Praise be to Allah, Knower of all ailments and their hidden cures. May peace and salutations be upon His first prophet Adam, His final prophet Muhammad and all the prophets that came in between Amen! (Amen!).

Muslims like so many others believe in a creator. We believe that we were sent into this world as vicegerent of Allah. The Holy Quran informs us that man and jinn were created for the worship of Allah. After death we shall all be resurrected on the Day of Judgment and we shall be judged according to our deeds.

Therefore our principle of life is:

“He Alone has the keys of the unseen treasures, of which no one knows except Him. He knows whatever is in the land and in the sea; there is not a single leaf that falls without His knowledge, there is neither a grain in the darkness of the earth nor any thing fresh or dry which has not been recorded in a Clear Book.”
Quran 6.59 (Translator Malik)

It further says in the Quran:
“And Hold fast the rope of Allah, all together, and do not be divided”
Quran 3.103 (Translator Malik)

Medication:

There are many Ahadith (traditions of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him (pbuh) which encourage the Muslims to seek medical treatment. Some of them are mentioned below:

Abu Hurayrah narrates that The Prophet pbuh said:
“There is no disease that Allah has created, except that He also has created its remedy.”
Bukhari 7.582

Usamah ibn Shuraik narrated:
“… ‘O Allah’s Messenger! Should we seek medical treatment for our illnesses?’ He replied: ‘Yes, you should seek medical treatment, because Allah, the Exalted, has let no disease exist without providing for its cure, except for one ailment, namely, old age’.”
Tirmidhi

Taking proper care of ones health is considered by the Prophet Muhammad pbuh to be the right of the body.
Bukhari as-Sawm 55, an-Nikah 89, Muslim as-siyyam 183, 193, Nisai

The Prophet not only instructed sick people to take medicine, but he himself invited expert physicians for this purpose.
D.o.H. p.50, As-Suyuti’s Medicine of the Prophet p.125

From this brief beginning one would gather that Imaan (faith) and Tawakkul (trust) have to be the uttermost important part of a Muslim’s belief. Hence, problems, illnesses or troubles of life, should be very easy to cope with. But, since this material world has been classed as Darul Asbaab (A world of means) it is necessary to take medication for one’s illness. In most cases Mufti’s would give a ruling of suicide for one who died in the event of not taking medicine. We all would be required by Shariah (Islamic Law) to have trust in Allah but search for the cure, which would be classed as the highest grade of Tawakkul – Trust in Allah.

Dr Shehzadi Munir a retired psychiatrist says: “I found it very easy to practice on religious people because you direct their emotions to a certain pillar and the best pillar to have faith in is Allah – God, the Maker of the Universe.”

To stop a person falling in the trap of worry and anxiety we have been advised that: “Imaan (Faith) is between fear and Hope!”
Mishkat

Is it a Punishment?

One cannot stipulate that he is a sinner, hence he is being punished;
“O My servants who have transgressed against their souls do not despair of Allah’s mercy, for Allah forgives all sins. Indeed it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.”
Quran 39.53

Some people believe that we are born sinners and therefore religion is to blame for the psychological condition of the patient. Islam teaches that man is born pure from sin; it is only later in life that he does good and becomes better or does evil and becomes worse.

What is the position of a mentally ill patient in Islam?

Islamic Law rules that the insane are excused they will have no reckoning and all their sins will be forgiven. “Allah burdens not an individual more than his capability”
Quran 2.286

Mufti Shafi on the above verse comments that: A person’s actions can be divided into two categories, voluntary and involuntary. They will be reckoned for the voluntary actions but the involuntary ones are excused.
Ma aarifiul Quran 2.286

Islam is very compassionate and understanding towards human nature, hence we have been told from the very outset that: “Mankind has been created weak”
Quran 4.28

In other words if you do indulge in abomination, one should not become disorientated, but rise above the situation and turn to his Lord in repentance, for indeed He is Al-Gaffar (Most Forgiving) Ar-Rahman (Most Merciful).
“The repenter from sins is like one who has no sin at all”
Mishkat

Islam never ceases to encourage repentance for those who transgress!

A sinner is not allowed to mention the name of the committed sin (when seeking forgiveness) because in doing so he will torment the heart which is forbidden. This teaches us that Islam is very understanding towards the sinners let alone the mentally ill.

In this day of modern medicine, man has discovered that mental illness is mostly a pathological, genetic or organic illness. It can also be a reactionary affect to socio-cultural dilemmas like divorce, separation etc.

Sometimes mental illness in patients has a cultural influence hence, an ill patient of England would sometimes see Isa (Jesus) pbuh, an African would see spirits but the Asian would see Jinn’s, magicians etc.
Dr S Munir

Why the suffering?

When a person is in pain or suffering either he is a good person and his place in Jannah (Heaven) is elevated or else he is a sinner whose sins will be forgiven through this illness.

Abu Hurayrah has narrated from Prophet Muhammad pbuh that: “Whenever a Muslim is afflicted by illness, continuous pain, anxiety, grief, injury or by a thorn with which he is pricked. Allah causes this to be an atonement for his sins.”
Mishkat

Abu Saeed Khudri and Abu Hurayrah narrates that the Prophet pbuh said: “No fatigue, disease, sorrow, sadness, hurt, or distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that.”
Bukhari.7.545

Patients’ Rights

God, The Lord of Honour and Glory, will say on the Day of Judgement:
‘Son of Adam, I was sick and you did not visit me.’
The man will say: ‘My Lord, how could I visit You and You are the Lord of the universe!’
God will say: ‘Did you not know My servant so and so was sick and you did not visit him?
Did you not realise that if you had visited him, you would have found Me with him?’
Development of Hospitals (D.o.H.) p.42, Muslim Al-Birr, 25

Abu Musa Ashari narrates that the Prophet (pbuh) said:
“Feed the hungry, visit the sick, and set free the captives.”
Bukhari 7.552

Amulets and Pendants

There is a misunderstanding in some communities that Islam discourages medical treatment and classes psychiatric illness as the spell of Devils and associates it with evil so they try out different Taweez (amulets and pendants). This is a thing, which can be found in some communities who have been heavily influenced by their family traditions and cultures.

The Prophet pbuh used amulets but when needed he always took medicine.

Abu Said Khudri narrates that The Prophet pbuh said: “Once when the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) fell ill, Gabriel came and asked: O Muhammad, are you ill? The Holy Prophet answered in the affirmative. Gabriel Said: I blow on you in the name of Allah from everything that troubles you and from the evil of every soul and the evil look of every envier. May Allah restore You to health. I blow on you in His name.”

Muslim Aishah narrates that: Whenever Allah’s Apostle paid a visit to a patient, or a patient was brought to him, he used to invoke Allah, saying, “Take away the disease, O the Lord of the people! Cure him as You are the One Who cures there is no cure but Yours, a cure that leaves no disease.”
Bukhari 5.579

Aishah narrates that: During the Prophet’s fatal illness, he used to recite the Mu’auwidhaat (Surah Al-Falaq and Surah An-Naas / Quran chapters 113 and 114) and then blow his breath over his body. When his illness was aggravated, I used to recite those two Surahs (chapters), blow my breath over him and make him rub his body with his own hand for its blessings.” (Ma’mar asked Az-Zuhri: How did the Prophet used to blow? Az-Zuhri said: He used to blow on his hands and then passed them over his face.)
Bukhari 7.631

Abdul Aziz narrates that: Thabit and I went to Anas bin Malik. Thabit said, “O Abu Hamza! I am sick.” On that Anas said, “Shall I treat you with the Ruqya (Amulet) of Allah’s Apostle?” Thabit said, “Yes.” Anas recited, “O Allah! The Lord of the people, the Remover of trouble! (Please) cure (Heal) (this patient), for You are the Healer. None brings about healing but You; a healing that will leave behind no ailment.”
Bukhari 7.638

The Prophets’ Sunnah (Tradition):

Anas ibn Malik narrates that: A woman who had a defect in her brain, said: Allah’s Messenger, I want to talk to you. He said: Mother of so and so, choose on which side of the road you would like to stand and talk, so that I may fulfill your need. He stood with her on the sidewalk until she spoke to her heart’s content.
Muslim 1081

This shows that the Prophet pbuh never discriminated between the sane or insane. As long as this woman conversed with him patiently he continued to listen. Anas used to tell of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he would visit the sick.
Tirmidhi 1529

Don’t Discriminate!

‘The prophet in his visits did not discriminate against ailing people. He even visited sick non-Muslims.’
Bukhari Tafseer Surah 59

Traditions of The Early Muslims:

During the Islamic period attempts were made by the Muslims to provide appropriate facilities and assistance to sick people. The ten years (13/634-23/644) under the rule of the second Caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab, saw many public welfare works in the Islamic State. The Caliph was so concerned for the welfare of ailing people that he accompanied a team of physicians with the army proceeding towards Persia.
D.o.H. p.58

Ibn Tulun Hospital

Ibn Tulun the governor of Cairo 259/872 established a hospital on the pattern of the hospital in Baghdad. In addition, various wards were constructed for eye diseases, orthopedic and surgical cases. Ibn Tulun took a special interest in the welfare of the patients and he used to inspect the progress of the patients personally every Friday. In this Hospital he had also made a separate section for the treatment of the insane.
D.o.H. P.63, Tib al Arab Translation of Arabian Medicine by E.G. Brown by N.A. A. Wasti P.448

Benjamin of Tudela, a Jewish historian, who visited Baghdad in 556/1160 found at least sixty medical institutions there and wrote regarding Sultan Salah al-Din. “All are well provided for from the king’s stores with spices and other necessaries. Every patient who claims assistance is fed at the king’s expense until his cure is complete. There is another large building called Darul Maraphtan in which are locked up all those insane persons who are met with during the hot season, every one of whom is secured by iron chains until his reason returns when he is allowed to return home they are regularly examined by the king’s officers appointed for this purpose and when they are found to be possessed of their reason again they are immediately liberated. All this is done by the king in pure charity towards all those who come to Baghdad either ill or insane, for the king is a pious man and his intention is excellent in this respect.”
D.o.H. P.68, C. Elgood, a medical history of Persia, p.172

Bimaristan al-Salihani Ayyubi:
The Sultan Salah al-Din Ayyubi converted a palace in Cairo into a hospital in 577/1181. On its walls the entire Quran was written. Ibn Jubayr describes the hospital in these words:

“This hospital is one of the prides of Salah al-Din. This is a magnificent and beautiful palace. The rooms are most elegant; in each room beds are spread, on which mattresses and pillows are placed in an orderly manner. There is a separate room for the dispensing of medicine and for this purpose chemists and compounders have been appointed. For lunatics, there are separate houses, which include a vast courtyard.”
Juju Sedan, Tarkio al Tamaddun al-Islami, V.111 p.188, quoted in Tib al Arab, p.451,
D.o.H. p.67

First European Mental Hospital It is interesting to note that the brothers of St. John built the first European mental hospital in the 15th Century C.E. at Valencia in Spain. This European institution was based on a similar institution in Cairo and modelled on the Bimaristan of Baghdad (which was built in 136-158/754-775). The same brothers were later summoned to France by Marie de Medici to to build psychiatric hospitals at Charenton and the Charite at Senlis.
D.o.H. p.70,
S.H.Z.Naaqui, ‘Islam and Development of Science’, Nigerian Journal of Islam, V. i, p.5, (1971-72)

Conclusion

We believe that each illness has a cure but it is unto man to research and find the cure. Let us pray to Allah that He strengthens our faith for the peace and tranquility that are such vital ingredients for us being an ideal society.

The advice of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh “Allah, The Most Merciful, has mercy on the merciful therefore, be merciful upon the dwellers of the earth. He will have mercy upon you Who is in the heavens.”

Hadith
Amr ibn Maymun al-Awdi narrates that: Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said to a man in the course of an exhortation:
“Grasp five things before five others: your youth before your decrepitude, your health before your illness, your riches before your poverty, your leisure before your work, and your Life before your death.”
Tirmidhi 1337

A message of The Holy Quran:
“Whoever kills a human being, not in lieu of another human being nor because of mischief on earth, it is as if He has killed all mankind: and if he saves a human life, it is as if he has saved the lives of all mankind”.
Quran 5:33

(c) 2000 Mawlana Sikander Khan Patha

“Say to the believing men that they should lower their sight and guard their private parts; that will make for greater purity for them. Indeed Allâh is well acquainted with all that they do.” [an-Nûr (24):30]

So Allâh made purification and spiritual growth to be the outcome of lowering the sight and guarding the private parts. It is for this reason that lowering one’s sight from (seeing) the prohibited things necessarily leads to three benefits that carry tremendous value and are of great significance.

The First: experiencing the delight and sweetness of faith

This delight and sweetness is far greater and more desirable that which might have been attained from the object that one lowered his sight from for the sake of Allâh. Indeed, “whosoever leaves something for the sake of Allâh then Allâh, the Mighty and Magnificent, will replace it with something better than it.”[1]

The soul is a temptress and loves to look at beautiful forms and the eye is the guide of the heart. The heart commissions its guide to go and look to see what is there and when the eye informs it of a beautiful image it shudders out of love and desire for it. Frequently such inter-relations tire and wear down both the heart and the eye as is said:

When you sent your eye as a guide
For your heart one day, the object of sight fatigued you
For you saw one over whom you had no power
Neither a portion or in totality, instead you had to be patient.

Therefore when the sight is prevented from looking and investigating the heart finds relief from having to go through the arduous task of (vainly) seeking and desiring.

Whosoever lets his sight roam free will find that he is in a perpetual state of loss and anguish for sight gives birth to love (mahabbah) the starting point of which is the heart being devoted and dependant upon that which it beholds. This then intensifies to become fervent longing (sabâbah) whereby the heart becomes totally dependant and devoted to the (object of its desire). Then this further intensifies and becomes infatuation (gharâmah) which clings to the heart like the one seeking repayment of a debt clings firmly to the one who has to pay the debt. Then this intensifies and becomes passionate love (‘ishk) and this is a love that transgresses all bounds. Then this further intensifies and becomes crazed passion (shaghafa) and this is a love that encompasses every tiny part of the heart. Then this intensifies and becomes worshipful love (tatayyuma). Tatayyum means worship and it is said: tayyama Allâh i.e. he worshipped Allâh.

Hence the heart begins to worship that which is not correct for it to worship and the reason behind all of this was an illegal glance. The heart is now bound in chains whereas before it used to be the master, it is now imprisoned whereas before it was free. It has been oppressed by the eye and it complains to it upon which the eye replies: I am your guide and messenger and it was you who sent me in the first place!

All that has been mentioned applies to the heart that has relinquished the love of Allâh and being sincere to Him for indeed the heart must have an object of love that it devotes itself to. Therefore when the heart does not love Allâh Alone and does not take Him as its God then it must worship something else.

Allâh said concerning Yûsuf as-Siddîq (AS),

“Thus (did We order) so that We might turn away from him all evil and indecent actions for he was one of Our sincere servants.” [Yûsuf (12):24]

It was because the wife of al-‘Azîz was a polytheist that (the passionate love) entered her heart despite her being married. It was because Yûsuf (AS) was sincere to Allâh that he was saved from it despite his being a young man, unmarried and a servant.

