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Hadith Explanation
Every Disease has a Cure
Narrated Abu Hurairah (radi Allahu anhu) that the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “There is no disease that Allah has sent down except that He also has sent down its treatment.” [The Book of Medicine: Sahih Bukhari]
The reason that Muslims advanced so much in Medicine is because the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) had told them that for every disease there is a cure and that they should seek treatment. He pointed to many cures himself. He encouraged the women of his household to learn medicine from those who knew it. Women, in the time of the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam), excelled in medicine. The Prophet had pitched a tent in the yard of his mosque in Madina and appointed a lady named Rufaidah to run it as a field hospital, nurse the wounded and care for homeless newcomers to Madina. [Tarikh at-Tabari]
In Baghdad in 1168 C.E., there were no less than sixty well-organized medical institutions and the Mustansiriyya Medical College at Baghdad had magnificent buildings, luxurious furniture, library with rare scientific books and a great dining hall to serve good food to students.
The first hospital in Europe was set up by Louis IX in Paris after his return from the Crusades (1254-60 C.E.). The Crusaders were inspired by the magnificent hospitals (Bimaristans) of Damascus and Cairo and the establishment of hospitals in Europe in the fourteenth century resulted. [Islam and Evolution of Science, by Muhammad Saud]
Muslims developed the institutions of hospitals in the eighth century. Many of their hospitals had their own gardens in which medicinal plants were cultivated. The Muslims invented teaching hospitals. Large hospitals had medical schools attached to them. The rules for the practice of medicine were very progressive. According to al-Razi a physician had to be well versed in new and old medical literature and have worked in hospitals as a house surgeon before he could be employed in one.
Al-Razi was the most outstanding physician of the ninth century. The first hospital in the history of Baghdad was established on his advice under the rule of Abbasi khalifa Harun al-Rashid. In order to find a suitable site for the hospital, al-Razi hung pieces of meat around the city and chose the site based on where the meat rotted last. There were also a large number of traveling hospitals in the Muslim world.