"...And We send down in the Quran that which is a healing and a mercy... (Q 17:82)
At least two types of ailments or diseases have always confronted humanity across times and climes. The first is spiritual; the second is physiological or physical. The first, the spiritual, is usually attended to by the clergy in the mosques and churches. Thousands of Prophets and messengers have been sent by the Almighty not only to cure humanity of this ailment but to actually lead it back to the Almighty. While physiological ailments that humanity often suffers from serve to remind them of the importance of doctors and physicians, it always takes divine providence for a person to discover they are spiritually dissolute. For example, the majority of those who preside over the affairs of this country today have 'succeeded' simply because they could do and indeed did what those who revere the Almighty among us would not do. It is only the 'professional politician' who could burn down his father's village in order to gain political relevance in the city!
In other words, dear brethren, it is the spiritually dissolute that usually leads the perpetration of corruption on earth. The deeper the spiritual malaise a man suffers, the more heinous and bestial his conduct and actions in society. And conversely, the higher our connection with the angelic, the nobler and honourable our carriage and conduct among our fellow human beings.
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Again, when we discuss physiological afflictions that humanity suffers from today, they can be divided further into two categories: voluntary and involuntary afflictions. To suffer voluntary affliction is to engage in activities which the Almighty has forbidden. Brethren, why is it that AIDS is defined as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome? It is probably because it is, as the name goes, 'acquired', not given. Men and women would continue to 'contract' sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) not by accident but by choice. When an ailment results from such an infraction of the divine or medical prescription, humanity should refrain from invoking the name of the Almighty; the name of the Almighty should not be invoked for permitting the occurrence of an 'effect' after its 'cause' is generated. A man who indulges in alcoholism should not begin by seeking divine redemption when he suffers kidney failure. Over fifty per cent of the afflictions we suffer in life are often products of our iniquitous ways; we shed tears more often because of our predilections to over-indulge ourselves in earthly pleasures, the essence of which lies, when properly understood, in modesty and continence.
Brethren, my concern today, however, relates to the ailment we often suffer not by choice but more by force or compulsion. I am concerned today with three different medical conditions for which I found newer insights in regard to their administration and possible cure. The first is the problem of infertility, which sometimes confronts all humans imbued with the desire to have the fruit of the womb. The second condition relates to prostate enlargement, while the third is diabetes. Whereas the first and the third are gender-blind, the second condition is known to afflict only men.
The religion of Islam, as we all know, is one which is grounded in praxis. It recognises that sometimes we are bound to be caught in a web from which we would desire to extricate ourselves by all lawful means. Islam teaches that the first posture expected of the believer in times of trial is the acknowledgement that such cannot take place except by the permission of the Almighty. This is found in the expression: "To the Almighty we belong and unto Him is our return". In times of trial, therefore, the believer should exercise patience and expect divine intervention. He should know that for each affliction he suffers on earth, he is guaranteed eternal redemption in return. The Prophet says: 'The affair of the believer is usually a matter of wonderment: whenever he is happy he is full of thanks; whenever he suffers affliction he is full of patience'.
Patience in time of trials does not, however, mean abstinence from the pursuit of lawful 'causes' which could provide positive "effects". (Q13:11).
Thus, dear brethren, face to face with the challenge of infertility in marriage, a brother of yours took the bull by the horns. He, ably supported by his wife, followed the 'due-process' in medicine. They followed all the possible 'injunctions' and advice from the medics. But alas! the 'path' remains blocked. It was not yet time for divine intervention, so it appeared. Pregnancy simply refused to happen.
But when the time was near, our brother was advised to 'sit' down with Surat al-Ikhlas (Q.112). It is that chapter that negates 'parentology' for the Almighty. It is that chapter in which He informs humanity that if there were to be certain things He would not do, such would include having a son or a daughter. Thus, our brother was advised to read the chapter once and whenever he gets to the point in the chapter where the attribute of the Almighty -al-Samad- is mentioned, there he should pause and offer certain supplications. He was advised to recite that attribute in pure honey and give it to his wife.
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Brethren, aside from my constant interface with the chapter mentioned above, I also usually recite it whenever I find myself in a cul-de-sac. Talk of being abandoned in a wilderness; remember an imminent danger from which no human rescue is certain. In situations such as these, chapter 112 of the Quran and the verse of the throne (al-Kursiy) are magical.
Brethren, our brother and his wife are presently blessed with a child. Had he not exercised patience, had he taken another path other than staying with the Qur'an, he and our sister would probably have gone into the wilderness of faithlessness today. He stayed where the Almighty wants believers in such situations to stay. He never, for once, glossed over the divine admonition that: "if the Almighty touches you with harm, none can remove it but He, and if He touches you with good, then He is Able to do all things" [Q 6:17]