The Second: the illumination of the heart, clear perception and penetrating insight

Ibn Shujâ` al-Kirmânî said, “whosoever builds his outward form upon following the Sunnah, his internal form upon perpetual contemplation and awareness of Allâh, he restrains his soul from following desires, he lowers his gaze from the forbidden things and he always eats the lawful things then his perception and insight shall never be wrong.”

Allâh mentioned the people of Lût and what they were afflicted with and then He went on to say,

“Indeed in this are signs for the Mutawassimîn.” [al-Hijr (15):75]

The Mutwassimîn are those who have clear perception and penetrating insight, those who are secure from looking at the unlawful and performing indecent acts.

Allâh said after mentioning the verse concerning lowering the sight,

“Allâh is the Light of the heavens and the earth.” [an-Nûr (24):35]

The reason behind this is that the reward is of the same type as the action. So whosoever lowers his sight from the unlawful for the sake of Allâh, the Mighty and Magnificent, He will replace it with something better than it of the same type. So just as the servant restrained the light of his eye from falling upon the unlawful, Allâh blesses the light of his sight and heart thereby making him perceive what he would not have seen and understood had he not lowered his sight.

This is a matter that the person can physically sense in himself for the heart is like a mirror and the base desires are like rust upon it. When the mirror is polished and cleaned of the rust then it will reflect the realities (haqâ‘iq) as they actually are. However if it remains rusty then it will not reflect properly and therefore its knowledge and speech will arise from conjecture and doubt.

The Third: the heart becoming strong, firm and courageous

Allâh will give it the might of aid for its strength just as He gave it the might of clear proofs for its light. Hence the heart shall combine both of these factors and as a result, Shaytân shall flee from it. It is mentioned in the narration, “whosoever opposes his base desires, the Shaytân shall flee in terror from his shade.”[2]

This is why the one who follows his base desires shall find in himself the ignominy of the soul, its being weak, feeble and contemptible. Indeed Allâh places nobility for the one who obeys Him and disgrace for the one who disobeys Him,

“So do not lose heart nor fall into despair; for you must gain mastery if you are true in faith.” [Äli Imrân (3):139]

“If any do seek for nobility and power then to Allâh belongs all nobility and power.” [Fâtir (35):10]

Meaning that whosoever seeks after disobedience and sin then Allâh, the Might and Magnificent, will humiliate the one who disobeys Him.

Some of the salaf said, “the people seek nobility and power at the door of the Kings and they will not find it except through the obedience of Allâh.”

This is because the one who obeys Allâh has taken Allâh as his friend and protector and Allâh will never humiliate the one who takes his Lord as friend and patron. In the Du‘â Qunût their occurs, “the one who You take as a friend is not humiliated and the one who You take as an enemy is not ennobled.”[3]

Notes:

[1] Reported by Ahmad [5/363], al-Marwazî in ‘Zawâ`id az-Zuhd’ [no. 412], an-Nasâ`î in ‘al-Kubrâ’ as mentioned in ‘Tuhfah al-Ashrâf’ [11/199] from one of the Companions that the Messenger of Allâh said, “indeed you will not leave anything for the sake of Allâh except that Allâh will replace it with something better than it.” The isnâd is sahîh.

[2] This is not established as a hadîth of the Prophet .

[3] Reported by Abû Dâwûd [Eng. Trans. 1/374 no. 1420], an-Nasâ`î [3/248], at-Tirmidhî [no. 464], ibn Mâjah [no. 1178], ad-Dârimî [1/311], Ahmad [1/199], ibn Khuzaymah [2/151] from al Hasan from Alî (RA).

The hadîth is sahîh. The isnâd has been criticised by many, however none of the criticisms hold. Refer to: ‘Nasb ar-Râyah’ [2/125] and ‘Talkhîs al-Habîr’ [1/247]

God says about Quran ..It (Quran) is a guide and a healing to those who believe” (S.41: V. 44). Religion plays a significant role in satisfying our physical as well as spiritual needs: Islam teaches us a code of behavior and gives us a meaning for our existence. Unfortunately, in today’s western society the religious, moral and ethical values have been declining. The families are falling apart, divorce rate is increasing sharply, substance abuse and excessive sexual indulgence are common in adolescents and young adults. These factors lead to conflicts, resentment, loss of self-respect, loneliness, depression, anxiety and a host of psychological symptoms. Despite progress in the behavioral sciences, there remains the question of whether current technique of treatment and prevention of emotional disturbances are effective in making a significant impact on psychiatric problems.

Psychotherapy is in reality a form of education which directs the patient to recognize his behavior, to conform with prevailing standards. It helps in motivating the patient to adopt the alternate ways of behavior. In our opinion, the Islamic principles which are based on Quran and Hadith are the best form of prevention and treatment of emotional disturbances. Muslims physicians and mental health professionals should incorporate the Islamic values and ethics in techniques of psychotherapy.

God says about Quran IT (QURAN) IS A GUIDE AND A HEALING TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE (S.41: v. 44). God says in Quran about psychological and social diseases and cures in several suras. In our opinion, Islamic principles which are based on Quran and Hadith are the best form of prevention and treatment for psychological and social disturbances.

In western society many psychiatrists and psychotherapists discourage the use of any religious con- cept in treatment of emotionally disordered. Of course, Freudian theories have a great deal of influence on western thinking. Freud’s focus on sex as the driving force of human behavior and repression of sexual desires as a cause of neurosis, made a considerable impact on medical and social scientists. Individuals are encouraged to express freely aggressive and sexual desires, which further contribute in changing the sexual attitudes and lack of inhibition in the society at large. Freudl and his followers have tried to explain religion as the ..universal obsessional neurosis”. It is prejudiced, irrational statement and many psychoanalysts contradict Freud’s statement. Erich Fromml defines religion as ..A system of thought and actions by a group which gives the individual a frame of orientation and an object of devotion”. ArietiJ elaborates further the role of religion in human life. He states that religion gives people faith for survival of man and to achieve human ideals. Religion becomes an incentive to greatness of spirit. It offers new insight which opens up new dimensions of understanding and feeling. Higgins 4 further supporting the importance of religion states that modern psychiatry has not yet significantly tapped the fund of information about the human condition ranging from the inspirational writing about the aims of living to highly systematized doctrine about organization of behavior .

Our religion, Islam, plays a significant role in satisfying our physical as well as spiritual needs. Islam teaches us, a code of behavior, conservation of social values and gives us a meaning for our existence. It helps in toleration and developing adaptive capacities for stressful events of life. It gives us a sense of self-respect and teaches us about the virtues of family life and a cohesive society with a sense of brotherhood. Shall Muslim psychiatrists and psychotherapists incorporate the Islamic values, ethics and code of behavior in techniques of psychotherapy?

In order to answer this, we should examine the causes of emotional disorders, effect of current principles of psychotherapies and explore the importance of incorporating Islamic values and ethics in psychotherapy. Mental health 5 can be defined as a state of emotional wellbeing in which a person is able to function comfortable within his society and in which his personal achievements and characteristics are satisfactory to him. Emotional disorders are defined as disturbance of behavior and affect which results in disturbance of a person’s function in society. During the last few decades it is becoming more and more clear that biological, social and psychological factors influence the human behavior and that the health disturbing factors operate within the individual, within the group and within the social system in which he functions. In certain forms of emotional disorders we see predominent biological factors and in others psychosocial factors. In the interest of time, I will focus primarily on the psycho-social factors which contribute to emotional disorders and the use of psychotherapy to bring about the needed improvement.

Family is an important socio-cultural institution which makes a considerable impact on personality development and a potential factor in emotional disorders. Bowlby 6 confirms from his longitudinal studies, that the permanent loss of a parent during childhood may result in increase vulnerability to certain forms of psychopathology e.g., depression. The child can be sensitized by the loss of a loved one, and he breaks down in various ways in later life when faced with similar situations of loss or rejection. Similarly permanent loss of father was found in the history of delinquent children. Longitudinal observations have further confirmed that children reared in an atmosphere of love, care, consistency and firm limitations develop healthy personalities with trust and self confidence. Those reared in a hostile environment with rejection and humiliation may develop apathy, anxiety or aggressive behavior. Similarly, culture has also been described 7 as a causative factor for a host of mental disorders. Culture may produce and maintain a mental disorder by creating basic vulnerable personality , establish pathogenic child-rearing practices, fostering sanctions against selected behavior and by rewarding certain malad- justed deviants. Further emphasizing the role of family and culture on human development, Karen Horney 8 pointed out: Man is no longer an instinct ridden creature but being capable of choice and responsibility. Hostility is no longer innate but reactive, egocentric and antisocial cravings like greed or the lust of power were not inevitable phases of man’s development but the expressions of a neurotic process. By growing up under favourable conditions man would develop his inherent constructive forces and like any other living organism would want to realize his potentialities.

Unfortunately, today’s western society, the religious, moral and ethical values have been declining. The society is plagued with moral decay. Families are disintegrated, divorce rate and number of unwed mothers have increased sharply. Drug abuse and excessive sexual indulgence are predominent in ado- lescents and young adults. These events lead to conflict, loneliness, guilt, loss of self-esteem which result in manifestation of a variety of pathological disorders. Many young persons are confused about self-identity, lose meaning in life and often turns toward pseudoreligious cults, drugs or suicide. Recent research studies 9 confirms that both sociocultural and personality aspects are responsible for high incidences of drug use in youth. In order to protect an Islamic society and culture from the abovementioned influences, the moral, social and inspirational forces of the Islamic religion are to be enforced.

Despite progress in the behavioral sciences there remains the question of whether current techni- ques of psychotherapy and preventive measures for emotional disturbances are effective in bringing about necessary changes in individual, family and society. Obviously the answer is no. In my opinion, one of the reasons for ineffectiveness is the predominent influence of Freudian theories on western medical and social scientists. Freud gives us a clear understanding of psychosexual development and unconscious motivation of behavior. He described unconscious innerself as if and conscious self as ego. Ego is regarded as active portion of personality adapting to forces of id, external reality and superego. Freud further postulated that the sexual urges of the child remain active from childhood and express in activities such as sucking and swallowing. He further explains that child’s love for his parents is due to his sexual urges. The child develops a sexual attitude toward parents of the opposite sex and a simultaneous rivalry toward the other. Freud calls this is “oedipus complex”. As a child grows the odipus complex resolves. This is the foundation of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory.

Freud’s focus on sex as the driving force of human behavior and sexual repression as a cause of neurosis is used as a basis of psychodynamic therapy. According to Freud, our higher activities like art, science and religion have no intrinsic worth. These activities are attempts of man to compensate for his unsatisfied sexual desires. Criticizing Freud’s over-emphasis on sex, Rafilo outlined that Freud give a person three alternatives to choose as a desired behavior: He must follow the instruction of his sexual urges, becomes wicked and face the disgrace of society; repress his sexual desires to please society and expose himself to the danger of suffering from neurosis or renounce his instinctual desires and try to deviate himself by substitutes as art, religion and morality. Obviously, Freud portrays a miserable picture of human beings. The apparently distorted and disappointing view of Freud about the lot of man is necessitated by his hypothesis that the nature of our unconscious desire is sexual.

Freud’s theory of sex as the driving force of human behavior and his theory of the universality of oedipus complex have been widely criticized. Even Freud’s own followers, Adler and Jung, found it difficult to agree with Freud. Adler maintained that the unconscious urge is the impulse to power while Jung emphasized on collective unconscious. Karen Horney and Erich Fromm, the renouned psychoanalysts, also rejected Freud’s ideas about sexuality as the basic force of life. Horney 11 stated that Freud’s focus on sex as the driving force of human behavior was one-sided and led to other distortions. She emphasized on influence of family in development of personality and pointed out that oedipus complex occurs only in distorted parent-child relationship.

As an alternative to Freud’s theory, Rafilo explains that the child loves his parents and feels an admiration for his parents and ascribes a perfection to them. Thus, superego which develops as an interaction between parent and child demands an ever-increasing perfection. Therefore, one can say that the individual is under powerful influence of a desire for the perfect and admirable throughout his life. In childhood his desire finds an outlet in the persons of the parents and teachers. As his knowledge increases he finds other and better objects and ideas worthy of love and devotion and he is naturally attracted to them, being compelled by the urge of his nature. It appears that the repression of the sexual urge is the cause of neurotic symptomatology but it can also be explained that the symptom may be due to obstruction of the urge of consciousness for perfection and conflict created by sexual urges. The fundamental cause of emotional trouble is the choice of the love of a wrong ideal. Therefore, the cause of cure may not lie so much in the discovery of conflict as in the changing or the raising of the ideal. Therefore, the focus of therapy should be toward achieving the ideal.

The Muslim psychiatrist and psychotherapist must have a clear understanding about the development of a healthy personality and ego ideal. Mother satisfies the need of the child since birth which gives him a sense of possession and omnipotence. Gradually the child realizes that he has to share mother’s love and attention with siblings and father and he also learns that mother expects him to restrain his urge for immediate gratification. From this prohibition and discipline the conscious and superego develops. Discipline creates conflict but the child overcomes the conflict by introjecting mother and her authority and maintains the affectionate relationship. In a healthy mother-child relationship the child must believe “I am so strong in my mother’s love that I can yield to her without fee long defeated” 12 The same mechanism involved when a Muslim introjects the image of God as Qadeer, Raheem and- Benevolent. The introjection of God’s love and authority influences a Muslim’s behavior incorporating ethical and moral values of Islam. Once you incorporate the image of God in innerself there is no conflict with external reality and superego. A child’s religious orientation is influenced by the kind of family relationship that exists at home. Quran emphasizes again and again, about healthy parent-child relationship and parents’ responsibility toward upbringing. In a home where parents playa role of strong loving and protective figures, with proper attention toward developing a sense of self-worth and dignity, the child develops trust, self-confidence and introjects the love and authority of parents and God. In a home where parental figures are unloving, show no respect toward each other, rejecting and punitive towards their children, then the conept of God is distorted.

Psychotherapy is in reality a form of education which directs the patient to recognize his behavior, to conform with prevailing standards and to help in improving the patient to adapt the alternate ways of behavior. Muslim psychiatrists and psychotherapists must have familiarity with Islamic religion and culture and must incorporate Islamic values, ethics and code of behavior in techniques of psychotherapy. Many patients suffering from emotional disorders have lost the ability to lead responsible lives. For them therapeutic guidance in an environment of care, respect, dignity and understanding is necessary. The goal of therapy need not be happiness but acceptance of reality and strengthening the coping mechanisms. A trustful relationship with therapist, a clarification of problem and conflict, influences the positive outcome. Moral and ethical issues should not be avoided and problems should be clarified so that patient c.an judge for himself the quality of his behavior and his ideals.

