However,
Ibn al Qayyim
himself
did not give this book a title,
and this is something common.
In the past when they would author books,
it was not like how it is in
the present where you have to have a
title, you have to have a cover page,
etcetera.
They would just write and they would have
scribes
to write for them.
And sometimes, you know, a book would be
without
a a title.
Sometimes it would just be in the form
of a question
and that is the case with this book
as we're gonna see.
It was a question
and the response of Ibn al Qayyim ended
up becoming an entire book.
So later on, the scholars, they gave the
book a title. The very first one
to the very first one who we can,
trace a title back to
is the student of Ibn Uqayim,
the famous imam and scholar, Ibn Rajab Rahimahullah
ta'ala, he gave the book this title, Adahu
Wad Dawah,
which means the disease
and the cure.
The disease and the cure.
However, this book
has also been,
known with another title,
and that is
So we should not get confused that these
are 2 different books.
They are 2 different titles for the same
book. Al Jawabul Kafi, Limansa'ala
Anid Dawah
Ishafi
which means the sufficient answer
for the one who asked about the remedial
cure.
The sufficient answer for the one who asked
about the
remedial
cure.
Now
what is this book all about?
You know,
what is this book about?
Basically,
as we're gonna see when you go through
the
introduction,
Ibraham Qayyim was basically asked a question.
Right? So
this book was a response to a question
posed by an individual
who had been afflicted
by
a certain,
a certain calamity,
a certain trial, a fitna,
and he found himself
in a very
dire state.
And
he tried everything to cure himself of this
problem
and he couldn't find a cure.
So he wrote to Ibn Qayyim asking him
to basically,
give him a cure.
So
the question itself does not mention exactly what
his problem was.
However,
when Ibn Qayyim answers, we can understand
that at least Ibn Khayyim
understood
that what this person, what this individual is
going through
is
a love affair.
He
he basically
seems to
be in a haram love affair,
you know, a haram relationship or he he
has a he he is in love with
somebody
or
with some women,
Allah knows best.
But the way Ibn Qayyim answered the question,
you could tell
that, you know, that is basically the problem.
And so when
Ibn Qayyim answered basically,
so so what does he go through? What
are the contents of this book?
Basically,
Ibn Qayyim
he starts
by mentioning that there is
a cure for every problem out there, for
every disease, everything out there as we're gonna
see today, Insha'Allah Ta'ala.
And then he talks about
specifically
specifically,
the major sins
the major sins and specifically
that which is related to a zina,
right, fornication
and and
other,
acts of,
immorality,
Fawahish.
After that he talks about the
evil effects of sins
and so he talks about
the dangers
of sins
and
how they leave
a major effect on the heart and how
they affect the person throughout his life.
And then he talks about
the cure. The cure for this particular problem
of
being in love and the heart being attached
to, you know, to others
whether the
to the opposite gender or to the same
gender.
And so that again, it shows us the
it shows us the relevance of this topic,
you know. Nowadays,
you know, it's not like in the past.
Right? We have a major problem,
particularly in Western society but even across the
globe, even in Muslim societies
where we have a major problem with these
relationships and these haram relationships
because of
the Internet and social media nowadays
and,
how everything is open before us like never
before,
and how we have these
lewd
and immoral images that are, you know,
that we are exposed to on a daily
basis. You know, it's not like in the
past where if you wanted to do something
haram, you have to go out of your
way
and do it. No. Now it comes to
you, you know, it comes to you
in in in your hands,
in your phones and so on and so
forth.
And,
you know, not only
not only,
being attracted to the opposite gender
but now we have this other problem nowadays
of being attracted to the same gender.
And so this shows us the importance of
this topic in this particular book,
and how Ibn Qayyim, he gives us the
cure for these problems.
He gives us the cure for
these problems.
All right. So that is basically,
what this book is about.
As I mentioned, I will be referring to
the original work
that
the original Arabic
script of Ibn Qayyim.
However,
the book has been translated
and so
there are 2 translations
of this book. There is an old translation
and a newer translation
and
both have been converted into PDF form
so you could easily access both of them
online.
So the first one, it's called
spiritual disease
and its cure.
Alright?
It was called in English
spiritual disease
and its cure.
And this does not really have a year
in terms of when it was published so
I don't really know when it was published.
The second
translation
which is a more recent translation,
it was translated I think,
you know, just, 2 years ago or so.
And this is the one I will probably
be referring to
and it is called the disease and the
cure.
The Disease
and The Cure. However, both are okay translations.
The second being in my opinion, the second
is a more refined
translation.
