Short answer
No. Seeking treatment does not go against tawakkul. The Prophet ﷺ told people to seek treatment, saying Allah has made a cure for every disease. Tawakkul means using the means Allah made and trusting Him for the result. The Hanafi school says treatment is permitted and encouraged; in the Hanbali school, leaving it out of reliance on Allah can be better.
Seeking treatment is permissible and recommended, and it does not lessen reliance on Allah. Classical Hanafi texts do not make it strictly obligatory, because a cure through it is not certain, though many contemporary Hanafi scholars say it is blameworthy to refuse a proven, life-saving treatment.
Other madhhabs
- Hanbali
- Treatment is permitted, but leaving it out of reliance on Allah is better in the school's well-known position.
Explanation
When a group of Bedouins asked the Prophet ﷺ whether they should seek treatment, he said, "Yes, servants of Allah, seek treatment," because Allah has not made a disease without making a cure for it, except old age. In another hadith he said that when the right remedy is found, the disease is cured by Allah's permission. The cure is from Allah, and medicine is the means He uses, just as Ibrahim said, "When I am ill, it is He who cures me."
The Prophet ﷺ himself was treated and recommended cupping, and he told a Companion who overworked himself that his body had a right over him. Using means and relying on Allah go together: you take the medicine with your hand and leave the outcome to Him in your heart.
A hadith describes seventy thousand of the ummah who enter Paradise without reckoning, who do not ask for ruqyah or cauterisation and who rely on their Lord. Scholars explain this as praise for a high level of reliance, not a ban on treatment, since the Prophet ﷺ allowed and practised treatment.
In practice:
- see a qualified doctor and follow their advice
- make dua and recite ruqyah from the Quran alongside treatment, not instead of it
- be wary of anyone who tells you to drop proven treatment for an unproven "spiritual" or "natural" cure
Duas for the sick are in dua for health and healing.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Ash-Shu'araa 26:80
وَإِذَا مَرِضْتُ فَهُوَ يَشْفِينِ ﴿٨٠﴾
And when I am ill, it is He who cures me
The cure comes from Allah, whatever the means.
Quran, Surah At-Talaaq 65:3
وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ ۚ وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُۥٓ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بَٰلِغُ أَمْرِهِۦ ۚ قَدْ جَعَلَ ٱللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدْرًۭا ﴿٣﴾
And will provide for him from where he does not expect. And whoever relies upon Allah - then He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Allah has already set for everything a [decreed] extent.
Reliance on Allah is in the heart, alongside the means.
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2038
Graded sahih... نعم يا عباد الله تداووا فإن الله لم يضع داء إلا وضع له ...
"Yes, servants of Allah, seek treatment, for Allah has not made a disease without making a cure for it, except one: old age."
Treatment is commanded by the Prophet himself.
Sahih Muslim 2204
Sahih... لكل داء دواء فإذا أصيب دواء الداء برأ بإذن الله ...
"Every disease has a remedy, and when the right remedy is found, the disease is cured by Allah's permission."
Medicine is a means, and the cure is by Allah's permission.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1975
Sahih... فإن لجسدك عليك حقا وإن لعينك عليك حقا ...
"Your body has a right over you, and your eyes have a right over you."
Caring for your health is part of the religion.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Karahiyya, chapter on treatment. Treatment is permitted, and a person who leaves it is not sinful, unlike leaving food when starving.
- Kashshaf al-Qina, Kitab al-Jana'iz, opening section on treatment. The Hanbali position that treatment is permitted and leaving it is better.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.