BUT HE GUIDETH TO HIMSELF THOSE WHO TURN TO HIM IN PATIENCE, THOSE WHO BEL/EVE AND WHOSE HEARTS FIND PEACE AND SATISFACTION IN THE REMEMBRANCE OF GOD: FOR WITHOUT DOUBT IN THE REMEM- BERANCE OF GOD DO HEARTS FIND SATISFACTION AND PEACE . (Quran 5.13: V.27-28)

REFERENCES

1. FREUD, S.’.The future of an Illusion”. Livenright, New York, 1949.
2. FROMME, E. ‘.Psychoanalysis and religion”. Yale University Press, New Haven, Conn, 1950.
3. ARIETI, S. “The intrapsychic self”. Basic Books, New York, 1967.
4. HIGGINS J.W. .’Psychiatry & Religion”. In American Handbook of Psychiatry Ed. S. Arieti. Basic Book, 1974.
5. Comprehensive textbook of Psychiatry/111. Ed. by H. ,. Kaplan, A.M. Freedman & B.J. Sadock. Williams & Wilkins Press, Baltimore, Md. 1980, page 3339.
6. BOWLBY, J.”Maternal care and mental health”. Monograph World Health Organization. Geneva 1952
7. ARMANDO FAVAZZA & MARY ORMAN ‘.Anthropology and Psychiatry” in Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry. Ed. A. Kaplan, A. Freedman and B. Sadock. Published by Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, Md. 1980, page 488.
8. HORNEY, K.’.Neurosis and human growth”. Published W.W. Norton, New York, 1950.
9. KANDEL, D.B. Editor .’Longitudinal research on drug abuse”. Halstead Press, New York, 1978.
10. RAFIUDDIN, M. “Ideology of the future”. Published by Sh. M. Ashraf, Lahore, 1970.
11. HORNEY, K. “New ways in psychoanalysis”. W. W. Norton, New York, 1939.

From: islamicmedicine.org

This article seeks to advance an Islamic understanding of the process of human development. It begins with a critique of the Western secular worldview, which relies exclusively on empiricism and reductionism. It also brings out the exclusion of the spiritual dimension and the privileging of materialism in secular developmental psychology. The paper relies on the Quran to determine the factors, heredity and environment, that shape development. It also argues that while there are factors that have a causal effect, in the ultimate analysis everything depends on God’s will.

Conceptual Background

Developmental psychology, otherwise called “child psychology,” is a branch of psychology that is essentially concerned with the study of the overall processes of human development from conception to old age. The term “process of development” has been used to refer to the stages, aspects, patterns, principles, factors, and agents involved in human development.

In psychology, the term “development” has a wide range of meaning. It means the overall qualitative and quantitative changes that accompany human growth and maturation. In this regard, these two terms (growth and maturation) have also been subsumed under the general meaning of development. The definition given by Lefrancois reveals this wide sense of meaning: “the total process whereby an individual adapts to his environment.”1 The scope of developmental psychology is as wide as is implied by the meaning of “development.” It thus covers both prenatal and postnatal development-embryonic, infant, child, adolescent, and adult development. By the same token, it covers physical, cognitive, personality, social, emotional, and moral aspects of development.

Modern developmental psychology is an integral aspect of mainstream modern Western secular psychology. By necessary implication, its fundamental paradigms and methodologies and its essential views of man are invariably materialist and secular, just like that of its mother body. Modern psychology has played a significant role in shaping Western man and Western society. As part of the overall product of modernity, the Western worldview is predominantly secular-characterized by atheism, agnosticism, and humanism. In line with this worldview, the dominant trend in Western intellectualism is similarly materialistic and secular.

In modern psychology, man is treated and studied within the purview of the Western materialist worldview. Thus, he is seen and studied fundamentally as a material being. The spiritual entity or component in him is either less recognized or simply dismissed or dispelled completely. This dismissal of the spiritual component in man became necessary because its presence cannot be established with the standards of rigid empiricism, which came to hold sway over the behavioral and social sciences-the craze for scientific precision and accuracy. In a more apt sense this is called scientism-the mad worship of science.

The Islamic worldview is diametrically opposed to this Western worldview. In the Islamic worldview, man and everything in the universe are a creation of Allah. He created the universe alone and solely sustains and governs it. Man’s life has a divine and transcendental purpose because he shall be resurrected in a Divine world (the Hereafter) and shall be made to account for his life in this world. In the Islamic view, man is a creature made up of two components-matter and spirit. He should strive for the betterment of both in equal and balanced ways and manners. The Islamic Law (the Shari’ah), which governs man’s life, has been Divinely formulated so that both components in man are catered to in a balanced way. A Muslim’s life and by extension the life of the Muslim community is governed and patterned along this worldview, just as the Western community is governed by its worldview.

Therefore, there are sharp differences between the Islamic and Western patterns of life. Similarly, and also necessarily, the patterns and processes of development (especially the moral, emotional, and social aspects of it) must be fundamentally and essentially different. Thus, it is also correct to say that a theoretical model of studying child development that has been conceived, formulated, experimented on, and applied in the West cannot necessarily be applicable for the same purpose in the Muslim world. The fundamental differences in worldview between the two worlds, which subsequently necessitate differences in child-rearing practices between the two cultures, vindicates this assertion.

There is an urgent need for developing an Islamic perspective of developmental psychology whose paradigms, principles, methodologies, and conceptual and theoretical frameworks must evolve out of the Islamic worldview. In the same vein, it must also take into account the peculiar essentials and dispositions of the Muslim ummah pertaining to its belief system, moral codes and etiquette, and all aspects of its life that combine together to make it a distinctive entity. This article is an effort in this direction, attempting to identify and expound some of its basic principles and paradigms.

Before delving into a discussion of the paradigm and principles of Islamic developmental psychology, it seems pertinent to present a more concrete critique of the fundamental epistemological paradigm and methodology of modern psychology. This will reveal its shortcomings and blind spots.2 For the purpose of a comprehensive critique, three basic methodological issues are examined: the source of knowledge in modern psychology, the means of examining the knowledge, and the objectivity of empirical data.

The Source of Knowledge

In modern psychology as in all other modern behavioral and social sciences, the source of knowledge is confined only to human intellect and senses. Revelation is completely dismissed and denied as a source of knowledge; it is simply considered as a myth or superstition. This rejection of revelation as a source of knowledge is a consequence of both historical and philosophical antecedents. It resulted from the conflict between the Catholic Church and the scientists and the subsequent triumph of the scientists which engendered the so-called scientific revolution with all its attendant and associated material advancements.

With the scientific revolution, scientific epistemology, which is purely mundane and even atheistic, gained ground and came to be accepted as an infallible and impeccable paradigm of inquiry. This paradigm of knowledge, according to Abul-Fadl, soon came to assume a position of preeminence among all others, rendering them obsolete and vestiges of the prescientific age. As a result, each discipline was left with the option of either adopting this epistemological model or perishing. Humanity’s inquiry into the nature of its social world was forced to adopt this empirical model as its epistemological basis.3

Belief in revelation as an infallible source of knowledge is an essential article of faith in Islam. All Muslims believe in this. This is why Muslims accept the Qur’an and the Sunnah as their primary sources of knowledge. This belief influences the consciousness of a Muslim while he seeks all sorts of knowledge. A Muslim psychologist will, therefore, necessarily face a fundamental contradiction between his faith and the Western empirical epistemological model. For this reason, Muslim psychologists must create an epistemological framework that conforms to their belief. Failure to do this will keep them in perpetual dilemma, as succinctly put by Badri.4

Even more serious, however, is the fact that there is an obvious incongruence in using theories that have been formulated and tested within the purview of this epistemological model to study the development of an individual or a group of individuals whose belief system is in total opposition to it. Undoubtedly, the desired accurate results cannot be obtained. This point becomes all the more clear if a critical look is cast on the next methodological issue.

Means of Examining Knowledge

Modern social and behavioral sciences, in line with their view about the source of knowledge, recognize experimentation above all other tools as the principle means of verifying knowledge. As a prototype of natural science, social science must avail itself of rigid experimentation to arrive at empirical truth. Logical positivism therefore came to be the dominant methodology in all the behavioral and social sciences, including psychology. Experience alone is claimed to be the origin of all our knowledge, and all nonempirical elements must be purged.5

The natural and logical consequence of this methodology and its epistemological basis is reductionism. Reductionism can be seen in two dimensions: first, as the source of knowledge explained earlier; and second, as the object of study. In the social and behavioral sciences, man and the human communities are the object of study. With the adoption of logical positivism (hypothetical-deductive methodology) as the means of studying man and his social world, the two have been reduced to the level of pure material bodies that can be studied within the confines of control and observation mechanisms. This resulted in a mechanistic view of man and his social world, and ultimately reduces and dehumanizes him and his society. Again, this is the factor that explains why modern developmental psychology limits the study of human development strictly within the confined context of natural forces and influences.

The points made above are made clear by Abul-Fadl:
Reductionism does not affect the area of understanding in general or specific areas of inquiry, but its consequences are diffuse and affect attitudes in a more practical context. The distortions attendant on reductionism have not only reflected on the understanding of human nature and the social world, but have also reflected negatively on the attitudes and ethics of social science in a manner detrimental to humanity and society. 6

The greatest problem created by this reductionist paradigm is that it has precluded a correct and accurate understanding of human nature by constricting our vision and confining and reducing life to a narrowed biological conception and its associated sensory world. As Carrel rightly submits, “Man is still unknown . . . and our knowledge about ourselves is still primitive and partial.7

This situation suggests an urgent need for a more comprehensive and more balanced approach to the study of man. This is what Abul-Fadl aptly describes as the median culture approach. The Islamic perspective of social and behavioral sciences qualifies this description and by specification, Islamic perspective of developmental psychology. Without rejecting the usefulness and relative validity of experimentation, the methodology and epistemological model of Islamic social science primarily upholds revelation both as a source and a method of knowledge. Consequently, it also recognizes and takes into consideration the spiritual and material components of human nature and their interactive relationships.

This approach is not only comprehensive and balanced, but it restructures the grounds of inquiry in fields of social studies, investing them with meaning and purpose and also clearing the ground of the plethora of fragmented, dispersed, redundant research whose sole validation lies in their data pooling virtues that become the temptation and justification for a dubious market morality.8

Many a Western writer has echoed similar criticism against this exaggerated materialism and crazy empiricism. Such writers go to the extent of suggesting the need for recognizing other forms of nonexperimental means of studying man. One good case in point in this regard is Hearnshaw. Particularly with respect to psychology, he made the following point: Experimental psychology has vastly extended its boundaries. There are of course, still limits. Experimentation has, so far, not been able, and perhaps never will be able, to embrace either the creative heights or emotional depths of human nature. There are still and perhaps always will be, areas of psychology that transcend the domain of exact sciences. Experimentation, however, is not the sole source of psychological data.9

Harris has further demonstrated the limitations of empiricism in more elaborate forms. He argues that the imperfections and drawbacks of the empirical model of sourcing and examining knowledge are embedded in the following:

Derived conclusions could not be logically valid for generalization because there could be exceptions.

Methodology of data collection is theory laden, that is, the investigator has preconceptions and motives, which influence his choice of methodology of investigation and this subsequently affects the outcome.

In trying to gain data about the world, filtration mechanisms operate between our sensation of the world and our perception of knowledge of it. Such mechanisms include:
Psychological delusions: for instance, insanity affects our perception and there is difficulty in knowing who is a sane person.

If they are inadequate, our conceptual schemes may lead us to describe the world as what it is not.

Social pressure may lead us to accept things simply because they are stated by famous authorities or the majority of people.

Prejudice can lead us to perceive more than we see or to be selective in noticing things.

Our present knowledge, experience, and preconception can allow us to perceive what other people lacking these cannot perceive. A child who is born and reared in a noisy environment may not notice the effects of noise on having a sound sleep as a child from a different environment may.

Mental sets also affect our perception; for instance, in reading a sentence that reads, “The boy is is lazy,” we may fail to notice the double “is” simply because our minds have been set to have the correct sentence.10

Objectivity and Universality of Empirical Knowledge

The essence of logical-positivism or empiricism is observation, measurement, and quantification of sense data available to the observer. In undertaking his observations and quantification, the observer only subjects his object of study to the dictates of natural laws. By doing this, it is assumed and equally believed that he comes up with objective data that are neutral, value-free, and therefore, universal. This is all because, as it is also claimed, the observer has shielded his object of study and his methodology from the influences of all extraneous and confounding variables including his own personal attitudes, values, and biases, by means of rigorous control and conditioning mechanisms.

This assumption of objectivity may be true with regard to the natural and physical sciences, but it is certainly not true with regard to the social and behavioral sciences. In the natural and physical sciences, the data obtained from the observation of nonhuman materials are “dead,” unlike those of human behavior which are alive. The elimination of the influence of prior notions, prejudices, and biases in the latter case is far from being possible. This point has been intelligently argued by Al-Faruqi. In the first place, he argues that data of human behavior are not impervious to the attitudes and preferences of the observer. They do not simply and ordinarily reveal themselves as they really are to each and every investigator. He maintains that “attitudes, feelings, desires, judgments and hopes of men and women tend to shut themselves off to the observer devoid of sympathy for them.11

Al-Faruqi further argues against the notion of objectivity in behavioral and social sciences from the viewpoint of axiological perception:
In the perception of “dead” objects, the senses of the observer are passive; they are totally determined by the data. In the perception of values, per contra, the observer actively empathizes or “emotes” with the data, whether for them or against them. Value-perception is itself value-determination. . . . A value is said to be cognized if and only if it has moved, affected and stirred up an emotion or feeling in the observer such as its own nature requires. The perception of value is impossible unless the human behavior is able to move the observer. Similarly, the observer cannot be moved unless he is trained to be affected, and unless he has empathy with the object of his experience. The subject’s attitude toward the data studied determines the outcome of the study.12

In light of the above arguments, Al-Faruqi drew the following conclusion:
The humanistic studies of Western man and the social analyses of Western society by a Western scientist are necessarily “Western” and cannot serve as models for the study of Muslims or of their society.13

From the point of view of strict methodological and epistemological criticisms, one would not only agree with Al-Faruqi in this regard, but would also be convinced of the fact that, even in the so-called natural and physical sciences, objectivity may be largely farce or myth. According to Langgulung, research has challenged this traditional realist (empiricist) notion/belief of objectivity, which claims that the physical sciences have always progressed through the accumulation of context-free facts.14

Langgulung further explains that, contrary to what is commonly believed, researchers in the physical sciences have always undertaken their research within the context of an adopted paradigm. Such a paradigm is what Kahn calls a “scientific paradigm” in that it defines the theoretical framework, the way of perceiving and understanding the world of a group of scientists with a particular worldview. According to Kuhn, a scientific paradigm is a socially shared cognitive schema, and just as one’s cognitive schema provides each of us with a way of making sense of the world around us, a scientific paradigm provides a group of scientists with a way of collectively making sense of their scientific world.15

It can then be argued that research, even in the physical sciences, has progressed through what Langgulung calls “paradigmatic epistemology,” and since paradigms are cognitive schemes that evolve or rather emanate out of particular social contexts, the physical sciences are themselves never completely free of subjectivity and contextuality. This factor casts doubt on the commonly accepted notion that scientific findings are axiomatic truths of universal validity and applicability. Harris actually has argued in exactly a similar way. His arguments are so powerful that they expose clearly the claims of scientific objectivity and universality as farce and false. He says:
Knowing the world, or coming to know the world, is not a matter of learning or coming into possession of a set of facts or truths about the world, which are there in the world, and which the world yields up to those who are able to see them; it is rather, a matter of coming to perceive the world in particular ways from particular perspectives, and from particular view points, which are largely determined by and arise out of one’s interactions in and with a particular historical and social context.16

The arguments presented here, even though long, are necessary to refute the claim of universality of the theories and principles of the Western social sciences. While this does not mean that all such claims are false, it must be noted that, as Badri rightly affirms, few Western psychological theories have attained cross-cultural validity;17 rather, a large chunk of them are largely bounded within Western cultural and ideological values. The necessary conclusion is that Muslims must formulate their distinctive perspective of psychology. In this respect, an attempt has been made to expound the Islamic perspective of developmental psychology. Essentially, an effort has been made in postulating its basic paradigm and principles.

