During the period of rapid development of the Islamic cultural world, the art of healing (fann al-shifā’) was one of the most rapidly advancing fields and the Islamic world's contribution to the West was the greatest. ffrom the early period onwards, it is seen that all of the great physicians were both physicians (hekim) and “hakīm”. “That the best physician is also a philosopher” is the title of a work by Galen, who considered himself both a “hekim” and a “hakīm”.

The work of Abū Zayd al-Balkhī (d. 934), one of the most important and versatile scholars of his time and a part of this tradition, Meṣāliḥ al-abdān wa al-anfus is a pioneering work in the history of Islamic medicine that deals with human health in both its physical and spiritual dimensions. Al-Balkhī emphasizes that bodily and spiritual health are deeply interconnected, arguing that human happiness in this world and the afterlife depends on maintaining a balance between these two aspects. This approach, by revealing the body-spirit relationship called “psychosomatics” in modern medicine, argues that physical ailments are affected by mental states and vice versa. Balkhī draws attention to the negative effects of psychological (nafsānī) disorders such as anger, fear, sorrow, and obsession on health and emphasizes the importance of faith, knowledge and wisdom, intellect and reason, wise friends, a good environment, and spiritual development in combating them.

Abū Zayd al-Balkhī Psychosomatic medicine Islamic medicine Holistic health Spirituality