Al-Kayy (heat therapy)

Introduction

The medical history of Muslims is one of the important subjects in historical studies and Islamic civilisation. Since the days of its formation, due to the necessity, the Islamic society turned its attention to medicine and as well as using the medical experience of the pre-Islamic societies like the Persians, Indians and Romans by translating their books, the Muslims would also record their findings by writing books. Kayy or heating the parts of the body was one of these medical findings and common methods of human society in the field of treating illness and was used in every civilised human society and was handed down from one generation to the next. This term and method of treatment which was common among the Muslim doctors has come to attention in different ways such as religious narrations and the literature of Muslim nations, including Arabic and Persian, and it has specific stages. It was used to treat many outer and inner illnesses of the human body until the formation of modern medicine. In many books regarding Islamic medicine, there are significant articles regarding the necessity of using heat therapy, the kinds of diseases able to be treated through this method and the shape and material of the tools used, and they have also explained further.

Definition of kayy

Kayy is an Arabic word and its English equivalent is heat therapy, and in the past, it was known as a method of treatment. Shepherds would use heat to brand their camels and sheep in a way that a part of its skin would be burnt by the iron so that it could be recognised. Kayy was common during the time of the Holy Prophet and the Islamic era. In the Quran, some of the branches of this word have been used in the same manner, “On the day when these shall be heated in Hellfire and therewith branded on their foreheads, their sides and their backs [and told], ‘This is what you treasured up for yourselves, so taste what you treasured!’”

Narrations regarding kayy

It has been narrated from Jabir ibn Abdullah who said that he heard the Holy Prophet say,

“If there is something that is best among the cures, it is honey sherbet, the blade for hijamah (cupping) or heat therapy by fire, and I don’t like heat therapy.”

The Holy Prophet said, “Healing lies in three things; in the blade of hijamah, honey sherbet or heat therapy by fire, and I forbid my nation from heat therapy.” Imam Baqir said, “Arab medicine lies in three things; the cupping razor, huqnah and the last is heat therapy.” and in another narration, he said, “Arab medicine lies in seven things; the blade of hijamah, huqnah, bathing, saut (a special ball that is placed in the nose, is smelt and causes sneezing), qayy, honey sherbet and the last is heat therapy. One may add nurah (a powder which removes hair and softens the skin) to these.”

Some scholars have explained the sayings of the Holy Prophet, “I don’t like heat therapy,” and, “I forbid my nation from heat therapy,” by saying that one must not rush to treat themselves by heat therapy except in a case in which there is no other way and as long as other cures are possible, one mustn’t turn to heat therapy for a cure, especially when it is understood that the pain of the illness is less than the pain which is cured by heat therapy. For this reason, it is possible that the famous sentence, “The last cure is kayy,” is used as a proverb in the Arabic language and is advised as the last treatment for an illness in Islamic medicine. According to these words which aren’t not unrelated with the Holy Prophet’s words, treatment by heat therapy would only take place when the doctor was unable to cure the patient through other means.

Necessity and benefit of heat therapy

Doctors have mentioned many benefits for heat therapy and they have considered it necessary at a time when a malignant moisture overtakes one of the parts of the body and drying and burning medicines don’t have an effect, and therefore, in this case, fire would be more effective than medication and accelerate the time of the patient’s recovery. Avicenna believed that heat therapy was beneficial for preventing pollution from spreading around the body, strengthening the body parts, removing pollutive materials and preventing bleeding. Jurjani saw the benefit of heat therapy in removing an excess of moisture from the parts of the body but of course, only in a time when all other methods of removing moisture were deemed ineffective.

Heat therapy hasn’t only been used to stop bleeding and treating illnesses, but rather, it has also been used to prevent illnesses. For example, Zahrawi has prescribed heat therapy for children to prevent kyphosis and another time, he suggested the same method of treatment to treat abdominal hernia. This method has been used to cure a plethora of illnesses, be it internal or external to the body. Illnesses such as illnesses of the head, chronic pain, epilepsy, melancholy, cataracts, epiphora, the bad smell of the nose, ptosis, eyelashes which have ingrown and irritate the eye, chronic eye ache, fatigue, leprosy, overgrown eyelashes, exhaustion, spleen disease, nosebleeds, ear infections, dropsy, stomach pain and irritation, dislocation of the shoulder, cleft lip, ulcers of the mouth, toothache, kidney and womb pain, cancer, scrofula, vitiligo, gangrene, trembling, bleeding due to the severance of an artery, hepatitis, gout and other joint pain, pilonidal disease, weakness of the buttocks and a hernia can be treated by heat therapy. Heat therapy has even been used to treat insanity.

Methods of performing heat therapy

Heat therapy was performed in several manners, two of which were common. One was to use burning or heating medicines or to pour a boiling material onto the place of the wound or the patient’s body part, and the other was to heat the part of the body with a boiling piece of metal. Heating medicines include lime, rust, forms of alum, forms of orpiment, cumin, sepiolite and donkey dung. The amount of how much they heated the body varied and some of them like lime and cumin didn’t have a great effect. These medicines would burn and dry the skin. The skin would burn in such a way that it was as if it had been burnt by fire and would prevent the are from bleeding. These medications would be used to prevent bleeding of the arteries and states resembling this. The heating medicines would sometimes be used together. For example, sometimes, normal softened soap had been prescribed with dry lime. Jurjani considered heating medicines such as iron sulphate and forms of alum as a treatment for bleeding. According to his beliefs, one must try to use heating medicines as little as possible.

In the method which requires heating with metal which had several problems, they would heat the brand and put it on the body part of the patient. It was necessary for the doctor to have enough attention and experience to not damage the nerves or tendons with the heat. Sometimes, the place intended for heat therapy was marked with a pencil and then they would start their work. They would call this ‘marked heat therapy’. This would help with the accuracy of the operation. As well as the two aforementioned methods, there were other methods of heat therapy. They would sometimes use boiling oil which Zahrawi would use for teeth with plaque. Candle wax would also be used for treatment. Sometimes, they would use lead for heat therapy, this method being very old. According to Zahrawi, if a carotid-cavernous sinus fistula isn’t cured by fire, corrosive heating medication must be applied on it until the bone is shown.

Material of tools used in heat therapy

The tools of heat therapy were made from metals like iron, copper, silver and gold. The choice of the kind of metal had a direct relationship with the state of the place, the number of doctors, the financial status of the patient, the kind of illness and the part of body that is infected. Most doctors considered the best metal for heat therapy to be gold and they preferred it over iron. Of course, working with gold was a bit difficult.

Disadvantages of heat therapy

Using the treatment of heat therapy sometimes has dangerous, problematic and unpleasant side-effects. Sometimes, due to the doctor being an amateur, his inattentiveness or the tools being inappropriate, not only would the patient not recover, but rather, a major artery or vein would be burnt and due to the bleeding or the deep wound in the place of the heat therapy, it would harm the patient severely and sometimes, even result in the patient’s death. For example, during heat therapy for people with a hernia, every precaution must be taken so that the patient’s intestines don’t fall out or are burnt as this would result in the death of the patient or worse.