Principles of Human Development Derivable from the Qur’an and Hadith
In the opening chapter of the Qur’an, the Fatihah, God declares that He is the Lord and Cherisher of the worlds:
All praises are due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. (1:2)

What this means is that He is the sole creator of the universe and that He nourishes and sustains it. The implication is that He is the originator of everything (seen and unseen, known and unknown) and that everything depends on Him for sustenance, growth, and development. This interpretation is conveyed in the following verse of the Qur’an:
God is the creator of all things, and He is the guardian and disposer of all affairs. (39:62)

These verses provide the background for our discussion on aspects and principles of human development in the Qur’an, particularly cognitive development. In fact, as far as the Qur’an is concerned, the meaning of these two verses is the fundamental principle of human development. So, God is the creator of man, and He is the sole determinant of the pattern and process of his growth and development. The following paragraphs enunciate this dominant principle in forms of subprinciples of human development.

In the Islamic perspective of developmental psychology, the following principles are identifiable.

Human Life (Growth and Development) Is a Gradual Process

This is the first principle of development that can be derived from the Qur’an. Having told us that He is the creator, guardian, and disposer of all things, God also told us that He created man in various progressive stages of growth and development. In other words, man’s life has been patterned in stages from conception to death. The stages through which man passes in his growth and development are not merely a matter of chance or accident. They were predesigned, predetermined, and graduated by God Himself. God mentions this basic fact in a number of verses in the Qur’an. Examples of such verses are the following:

It is He Who created all things and ordered them in due proportions. (25:2)

This verse clearly spells out the fact that the life of every thing has been designed in such a way that every aspect of it is proportionately graduated. In the case of human growth and development it means that the various phases mentioned above have been duly proportioned and all humans have to pass through each stage up to old age and death. That growth and development do not take place at once but pass through the duly and proportionately designed phases is what makes them a gradual process. The following verse clearly mentions that we have been created and caused to grow in phases, not at once:

What is the matter with you, that you place not your hope for kindness and long suffering in God? Seeing that it is He that has created you in diverse stages? (71:13-14)

Ibn Kathir reported that Abdullah ibn Abbas (hereinafter referred to as Ibn Abbas) and others interpreted this verse to mean that man has been created from a drop of sperm, then transformed into a clot of blood, then into a morsel of flesh, and so on. Allah says in the Qur’an:

You shall surely travel from stage to stage. (84:19)

Ibn Kathir again reported that ‘Ikrimah (one of the disciples of Ibn Abbas) interpreted this verse to mean that man shall grow from one condition to the other such that he becomes a toddler after being an infant, old after being young and strong.

The above verses tell us in general terms that man’s growth and development definitely follow certain stages. These stages are specifically spelled out in some other verses in the Qur’an in more elaborate and particular terms. The Prophet himself enunciated and expounded them in more detail in some of his traditions. These will be seen in our subsequent discussions. It is however important to note that the phases through which growth and development pass are themselves spread over two broad stages.
Human life (growth and development) has been categorized in the Qur’an into two broad phases: the prenatal and the postnatal. Each of these phases has been subdivided into different substages having different terms and periods. The following Qur’anic verse succinctly describes the first phase of human life:

He makes you in the wombs of your mothers, in stages, one after another, in three veils of darkness. Such is God, your Lord and Cherisher: to Him belongs (all) dominion. There is no god but He: then how are you turned away (from your true center)? (39:6)

In another verse, the Qur’an describes the two phases in a precise and concise manner:

It is He Who created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then from a leech-like clot; then does He get you out (into the light) as a child; then lets you (grow and) reach your age of full strength, then lets you become old-though of you there are some who die before-and lets you reach a term appointed; in order that you may learn wisdom. (40:67)

The Qur’an has also told us that the first phase has a certain fixed and definite term within which it reaches its apex of development. Then it is terminated through birth (by delivery). The Qur’an says:

And We cause Whom We will to rest in the wombs for an appointed term. (22:5)

But in much more elaborate, precise, and detailed terms the following verse further describes these two broad stages with their respective specific phases. It reads thus:

O mankind! If you are in doubt about the Resurrection, then verily, We have created you (i.e. Adam) from dust, then from a nutfah (mixed drops of male and female sexual discharges), then from a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood) then from a little lump of flesh – partly formed and partly unformed – that We make it clear to you (i.e. to show you our Power and ability to do what We Will). And We cause whom We will to remain in the wombs for an appointed term, then We bring you out as infants, then (give you growth) that you may reach your age of full strength. And among you there is he who dies (young), and among you there is he who is brought back to the miserable old age, so that he knows nothing after having known. (22:5)

The Prophet (S.A.W.) has precisely and accurately described the first broad stage with fixed time specifications stipulated for each of the phases within it. The hadith reads thus:

Lo! The creation of each one of you is composed in the womb of his mother (first) as a nutfah (mixed drop of sperm and ovum) for forty days then after that he transforms to alaqah (a clot of congealed blood) for a similar term, then he transforms to mudghah (a lump of flesh), and then an Angel is sent to blow the spirit into him.18

The Qur’an has also told us that the first broad stage (prenatal) has a certain fixed and definite term within which it reaches its apex of development. Then it is terminated through birth. Allah says:

And We cause whom We will to rest in the wombs for an appointed term. (22:5)

Therefore, the Qur’an has established that the prenatal period is definite and fixed (usually 9 months under normal circumstances as enunciated in one of the Prophetic traditions) and as experienced practically in daily life. However, the Qur’an further mentions to us that there are exceptional cases whereby the prenatal period terminates, before or after the normal term. And all these happen in accordance with God’s Absolute Will and Decree. The Qur’an says:

He it is that fashions (shapes) you in the wombs as He pleases. There is no god save He, the Exalted in Might, the Wise. (2:6)

This means that the nature, form, size, and time in which individuals are created and shaped in the womb may vary according to the will and wishes of God. Because of this, He affirms that some pregnancies may be delivered before or after the normal time of delivery. But the knowledge of that (addition or reduction in time) is His exclusive preserve:

God doth know what every female (womb) doth bear, by how much the wombs fall short (of their time or number) or do exceed. Every single thing is before His sight, in (due) proportion. He knoweth the unseen and that which is open: He is the Great, the Most High. (13:8-9)

As for the postnatal phase of growth and development, the Qur’an does not mention any fixed span of life that is generally applicable to all individuals; it differs from one individual to the other. That is why the Qur’an says:

And some of you are called to die (at different ages) and some are sent to the feeblest old age. (22:6)

But if the postnatal period is taken in its entirety, Islamic scholars have divided it into four broad stages, and each stage is itself divided into short substages. Allah says:

It is God Who creates you and takes your souls at death; and of you there are some who are sent back to a feeble age, so that they know nothing after having known much. (16:70)

In his commentary on this verse, Gummi (1922-1992) says the following:

Some Islamic scholars have said that man’s life (after birth) has four broad stages. The first stage is the stage of continuous growth and development, which begins from 0 to 33 years (the end of youth and the age at which an individual attains full physical and intellectual maturity). The second stage, from 33 to 40, is the stage of constancy in which increase in growth and development is hardly noticeable. The age of 40 is usually considered the stage at which both physical and intellectual ability reach maturity. The third stage is the stage of mid- or proper adulthood (al-kuhulah). From 40 to 60 years man begins to decline physically and mentally though so subtly and steadily that it can hardly be noticed. The last stage, from 60 to the end of life, is the stage of old age and decline (senescence). In this stage decline becomes more obvious and noticeable.19

Pattern of Human Growth and Development

According to the Qur’an, human growth and development follow one common pattern which is applicable to every human being. Despite individual differences this pattern applies to every person. The pattern is that every individual grows and develops from initial weakness to strength and then to weakness. In other words, growth and development follow a certain natural inevitable law of rise and fall. That is to say that when the individual gradually reaches the apex of his development, whether physical or cognitive, he then begins to decline gradually. The Qur’an is very precise about this:

It is God Who created you in a state of (helpless) weakness, then gave (you) strength after weakness, then, after strength, gave (you) weakness and a hoary head; He creates as He wills. And it is He Who has all knowledge and power. (30:54)

It needs to be emphasized here that this single pattern mentioned in this principle and as demonstrated in this verse is applicable to all human beings. We are all created in a state of weakness. This refers to the early stage of our creation right inside the wombs and up to delivery. We are weak at these early stages both physically and mentally. This weakness at the onset of our life is also mentioned in another place (Surat al-Nahl) in the Qur’an but with specific reference to mental weaknesses:

And Allah has brought you out from the wombs of your mothers while you know nothing. And He gave you hearing, sight, and hearts that you might give thanks (to Him). (16:78)

In several other verses this single and common pattern of early weakness that first characterizes every person’s life and then strength in later development is also clearly indicated. For example:

We have enjoined on kindness to his parents: In pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth. The carrying of the child (in the womb) to his weaving is (a period of) thirty months. At length when he reaches the age of full strength and attains forty years he says, O my Lord? Grant me that I may be grateful for thy favour, which Thou has bestowed upon me, and upon my parents.20

The necessary analogical deduction that can be made from this verse is that each person’s life begins in weakness, gradually attains strength, and then gradually declines, just as the first verse under this principle clearly states. The decline is the beginning of a second dimension of weakness that characterizes human life at the end of one’s life. And this has also been stated in this verse and several others. This pattern is certainly common to all human beings as it is witnessed in our life experiences.
This principle, it should be noted, does not eliminate the fact of individual differences. What is actually meant is that, although this pattern is applicable to all humans, there are always a number of differences among individuals in terms of specific developmental variables and processes. For the purpose of illustration, let us assume that two identical things are born at the same moment. This principle applies to both of them in the sense that they are both helpless, weak, miniature human beings, and both gradually begin to grow and develop until both attain full strength. However, it may be noticed that one may be dark in complexion while another may be light. Again, while one may be fat, the other may be slim. These are some forms of individual differences. They do not however, like all other forms, eliminate the fact of the common pattern of development represented by this principle, just as the principle itself does not wipe away this very fact of individual differences. A more detailed discussion on individual differences in development comes later in this article.

Human Development Is a Cumulative and Simultaneous Process

If all the verses of the Qur’an that talk about human development in its various stages are taken together, synthesized, and analyzed, it will be seen that the Qur’an had postulated that human development is cumulative in nature. That is to say, any new development acquired or attained by the individual adds up to the already existing one. In this way, development builds one aspect upon another up to the fullest stage. The Qur’an also teaches us that human development is a simultaneously interwoven process. This means that all the aspects of development-physical, mental, social, emotional, moral-are inseparable. Each one reinforces the other. This means that one aspect of development does not wait until another develops to its fullest before it commences. The physical and mental developments of a person for example go together with his social, emotional, and moral development. At each stage, all these aspects increase in growth and maturation proportionally and consecutively, hence, the simultaneous nature of development. Many of the verses that talk about development refer to all its aspects either explicity or implicity. But the physical and cognitive aspects of it are especially explicity tied to each other in several verses of the Qur’an. This is very clear in several verses quoted earlier. The verse in which Allah describes the two broad stages at the same time contains not only mention of physical development but also that of mental development.21 The same thing applies to the verses in which He mentions, “attainment of full strength” in development and growth. Undoubtedly, the full strength so attained is not only restricted to physical strength but also necessarily includes all the other aspects of development. This is all the more obvious in the verses where Allah refers to giving orphans their wealth when they attain “full strength.” It certainly means both physical and mental development. While physical development as implied in the verse is indisputably more obvious from the word “strength” which immediately signifies physical stature and posture, the mental component is definitely included as it is clearly alluded to by another verse of the Qur’an:

Make trial of orphans until they reach the age of marriage: if then you find sound judgement in them: release their property to them; but consume it not wastefully nor in haste against their growing. (4:6)

The mention of age of marriage is a direct reference to physical maturity and growth while sound judgement directly means mental maturity. The fact of the simultaneous nature of growth and development in human life is thus confirmed.

However, the Qur’an also alludes to the fact that some aspects may develop faster than others, thus creating intra-individual differences in development. For example, the individual’s physical development may be faster than his mental development or vice versa. The Qur’an therefore confirms the factor of mental retardation. In this situation, the individual may grow and develop physically but may not grow and develop at the same rate mentally. Allah alludes to this in the following verse where He prescribes recording debt contracts:

If the party liable is mentally deficient, or weak, or unable himself to dictate, let his guardian dictate faithfully. (2:282)

Several other verses mention these cases of abnormal mental development. Another form of abnormal development has also been mentioned in another verse. This is abnormal language development, which causes speech impairment. In a parabolic and euphemistic description of the disbeliever, this factor is denoted, as it appears in the verse:

And Allah puts forward (another) example of two men, one of them dumb, who has no power over anything (disbeliever) and he is a burden on his master; whichever way he direct him, he brings no good. Is such a man equal to one (believer) who commands justice, and is himself on the straight path? (16:76)

In actual sense, since the Qur’an is not a textbook of psychology, only through deductions and inferences can we extract psychological facts from it. This means that it is the apparent significations and connotations of the verses that are taken into consideration, not necessarily the specific contingencies or instances upon which the verses were revealed. And this is an accepted principle in ‘Ilmul-Usul.22

These verses and several others do confirm that abnormality affects some aspects of a person’s development, just as it can affect it in its entirety.

Human Life (Growth and Development) Transcends Earthly Phenomenal Existence

Whereas all the theories of development in modern developmental psychology are confined only to this earthly (temporal) life, the Qur’an projects human life beyond this life. The Qur’an considers the present life as the foundation of another life that is permanent and everlasting. Man is going to be transformed into a different form of life whose growth and development are transcendental and divine. Such growth and development, however, may be either in endless bliss or torment. This is why in many of the verses where Allah mentions the stages of human development, He links them directly with the life after death. It shall be a continuation of life in some sorts. For example, in Surat al-Mu’minun Allah enumerates the stages of human development in this earthly life. He follows the preceding verses with a mention of the next life:

Man We did create from a quintessence (of clay); then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest firmly fixed; then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump, then We made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then We developed out of it another creature (or full human being). So blessed be God, the Best to create! After that, at length ye will die. Again, on the Day of Judgement, will ye be raised up. (23:12-16)

Therefore, it is clear that for a comprehensive study of man, this aspect of divine life after death should be incorporated. This is because the fear of death and what happens beyond it is inherent in every human being and it has a lot of bearing on man’s psychological dispositions and development. Unless this is done, our knowledge about the nature of man will continue to remain primitive and partial.

Human Life (Growth and Development) Passes through Certain Critical and Sensitive Periods

If some verses and prophetic traditions are studied closely, it will be discovered that Islam has great concern regarding some of the periods and phases of human development. These are essentially the formative period or phases. They lay the foundation upon which later development builds. In this respect the entire prenatal, infancy, childhood, and adolescent periods can all be considered sensitive.

