Types of Deadly Epidemic Diseases and Treatment Methods in Hadiths

Abstract

The sayings, actions, and approvals of the Prophet—collectively known as hadiths—not only shaped the faith, ethics, and social life of Muslims but also played a decisive role in forming attitudes and behaviors regarding health, illness, and medical practices. Reports concerning disease, treatment, prevention, patience, and the appropriate responses to afflictions do far more than convey medical information. They also articulate a wisdom-centered framework that defines a person’s relationship to suffering, the search for healing, reliance on God (tawakkul), the concept of destiny (qadar), and communal responsibility. Within this context, the body of literature known as “Prophetic Medicine” (Tibb al-Nabawi) emerged from the early periods onward at the intersection of hadith, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic jurisprudence, the history of Islamic medicine, and public health, eventually developing into a distinct field of study. This study focuses specifically on hadiths related to epidemic diseases, examining them through both classical sources and modern medical perspectives. Reports such as “Do not enter a land where plague has appeared, and do not leave it” indicate an early awareness of contagion and demonstrate the formation of quarantine-like practices in the first Muslim communities. Conversely, the statement “Plague is a mercy” highlights that such afflictions were not viewed merely as biological events but were also interpreted within a religious-spiritual framework as trials imbued with divine wisdom. Collectively, these narrations offer a holistic paradigm that balances prudence and reliance on God. In the scholarly literature, the works of Veli Atmaca, İlyas Uçar, and Gülsen Eren stand as primary reference points. This article, however, seeks not only to synthesize their contributions but also to re-examine the relevant narrations through textual criticism, historical contextualization, and the lens of contemporary public health and biomedical ethics. In doing so, it establishes a renewed interpretive ground that connects classical material with modern health challenges and recent pandemic experiences.