The Prophet's guidance on curing sciatica
Ibn Majah narrated in his Sunan (collection of Hadith) that Anas bin Malik said, I heard the Messenger of Allah b saying:
"Curing sciatica is accomplished by melting the fat from the tail of a nomad's ewe. Then, the fat is divided into three parts and one part per day is drunk on an empty stomach."
Sciatica is an ailment that starts from the hip's joint, then descends to the thigh from the backside of the body. Sometimes, sciatica reaches the ankles and the longer the ailment remains, the lower it descends and the weaker the legs and thighs become.
There are two beneficial understandings in the Hadith mentioned, medical and linguistic.
Linguistically, the Hadith proves that we are allowed to call this ailment a 'Irq (nerve) Nasa (sciatic nerve), to the contrary of the opinion of some people. They said that the Noso is the nerve itself and thus the two words together are redundant.
Answering this claim takes two forms. First, the word 'Irq (nerve) is more general than the word Noso (sciatic nerve). Hence the term 'Iraq An-Nasa gives the
general and the specific meanings desired. Second, the Nasa is an ailment that attacks the nerve and thus the word Nasa should be included in the name given to the ailment [as it specifies the area where the nerve is causing pain]. It was reported that the name 'Irq Nasa is called as such because it makes the people forget (Nasa) any other pain. The sciatic nerve starts from the hips until the bottom of the toot from behind the ankles.
The Messenger of Allah #, as we have noticed in previous Ahadect',, may use two types of meanings in his expressions. One meaning may be general, for all conditions and people, while the other specific, its meaning and indicerions are specifically directed at some particular people or « tuation. The Hadith in this section is the specific type, it + rected at Arabs and the people of
particular people or « tuation. The Hadith in this section 1s
the specific type, it + rected at Arabs and the people of
Hijaz in particular, I. + .iing the Bedouins of those areas. The remedy mentio:.. : the Hadith is the best cure for the people of those ~~ as 'lIrq An-Nasa is caused by dryness or thick, sept: .cumulations. The best treatment for this ailment is usr. = jaxative. The fat on the ewe's
tail has two qualities: bringing the septic substances to maturity and softening (the stool in this case), both are required to cure 'Irq An-Nasa.
In addition, the nomad's ewe has several qualities, such as being small in size, producing lesser excrements and having a soft essence. The nomad's ewe In addition
grazes on beneficial wild plants, such as wormwood and lavender cotton, and so forth. When the ewe feeds on these wild plants. they will mix with and soften the ewe's flesh, especially the fatty tail. Although the ewe's miik carries in it the effective ingredients of the wild plants, tle tail has two qualities that the milk does not have, being a laxative and leading the septic substances to maturity [making them ready to be extracted from the body].
We mentioned before that the regular medicines and remedies of different nations and peoples is based on the type of diet that the people are used to. Indians and Bedouins have a simple diet therefore the do not use complex medicines. As for the Romans and the Greek, they use compound medicines, They all agree, however, that the best treatment for an ailment is a specific diet. Otherwise, the doctors will first prescribe simple and then compound medications, when neccessary.
If the diet is simple, simple medications are suitable for the sunple ailments. The compound ailments, on the other hand, usually occur due to a complex diet and this is why compound medicines are suitable in those cases. Allah knows best.