The sensitive nature of the prenatal stage for example can be seen in the fact that Muslims have been enjoined to pray, by the Prophet, just when they are about to copulate.23

This is meant as supplication to Allah for protection from Satan and a sound offering. Soundness here actually means protection from all sorts of ailments that may retard the development and growth of any aspect of the child’s life. In the same way, the Qur’an enjoins Muslims to keep supplicating to Allah for a good offspring before and during pregnancy.24 And when a child is eventually born, the call to prayer should be made in his ears; it was done and enjoined by the Prophet. 25

In actual fact, the primary concern of all these is the sound moral development of the child. This concern is an indication of the sensitive and critical nature of this period as the root of the later periods. Over and above all these, the Prophet has told us that it was at this period that certain important things of a person’s life are decreed by Allah. He tells us that the angel sent to blow the spirit into the foetus is commanded by Allah to write its provisions (rizq), deeds (amal), life span (ajal), and destiny-whether the person will be in goodness or wickedness (sa’Eµd or shaqiy).26 This decree then runs through a person’s life up to the Hereafter. This then makes this period even more sensitive and critical than all the rest since they all depend on it.

After birth, the Prophet enjoins Muslims to be very sensitive and careful with the upbringing of their children. Numerous hadith have been reported in this regard. However, another period that is considered very critical and sensitive is the adolescent period. As a period of transition from childhood to adulthood it constitutes a turning point in an individual’s life. It is prone to a lot of exuberance, anxieties excitements and temptations. The Prophet has in a number of his traditions made specific references to this stage, which allude to its sensitivity and importance. One example is the hadith in which the Prophet specially mentions seven categories of people that shall be comforted under the shade of the Glorious Throne of Allah. One of them is a young (adolescent) man who grows up in devotion and commitment to the worship of Allah.27 This hadith alludes to the critical nature of the adolescent period in the sense that, having been full of temptations and exuberance, a young person who resists these temptations deserves to be specially comforted among those who shall attain felicity on the Day of Judgement.

Besides the troubles that characterize the adolescent period, some other reasons that make it a critical and sensitive period in an individual’s development are its transitional nature and the fact that it marks the beginning of taklif (legal responsibility). From the time the individual attains puberty he shall be held responsible for all his deeds. If he commits any sin it shall be recorded against him. This is indicated in many Prophetic traditions, one of which is:

The pen (which records deeds) has been suspended in respect of three people: the child until he attains puberty . . .28

Whatever can be said regarding the critical and sensitive nature of the adolescent period is summed up in this hadith. In a real sense, from the Islamic perspective, an individual’s later life (growth and development) is made or marred at this period.

Factors That Influence Development: The Islamic Perspective

In the previous discussion, many mentions were made of God being the Creator of all things and having dominion over all things. What this implies is that He has full control over all things because of His omniscience and omnipotence. In many verses of the Qur’an, He mentions this fundamental fact. Therefore, it means that everything happens in accordance with His absolute will. In other words, He is the ultimate and absolute cause of everything that happens. He says:

But you shall not will except as God wills, the Cherisher of the Worlds. (81:29)

So, the alternation of day and night, hot and cold seasons, rainy and dry seasons, life and death, the germination of seeds, the blowing of winds, in fact everything is caused by Him and happens by His permission and will.

But in spite of this, God has created temporal causes and effects. He governs and directs the universe in accordance with these causes and effects. For example, rain has been made to be one of the causes of seed germination, copulation between male and female has been made to be the cause of pregnancy, hunger has been made to be the cause of eating (eating itself causes satisfaction while eating bad food causes ill health). So, in this phenomenal existence things happen by means of other things. But as far as the Qur’an is concerned, these myriads of causes and effects are part of God’s will. In this regard, the degree, rate, magnitude, and level at which a particular cause brings about an effect is something which absolutely depends on God’s will. Thus, the effectiveness of a cause in precipitating a certain result or effect is determined by God’s will. On a similar note, therefore, the magnitude of the result of a particular cause itself is determined by God’s will. This point is precisely enunciated by Rahman: 29

God is the Creator of the universe, the ultimate reality and the cause of all causes. . . . Everything in the universe follows the law of its Creator (His Law) as He says in the Qur’an:

Glorify the name of thy Guardian-Lord Most High; Who hath created, and further, given order and proportion; Who hath ordained laws and granted guidance. (87:1-3)

The foregoing analysis has been made as background to the discussion on factors that influence development. And in the light of it (the analysis), it can be seen that Islam recognizes to certain extents the two important factors which fundamentally influence the growth and development of man, namely, heredity and environment. Numerous textual evidences from the Qur’an and Hadith establish the influence of hereditary and environmental forces on an individual’s overall development. But it needs to be emphasized here that the hereditary and environmental influences on the development of a person are themselves subject to the will of God. This means that Islamic psychology does not look at man as a being who is simply subjected to hereditary and environmental forces (i.e., left at their mercy). Islam looks at man as one being among others, who is primarily governed, sustained, guided, and controlled by God’s infinite power and will. The forces of heredity and environment which influence man’s development are secondary and are, therefore, only mere mediums through which God disposes His Will on man’s overall growth and development.
For the purpose of clarity, some textual proof from the Qur’an and Prophetic traditions that confirm the influence of heredity and environment on man’s development are given below. After that, some other textual proofs that also establish beyond reasonable doubts the Divine control of man’s life and development are also given.

Textual Proofs of the Influence of Heredity on Development

Bukhari and Muslim report on the authority of Anas bin Malik the following:

His mother (Anas’s mother) Umm Sulaym (one of the female companions of the Prophet) asked the Prophet about a woman seeing a wet dream in her sleep like a man. He answered, “If the woman sees that she should take the obligatory (janabah) bath.” Then Umm Salmah (the Prophet’s wife who was present) asked shyly, “Does that happen?” The Prophet replied, “Of course it does! Then how does (hereditary) resemblance come about (if it does not happen)? Man’s sperm is a white and thick liquid while the woman’s egg cell is a thin yellowish liquid. Whichever of the two overcomes the other, the offspring shall resemble him/her.” (This version as reported by Muslim.)

Muslim reports on the authority of Thauban, that a Jew came and asked the Prophet numerous questions (in an attempt to challenge the truth of his Prophethood). Among other things, he asked him a question which he (the Jew) claimed nobody could know its answers at that point in time except a true Prophet. The question was about sex determination, i.e., how does it take place? The Prophet gave him the following answer:

The male sperm is white and the female ovum is yellowish. If they meet (get fertilized) and the male sperm cells overcome the female’s egg cell, the offspring shall bear a male sex by God’s permission. And if the female egg cell overcomes the male spermatozoon the offspring shall bear a female sex by God’s permission.

After the Prophet answered the Jew told him that he spoke the truth and that he is truly a Prophet. Ibn al-Qayyim expounded this hadith further:

At the moment of conception (fertilization) two things are involved. These are foremostness and overcoming. The two can happen consecutively, and they can also occur differently. In this regard, if the male sperm cell becomes foremost and still overcomes the female ovum, the offspring shall be male and shall resemble the father. But if the reverse is the case, the offspring shall become female and shall resemble the mother. If, however, one becomes foremost but the other overcomes it, the offspring shall resemble the foremost one and its sex shall be the same with the overcomer, either male or female.

Ibn al-Qayyim, however, cautioned that this sexual determination (and any other thing that goes with it) should not be thought of as merely caused by nature. It is an affair which purely depends on God’s will. That is why the Prophet said in another authentic hadith that the Angel sent to blow spirit into the foetus asks Allah:
O my Lord! Should the sex be male or female? . . . Then God determines it according to His Will and the Angel records it.

It is reported that Lian (one of the Prophet’s companions Hilal ibn Umayyah) accused his wife of committing adultery with Shuraikh ibn As-Sahma. The Prophet instructed in the following way:
Allow her to deliver, if the child bears so and so traits then he belongs to the accused man. But if the child bears so and so traits the child is then the son of her legitimate husband.30
The textual evidence leaves no doubt that hereditary endowment takes place. But the ultimate decision of everything depends on God. Heredity, therefore, can influence a person’s intellectual development to a certain extent.

Textual Proof of the Influence of Environment on Development

A famous evidence in this regard is a hadith in which the Prophet tells us how parents influence the religious, moral, and general psychological socialization and development of their children. This is one of the most glaring textual proofs of environmental influence upon a person. The hadith reads:
There is not a newborn child who is not born in state of fitrah (divinely endowed natural disposition of Islam). His parents then make him a Jew (if they are Jews), a Christian (if they are Christians), or a Magian (if they are Magians), just as an animal is born intact. Do you observe any among them that are maimed (at birth)?

In another hadith, the Prophet showed how companionship influences a person’s behavior, character, and overall conduct. In a parable, the Prophet said:
The similitude of a good companion and a bad companion is like the possessor of musk perfume and a blacksmith. As for the owner of the perfume, he may either give it to you, or you purchase it from him, or at least you may get a pleasing odor from him. But as for the blacksmith, he may either burn your clothes or you get from him a bad displeasing odor.
In a metaphorical sense, the Prophet tells us how good companionship influences a person’s character to goodness and how bad companionship induces a person to bad conduct. Environment, therefore, really influences a person’s overall psychological development, including, of course, cognitive development.
Textual Proof of God’s Will
There is substantial evidence that shows that heredity or environment per se do not in themselves determine an individual’s pattern of development; ultimately, everything depends on God’s will. The most striking example of this is the story of Jesus, son of Mary. God made him talk in his cradle. As we all know, language development is an integral part of cognitive development. Under normal circumstances children begin to talk around the age of two by rattling and in that way they continue to develop vocabulary. That Jesus talked in his cradle reveals God’s power. It was not actually a hereditary endowment, neither was it a product of an “intellectually stimulating” environment. It was simply a manifestation of God’s Wisdom, His infinite power, will, and ability to do all things. The Qur’an narrates this incident in several verses. First of all the Qur’an narrates to us how Mary was foretold that her son would talk in his cradle. The verse reads:
He shall speak unto mankind in his cradle and in his manhood and he shall be one of those brought near (unto Allah). (2:46)
And while narrating the full story, the Qur’an says:
At length she brought the (babe) to her people, carrying him (in her arms). They said: O Mary! Truly an amazing thing hast thou brought. O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste! But she pointed to the babe. They said: How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle? He (the child) said: I am indeed a servant of God; He hath given me revelation and made me a Prophet; And (He) hath made me blessed wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me prayer and charity wherever I be; (He) hath made me kind to my mother, and not over bearing or miserable; So peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)! Such was Jesus the son of Mary: (It is) a statement of truth, about which they (vainly) dispute; It is not befitting to (the Majesty of) God that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! When He determines a matter, He only says to it, “Be,” and it is. (19:27-35)
In a hadith reported by various hadith reporters including Bukhari, the Prophet has told us that this kind of miraculous incident did not only happen in the case of Jesus alone. He said it happened to two other persons, who also spoke in cradle. He said, “three people talked in their cradle.” He first of all mentioned Jesus. And then he mentioned the rest of the two. One of them was also a newly born baby who spoke to exonerate a saint (Juraiju) who was mischievously and falsely accused of impregnating a whore, the result of which was the birth of that very child. The child spoke and said his father was the cattle rearer who used to rear his cattle around a mountain close to Juraiju’s sanctuary.
Another child who spoke in his cradle was the child who spoke in response to the prayer of his mother when she prayed that God would make her son to be like one gorgeously dressed, arrogant rich man and that the child not be like one wretched, destitute lady who was falsely accused of theft and was also mischievously molested as a result of the false accusation. Both of them passed by her while she was breast feeding the child. In the first case the child turned his head and looked at the man then he said, “O God! Make me not like him.” Also in the second case, he turned his head and looked at the woman and he said, “O God! Make me like her.33
What these verses teach us is that, while heredity and environment are indisputable factors that influence man’s development, a third, more significant and dominant factor exists. This is the factor of God’s infinite will and power. It is the factor which monitors and polices the extent to which the nature-nurture forces influence man’s life and development. This is applicable to all aspects of development. The examples given above are specifically relevant to cognitive development. Thus, cognitive development is neither merely a product of genetic inheritance per se, nor a product of environment per se. It is primarily a product of God’s will and power. In this regard, hereditary and environmental forces are simply the medium through which God disposes the pattern of an individual’s development. Therefore, these two factors have certain limitations in their influence on a person’s overall psychological disposition. Such limitations themselves are predetermined by God.
It is necessary to recognize this factor in psychological studies. A lot of things do happen in man’s life which cannot be attributable or ascribable to either heredity or environment (like the above examples). Therefore, such things cannot be explained within the confines of material or empirical investigations and explanations. Unless psychologists widen the horizons of their approach to the study of man by recognizing the factor of God’s Divine will and omnipotence upon everything, including human psychological development, psychological research will remain incomplete and our knowledge about ourselves will remain equally incomplete.
The role of God’s Will in determining an individual’s development as recognized by the Islamic approach will help in understanding or explaining the process of development better than the Western approach in a number of ways. Some of them are:
that not all psychological constructs and tendencies can strictly be attributed to the mere influences of heredity and environment.

that as a result of the above reason, individuals sometimes exhibit certain tendencies that clearly defy explanations in terms of hereditary or environmental influences. The case of the speech of Jesus and others in their cradles is a clear testimony to this. In this regard, if this is not attributed to the Will of God, only conjectures would be used to explain this fact.

The Qur’anic View on Individual – Differences in Development

Considering the fact that God’s will varies on the particular creation of each individual, it is safe to assert that individual differences are a predetermined matter in human existence. Individual differences are subject to God’s will and subsequently depend on hereditary endowment and the influences of environment. God tells us in the Qur’an that He creates and fashions every person in his mother’s womb in a distinct and unique way/form as He wishes:

O man! What has seduced thee from thy Lord, Most Beneficent? Him Who created thee, fashioned thee in due proportion, and gave thee a just bias. In whatever form He wills, does He put thee together. (82:6-8)

He it is Who shapes you in the wombs as He pleases; there is no god but He, the Exalted in Might, the Wise. (3:6)

These verses denote that since every individual is fashioned in his mother’s womb by God in a peculiar and unique form, individuals are bound to be different in all their physiopsychological dispositions. This is the basic factor behind individual differences among people. Furthermore, and in clearer terms, God has told us in the Qur’an that we are different from one another in our traits, characters, behaviors, and conduct:

Say! Every one acts according to his own disposition. But your Lord knows best who it is that is best guided on the way. (17:84)
This verse means that every single individual has a unique disposition. Such uniqueness may be manifested in terms of physical, cognitive, emotional, moral, and social characteristics. The Qur’an, therefore, recognizes that there are individual differences among men not only in terms of cognitive development but also in other aspects of development. Because of this recognition, one finds that individual differences are perfectly taken care of, even in some Qur’anic commands and exhortations toward obeying God’s injunctions and also in the discharge of His obligations. A typical example is the verse in which God exhorts us to obey His rules, as far as we can, both individually and collectively:
So fear God as much as you can; listen and obey, and spend in charity for the benefit of your souls. (64:16)

In the above verse, God addresses us both individually and collectively. Each individual or group of individuals is expected to fear God and obey Him as far as he can bear it individually. This is the meaning that is conveyed by the following verse:

On no soul doth God place a burden greater than it can bear. It gets every good that it earns, and suffers every ill that it earns. (2:286)

Commenting on the above verse, Zaydan and Hash-Shash said, “This verse is a divine indication to the prevalence (existence) of individual differences among mankind.34 So, Islam treats every individual in his own unique and distinct disposition. This establishes beyond any reasonable doubt that there are bound to be differences among individuals in all aspects of their psychological traits and characteristics. This invariably includes cognitive characteristics. But the verse in which Allah clearly alludes to individual differences among people is the following verse. Such differences include intellectual disparities, among others. The verse reads:
And We raise some of them (mankind) above others in ranks, so that some may command work from others. (43:32)

According to Ibn Kathir, God explains in this verse that He created disparities among His creatures (mankind) in terms of what He has endowed them with-wealth, intellect, understanding, and the like-which pertains to both the outward and the inward abilities. 35

In practical terms, the Prophet used to take care of individual differences among his companions through his interactions with them by teaching, responding to questions, and in general dealings with them. He used to assign responsibilities to people according to their respective suitabilities to such responsibilities. He considered such differences in almost everything, including prayers. For example, with regards to leading people in prayers the Prophet used to instruct his companions to take into cognizance the differences which exist among people. He used to instruct them in the following way:

If anyone of you leads a people in prayer he should shorten it. For among them there are the young, the old, the weak and the ones disturbed by the call of nature. But if he prays alone, then let him pray as he wishes (according to his capability). 36

With regards to teaching people, the Prophet used to take care of their peculiarities. He used to take care of their level of intellectual and social development. In that way he instructs or teaches a person according to his mentality and social background. The following are very good examples of this Prophetic method of teaching:

‘Aisha, one of the Prophet’s wives, was reported as having said that the Prophet did not speak superfluously and carelessly as other people do. He used to talk to people in a careful manner, repeating the points which needed to be repeated or emphasized so that every listener understood him.

