Prescriptions for the physicians: An Islamic Perspective

Physicians write medical prescriptions for their patients to follow specific procedures of treatment or to procure their medicine. The word prescription is from the word prescribe, which etymologically is from the Latin word praescribere, itself a composition of the words prae (pre) and scriber (scribe). Hence, the word prescription literally means something that has been previously written.
Sometimes, the word prescription has also been employed to signify a religious instruction for spiritual reform. Such usage is very apt, since the fundamental reality of the human being is his spirit, and the origin of many physical maladies stem from spiritual imbalances.
The main focus of this treatise is to unravel the religious prescriptions introduced by God and His Apostles for those who practice medicine, and to endeavour to manifest some of the most beautiful attributes of God. A doctor has the potential to exemplify in himself divine attributes such as al-Muḥyī (the Reviver), al-Shāfī (the Healer), al-Muʿāfī (the Bestower of health), al-Sattār (The Concealer of defects), etc. If he appreciates his potential to manifest such beautiful attributes and begins seriously working towards their realisation, he would qualify to be God’s agent on earth.