HIKMA: Holistic Islamic Knowledge of the Medical Arts
In HIKMA we adapt the Prophetic teaching, “Hikma (Wisdom) is the lost property of the believer; wherever he finds it, he has most right to it.”
Since the beginning of human civilization, the vocation of the physician served an indispensable role in not only curing all manner of pathos, but also serving as teacher, guide, and compassionate confidante to all.
The physician, or the healing artist, was tasked with the responsibility of being the means through which the mercy of God was mediated. Through the asbab (practical means) of their service and care, pregnancies would go to term, babies be born, childhood diseases treated, people taught how to live in harmony with their Fitra-nature, the strength of adults maintained throughout the ebbs and flows of destiny, and the chronically infirm nursed either to well-being and/or the loving embrace of the All-Merciful.
The role of Hakim was to be a constructive cultivator of health and well-being rather than a destroyer of disease. And this is no semantic difference we are highlighting; the difference between the former and the latter is as great as the distance between the East and the West. Though much of the original orientation to this healing art has been abandoned in the modern day by positivistic scientism, materialist reductionism, and the (attempted) collapse of the Sacred, this age-old vocation continues to thrive to this day- by the grace of God.
Hikma Medicine, Islamic Healing Medicine, or Original Medicine as sometimes we like to call it, is not an “alternative” or a “complement” to something else. It is not an add-on nor a foot-note. HIKMA represents an ancient tradition, and serves as the ocean from which the eddy of scientific medicine is maintained. Here at Forward To Health, we are honored to serve not only torch-bearers of this ancient legacy but also revivers and articulators of its modern Islamic iteration in HIKMA: Holistic Islamic Knowledge of the Medical Arts.
In HIKMA we adapt the Prophetic teaching, “Wisdom is the lost property of the believer; wherever he finds it, he has most right to it.”
The Healer Prophet ﷺ also teaches us, “God does not send down [tanzil] a disease except that He sends down with it a corresponding cure. Whoever knows, it knows it; and whoever is ignorant of it, remains ignorant of it.”
Rooting our paradigm and principles in the Islamic tradition and value system, HIKMA draws inspiration from the rich fertile soil of the Islamic intellectual and spiritual legacy to direct one’s attention outward towards creation, God’s variegated canvas of ever-evolving multiplicities, curiously seeking out God’s wisdom and mercy wherever it may appear on the ‘horizons’. From there, the Hakim is to subsequently root that knowledge in a way that honors Islamic principles while also offering the fresh “rain” of medicine and mercy from God.
This sending down (tanzil) is not an ancient downpour that we have to go look in the rock formations of Africa to apprehend. This ‘sending down’ of cures is imminent, timely, relevant, fresh from God, and perfectly attuned to the needs of the people receiving the healing. In the past this may have looked like bone-setting, herbal medicine, acupuncture and nutrition, music therapy, drama, or even equine therapy. Today, it may include any or all those things but also include homeopathic medicine, pharmaceutical medicine, trauma healing modalities, body work, community rituals, special forms of dhikr, and even martial art practices from halfway across the world.
The mercy of God is Infinite. And the pathways of healing and wayfaring to Him are as vast as the number of breaths of the human being. The Hakim is someone who understands this and seeks to 1) empathize and know their patients as unique people on a journey to God, and 2) use whatever may be available on the surface of the Earth to facilitate the individual’s development through use of a holistic system of individualized prescribing and professional care. In this way, Hikma integrates both art and science through a type of cross-pollination through which both dimensions strengthen the vocation.
The scholars of Islam have always prioritized the knowledge of medicine. Imam Shafi is commonly known to have said, “Knowledge is of two orders: the Knowledge of Religion (Dīn) and the Knowledge of Medicine.”
Many of our traditional scholars were also physicians, using their compendious knowledge of hadith as well as medical knowledge in writing their books on Prophetic Medicine and practice. This knowledge was seen as something worthy of being studied and devoting one’s life to. Scholars have even gone so far to express that this knowledge & service is a fard kifayah (communal obligation) for every community to facilitate for its populace along with the Fuqaha (legal jurists) and Quran teachers. And this absolutely is a part of our intention- may God accept and facilitate.
In conclusion: Hikma Medicine may be a new term to many but it is not the re-invention of a wheel. Hikma Medicine is a continuation of a millennia-spanning tradition that seeks to revive the Holistic Islamic Knowledge of the Medical Arts in a time of its abandon, bringing it into the modern day by tapping into the ‘fresh rain’ of all that God has made available for us in the 21st century to address our unique needs and imbalances, in an intuitive, professional system of holistic diagnosis and treatment.
We ask God for His acceptance, His winds of gentle facilitation and inspiration, and the capacity to serve as embodiments of Prophetic Mercy ﷺ in a time of tremendous fracture and alienation.
Rahma, ya Rab
Shifa, ya Rab.
Afiya, ya Rab.
© Mazen Atassi, 2025
Mazen Atassi, ND
Dr. Mazen is a naturopathic doctor, classic homeopath, holistic counselor & the founding director of Forward To Health.
To learn more about his services visit: www.forwardtohealth.com/dr-mazen