What Does a University Professor’s Letter to Ayatollah Tabrizian Say About Coronavirus?

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A University Professor’s Letter to Ayatollah Tabrizian

—Breaking news: Dr. Mohammad Hossein Papoli Yazdi, a distinguished professor of geography, has responded in a letter to Ayatollah Tabrizian’s actions in dealing with the coronavirus outbreak.

The text of Dr. Papoli’s letter follows:

Dear Ayatollah Tabrizian,

Greetings,

These days, you are making claims that have been around for a thousand years.

I hope you will give some thought to the Qur’anic calls to reflect and reason.

There are a few things you should know:

1. Throughout history, plague, cholera, typhoid, tuberculosis, measles, malaria, leprosy, and other diseases have appeared time and again. Your like-minded predecessors made the same claims you do. The result was that countless millions of faithful Muslims and non-Muslims died.

2. In 1308 AH, cholera killed 20,000 of Mashhad’s 80,000 residents. One in every four people died. People like you did not even have the knowledge to tell them to boil their water before drinking it.

You said the same things when plant diseases struck.

You opposed Zakariya al-Razi and Avicenna, too.

The thinking of people like you cost millions of lives around the world.

Most importantly, the un-Qur’anic thinking of people like you meant that Pasteur, Koch, and dozens of other non-Muslims received the credit for vaccines.

Pasteur, Koch, and the creators of the smallpox vaccine, malaria treatments, and other remedies served humanity, human decency, religion, and the oneness of God.

If you support the Qur’an, you should now be raising billions in funding for the Pasteur Institute so that Muslim scholars can have the honour of developing a coronavirus vaccine.

Even now, you and your supporters would do better to take over a hospital—and if the Ministry of Health will not give you one, set up a field hospital—and treat the coronavirus patients who believe in your medicine.

You are holding back the development of the Muslim world and of young Muslims everywhere.

Your Reverence takes pride in burning books. What kind of achievement is that?

Anyone who rejects knowledge is an enemy of God, for God is the Knower of all that has been and all that will be.

Peace be upon you.

Professor Mohammad Hossein Papoli Yazdi  
Retired professor, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran  
1398/12/16

Accepted Answer

This letter reads more like an insult than a critique or analysis. Its author, driven by marked bias and a wholly unscientific approach, attacks Mr Tabrizian and the religious community, making baseless accusations against them. A few points about the text need to be clarified.

No one considers Mr Tabrizian infallible; like other researchers and scholars, he is liable to make mistakes. When he burned the book *Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine*, the religious community immediately condemned the act as reprehensible and responded to it.

Despite some of Mr Tabrizian’s errors and excesses, fairness requires us to acknowledge his original research in medicine, especially Islamic medicine. The effectiveness of his remedies in improving certain conditions is so evident to many that people trust them and benefit from them. Those who deny this appear to be acting out of stubbornness and envy.

Islamic medicine is a complete system, but today we are still at the beginning of research into this vast field. Those who uncover the treasures of religion are only just beginning to discover the secrets of Islamic medicine; no one can claim to have mastered all its knowledge.

Authentic Islamic medicine does not reject modern medicine. Indeed, many of modern medicine’s achievements are in keeping with Islamic medicine. If modern medicine approached Islamic medicine in a genuine search for truth, it could achieve miraculous successes in treating disease. Otherwise, despite advances in equipment, it will remain powerless against even a minor illness such as COVID-19.

The author does not say explicitly who opposed modern medicine over the past thousand years. What is clear, however, is that religious scholars and renowned Islamic authorities promoted modern medicine, welcomed it and showed scientists great respect.

The author also does not say who obstructed the development of vaccines in Muslim society, or who is currently tying scientists’ hands and preventing them from discovering treatments for today’s diseases. Dr X is free to pursue the discovery of medicines; it would be far better for him to focus on developing a vaccine for COVID-19 rather than making accusations.

The author does not say who failed to realise that water had to be boiled. It is unclear whom he means. Yet Islamic books contain astonishingly valuable instructions on removing microbes from water, food and the environment. Some of these are set out in *Meshkat al-Shifa = The Lantern of Healing* and *Misbah al-Shifa = The Lamp of Healing*.

Unfortunately, the field is very restrictive for researchers in Islamic medicine. If the medical community, which operates under the Ministry of Health, is willing, the wonders of Islamic medicine can be demonstrated. One aspect of this vast tradition is treatment without medication. The Meshkat-e Noor Circle for Fellowship with the Quran and the Ahl al-Bayt is ready to offer this great service to the people of Iran and the world, demonstrating the power of this vast Islamic medicine without using any medication.

What Does a University Professor’s Letter to Ayatollah Tabrizian Say About Coronavirus?

The essence and first answer at a glance (60-word summary)

Answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat)

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