I am also grateful to Hakim Mohammed Said for his valuable advice and for writing the preface for this book. They were the first to introduce systematically in their medical writings small-pox and measles, the treatment of cerebral hemorrhage and apoplexy, allergy, tracheotomy, operation for cataract, paediatrics, anaesthesia and many other specialities on which thousands of books have been written. Islamic medicine has been nurtured by Muslims in the light of the Quranic edicts and Prophetic directions which led the scholars of mysticism and spiritualism to the determination between the Nature and the bodies and between the material and the spiritual worlds. Among the articles of faith the highest degree of importance has been accorded to belief in Allah, after - life, and the Day of Judgement. These are at the very base of ethical conduct, maintenance of eminence in behaviour in worldly affairs, and civilized deportment.
Faith exercises a very deep effect upon the spirit and the body of man.
Materialistic attitudes have been dominant on man for centuries with such an intensity that the voice of those who have reached to the core of the matter has been subdued. Disease in fact is the result of the dissociation of the harmony between the body and the spirit, and Faith is the exactitude which is extremely effective in keeping this harmony intact through its belief in Tawhid and unity of thought. Medicines are gifts from Nature. These were used by the Prophets themselves and they told others to use them. The collection of essays by Dr. Shahid Athar on following pages comprises greater part of Islamic Medical Ethics whereas, it also deals with therapeutics, philosophy, spiritual healing and psychology, the articles being contributed by the scholars of international repute.