Honey is a food, a drink, a sweet, a remedy, a type of refreshment and an ointment, along with its numerous medicinal values. Therefore, there is no other substance that is more beneficial than honey or that even rivals its value. This is why the people of older generations relied on honey and most of the older books do not mention sugar as this was discovered in modem times.
Benefits of Honey
Honey has tremendous medicinal value because it washes away the harmful substances that might be collected in the veins and the intestines.
It is of great nourishment value for the elderly people and those suffering from phlegm and cold moods or condition (chills) as it dissolves the phlegm that is accompanied by coughing.
Licking honey with empty stomach will help the body get rid of mucus and phlegm.
Honey softens one’s bowel movement
Honey cleanses the liver and the chest
Honey adds softness and beauty to the hair while allowing it to grow longer.
Application of honey to the eye as Kohl (Surma) strengthens weak eyesight.
Honey whitens the teeth and preserves the health of teeth and gums.
Honey opens the orifice of the veins and causes the flow of menstruation.
Honey cleanses the stomach and rids it of harmful substances or mixtures, heats the stomach mildly and opens up the pores.
Honey has cleansing effect on the kidneys, prostate and the liver.
Honey dissolves excess moisture and is beneficial as a drink and as an ointment.
Honey aids in producing urine.
Honey acts as a good preserving agent.
Honey reduces the bitter taste of other medicines
When honey is consumed hot and mixed with rose oil, it cures animal bites and the effects of opium.
Taking honey mixed with water helps against the bite of a rabid dog and the effects of eating poisonous mushrooms.
If fresh meat is kept in honey, it preserves its freshness for three months.
Similarly if gourds, cucumbers and eggplants are kept in honey, they too will be preserved.
Honey will keep some types of fruit fresh for six months.
Honey preserves dead corpses, thus deserving to be called, “The True Preserver“.
When honey is applied to someone that is infected with lice, it will kill both the lice and the eggs.
Honey is the least harmful sweet substance for congesting the liver and kidneys.
In addition to all these benefits that we mentioned, honey does not have any side effects nor harm except for those suffering from bile and who should take it with vinegar to neutralize its harm.
Quran and Hadith on Honey and Health
Allah says in the Quran about honeybees and the benefits of honey they produce:
From their bellies comes out a drink of various colors in which there is cure for people. Surely, in that there is a sign for a people who ponder. [16:69]
The Prophet Muhammad used to drink some honey mixed with water on an empty stomach. There is a wonderful secret behind this practice regarding preserving the health. Only those who enjoy sound comprehension will be able to recognize such a secret.
A Hadith narrated by Ibn Majah and others stated that the Prophet said:
“Make use of the two cures: Honey and the Quran.”
This Hadith joins the material and the divine cures, the medicine of the body and the soul, the earthly medicine and the heavenly cure.
The Prophet’s guidance on curing diarrhea by Honey
It is narrated in the Hadith books Bukhari and Muslim that a Sahabi (companion of Prophet Muhammad) named Abu Sa’id Al- Khudri has narrated that:
A man came to the Prophet and said “My brother is complaining about stomach, or he is complaining about diarrhea”.
The Prophet said: “Give him some honey”.
The man went and came back later saying: “I have given him some honey, but it did not help”, or “It made his diarrhea worse”.
The man came to Prophet Muhammad twice or thrice and all the while Prophet continued saying to him “Give him some honey”.
In the third or fourth time, the Prophet said, “Allah has said the truth while your brother’s stomach has lied.”
Prophetic Medicine and its Wisdom
After knowing the cleansing properties of honey let us go back to the man to whom the Prophet had prescribed honey to cure his diarrhea, which in fact was caused by overeating.
The Prophet Muhammad prescribed honey for him to rid his stomach and intestines from accumulating harmful substances or excretions that prevents the food in the stomach from being digested (because honey has a cleansing effect).
The harmful, viscid substances were adhering to the stomach walls which are similar to the material of a towel and were polluting both the stomach and the food. Honey removes these substances that engulf the stomach and it is the best cure for this condition. Honey is a potent cleanser and is effective in treating cases of diarrhea, especially when the honey is mixed with warm water.
The Prophet repeated his command to the man to give some honey to his sick brother for a good reason. The prescribed medicine should be in sufficient doses; otherwise, the ailment will not be fully cured. When the prescribed medicine is in a larger than necessary dose, it will weaken the body and cause side effects.
When the Prophet first ordered the man to give his brother honey, he did not give him a sufficient amount to cure his condition.
When the man said that his brother was not cured, the Prophet knew that the dose was not sufficient, so he told the man several times to give his brother more honey, so that the dose would reach a sufficient amount.
When the sick person has several doses of honey in a sufficient amount to fight the disease, the cure occurs by Allah’s permission. Giving the correct dose of the proper medicine is a major part of the science of medicine.
When the Prophet said to the man:
“Allah has said the truth and your brother’s stomach has lied.”
This indicates the sure effectiveness of the honey.
In addition it indicates that the illness remained not because the prescribed medicine was not effective, but because the stomach had a large amount of spoiled substances in it. Therefore, the Prophet ordered the man to take more medicine because his stomach contained excessive amounts of spoiled substances.
Prophetic Medicine vs Normal Medicine
Prophetic medicine is not similar to that offered by doctors and physicians.
Prophetic medicine is indeed the effective treatment and cure provided by the revelation and the guidance of the Prophet that is coupled with a sound and perfect mind.
In comparison, the majority of remedies prescribed by other than a Prophet are built on hypothesis, observation and experimentation.
How to Benefit from Prophetic Medicine
It is a fact that many people do not benefit from Prophetic medicine because it will help only those who acknowledge and have faith in it. Thus they believe that it will help them and they then submit to it.
If the Quran which is a cure for diseases of the heart is not acknowledged and accepted with faith, it will not provide a cure for the heart.
In fact the Quran will only add more evil and disease to the hearts of the hypocrites.
Prophetic medicine is only suitable for good and pure bodies, just as the Quran is only suitable for righteous souls and feeling hearts.
Therefore when the people ignore Prophetic medicine, it is like ignoring the help and guidance of the Quran which is the most effective medicine.
Also when the medicine (the Quran and the Prophetic medicine) do not work, it is due to the negativity in the body and soul that are not suitable for accepting the medicine, not because the medicine does not work.