The original is also okay. It's an okay
translation but I would prefer the second one.
So that is a brief introduction about this
book
and
everything related to it. So now let us
get started.
We'll we'll basically go through the introduction of
Ibrahim Qayyim,
or the introduction of the book as
as we have it because as I mentioned,
Ibn Qayyim
did not really,
he did not really author this book. He
didn't write it
like a normal book that has a title
and has an introduction.
In fact,
the way he started it is just going
directly into the answer.
So
he poses the question
and then immediately he goes into the answer
And it seems as if
he was asked this question
and someone, one of his students
who was perhaps a scribe,
immediately started writing the answer,
right, as we're gonna see.
And this is not something,
abnormal. This is not something strange
but rather
it is one of the ways that many
books have been authored in the past.
It would usually be in the form of
a question
and the scholar
being so vast in knowledge
would just go on on a long answer
with a lot of tangents.
And so in the end, we have an
entire book in our hands.
That was the case with regards to Al
Wasilpiya
by Sheikh Islam Ibn Taymiyyah.
The famous book of his was
in the form of a question.
Also his other book,
it was
in the form of a question
and now we have a book with so
many commentaries on it. Right? So,
that is the case with this book,
So let us get moving on
on the book
And so immediately it starts with the question.
And so the question is what do the
distinguished scholars, the vanguards of the religion,
may Allah be pleased with them all, what
do they say regarding
a man who has been trialed with a
calamity
and knows that if he was to continue
in this, it will destroy him
concerning his Duniya and his Akhirah
Despite the fact that he has tried to
repel it from himself with every means,
however, it only increases in its intensity and
strength.
So he has tried everything to repel
this disease and this problem,
but it only becomes stronger.
What is the method in repelling it and
how can it be solved?
Right? So even you can understand from this
that, you know, this this problem is related
to
the heart.
And perhaps he's in love with someone
or,
you know, he has an affair with someone,
and it's it's difficult to detach himself
from that, you know, from that relationship.
And this can also apply to nowadays where,
some of our youth
are addicted to
images
and *
where,
you know, it's an addiction that,
you know if
if one does not
resolve it
in its early stages
then it becomes an addiction that is very
very difficult to
to basically,
to resolve.
And so again,
you know,
we can see how vital and how relevant
this book is to this day and age.
Never before have we dealt with such a
problem
like we are dealing with it today.
And you know, the issue of *
is not that it is an isolated
issue. It is you know, just a few
people who are dealing with it. No. It's
something
very widespread,
you know. It's something very widespread
in our communities,
and not just Again, not just
here in the West
but even in Muslim countries because as I
said,
this problem is not where you have to
go out of your way, you have to
leave your home, you have to go in
order to satisfy your desires, you have to
go and look for it. No. It's coming
to you in the comfort of your home,
you know, on your phone, etcetera.
So anyways, this was a question.
The questioner, he goes on to say, may
Allah have mercy on the one who helps
someone who has
who has been, afflicted with a calamity
as the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam says,
Allah is in the aid of his servant
as long
as he is in the aid of his
brother.
Provide us with a fatwa.
Provide us with a verdict.
May you be rewarded.
So this is the question
and then,
the answer comes.
The scribe, he says, the sheikh and the
imam, sheikhul Islam, the grand Mufti, Shamsuddin,
Abu Abdullah, Mohammed ibn Abi Bakr, ibn Ayub,
the leader
of Al Jawzi School
in the city of Damascus
in Dimashq.
And again, we spoke about this when we
covered the life of Ibn Khayyim, his biography,
how he was
the head of the Jawzia
School.
So the scribe who is writing, he says,
Ibnu Qayyim began to answer the question as
follows. So now come the words of Ibnu
Qayyim. Al
Qayyim.
All praise belongs to Allah.
Right?
So that's how he starts, that's all he
says and then he goes straight into
the topic. He mentions the hadith
that is in Sahih al Bukhari,
narrated by Abu Hurair radiAllahu an who says
that the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said
Allah did not
bring down
an illness,
a disease
except that he brought down a cure for
it.
And this is a very famous hadith.
There is no disease
that Allah has sent down on earth
except that he has also sent its cure.
The other Hadithah he mentions,
And this is in Sahih Muslim. For every
illness, there is a cure.
If the cure matches the illness,
it will be cured by the permission
of Allah.
And after that he mentions,
other narrations,
other versions
of this Hadith,
and after mentioning you know the various versions
and the various wordings of the hadith,
At the very end, he says,
He says,
this cure that Allah has sent down
is for all illnesses,
all diseases
that are related to the heart,
the soul
and the body.