The Prophet considered people’s social and intellectual background when he addressed them. It is reported that a delegation came to him from Yemen. When he addressed them, he used the language (dialect) they would understand, which was different from the one spoken by his people (of Hijaz). In that way he used to try to interact with people.

The Prophet used to react or give answers to individuals in accordance with their intellectual and social dispositions. He would give different answers to seemingly similar questions and would react differently to the seemingly same action done by different people. For example, a beduin came into the Prophet’s mosque and urinated. His action showed that he had a low intellectual and social development. The Prophet’s companions became harsh with him and started shouting at him. But considering his peculiar intellectual and social background, the Prophet cautioned them saying: (Deal with him) gently. You have been sent to be lenient with people and not (indiscriminately) harsh. The Prophet then ordered that water be poured on the place urinated on. After that, the Prophet called him and explained to him gently in accordance to his mentality. The man became extremely pleased by the Prophet’s treatment of him. So much so, that when he prayed and was supplicating, he said, “O Allah! Have mercy on me and Muhammad, and do not have mercy on any other person besides us.” The Prophet smiled at him and said, “O! You have narrowed that which is wide.” When the man went back to his people, he said, “I have come to you from the best of mankind. 37

Whenever the Prophet wanted to send some of his companions to teach people in other places, he would give them some advice which has some bearing on individual differences. For example, he used to say: Be lenient with people and do not be harsh. Encourage (and do not) discourage or dismiss people. 38

Finally, it was reported that the Prophet used to advise his companions in the following way: Speak to men according to their mental capacities, for if you speak all things to all men, some cannot understand you, and so fall into errors.

It is also pertinent to specifically address the issue of differences between the psychological development of male and female children. The Qur’an has certainly told us that males and females are not the same:

And the male is not like the female. (3:36)

The difference referred to in this verse is of a wide range. Essentially it refers to the differences in biological postures and psychological tendencies. There is no doubt that men and women have different biological postures and traits that create a number differences in their respective developmental patterns. The growth spurt of girls in the adolescent stage has been discovered to be faster than that boys. In another dimension there is certainly a very strong relationship between biology and psychology. Biological processes do really affect and influence psychological tendencies. As long as males and females have certain variant biological components and postures, variation in their psychological tendencies and dispositions is inevitable.

Conclusion

An attempt has been made in this paper to reveal some of the fundamental differences that exist between the Islamic approach to developmental psychology and the Western secular approach. Beginning with a critique of the epistemological and methodological paradigms and frameworks of Western social and behavioral sciences in general, the distinctive Islamic paradigm, which is based on the Tawhidi episteme, was propounded. Based on this epistemological framework an attempted exposition of the basic principles of Islamic developmental psychology was made. With sufficient references from the Qur’an and Sunnah as the Muslim’s Absolute Reference Frame, 39 the fundamental differences between the Islamic and Western approaches were clearly expounded and illustrated. In a similar manner, other important issues related to development like the factors, which affect it, and the phenomenon of individual differences were discussed and analyzed. This attempt has certainly suggested a marked deviation from the conventional approach.

A very important element in this Islamic approach which more than any other thing makes it differ from the dominant Western approach is the fact that in the former case God’s Will is the central and dominant factor in human development. In the latter case everything is explained within the limited confines of the nature-nurture (hereditary and environment) paradigm. This latter approach in view of the Islamic model is certainly reductionist and cannot lead to perfect understanding of human nature and development.

Because there are sharp contradictions between the Islamic and Western models, primarily due to Muslim belief in the indispensability of the Qur’an and Sunnah, and finally due to the differences between Muslim and Western societies, it must be concluded that it is grossly inappropriate to use Western development theories in Muslim societies. It is also futile or even absurd to keep upholding the Western theories with all their glaring weaknesses, inadequacies, and incompatibilities. It therefore becomes necessary and imperative to propound a more comprehensive adequate and accurate approach. The Islamic approach is certainly one for it can assuredly redeem mankind from misery occasioned by the mechanistic and materialist view of man. It will actually widen our scope of understanding of human developments without any claim of perfection.

Footnotes

1 – G. R. Lefrancois, Of Children: An Introduction to Child Development (Belmont: Wadsworth, 1973).

2 – See Omar K. Khaleefa, “The Imperialism of Euro-American Psychology in a non-Western Culture: An Attempt toward an Ummatic Psychology,” The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, vol.14, no.1 (1997): 50.

3 – See Mona Abdul-Fadl, “Contemporary Social Theory: Tawhidi Projections,” The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, vol. 2, no.3 (1994): 316.

4 – Malik Badri, The Dilemma of Muslim Psychologists (London: MWH Publishers, 1979).

5 – Mona Abul-Fadl, “Contemporary Social Theory,” 317.

6 – Ibid., 326.

7 – Alexis Carrel, Al-Insan Dhalika al-Majhul (Man: The Unknown).

8 – Abul-Fadl, “Contemporary Social Theory,” 327.

9 – L. S. Hearnshaw, The Shaping of Modern Psychology: An Historical Introduction (London: Routledge, 1987).

10 – Harris, Kelvin, Education and Knowledge (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1979), 5-27; cited in Suleiman, Said, “Islamization of Knowledge: A Working Concept and Implementation Strategies,” an unpublished seminar paper, Muslim Forum Islamization of Knowledge Seminar Series, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria 1998.

11 – Ismail Raji al-Faruqi, “Islamizing the Social Sciences,” in Social and Natural Sciences: Islamic Perspective, edited by I. R. al-Faruqi (Jeddah: King Abdul-Aziz University, 1977), 12.

12 – Ibid.

13 – Ibid.

14 – Hassan Langgulung, “Research in Psychology: Toward an Ummatic Paradigm,” in Toward Islamization of the Disciplines (Herndon, Va.: IIIT, 1989), 115-116.
15 – Ibid., 116.

16 – Harris, Education, 2

17 – Badri, The Dilemma of Muslim Psychologists.

18 – Reported by Bukhari on the authority of Abullah ibn Mas’ud on the beginning of creation, in the chapter “Mention of the Angel,” vol. 41, Hadith No. 549.

19 – 19. Abubakar Mahmoud Gummi, Radd al-Adhhan ila-Ma’an al-Qur’an (a commentary of the Qur’an) (Beirut: Dar al-Arabiyyah, 1982). 20. Surah al-Ahqaf (46:15). Other chapters and verses in which this attainment of full strength after weakness is mentioned are 40:67; 22:5; 17:34; 28:14; and 12:22. 21. See note (18) above. 22. That is the Science of Jurisprudence in Islam. The Principle referred to here is that which says: “Al-Itibar bi Umum al-Lafz la bi khusus al-ma’ana,” i.e., Consideration can be made in juristic decisions to general meaning and implications of phrases or statements, in addition to their specific connotations. 23. A hadith reported by both Bukhari and Muslim on the authority of Abdullahi ibn Abbas. 24. See Surah al-Ahqaf (46), verse 15 25. A hadith reported by Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, and Hakim, on the authority of Abu Rafi. 26. See note (19) above.

20 – Ibid, x.

21 – Sabra, “The Astronomical Origin of Ibn al-Haytham’s Concept of Experiment, 136.

22 – Boring, A History of Experimental Psychology; Brennan, History and Systems of Psychology; H. Kendler, Historical Foundations of Modern Psychology (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1987); D. Schultz, A History of Modern Psychology, 3rd ed. (Orland: Academic Press, 1981).

23 – Boring, A History of Experimental Psychology.

24 – G. Fechner, Elements of Psychophysics, translated by H. Adler, edited by D. Howes and E. Boring (New York: Holt, Rinhart and Winston, 1860).

25 – Brennan, History and Systems of Psychology, 155.

26 – Fechner, Elements of Psychophysics, 10.

27 – Ibid., xxvii.

28 – Ibid., 10.
29 – Ibid., xxviii.

30 – Ibid., xxix.

31 – Schultz, A History of Modern Psychology, 54.

32 – Fechner, Elements of Psychophysics, xxix.

33 – Boring, A History of Experimental Psychology, 283.

34 – Fechner, Elements of Psychophysics.

35 – Ibid., xxiv.

36 – Boring, A History of Experimental Psychology, 293.

37 – Ibid; Brennan, History and Systems of Psychology; Kendler, Historical Foundations of Modern Psychology.

38 – A. Sabra, “Sensation and Inference in Alhazen’s Theory of Visual Perception,” in Studies in Perception: Interrelations in the History of Philosophy and Science, edited by Peter Machamer and R. Turnbull (Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1978), 160-161.

39 – Sabra, Commentary to Ibn al-Haytham’s Optics, xii.

Renewed interest in spiritual healing methods will only help to further the state of modern medicine as we benefit from the experiences and knowledge of our predecessors in this noble field of healing. Unfortunately, this topic has too often been ignored and dismissed by many contemporary physicians although these remedies have been practiced successfully for thousands of years.

A scientific mind unclouded by preconceived notions is able to discern the validity and utility of a comprehensive approach to health, which includes spiritual healing. Professor John Taylor of King’s College, London asserted: “A scientific investigation can only look into that which is physical. The non-physical realm–be it mental, spiritual, ethereal, eternal or any other so far–has defied scientific analysis.

“There are certainly ways of obtaining knowledge about the non-physical aspect of experience which provides helpful insights of their nature, but the results so obtained are difficult to describe and relate to the general corpus of knowledge….Indeed, nowadays a scientist must take care to avoid being so biased in the other direction that he becomes over skeptical. He may well refuse to believe what is staring him in the face because it cannot be fitted into his materialistic view of the universe….Science has so much evolved since a century ago. It should be able to give a satisfactory answer. If not, the scientific method truly will have been found wanting and could well suffer a blow from which it might never recover.”
John Taylor, Superminds pp. 55-56

Science And Spiritual Healing

All spiritual healers are true scientists and they have come to the conclusion that behind every creation–be it an atom, cell, or cosmos–a Creating Genius is at work. Therefore, they assert that their patients can be healed by turning to that Creating Genius through devotion, contemplation, and recollection of His Name.

Many modern scientists realized that if a science does not educate, inspire, or lead to the conclusion and realization that the beginning and end, the outward and inward of all, whatever is between the heavens and earth is throbbing with life-giving energy of this Creating Genius, then this science cannot be qualified as normal.

Dr. Robert G. White, a renowned neurosurgeon, is one of many scientists and physicians who, through their research, came to the conclusion that human beings did not just come together, but are the handiwork of an All-Knowing Creative Genius.

He writes, “I am convinced that the brain is the repository of the human spirit, the soul…for me, the practice of medicine and religious faith are inextricably interwoven. I pray a great deal, especially before and after surgery. I find prayer satisfying. I feel there are immense resources behind me, resources I need and want….

“Yet the notion that human life is nothing more than a chance confluence of complex molecular biology and electrical activity strikes me as a deviance of logic….I have to believe all this had an intelligent beginning, that Someone made it happen. I cannot accept the proposition that, at random points in time, such substantial entities as intelligence, personality, memory, and the human body just sort of fell together.

“I also find it unreasonable to suppose that, at brain death, those powerful entities of intelligence, personality, and memory simply cease to exist. Far more reasonable [is] to believe that the essence of us escapes from a container, the brain, which no longer is capable of supporting us, and finds support in a new dimension.

“As to what becomes of the essence of us at brain death, I cannot presume even to speculate. I can only say that logic leads me inescapably to faith–faith that the uniqueness, the individuality, of the human being lives on in this concept we call the soul.”
R.G. White, M.D. Thoughts of a Brain Surgeon
Readers Digest October, 1978

The Science Of Spiritual Healing

The science of spiritual healing has traditionally been taught and passed from one healer to another by individualized private instruction. These techniques have been used for centuries by wise philosophers and healers, in various regions of the world including, Japan, China, North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Indian Subcontinent. These were the pioneers of spiritual healing who invented and practiced techniques, which many scientists are unaware of even today. In the second half of the 20th century, this spiritual knowledge began to be spread and was taught en masse to those interested in using spiritual healing techniques to alleviate pain and to cure disease.

The spiritual healing process rejuvenates the body’s life force and strengthens it through several focal points throughout the body. The spiritual technique produces a neuro-psychological effect, which leads the central nervous system to produce a carefully orchestrated endocrine response which relieves pain, heals the disease of the affected areas, and balances the entire body.

Health as Related to Physical Fitness and Activity

The human body requires food and drink, however not all such matters are digestible and they do not all become part of the human body. Instead precipitates of unconverted nutrients may settle as sediment and since the body cannot dispose of them naturally, with time, their accumulations can cause various illnesses. Initially, such accumulations may manifest as localized accumulations before they affect the blood and are transported through the blood stream to accessible parts of the body.

Though initially one’s condition may manifest in the form of bowel problems, with time, any greater buildup of such sediment becomes more dangerous and manifests as localized illnesses that may spread in the body at later stage. Hence comes the importance of studying the pathology of disease and the history of its development.

Acknowledging physical malaise causing bowel problems, one may accustoms ones self to strong purgative resulting in further complications. In fact, most of such drugs are toxic and can interfere with and eliminate both the good and bad. Addictions to such drugs can further complicate one’s condition because they are hot and interactive and they can weaken the immune system, predispose patients to arrythmias, affect the kidney and develop various disorders and deficiencies. Appropriate physical exercise is necessary to refresh the organs, ease the flow of food and nutrients, enhance digestion, and prevent such accumulations.

Furthermore, natural and methodical control of movements and muscular actions lightens the spirit, refreshes the mind, rejuvenates the body organs, improves one’s self, strengthens muscular tone, prevents callousness of the joints, strengthens the tendons and ligaments, lessens the possibility of somatic disorders, and abates most illnesses. This also depends on the level of physical exercise, their balance, moderation, or intensity.

