Role of Physicians in Healing

Meditate on these quotations to gain insight into the role of physicians in healing the body

Do not neglect medical treatment when it is necessary, but leave it off when health has been restored. Treat disease through diet, by preference, refrain from the use of drugs; and if you find what is required in a single herb, do not resort to a compounded medicament...Abstain from drugs when health is good, but administer them when necessary.¹⁸

Resort ye, in times of sickness, to competent physicians; We have not set aside the use of material means, rather have We confirmed it through this Pen, which God hath made to be the Dawning-place of His shining and glorious Cause.¹⁹

"…in case of illness we should always consult the most competent physicians…For prayer alone is not sufficient. To render it more effective we have to make use of all the physical and material advantages which God has given us. Healing through purely physical forces is undoubtedly as inadequate as that which materialist physicians and thinkers vainly seek to obtain by resorting entirely to mechanical devices and methods. The best result can be obtained by combining the two processes, spiritual and physical." ²⁰

Whatever competent physicians or surgeons prescribe for a patient should be accepted and complied with, provided that they are adorned with the ornament of justice. If they were to be endued with divine understanding, that would certainly be preferable and more desirable. ²¹