Concluding Remarks
Medical theory in medieval Islam was not uniform and the relationship between spiritual aetiology and humoral pathology changed from that of interdependence in the early period to that of rivalry to a certain extent in the later period.
Between the ninth and eleventh centuries, natural/astral causality constituted the conceptual and theoretical common ground between medicine and the occult. It was believed that the body encapsulated the whole universe and therefore medical theory incorporated theories of astral causation formulated by astrologers. Diseases were believed to have planetary causes; the influences of certain configurations of celestial bodies incline toward illness. Their powers are attributed to the animating principles and superior natures of spheres often called celestial souls (ruhdmyydt)™® That is not to say that we cannot find in this period references to Jinn and devils causing any illnesses. Al-Tabari, a proponent of astrological medicine, points out that a part of the science of medicine addresses illnesses caused by Jinn and devils.i4i He explains that these “spirits” interfere with people's lives due to many causes such as desire for flesh and blood or love and longing for a person. They attack when the targeted person is alone, in a dark, destroyed place of worship, or cemetery; also when that person is dirty or sinful.^2 However, he separates them from the category of astral ruhdniyydt.The intersection of occultism and medicine is also found in theories that explain the efficacy of magical and medicinal concoctions. They work because of inherent occult properties of the materials used. These properties originated in the stars and planets; and so, as the Brethren of Purity declared, medicine is a licit form of magic. In addition to the natural potency of minerals, plants and animals, astral magic is another way to harness the healing powers of the stars. However, that is not to say that proponents of astrological medicine always condoned the use of magic.
Al-Ruhawi in the ninth century warns against those who claim to cure through magic and talismans and even suggests that belief in alchemy and magic can cause “illnesses of the brain.”[990] [991]By the thirteenth century, we notice a tendency to separate the vocation of the physicians from those who heal spiritual afflictions. Moreover, the diseasing ruhaniyyat were stripped of their moral neutrality and took on a demonic nature. An act of healing supernatural diseases was likened by Ibn Qayyim al- Jawziyya to “a meeting of two armies;” between good and evil. “These deeds,” he writes, “will invoke the angelic spirits who can conquer the evil spirits, make void their evil and repel their influence”^ The occultists of the later period chose to combat evil spirits and diseases with magic, whereas proponents of Prophetic Medicine adopted the Qur’an and prayers as their means “to invoke the angelic spirits” who administer the will of God.
These vacillations and tensions in the medieval discourse of healing are relevant today. Therapies and cures are adopted according to the individual’s perception of the “true” causes of illness. The holistic claims of astrological medicine are echoed now in alternative medicine such as homeopathy and aromatherapy; and on the religious side of things, faith healing remains to this day practised to cure body and soul. These alternatives are in constant clash with mainstream medicine and religious orthodoxy, but will always have their proponents since wellbeing is ultimately managed according to one’s own beliefs and convictions.