Ramadhan explicitly demonstrates appetite can be controlled through conscious will aligned with divine command and support.
Pharmaceutical-first obesity treatment asserts de facto that appetite cannot be adequately controlled through consciousness and will, and so requires chemical suppression.
A comprehensive 2013 review in Glucagon-like peptide 1 and appetite establishes that GLP-1 reduces appetite primarily through peripheral mechanisms that alter gastrointestinal function, specifically by decreasing gastric emptying and intestinal motility.
The study showed that GLP-1 medication works by modulating neural input to the circular muscle layer of the intestine through vagal-mediated pathways and enteric neuronal receptors, thereby mechanically interfering with stomach signaling rather than developing conscious restraint.
This is in contradiction of the duty of responding to signs that Allah has made clear for mankind for his wise purposes. When you prescribe weight-loss drugs as first-line treatment, you reject the signs inherent in Ramadhan. You either neglect them out of ignorance or de facto you declare them insufficient for clinical reality. This treats divine revelation about human nature as irrelevant to healthcare.
Dear Visitors,
Please find below a guest post by Abdullah Reed. We share this post for the research and information purposes only.
PHARMACY FIRST OBESITY TREATMENT: VIOLATIONS
OF ISLAMIC ETHICS
A Quranic Exegesis For Islamic Healthcare Applications
Abdullah Reed Independent Islamic Science Researcher
Preface
Ethics is of the utmost importance for people who believe in consequences. Deeds are judged by intentions and their manifest results, which lead to afterlife rewards and punishments. Even without faith considerations, ethics is a necessary basis for anyone working in humanities who wants to do good. One example is Henry Beecher’s stance in Ethics and Clinical Research, published in The Lancet in 1966. Beecher claimed that the problem with unethical practices was not that researchers were malicious or evil; rather, he claimed the problem was they manifested thoughtlessness or carelessness. 1
In this amazing age of accessible information, this idea applies to researchers, practitioners, and bystanders alike.
1 Scher S, Kozlowska K. Rethinking Health Care Ethics [Internet]. Singapore: Palgrave Pivot; 2018. Chapter 3, The Rise of Bioethics: A Historical Overview. 2018 Aug 3. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK543570/doi:
10.1007/978-981-13-0830-7_3
Introduction
This paper argues that pharmaceutical-first obesity treatment violates fundamental Islamic principles by systematically disregarding revealed knowledge about human nature and willpower. Such approaches: (1) reject the explicit signs of Ramadhan demonstrating appetite control through conscious will, (2) contradict the Adamic prototype as the foundational model for eating behavior, (3) bypass the development of restraint (tarbiyah) in favor of chemical dependency, (4) invert Islamic priorities by subordinating moral development to biological survival, and (5) perpetuate economic injustice through resource misallocation. By examining these violations through Qur’anic exegesis, this analysis demonstrates that pharmaceutical-first approaches are incompatible with an
Islamic treatment of obesity. It is the author’s thought which he believes to be true and beneficial for mankind; readers may disagree if they wish.
Background
Contemporary obesity treatment increasingly defaults to pharmacological interventions such as GLP-1 agonists, appetite suppressants, and absorption inhibitors as first-line or early-line therapy. Muslim healthcare providers increasingly adopt these protocols, sometimes invoking “preservation of life” as a reason to justify
pharmaceutical intervention for obesity-related health risks.
Disregard of Ramadhan Signs
Ramadhan explicitly demonstrates appetite can be controlled through conscious will aligned with divine command and support.
Pharmaceutical-first obesity treatment asserts de facto that appetite cannot be adequately controlled through consciousness and will, and so requires chemical suppression.
A comprehensive 2013 review in Glucagon-like peptide 1 and appetite establishes that GLP-1 reduces appetite primarily through peripheral mechanisms that alter gastrointestinal function, specifically by decreasing gastric emptying and intestinal motility. 2
The study showed that GLP-1 medication works by modulating neural input to the circular muscle layer of the intestine through vagal-mediated pathways and enteric neuronal receptors, thereby mechanically interfering with stomach signaling rather than developing conscious restraint.
This is in contradiction of the duty of responding to signs that Allah has made clear for mankind for his wise purposes. When you prescribe weight-loss drugs as first-line treatment, you reject the signs inherent in Ramadhan. You either neglect them out of ignorance or de facto you declare them insufficient for clinical reality. This treats divine revelation about human nature as irrelevant to healthcare. 3
Contradict The Adam Prototype 4
Adam’s eating failure was willpower and consciousness failure (Qur’an, surah Ta Ha, verse 115).