Alright. So it is
for everything.
When the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam says
that Allah has sent
a
cure for every disease, he meant by that
not only
the diseases,
the physical
illnesses
of the body
but also
the diseases of the heart and the soul.
And then now, Ibn Al Qayim will talk
about that.
So we know the problems of the body.
Right? That is a topic left for
medicine
and medical sciences and
that is not what Ibn Qayyim is gonna
delve into. This is not a book
of medicine,
related to, you know, bodily illnesses and diseases.
But rather,
what concerns us here is
the diseases of the heart and the soul.
And what this means is that our heart,
our spiritual heart
and our soul,
it becomes ill. It becomes sick
and there are certain diseases related to the
heart
and that is what Ibn Qayyim wants to
talk about here.
And then he says that the prophet Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam,
to give an example
to give an example of how,
there is a cure for the diseases of
the heart,
he says that the prophet mentioned
ignorance
as a disease
and he made its cure, the prophet salallahu
alaihi wa sallam made the cure of ignorance
to be
asking the scholars.
Right? That is a cure. That is a
remedy
for the illness
of ignorance.
And so he mentions,
a Hadith in this regard,
Jabir ibn Abdullah radiAllahu anhu.
He said that we went on a journey
with the prophet
when there was a man who basically
became injured in his head
and then he went to sleep and he
had a *.
So now, he has a head injury
but he has to do ghusi. He has
to wash himself in order to pray.
So he asked his companions, you know, what
should I do?
You know, do I have the concession
and the license to perform Tayamun because I
can't use water.
Right? I have a head injury.
So they said,
we believe you do not have that permission,
because you are able to use water.
And so what did he do? He used
the water and
it entered his head
and that led to his death.
He ended up dying as a result.
So they went to the prophet sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam and told him about what happened
and the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam was
extremely angry.
He said,
they have killed him,
May
Allah, you know,
punish them.
If only they had asked
if they did not know.
Surely the cure for ignorance is to ask.
It would have sufficed him if he had
done Tayamnam
and then wiped over,
the area
instead of, you know, using water to wash
his his head and his entire body. So
Ibn Qayyim says
here, the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
informed us
that ignorance
is an illness
and its cure is to ask. Its cure
is
to ask, ask the people of knowledge.
And then Ibn Al Qayyah mentions how
Allah
has referred to the Quran as a cure.
So in the Quran, Allah refers
to his book
as being a shifa.
So again, what is why is Ibn Al
Qayhi mentioning this? Because he's trying to prove
that
when the prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, said
for every disease there is a cure, it
doesn't mean
only
bodily illnesses and diseases
but it also includes
the diseases of the heart. So the Quran
is a Shifa. It is a cure for
the diseases of the heart,
and he mentions,
ayat in this regard.
So we have the ayaat in Surat Fussilat
where Allah says,
Say it is
for those who believe
a guidance and a cure meaning the Quran
is for those who believe a guidance and
a cure. And Allah also says in Suratul
And we reveal from the Quran what is
a cure and a mercy for the believers.
We reveal
from the Quran.
So here when Allah says
from the Quran,
it means that any part of the Quran
is a cure.
So not one particular place in the Quran,
only certain ayaat,
can be used as a cure. No. The
entire Quran is a cure
and a mercy
for the believers.
And so Ibn Qayyam says it is a
cure for the hearts from the illness of
ignorance
and doubts and misgivings.
So
whatever
deviant
beliefs that people have out there,
The Quran has an answer for all of
those doubts
and all of those deviant beliefs.
Ibn al Qayyim he says, thus
Allah did not reveal a cure from the
heavens that is more comprehensive,
beneficial or more powerful or or inclusive
in eradicating an illness than the Quran.
So the Quran
is
a cure for everything, Not only
the diseases of the heart and the soul
but also for the body
also for the body.
Because here we are talking about
the words of Allah.
Right? The words of Allah are not like
the words of any human being.
The words of Allah are uncreated
as is the belief of Ahlul Sunnah wal
Jama'ah.
The words of Allah are from his kalam,
his speech
and his speech is one of his attributes
and none of the attributes of Allah are
created.
They are from his very essence just like
Allah is uncreated,
likewise, all of his attributes
and that includes his speech.
So
his words are from outside of this world.
When
they,
you know, when they are recited
and,
they are heard, they cure what is in
the hearts
and the souls as well as bodily diseases.
Right? And that is what Ibn Khayib now
mentions.
