Air (Part 1 of 6 – The Cause of Dis-ease)
Air is the lifeline for humans. Oxygen within the air is used by the body to transform other nutrition into useful energy. The air we breathe out removes waste products such as carbon dioxide, a gas that is essential to plants.
If the air remains pure, it is a great protection for the body and is essential to keep the self-balanced. Depending upon the temperature and moistness of the air it can have very different effects as a change in air can be the cause of dis-ease. Not only does the air quality we breathe has an impact on us but also the quality of our own breathing. Headaches, tiredness and irritability does often result in insufficient oxygen.
Seasonal changes also have an adverse effect on the body. Exposure to extreme conditions can be severely dangerous, so special care must be taken so that an optimum temperature is maintained.
It is a well-known fact that the air in Madinah at the time of Hijrah was a cause of many dis-eases to visitors, according to some scholars, this is the very reason Madinah was formerly known as Yathrib. Yathrib is derived from tathrib which means to blame. Or tharb which means putridity and disintegration.
After the Hijrah, the sahaba’s like Abu Bakr (RA) and Bilal (RA) fell ill due to the air in Madinah to which the Prophet of Allah (SAW) made supplication to Allah (SWT) to remove this affliction.
A’isha (RA) narrated that Raool’Allah (SAW) made the following dua to Allah (SWT):
“O Allah, make us love Madinah as we love Makkah or even more than that. O Allah, bless our Sa’ and Mudd (measures symbolising food) and make the climate of Madinah suitable for us, and divert its fever towards Al-Juhfa” – Bukhari Volume 3 Book 30 Number 113.
Soon after this, Rasool’Allah (SAW) saw in a dream which he interpreted as his wish being fulfilled. Abdullah ibn Umar (RA) reported that the Prophet of Allah (SAW) said:
“I saw in a dream a black woman with unkempt hair going out of Madinah and settling in Mahai’a (Al-Juhfa). I interpreted that as a symbol of epidemic of Madinah being transferred to that place” – Bukhari Volume 9 Book 87 Number 161.