2 Dailey, M. J., & Moran, T. H. (2013). Glucagon-like peptide 1 and appetite. Trends in endocrinology and metabolism: TEM, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tem.2012.11.008
3 Healing is from Allah, as shown in Ash-Shu’araa, ayah 80, and the path of Allah now includes reading, as explained in Al ‘Alaq, ayaat 1-5.
4 Adam was the first human being, and he faced an eating challenge. The clear relatability of Adam’s story as an eating behaviour challenge is impossible to avoid for believers.
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Allah revealed this as the primary prototype for eating science. Pharmaceutical intervention bypasses willpower development. When medication stops, problems return because nothing internal changed. Patients were medicated, not trained, i.e, overmedicalised. 5
This treats the Adam story as if it has no scientific truth content that could inform human eating behavior.
Restriction, Suppression, and Extravagance
Pharmaceutical restriction without divine command chemically alters appetite signaling so patients need not develop their capacity for restraint. This is not the Islamic path. 6
Weight-loss drugs suppressing appetite so severely that normal eating becomes difficult constitute arbitrary restriction. Pre-Islamic Arabs would abstain from foods during Hajj thinking this was piety. Allah
prohibited this. He commands mankind to eat from his provision.
Modern pharmaceutical appetite suppression follows the same logic as the ignorant Arabs and there are many other examples of unintelligent restriction.
Continued israf, i.e, excessive eating, while medicated is common.
5 Surah Ta Ha teaches the principle of mental restraint throughout: Moses’ need for prolific dhikr in the face of great pressure, the magicians’ seeing the clear signs, and Pharaoh’s psychodelusional state of gross transgression all
combine to teach this lesson, and even the opening of the surah with the mention of Allah’s names and his oneness together is facilitative of sound psychological development leading to strong Islamic willpower. The surah
also includes Adam’s story as an example of the failure to use mental restraint (ayaat 115-122), then it follows his story with advice for the believers at large (ayaat 123-132). Allah commends those who attain mental restraint with the label “ النهى أولى” ,” people of mental restraint” (ayataan 54 and 128).
6 Our service to Allah in being submitted and attaining beneficial willpower – the will to resist for his sake – requires true spirituality and submission (e.g., Surah An-Naazi’at, ayah 40, Surah Al-Hajj as a whole, and other surahs also
confirm this).
Some pharmaceuticals allow continued excessive eating while chemically blocking consequences. This is “becoming heedless to real objectives and remaining busy with nothing but eating and drinking.” 7
Patients do not learn moderation. They remain in a disordered relationship with food, just chemically protected.
Resource Misallocation
Spending thousands on weight-loss pharmaceuticals while communities lack basic healthcare or while neglecting feeding the poor constitutes wastage. Personal resource use cannot violate the economic
rights of others.
Satan’s Footsteps Followed
Pharmaceutical obesity treatment follows Satan’s footsteps by creating pharmaceutical dependencies instead of Godconsciousness. As Satan would like, taking pharmacological weight loss treatment ahead of behavioural reform often makes people believe they cannot control appetite without chemicals.
Satan hates us to read the Qur’an attentively. Skipping the signs of Allah regarding managing food consumption is his work. 8
7 Padela, Aasim I. 2022. “Maqāṣidī Models for an “Islamic” Medical Ethics: Problem-Solving or Confusing at the Bedside?” American Journal of Islam and Society 39, nos. 1-2: 72–114 • doi: 10.35632/ajis.v39i1-2.3069
8 Adam’s eating mistake was named disobedience (surah Ta Ha, ayah 121), and was significant enough to have him and his wife removed from Paradise to Earth. While we have not only been prohibited a single isolated food item as
Adam was, we do have the same eating desires inside our souls and face a similar challenge with food. We face the challenge of obeying Allah’s commands across a broader range of actions than Adam did, including food-related and sexuality-related commands. Noteworthy is that these two are grouped together in both the story of Adam in surah Ta Ha, particularly as a reminder of the blessings of Paradise, and the Ramadhan signs in surah
This treatment path may prolong disordered eating, which is sinful eating, while chemically managing consequences, in which case Satan’s expectations will be fulfilled. This is a violation of explicit Qur’anic teachings. 9
The Obligation to Avoid Impure Food Downplayed Obesity typically involves heedless consumption of processed foods, yet avoiding khobithaat, impure foods, is an essential part of Islamic
eating science.