In general, routines dedicated to any particular limb strengthen it just like dedicating one’s thoughts to a specific subject strengthens one’s memory. Hence, each part of the body requires specific routines. The lungs require reading exercise and their levels began from reading silently, and advancing gradually in intensity and loudness. Hearing exercise require careful responsive attention by stimulating the auditory nerves and ears, and it develops to the pint where sound either increases in volume or decreases by distance or by intensity of one’s wavelength. Speaking exercise increases oral command; and besides helping recognition by physical and mental vision, eye exercises enhance one’s vision and strengthen the ocular muscles and in some cases can help correct nearsightedness and farsightedness. Thus, hiking, swimming, normal walking, exercise at moderate pace, riding on horseback, archery, and similar sports, are most healthy for the entire body. Adopting such programs of physical exercise even can cure chronic illnesses such as anemia, infectious diseases, ulcers, and colic, among others.

Origins of Islamic Spiritual Healing

Spiritual healers inherited the methods that God’s messengers were using, and from one generation to another have practiced these methods up to the present time. In the Islamic tradition, healers utilize both medicinal remedies and spiritual means. The spiritual techniques follow scientific principles, which utilize the patient’s latent energy and the power contained in the devotions and supplications and meditations of the prophets, messengers, and “wise men” of God.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was once in a session where he was curing people through spiritual methods when he was asked whether or not remedies should be sought from medicines. He said, “Yes, you must seek remedy from medicine, because whatever disease God has created in this world, He has also created its remedy as well. But there is one disease for which He has not created any remedy, which is old age.”

Each and every prescribed Quranic verse has its unique healing property, which differs from those of other verses. The following are some examples of verses used in spiritual healing.

Six Verses Of Healing: “Ayat Al-Shifa”
“And [God] shall heal the breast of the believers.” Tauba 9:14

“Mankind there has come to you a guidance from your Lord and a healing for (the diseases) in your hearts, and for those who believe a guidance and a mercy.” Yunus 10:57

“There issues from within the bodies of the bee a drink of varying colors wherein is healing for mankind.” Nahl 16:69

“And We sent down in the Quran such things that have healing and mercy for the believers.” Bani Israel 17:82

“And when I am ill, it is [God] who cures me.”
A supplication of Prophet Abraham Shuara 26:80

“And declare (O Muhammad) that [the Quran] is a guidance and healing for the believers.”

About Energy And How Spiritual Healing Works
Spiritual healing is not at all a mysterious process but is in fact very straight forward, albeit oftentimes quite complex. The spiritual healing technique involves the energy field that exists around each of us. Everyone has an energy field or an aura that surrounds and interpenetrates the physical body. This field is intimately associated with the health of the human being.

In different cultures, energy is known by different names. The word “energy” is referred to as:
Ki in Japanese
Chi in Chinese
Prana in Hindi
Qudra in Arabic

Energy is the life breath transmitted to us from the Existing, Everlasting Superpower that overlooks human beings and all creation. Energy regulates our thought patterns and emotions, is the source of our life force and is the animating factor in all living beings. It circulates through our bodies and can be harnessed for healing. It is the source of all movement in the universe. When the human body loses its life breath the original energy (or life force) leaves it, allowing the body to decompose. The body goes back to its earthen origins and the spirit returns to its angelic origin of spiritual energy. This energy is never lost and exists without the secret of its nature being understood by science and modern medicine.

This unknown spiritual energy is behind the life of every drop of blood in animate beings, the motion behind every living cell, and the driving force of constellations and galaxies. It carries unlimited perfect and complete powers, which are real, active and continuous. The action of this force is genuine because nothing can grow or live in the entire universe without its influence.

This is especially applicable on earth where no trees, grass, vegetation and indeed no life can exist without the intervention of this unknown, unseen energy. It is with this energy that a tiny plant pushes through the middle of a huge desert boulder. This energetic spiritual life force holds the organs, blood vessels, and all body parts in place. When the body’s life force diminishes, the anatomic relations of the body’s organs are altered and disrupted, which leads to pain, organ dysfunction and an overall deterioration of health.

The spiritual energetic life force creates an energy field around itself like a highly charged magnet or electrode. This force reflects its energy throughout the human body and becomes the driving life force behind all of its activities and processes. The life force not only energizes the body but also gives it its identity. As an atom is defined by its constituent electrons, protons, and neutrons–which are also its energy components–so too does the spiritual life force give energy and identity to the physical body.

The healing spiritual energy is analogous to a waterfall. If a waterfall is channeled in the right way, it can be harnessed to produce energy and give light. Similarly, if our blood flow is properly channeled through a balanced, equilibrated system, the driving force of that energy will augment the energy of the weak organs.

In those organs where the life force has been weakened and dissipated, spiritual healing will increase and activate these vital forces. The spiritual healing technique allows the life energies to be exponentially expanded to activate the ill member and heal it.

A similar phenomenon is seen in an atomic reaction, where tremendous power is released from the internal energy of the atom. The energy produced increases geometrically as the activated, energized atom spreads its energy to its neighbors, propagating a chain reaction of energy release.

The same principle of the atomic reaction is used by spiritual healers to harness and activate the life force within the patient. Much in the same way that contemporary physicians direct lasers to heal affected areas of the body, spiritual healers access a similar chain reaction of the body’s existing energy, channeling it to the affected areas to heal pain and suffering. When one organ begins to heal, the other organs use the released energy to activate and release their own inherent energy, which in turn promotes physiological equilibrium and relief from pain.

The Three Phases Of Spiritual Healing

Universal force–or cosmic energy–includes the energies of the planets, stars and galaxies, and whatever is around us of propagating energy fields. This vast, all-pervading force nourishes the soul, the spirit and the energy within each individual and in every living creature. Through the meditative process of spiritual healing, one can access this driving energy, which exists in every living cell in the body.

The energy is channeled to the cerebral cortex, which is the processing center of our thoughts. From there it will be intensely focused and channeled in the nuclei of the brain stem, which are activated and stimulated by this focused life force. In turn impulses are sent to the autonomic nervous system, regulating the body’s functions, keeping it in equilibrium and free of pain. The concentration of energy in the brain comprises the first phase of spiritual healing.

This process in turn stimulates the vagus nerve to send electrical impulses down the heart’s conduction system to the sinoatrial node, through the internodal tracts, through the atrioventricular node, down the Bundles of His, out the Purkinje fibers and into the myocardial wall to begin systole. This migration of energy which fills the heart is the second phase of spiritual healing. Conditions such as angina, congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy and hypertension, in addition to many other related cardiac diseases, are healed and the patient can then find health and relief from pain.

The energy is then pumped with the blood out of the heart into the vascular system and delivered to the entire body in the third phase of spiritual healing. A major focus of phase three is the aorta, which is the conduit for the healing waves of energy that are carried by the blood.

As the blood flows from the heart, it is first channeled back to the heart via the coronary arteries in a chain reaction that sustains and increases the energy in the heart itself, much in the same way that the sun increases its light through its own nuclear reactions. This cycle produces more and more energy, which pours out into the vascular system with foci in the major arteries, supplying the brain via the carotid arteries. It also travels through the subclavian arteries to the upper extremities, the splanchnic circulation to the abdomen, through the renal arteries to the kidneys, and through the iliac vessels to the lower extremities.

The huge volume of drops of blood are like a waterfall made by a huge river descending over the side of a tall mountain cliff. All vegetation and animals in the water’s path are nourished and given life, and every cell in the body is healed when the vital spiritual energy wave reaches it.

A healthy heart will sustain a weak body, but when the heart is weak and diseased–even in a young person–the body will not be healthy or live long. Therefore, maintaining the heart is the first priority for spiritual healers. Furthermore, maintaining the brain is also another important priority to keep the flow of messages functioning properly.

Contemporary Physicians and Spiritual Healers

Physicians and scientists are all acquainted with this unquantifiable life force, but are unable to interact with it directly except through its vehicle, the physical body. For that reason, scientists look intently to the outward existing body and invent procedures and techniques to keep the body in homeostasis, striving to keep the vital life force in the body as much as possible and to keep the body free of pain.

The contemporary physician is concerned primarily with the physical body as well as the psychological aspects of human existence. Therapeutics for illness are largely physical, whether in the forms of medication, surgical intervention, or otherwise.

Spiritual healers, on the other hand, use an inward approach to healing by applying spiritual techniques and methods to utilize the body’s own energy. The difference between the spiritual healers and the physician healers is that the former is healing from inside-to-outside while the latter is healing from outside-to-in. Each are doing good for their patients and both meet on the common ground of curing disease and relieving pain and suffering.

High Sense Perception As A Diagnostic Tool

Physicians utilize Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques which use the energy and alignment of the body’s atoms to provide images and information about the condition of the body and any potential disease process. The spiritual healer also has advanced diagnostic modalities one of the most important of which is HSP, High Sense Perception.

HSP is a way of perceiving things beyond the normal range of the five senses. With it one can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch things that cannot normally be perceived.

HSP, sometimes referred to as clairvoyance, is not imagination but is a type of seeing in which you perceive a picture in your mind without the use of your normal vision. HSP reveals the dynamic world of the fluid, interacting spiritual energy fields which surround and permeate all living things. This energy supports us, nourishes us, and gives us life. We sense each other with this energy as we are a part of it and it is a part of us.

With HSP, the patho-physiology of pain and disease processes lies right before one’s eyes. HSP reveals how most diseases are initiated in the energy field. Distortions in the energy field caused by time and unhealthy living habits are transmitted to the body, becoming a serious illness. Many times the source or initiating cause of this process is asso-ciated with psychological and/or physical trauma.

Since HSP reveals how a disease is initiated, it also reveals how to reverse the disease process. Spiritual energies and auras aid healers in formulating their diagnosis. To develop HSP it is necessary to enter into an expanded state of consciousness. There are many means to achieve this but spiritual meditation is fast becoming the most well known.

The Nasma and Meditation

In the spiritual terminology, the non-physical body is called nasma. Nasma exists within each physical body as a subtle vapor or energy breeze created by the chemical output of the physical body. The nasma is present in human beings just as rose water is present in the rose or as the fire in glowing coals. Being superior with its connection to the divine energy source, it can taste without using the tongue, can see without using the eyes, and can hear without using the ears.

By using the nasma, HSP is made available to the spiritual healer. The nasma derives its nourishment from the esoteric energy which is released whenever we act, think, or form a belief or intention. The nasma in human beings is capable of leaving the physical body at any time through the universal driving force.

When the flow of spiritual energy is disturbed or insufficient, the health of the patient is adversely affected, leading to pain, disease, distress, and so forth. These are signals that we need to rebalance our energy. A positive energy flow nourishes the nasma and maintains its structure and foundation, balancing the human system. This balance leads to increased awareness of the body’s sensations which in turn leads to good living, following of proper diet, and enjoyment of exercise. The nasma then supports and maintains a healthy physical body, in which the chemical and physical systems remain balanced and functioning normally, thus perpetuating physical health.

In the healthy system, the energies in each body not only remain balanced but also support and influence the energy balance in other peoples’ bodies. The nasma can influence others like a magnet bringing the charges of adjacent metal into its alignment. The energy of a healthy system is thus both self-healing and self-propagating in that it maintains the individual health while strengthening the health of those in one’s aura. That is, good health attracts and develops more good health.

The nasma can, not only influence the physical body, but it can also be affected by a sick body and become weak because of the weakness of the organs. For example, in a weak body a weak nasma shows its symptoms in the mental and physical aspects of a person. In the mental sphere, any one of the following will occur: neurosis, depression, hysteria, psychosis, seizures, sleep terror, and insomnia. If this state of affairs is allowed to continue without treatment, the nasma becomes so weak that it is rendered incapable of defending itself in the weak body. The patient at this stage suffers either from seizures, psychotic fits, or aggressive behavior. The spiritual healer can strengthen the patient’s organs and thereby the nasma through the universal driving force, creating a high-energy state in which symptoms of sickness disappear.

Meditation And The Focal Point Of Treatment

In spirituality, good health requires intensive striving by the patient and personal change. Personal change to develop patience, contentment, gratitude, cheerfulness, joy, love, sharing, courage, benefaction, recognition of good deeds, forbearance, and courtesy will improve spirituality and energy flow.

Overactivity even in this field and lack of proper supervision and devotion of a concerned and learned parent, or the dedication of qualified teacher also may lay a heavy burden on the person’s intellect. Alternatively, an impasse in spiritual progress may hinder one’s spiritual growth, and only a qualified guidance can break through such obstacles. Such training must keep advancing until it develops genuine character, positive traits, and healthy energy flow.

Without personal change in the body’s energy flow, one will eventually create other problems which leads back to the source that caused the disease in the first place. Thus, dealing with the source of disease is the focal point of treatment. This search stimulates the deeper part of ourselves that is sometimes called the “higher self” or the “spark of divinity” within us. This divinity within us, the deeper part of ourselves, sends us information about what type of sickness needs to be treated and what type of contact points need to be touched through our meditation. Meditation is a tool which gives deep relaxation and to quiet the mind. This helps to alleviate stress, and therefore enable the internal chemical and hormonal system to regain their equilibrium.

Medical tests have shown that there are definite measurable physiological changes in meditating subjects. The brain itself undergoes changes in the type of electrical waves generated. By using an electroencephalogram (EEG) there is an increase in the generation of alpha waves and sometimes also in the number of theta waves. These indicate a shift of consciousness into a tranquil state of awareness quite different from that of sleep. This state is therapeutic and very restful although the patient is both fully conscious and functional.

The body demonstrates the effects of meditation in various ways. The breathing pattern slows, as does the heart rate, and there is a marked decrease in the level of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide elimination. However, the physical effects of meditation last longer than the meditation period itself. This is demonstrated by the fact that sufferers of hypertension and many other diseases have, through meditation alone, made such clinically-measurable improvements that they have been able to discontinue their medications. This is very well noted and recorded in spiritual healing books and manuscripts.

How Energy Relates To Disease

Spiritual healers symbolize the flowing of the driving life force in the body and in the universe as vortices of energy made up of a number of smaller spiral cones of energy. These are known in Islamic terminology as “lata‘if”, meaning subtle manifestations or layers. The lata‘if (sing. lateefa) are the points of maximum energy intake and are very important focal points of balance within the energy system. Disease and illness occur if a lateefa is unbalanced.

Lata‘if in adults have a protective screen over them. In a healthy system, these lata‘if spin in synchronized rhythm with the others, drawing energy from the universal energy field into their center for use by the body. Each one of them is tuned to a specific frequency that helps the body to remain healthy. However, in a diseased system these vortices are not synchronized. The energy of the lata‘if that make up these vortices may be fast or slow, jerky or lopsided. Sometimes breaks in the entire energy pattern can be observed in which a lateefa may be fully or partially collapsed or inverted. These disturbances are related to dysfunction or pathology of the physical body in that area.

Healing Through Meditation And Focal Points Of The Lata’if

The feeling of pain can be completely cured by meditation wherein the dormant energy of a sick body is activated by a spiritual ignition produced by the meditative process. This spiritual process uses seven different focal points in the seven layers, the lata’if.

There are seven focal points of the lata’if. These are located above and below the heart, above and below the left breast, above and below the right breast, and one on the forehead. Every lateefa has a different energy color, and every energy has a different effect on a specific disease. The two focal points above and below the heart are green. The points above and below the left breast are yellow, the ones above and below the right breast are black, and the one on the forehead is white.