He mentions how the Quran is a cure
for even bodily ailments and illnesses.
He mentions the long hadith and the story
and this is in Sahih al Bukhari and
Sahih Muslim,
the story of
a group of the companions
who basically,
had traveled
and they reached an area where there was
a tribe,
and
they
they asked them to host them.
So they asked if they could stay over
but that tribe
refused
to host them.
So what happened was the chief of the
tribe,
ended up becoming
bitten
by,
a snake or he was stung by a
scorpion,
and they tried their best to cure him
but they were not able to.
So some of them,
some of the members of this tribe, they
said nothing has worked.
So why don't we go to those
people referring to the Sahaba?
Maybe they have a cure.
So they went to the Sahaba and they
told them what happened
and they said, we've tried everything.
Nothing has worked. Do you have a cure?
So one of them, he said, yes by
Allah.
I can recite something,
you know, do Ruqya.
However, because you refuse to accept us as
your guests, I will not do the rukuya
unless
you give us a wage.
So I'm gonna do it for money.
So they agreed, they agreed to
basically pay pay the Sahaba
a flock of sheep.
So
one of the companions he went
and he recited Surah Al Fatiha on on
the chief
and
all of a sudden
all of a sudden,
the chief
he woke up and
he got up.
The narration mentions
he got up
like someone who was shackled in chains
and he all of a sudden gets up
and is walking with
no signs of
of being in bondage,
of being shackled.
And then they they they ended up paying
what they had agreed on.
Anyways, they went back to the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam
and they told him what happened.
And the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam asked
the companion,
how did you know
that Surah Al Fatiha
should be recited as rukya?
How did you know?
And so the companion he said,
you know,
Surah Al Fatiha is the opening of the
Quran,
and
it must be a cure.
So anyways,
the prophet said what you did is right
and he even asked for a share of
the the sheep.
So this shows us
that
Surah Al Fatih and the Quran in general
is a cure for even physical ailments
and,
Ibn Qayyim, he says,
as it is evident,
this remedy had an effect on this illness
and eradicated it as if it never existed.
It is the easiest remedy
and,
the least effort is required for it.
And so if someone
does it properly,
recites Surah Tulfatiha,
he will find an amazing effect
for it.
He will find an amazing effect for it.
And then he mentions
a personal story of his. Ibn Qayyim,
he says,
I spent some time in Mecca.
I had spent some time in Mecca. Ibrahim
was not from
Mecca or Medina. He was from Asham,
from Syria
And so he travelled perhaps for Hajj or
Umrah
and he spent time in in Mecca perhaps
several months.
He says, I fell ill.
He had an illness,
and he says, I could not find a
doctor
for a cure.
So I would treat myself
with Fatiha tul Quran,
with Surat Al Fatiha
and I would find that it had an
amazing effect.
I found that it would have an amazing
effect.
And so it cured him of whatever illness
he had. He says, so I would prescribe
this
to anyone who complains
of an illness
and
they would do it and they would be
swiftly cured. They would be swiftly cured.
So this shows us the amazing and powerful
effect
of Surat Al Fatihah.
And so,
obviously, when it comes to Ruqya,
there are,
we can use any part of the Quran
but certain parts of the Quran
are more effective
than others. And ruqya,
is something that
can be performed not only
for,
you know, djinn possession
or black magic
or
the evil eye
or anything related to the soul or the
heart.
But as we can see from these two
examples,
it can also be used for physical ailments.
If you have pain on your body
or,
you know, you have an injury,
just place your hand there and recite the
Quran. Recite Surat Al Fatiha,
Ayatul Kursi
and other, parts of the Quran along with
the various adhikar
that have been taught by the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam.
And we mentioned some of these, adkar and
duas,
in our in in the previous book that
we went through, Alwabil As Sayyid because that
book was all about,
the dhikr of Allah,
and Ibn Qayyim mentioned various adkar and duas
there.
Ibn Qayyim then after mentioning all of this,
he says,
however,
here there is an important
point that we have to
consider.
So now, he's gonna mention
that in order for any cure
to work, for any treatment to work,
there have to be 2 conditions
present.
He says these adkar
and these ayaat of the Quran and these
duas
that we use
for in ruqya and to cure ourselves with,
they are beneficial without a doubt.
They will cure.
However,
2 things are required.
2 things are required.
The first
is they require
acceptance
from the place they are applied on.
So the heart and the soul
or, you know,
any any other part of the body where
you are trying to do ruqya for.
