On diabetes, infertility and prostate issues
“...And We send down of 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. Whereas physiological ailments that humanity usually suffers often serve to remind them of the importance of the medics and physicians, it always takes divine providence for a man to discover he is spiritually dissolute. For example, 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 reverence 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 action in the society. And conversely, the higher our connection with the angelic, the nobler and honorable our carriage and conduct among our fellow human beings.
Again, when we talk about physiological afflictions from which humanity suffers today such can be divided further into two: voluntary and involuntary affliction. 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 result 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 percent of the afflictions we suffer in life are often products of our iniquitous way; 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 in today’s sermon, 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 recognizes 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 acknowledgment 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’. To be continued next week) Afis A. Oladosu is a Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan.