Assalamualaikum. May Peace and Blessings be upon you.
I am reading a book, given to me on my birthday by a lovely neighbour of mine. Healing with the Medicine of the Prophet by Imam Ibn Qayyim Al-Jauziyah
At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah (may Allah have mercy on them) narrated that the Prophet pbuh said:
" Do not force your patients to consume food or drink, for Allah, the Exalted and Most High, feeds them and gives them drink"
When the patient does not feel like eating or drinking, it is because the body is busy fighting the illness, or because the appetite becomes weaker.
When one is ill, the body is busy maturing and getting rid of the alien, septic substances (toxins) and does not require food or drink.
When the sick person is forced to eat some food, the body's energy will be divided between digesting the food and concentrating on fending off the invading septic substances that caused the ailment. The patient will be harmed in this case. The conditions will only add strength to the ailment and bring about harm.
The patient should only eat what is required to sustain his strength and should avoid what can aggravate his condition. The patient should consume light food and juices, including aromatic chicken soup.
The patient should also refresh his body with good scents and listen to good news.
The nature of the human body is that of an engine and vehicle that Allah The Almighty has entrusted with preserving the body and its health and guarding it throughout its term.
The Hadith indicates that the patient could live without nourishment for longer than a healthy person could.
It is a fact that when the heart is busy with feelings such as joy, sadness or fear, it will be busy attending to these feelings, thus ignoring the need to eat or drink. The body is busy attending whatever troubles it and causes it pain. Every person experiences such moods.
When the concern is a matter that brings joy, the feeling of elation will be a substitute for the food. Jubilation will fill the body and will energize it, and the blood will be pumped to the various organs until it appears under the skin. In this case, the face will radiate with delight and life.
When the concern entails sadness, anguish or fear, the body will be busy attending to such concerns and will ignore seeking food, because it's busy conducting its own war.
The sick person receives supplies from Allah The Almighty that provide nutrition for him, in addition to the nutrition that he receives through the blood. This divine help varies in amount according to the amount of submission and humility that one shows before his Lord, and which will earn him closeness to Him. When the slave is one of the loyal supporters of Allah The Almighty, his heart will receive sufficient support and aid that will nourish his body and strength more than the nourishment that his body receives through material nourishment. The stronger the slave's love, happiness, certainty, eagerness and contentment with Allah becomes, the more divine strength he will feel. This cannot be described with words, nor can any doctor explain or attain knowledge of it on his own.
