This famous hadith is the bedrock of patient safety. Any treatment that causes greater harm than benefit (e.g., a lethal drug for a headache) is forbidden.

Islamic medicine is built on the foundation that every disease has a cure created by God, and seeking that cure is a religious duty.

But what exactly is this document, and why has it become an essential reference in clinics, universities, and homes across the globe? This feature unpacks the origins, contents, and modern relevance of these sacred medical guidelines.

When accessing a document regarding Islamic guidelines on medicine, one will inevitably encounter a set of core axioms derived from the Quran and the Sunnah (traditions of the Prophet Muhammad). These principles serve as the bedrock for all medical ethics in the Islamic world.

In PDF format, these documents serve as a digital, searchable, and portable reference. They distill centuries of Islamic scholarship into practical rulings covering everything from organ donation to cosmetic surgery. The most widely cited version often refers to the Code of Ethics for Muslim Physicians or the proceedings of the International Conferences on Islamic Medicine held in Kuwait and Casablanca.