passes before the patient can breathe again. For this reason, no treatment other than cauterization was known in the past for dhāt al-janb (a side infection).

There is no doubt that dhāt al-janb leads to death, and one who dies from it is not considered to have died from anything unusual.

His statement, “and heart pain”: this too is among life-threatening illnesses, for when the heart is afflicted with pain, it cannot pump the blood or cleanse it, and the body consequently perishes. For the heart, by Allah’s permission, is a filter—glory be to Him who created it—to which used blood returns and, in a single beat, comes back purified. It enters through one vessel and leaves through another in an instant; this is the meaning of the heartbeat. Moreover, Allah has placed within it a capacity that becomes active when a person needs it; otherwise, it remains at its normal rate. Thus, when you carry something heavy or run intensely, you find that the heartbeats increase, because it needs to pump quickly.

Therefore, when the heart is painful, it is undoubtedly dangerous for a person. Heart ailments are of various kinds, as physicians know; some are severe, while others are less so.

His statement, “persistent qiyām (diarrhea)”: qiyām means diarrhea. If it persists, there is no doubt that it is life-threatening, because with this diarrhea nothing remains in the intestines from which the body can absorb nourishment, and the person perishes. As for slight diarrhea lasting a day or two, it causes no harm and is not considered a life-threatening illness. But if it persists, its ultimate outcome is death.

His statement, “and nosebleeding”: this is the discharge of blood from the nose. If it is slight, it is not an illness; but if it persists, it is an illness, because