The struggle against the khobiithaat is particularly important for developing responsible attitudes towards food. 10
Pharmaceutical intervention addresses weight while ignoring the impurity of the food. Patients can lose weight while continuing to consume spiritually damaging foods.
9 We need tarbiyah from our Lord to develop strong will, including tauhid, salah, dhikr, close support, and supplication (Al-Baqarah, ayataan 168-169, Moses’ story in Ta Ha, ayaat 13-36, worship instructions in Ta Ha, ayaat130-132, and dhikr instructions in surah Al-A’raf, ayaat 204-206, as well as other ayaat throughout the Qur’an).
10 This struggle is most clearly and comprehensively defined in surah Al-Maa’idah, ayaat 1-5 and 98-100. Allah employs the word “i’lamuu”, meaning “Know that …” as a way to directly develop self-awareness and
responsibility in his servants. This command, the open command to acknowledge the fact that divine consequences are severe, serves to utilise the human intellect for the higher purpose of salvation from the fire rather than
leaving it to be occupied with worldly targets. It thereby links human cognition to consumption of a targeted range of foods – pure foods – rather than leaving food selection as a free matter.
Al-Baqarah (Ayah 118 in Ta Ha, and ayah 187 in Al Baqarah). Both confirm the connection between sexual desire and food desire. In surah Al-A’raf they are also paired, as nudity is associated with uncontrolled eating.
Religious Purpose Inverted
Standard pharmaceutical justification invokes health risks: diabetes, cardiovascular disease, mortality. This prioritizes biological survival. Islam subordinates biological outcomes to moral development, not the other way around, achieving this within merciful prescriptions.
Al-Baqarah 2:187: health-related signs are made clear “that they may become God conscious.”
Economic Injustice
Pharmaceutical industry enrichment accumulates from lifelong dependencies while communities lacking basic healthcare go on Lacking. The money going on pharmaceuticals could feed the hungry
or provide clean water.
This is systemic injustice. First line pharmaceutical approaches let food industries continue producing obesogenic products while medical industries profit from treating the results. Neither addresses the causes.
Class disparity: expensive pharmaceuticals for the wealthy while the poor suffer without treatment. Spending on pharmaceutical obesity treatment while neglecting charity obligations and community needs violates the wise
consumption and economic principles of Islam (Qur’an 6:141, for example).
Community Model Neglected or Distorted
Qur’anic health model involves community: Ramadhan fasting is carried out together. It often includes breaking fast together and supporting each other to gain discipline.
Pharmaceutical treatment isolates individuals with prescriptions and disconnects the user from the biorhythms of their family. It lowers the power of communal transformation and redirects structural community change, normalising wrong eating.
Conclusion
Pharmaceutical-first obesity treatment violates Islamic principles through systematic disregard of revealed knowledge about human nature and willpower. The liability falls upon both the practitioners who prescribe these protocols as well as their patients. The Islamic alternative centers willpower development as first-line intervention: conscious restraint through spiritual practices (dhikr, salah, fasting, repentance, charity, and supplication, and other forms of worship), community-based support through eating with family taking Ramadhan cohort dynamics as inspiration for group eating therapy programs, including consumption of pure foods (tayyibat) in obesity treatment protocols, and integration of physical health with moral development and religious obligations.
For sane adult Muslims facing weight challenges, the oath to obey Allah and His Messenger is not negotiable.
Pharmaceutical interventions, used when necessary, must follow sustained engagement with the spiritual path, not precede it.
Muslim scholars and practitioners must urgently return to the Qur’an, seeking its wise and beneficial teachings for their healthcare services. Clinical protocols that exclude divine revelation cannot serve Muslim communities faithfully nor carry Muslim practitioners to their true goal of Allah’s pleasure.
Muslim healthcare providers and scholars are obligated to convey knowledge responsibly: each will be held accountable for what they knew, taught, and prescribed.
The atomic precision of divine accountability means practitioners cannot hide behind institutional protocols or
consensus guidelines when those protocols contradict revealed knowledge.
Developing tarbiyah-centered clinical pathways is not optional scholarly work, but the discharge of a trust (amaanah) owed to Allah, a witnessing of divine truth to mankind, and a service to Muslim communities whose wellbeing depends on providers who honor both medicine and religion.