So the place has to accept it. And
number 2,
a discerning strength from the one who is
applying that Rukia.
So let's say it's someone else you brought
to do ruqya for you,
that person,
he has to have Iman and Yaqeen
and he has to have a strong will
that I want to cure this person.
It's not that he's saying the adkar with
an absent mind
or just like a habit that, you know,
he does,
But rather he has to put all of
his focus and energy into it.
And then Ibn Qayyim says,
whenever a cure is delayed,
it is either from a weakness
in
the effect
that the the applicant has
or a lack
of acceptance from the patient.
Right? So either
the problem is
the patient or the doctor
or
from something else that is preventing
the remedy from having its effect.
He says as is the case with traditional
medicine.
So sometimes, you use medicine and it doesn't
work for you.
Why? Because your particular body,
you know, doesn't accept it.
It works for others but it doesn't work
for you and this is normal. You know,
we we have we have this example in
traditional medicine or conventional medicine even the medicines
of today.
So something is blocking
the medicine from from basically working.
And so you go back to a doctor
and you complain and so the doctor
suggests another medicine.
Right?
Or he looks for, you know, why is
the medicine not working?
And so he finds that there's something else.
There's another problem.
Right?
And so that's what Ibn Al Qayy mentions
here. He says just like the body,
you know, sometimes,
you know,
the nature of the body doesn't accept
the remedy
or the doctor did not prescribe the right
medicine.
Right? Likewise,
he says, likewise, if the heart
wholly
accepts the rukhya
and the various adkar
while the one performing the procedure
does so with full enthusiasm
and care,
then it will have an effect in eradicating
the illness.
It will have an effect
in eradicating
the illness.
But here I want to add one more
thing,
and this is something very important.
And this is basically an important rule concerning
qadr.
And
the means that Allah has placed in our
hands to achieve our goals.
So you want something
and you strive to achieve it
and it should work. Right? The means
leading to something should work
but sometimes it doesn't work.
Why?
And the answer comes in this rule.
The means do not cause effect on their
own
but rather by Allah's decree for them to
work.
The means do not cause effect on their
own.
However,
they only cause the effect by Allah's decree,
by Allah's permission, by the Qadr of Allah.
This is something very very important
to note here.
And so if Allah
wants,
he can,
you know, prevent
the means
from causing their desired effect.
Let me give you examples of this.
Fire
burns. We all know this.
So fire
is a means of destroying something. Right? So
that is the means.
The means
which is fire,
it causes an effect. What is that effect?
It burns and destroys
whatever,
it comes in contact with.
However,
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
he did not allow that to happen
in the case of Ibrahim alayhis sala.
When Ibrahim alayhis salah was thrown into the
fire,
did the fire burn him? No. Why?
Because
Allah prevented it from happening.
Right?
So normally, it should burn but it didn't
and we have numerous other examples of that.
Rain,
when it falls
on the ground, it's supposed to produce vegetation
and greenery.
Sometimes it doesn't happen.
Right?
Likewise,
how do we
reproduce?
You know, how do we have children?
There is a method
and that is through
Nikash
and getting married and
basically having intimate relations.
However,
although this is the means of producing children,
sometimes it doesn't happen.
Right?
Why doesn't it happen? Because of
the decree of Allah. Allah didn't allow the
means
to work in that case.
And so there are there are men and
women who are not able to produce.
Right? They've tried everything but
it didn't work. Why? Because Allah blocked
the means
from
having their desired effect.
So likewise with medicine,
right,
sometimes medicine it works.
Sometimes it doesn't.
The means
is there.
However,
it doesn't always work.
So although that is a case with, so
even though that is a case with
bodily illnesses and sicknesses,
The same can be said with regards
to, the sicknesses and the diseases of the
heart and the soul.
And so Ibloquayim, he mentions all of this
as an introduction,
right, for this questioner
that you have a problem.
I understand what your problem is, I'm gonna
give you the cure but understand from the
very onset.
Right. Understand.
Yes. Allah has
sent down a cure for every disease
including whatever problem you're going through. There is
a cure for it. However,
this cure, it will only
work by the decree of Allah.
It will only work by Allah's will
and his
decree.
It won't work on its own. Right?
So these are the means that Allah has
placed on earth. They don't work on their
own
but rather they only work by,
the decree of Allah
Alright. So
that is where we'll stop for today. After
this, Ibn Qayyim talks about,
one of the most beneficial means
for,
curing any illness and that is a du'a.
So he's gonna talk about a du'a
and we'll,
we'll leave that for next week.
So we'll see you all next week.