Is the Prophet, peace be upon him, a healer of sicknesses?

From: Sunnipath

Question ID: 4765
Date Published : July 03, 2005
Answered by Shaykh Amjad Rasheed

Know that the school of the Ahl al-Sunna takes the position that it is obligatory to ascribe all actions to Allah the Exalted. The Quranic text is clear about this when it says, “Allah is the Creator of everything.” “And Allah created you and what you do.” “Say everything is from Allah.”

So the one who creates healing is Allah, the Exalted and no one else. And the one who creates sickness is also Allah the Exalted, and no one else. Every believer must be sure of this principle.
In the blessings that mention the Prophet, peace be upon, as healer of sicknesses, if the intent is to say that he alone can heal, then this is a false belief, as you know. What we have understood from our teachers is that this type of blessing does not denote this particular meaning. Instead, it is a way of imploring the Prophet to ask Allah to heal us. And imploring the Prophet [for intercession] is permissible by consensus of the Ahl al-Sunna according to rigorously authenticated hadiths. For when the one who implores Allah is the Prophet himself, his request is almost always fulfilled because of the esteemed position he holds with his Lord.
So when the Prophet, peace be upon him, is described as such, this description is metaphorical, not literal. And this is not a problem, because what you are doing here is begging Allah to heal your illness through the intercession of the Prophet. By doing so, there is greater cause for this to happen.

There is a well-authenticated hadith from Tirmidhi and others that Ubayy bin Ka’b said to the Prophet, peace be upon him, “I reserve all the blessings I send for you.” The Prophet replied, “Then your concerns will be taken care of and your sins forgiven.” There is no doubt that the sicknesses of the heart and the body cause a person much concern and turmoil. Sending blessings upon the Prophet, peace be upon him, can be a guarantor for relief from that, Allah willing.

Based upon this, sending blessings upon the Prophet is a factor in healing. The particular wording that you have mentioned is not very different from the words of the famous Salat al-Tibbiyya, which says, “O Allah, send blessings on our master Muhammad, the medicine of hearts and their cure, the health of bodies and their healing.”

[I found on Sunnipath as well that the Salat al-Tibiyya is also a very effective dhikr for depression: http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=7&ID=2528&CATE=17]