Secularism in Medicine from Maqasid Al-Syariah

Medicine has been practiced for millennia with the main objective of eliminating disease and regaining health. Modern medicine however has evolved to be an almost secular entity and generally thought to be incompatible with Islam. Islamic medicine is also associated with non-evidenced based practices that are not in line with science. The objective of this study is to explore the concept of secularism that has influenced the framework of thought in medicine from the perspective of maqasid syari’ah (the objectives of Islamic law). Qualitative review incorporating related descriptive and comparative studies. The development of complementary medicine especially non evidence based practices had created confusion within society. At the same time, the modern medicine which based on scientific evidence is dissociated the relation between the human and The Creator. Both practice and belief is against the concept of maqasid syari’ah that aims to preserve the healthy state of the human with the ultimate objective to practice the religion, the authority of scientific based medicine and the authenticity of the epistemology in Islamic tradition of knowledge. In Islam standardization of medical practice is achieved by applying the concept of sunnatullah (the physical law of Allah Taala to the creation) and shari’atullah (the jurisprudence law in term of belief and practice). Practices which are aligned to these principles are accepted and the rest rejected. In other words, practices which are proven to be beneficial to humans and explainable by science yet maintaining the relationship between the human and God are considered to be Islamic medicine by principle. The finding of this review highlights the secularism that affect the complementary and modern medicine will affect the maqasid syari’ah in healthcare practices.