Through meditation these seven focal points of the lata’if generate energy. Then, like a magnet, these activated focal points attract more energy from the universal cosmic energy source in the shape of tiny floating spheres of light. The size of these spheres depends on which lateefa is activated, as there is a different sized sphere for every different color lateefa. Depending on the illness, the healer activates the appropriate lateefa needed to cure that sickness. In turn, the lateefa produces more of its energy color which itself attracts from the universal energy source more of the same light. The result of this positive feedback loop is a tremendous outpouring of shimmering globes of light which descend from the cosmic energy source onto the person of the healer.

Through this flood of colored energy spheres, the healer is energized to the point where he radiates heat from his body through his hands and projects light from his forehead. As a scientist shoots a laser, the spiritual healer emits the light and energy that he receives from the universal force. The healer massages the affected areas and this combination of heat from the hand and light from the forehead immediately begins the healing process.

The healer also prescribes that the patient sit alone for a few hours each day fully relaxed, repeating several thousand times different holy names of God in a special format for the duration of treatment. These holy names are like energy sparks which ignite more flow from the universal energy source. This ignition also activates the focal points of the lata’if causing heat to be generated in the body of the patient. This heat is considerably less than the immense power transmitted by the healer, but it is sufficient to cause the patient to break out into a sweat.

At this time, the patient goes to the healer who transmits more energy as before, advancing the patient’s treatment. As the moon reflects the light of the sun onto the earth, so too does the healer reflect the universal energy through his body to the patient. This produces a state of immense heat and spiritual interaction between the healer and the patient. This process is repeated for several days or even weeks until the patient recovers.

As he recovers, the patient begins to experience a psychological effect from the dynamic, synergistic interaction between himself and the healer. This psychological effect of recovery and relief from pain induces the endocrine glands to secrete hormones which balance the whole system and begin to cure the ill organs, raising the patient to higher levels of health and spirituality than would be possible in the former painful, diseased condition.

As the surgical patient is anesthetized, so too is the spiritual patient put in a pain-free state in which the spiritual healer can work on him in the way he finds suitable.

Conclusion

Disease at any station of the energy field will express itself in that particular level of consciousness. Each expression of disease is manifested as some form of pain, be it physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual. It is essential that we probe the deeper meaning of our illnesses. We need to ask, “What does this illness and pain mean to us? What can we learn from this?”

Pain is the driving belt in the body’s own self-defense mechanism that alerts us to correct a situation. Pain is like a warning bell in our system which brings our attention to the fact that something is wrong and forces us do something about it. Pain says, “You are not listening to your whole self.” Pain teaches us to ask for help and healing and is, therefore, a key to the education of the soul and to the function of the spirit and the body’s energy.

A comprehensive approach to pain relief and health in general which includes spiritual healing will greatly help the progress of modern medicine. While volumes can and have been written on Islamic spiritual healing, it is hoped that this brief introduction will help bring this subject to the attention of the medical community and foster greater appreciation and understanding of this rich tradition and science.

© Shaykh Hisham Muhammad Kabbani, 1997

Source: Harvard Medical School’s SPIRITUALITY & HEALING IN MEDICINE – II
http://naqshbandi.org/events/benson/paper.htm

We turn to God and He Renews our Strength so that we can run and not grow weary, so that we can walk and not feel faint. The man or woman who turns to God is like a tree planted by a stream. What they share with the world replenished by a source beyond themselves so that they never run dry. (Kushner) (1)

Healing is defined as the diagnosis of the cause of evil and mental and physical sickness, and the development of techniques for its cure. (2)

Psychotherapy is a systematic effort to restore the disordered personality to the general pattern of normalcy (3). In Jung’s words psychotherapy is a domain of healing. (4)

Psychotherapy has a long and very old history. It is actually man’s fight against spiritual/mental sickness, diseases, maladjustment or any other disorder of this kind.

According to Dr. Ali Rizvi,
“Its foundation was actually laid with the appearance of man on this globe. The man who suffered a pain that could not be located in the body, was somewhere in the non-body region and thus resorted to a treatment which was considered appropriate to this kind of malaise” (5)

Different methods and techniques have been (and are being) used (in psychotherapy) to cure such disorders and mental ailments but the demon of melancholy seems to be devouring the substance of serenity and satisfaction. It is estimated that more than 500 million people worldwide suffer from the ill effects of depression. By 2020 it is expected to be the 2nd most debilitating disease after heart attack. (6)

A variety of anti-depressants are suggested as a course of therapy, but there is no recovery. More and more people in the modern societies are attempting to seek pleasure through carnal and corporeal modes of satisfaction. The sacred sources are denied the blessings which they deserved, while the unsanctified avenues are unfolded for immediate gratification, but their dissatisfaction is increasing. Neurosis, depression and suicide are increasing day by day.

Now people are realizing that real peace of mind and tranquility can not be gained without turning to God.

Within the past few years it has become generally known in the West that religious beliefs and practices have an important impact on physical and mental health.

Religion is commonly relied upon to cope with the stress caused by health problems. Now the medical effects of faith are considered a matter not just of faith but also of science.

More than three hundred scientific studies demonstrate the medical value of religious commitment (including worship attendance, prayer, scripture study, and an active participation in a spiritual community). These benefits include enhanced prevention and treatment of mental disorders (e.g. depression, suicide, and anxiety), medical and surgical illness (e.g; heart disease, cancer, sexually transmitted diseases), and addiction, reduced pain and disability; and prolonged survival.(7) In addition, spiritual treatment (e.g; prayer, religiously based psychotherapy) enhances recovery. (8)

For the faithful, religious commitment offers many health advantages. A cohesive, comforting set of beliefs and participation in sacred rituals may endow a sense of meaning, purpose, & hope. Faith offers a “peace that passeth understanding” in times of pain, grief and disability. Healthy life style choice (e.g. exercise, proper diet) are more common and unhealthy behaviors (e.g. nicotine, alcohol, & drug use, suicide attempts; high risk sexual activity) are less common among religious persons. Persons of faith usually cope effectively with stress and have strong social support and a high quality of life. (9)

Dr. Frankle, who developed a system of psychotherapy, which in his own words, “not only recognizes man’s spirit, but actually starts from it” quotes research findings which indicate that about 20 percent of neurosis result from inability of the patients to find any purpose in life. He further says that it may be the task of the therapist to direct them to a meaning in life by the realization of some value. This realization may be achieved, not only by accomplishing worthwhile tasks, but also sometimes by the adoption of an attitude of acceptance of inevitable sufferings. (10)

It is not surprising, then, that three major studies (recently published in the American Journal of Public Health and Journal of Gerontology performed in different parts of United States by different research teams have found religiously active people living considerably longer than non-religious. The lack of religious involvement has an effect on mortality that is equivalent to forty years of smoking one pack of cigarettes per day (11)

Several studies have now discovered a connection between religious involvement and immune system function. For example, in a study of 1718 subjects( age sixty five or over) conducted by Duke University researchers, low level of church attendance were associated with higher levels of interleukin – 6 (IL-6), a blood protein indicative of immune system dysfunction. Higher levels of religious attendance in 1986, 1989 and 1992 all predicted lower IL-6 levels. Higher levels of IL-6 (< 5ng/ml) are found in persons with AIDS, osteoporosis, Al- zheimer’s disease, diabetes, and certain forms of cancer. Frequent church attendees were only half as likely as non-attendees to have high levels of IL-6 in their blood, suggesting that they have strong immune system. (12)

Likewise, studies of patients with AIDS indicate stronger immune system functioning among those who are more religiously involved. (13)

In an another extensive study of healing by Dr. Dale Matthews and associates, personal prayers caused an overall 20 percent decrease in the amount of pain experienced by patients with arthritis. Patients also reported less swelling in their joints, greater mobility, and a heightened sense of spiritual peace. Dr. Matthews describes the reason of comfort,

“It raises the possibility that perhaps the effect of prayer is not going through the inflammatory mechanism, but instead is happening at a man cerebral level.”

Dr. Mathews also identified the act of physically putting one’s hand on the patient as more interactive, identifying the patient-healer interaction as a possible mechanism. (14)

Many modern psychologists like Jung, Brill, Link, Borgin, Loewanthal, Worthington, etc; acknowledge the fact that a person having a strong belief and practicing religion can better cope with psychological disorders than the one who does not practice religion. (16)

Recently an interesting study was conducted in Allama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore, on the effect of ‘Tahajjid Salat’ (late night prayer) in curbing depression. In this study, one experimental group was advised to recite the Holy Quran, offer prayer and be busy in invocation (dhikr). The other group was advised to remain busy in home tasks, etc. Then the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale was used to measure results. Astonishingly, 25 out of 32 patients of experimental group showed remarkable recovery from depression. The other group’s majority showed no change. (15)

Dr. Charles T. Kaelber reported in his article LINK BETWEEN DEPRESSION and SPIRITUALITY that depression is less common in people who are actively involved in religious activities. (17)

Kate Loewenthal also concludes in his book “The Psychology of Religion” religion can affect patterns of stress, and this can affect patterns of distress and of minor psychiatric disorders. We could suggest that minor anxiety is a disorder associated with the religious life, while major depression is a disorder associated with secularization.

Religious Activity –> Belief that God is in control, supporting all for the best –> positive mood –> Lower distress (18)

Why religion supports people and why faith in God is so helpful to people in distress, Dr. Pargament, the author of “The Psychology of Religion and Coping” speaks:

“I believe religion offers a response to the problem of human insufficiency. Try as we might to maximize significance through our own insights and experiences or through those of others, we remain human, finite and limited. At any time we may be pushed beyond our immediate resources, exposing our basic vulnerability to ourselves and the world. To this most basic of existential crises, religion holds solutions. The solutions may come in the form of spiritual support when other forms of social support are lacking, explanations when no other explanations seem convincing, and a sense of ultimate control through the sacred when life seems out of control or new objects of significance when old ones are no longer compelling.” (19)

Johnson sums it up more eloquently:
“It is because man is finite with infinite possibilities that he ventures upon the religious quest. He is naturally finite, yet he learns infinite possibilities which he cannot reach alone. Thus, he will never be content to endure the finite loneliness of self – sufficient isolation …. Religious learning is the discovery of ultimate resources to meet infinite longings of the finite spirit. (20)

Mark Su, a physician at the Tufts University Family Residency Program in Boston, Massachusetts, examined 212 studies from the past 20 years that examined the relationship between spirituality & health… most from the Judeo – Christian Perspective. Su found that 75 percent of these studies reported a positive benefit, 17 percent showed mix or no effect, and 7 percent found a negative impact on health.

Su found religion had the most positive impact on health conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and hypertension. Presenting the findings at the annual scientific assembly of the America Academy of Family Physicians in Atlanta – October 2001, Su said asking patients about their religious backgrounds practices and community is a relationship builder: “it leads to meaningful discussions: it creates a bond.” (21)

The Holy Quran also describes in its various verses that the real peace of mind and tranquility lies in faith in Almighty Allah and in His remembrance. Quran declares:

Those who believe, and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah, do the hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah. Those who believe and do right, joy (Tuba) and true happiness is for them and a beautiful plea of find return. (22)

Abdullah Yousaf Ali comments on the word ‘Tuba’
‘Tuba’ an internal state of Satisfaction, an inward joy which is difficult to describe in words but which reflects itself in the life of the good man through good and ill fortune, through good report and evil. And then there is the final goal to which his eyes are turned, the beautiful Home of rest in the Hereafter, after his life’s struggles are over. That goal is God Himself. (23)

On the other hand, in another verse God said:
One who turns away from the remembrance and admonition of Allah, for his is a life narrowed down and he shall be raised blind on the Day of Judgment. (24)

So the true happiness in fact comes from the true belief in almighty Creator and from the values one cherishes and the virtues one nourishes. While all pleasures stemming from carnal desires and material phenomena disappear soon after their satisfaction, the bliss surrounding moral and spiritual consummation always remains alive and fresh in human mind and soul.

When we acquire complete satisfaction by advancing from doubt to faith, ignorance to knowledge, negligence to remembrance, sin to repentance, hypocrisy to sincerity, falsehood to truth, pride to humility, lethargy to action, haughtiness to lowliness, the soul is pacified. The delight, joy and comfort of soul are with the remembrance of Allah, from Him it comes and to Him it will return.

So we can say that real satisfaction is due to closeness to God and remoteness from God results in mental diseases.

Healing Power of Prayer

An important study is published in 1988, which was conducted by Cardiologist Dr. Randolph Byrd. A computer assigned 393 patients at a coronary care unit either to a group that was prayed for by prayer groups or to a group that was not remembered in prayer. No one knew which group the patients were in. The prayer groups were simply given the patients first names, along with brief descriptions of their medical problems. They ware asked to pray each day until the patients were discharged from the hospital – but were given no instructions on how to do it or what to say. When the study was completed ten months later, the prayed – for patients benefited in several significant areas:

They required 20% less antibiotics than unremembered group
They were 2.5 times less likely to suffer congestive heart failure
They were less likely to suffer cardiac arrest and left the hospital earlier (25)

Similarly a study published in the November 2001, American Heart Journal showed a positive relationship between spirituality and health among cardiac patients. Duke University researchers studied 150 heart patients at a medical center in North Carolina. All received cardiac stents – device to keep their arteries open – and 120 received a noetic therapy, such as guided imagery, stress relaxation, healing touch or intercessory prayer. Buddhists, Catholic, Moravians, Jews, Fundamental Christians, Baptists and others prayed for the patients from around the world.

Patients who received the additional therapies had a 25 to 30 percent reduction in adverse outcomes – from additional surgery to death. (26)

It may be concluded on the basis of the above and many other studies that prayer for another person suffering from disease might have a beneficial effect if the sufferer knew that others cared enough for him or her to pray. In this case the knowledge of existence of the prayer might help to restore patient’s own faith in an ultimate restoration to health. There are also evidences (as described above) to affirm the efficiency of secret prayer when the person for whom prayer is made, does not know about the prayer. And in the words of Douglas Steere:
“No more and no less than that intercessory prayer seems able to touch the life of another at the core of his or her being and that in the extremity of disease we can be supported and even healed by the help of the prayers of other when we outwardly know nothing (27).

As poet Alfred Tennyson wrote, “Many things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of” (28)

These are the recent studies which strongly support the Islamic teachings about prayers. Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said, “Prayer (Duaa) is the kernel of worship”. In another saying it is described that the most favorite thing to God is to pray to him.

Similarly the Prophet Mohammad said:
Prayer is the weapon of a believer, the pillar of religion Islam and is the light (Noor) of heavens and earth (29)

Almighty Allah instructed his beloved Prophet,
Pray for the believers because that is a source of security, serenity and tranquility for them. (30)

The prayers of great sages and saints have had special impact on those for whom they prayed. Modern research testifies this, as Dr. Iqbal said:

Similarly, according to a hadith (saying of the Prophet) there are some people whose prayer (Duaa) is not rejected;
The fasting person until he breaks the fast; the just ruler, and the oppressed person, whose prayer Allah Lifts above the clouds and opens unto it the doors of heavens and Allah says: I swear by My honor, verily, I shall assist you, even though it may be after some time. (31)

Before describing further the healing power of prayer, a very brief note about the healing power of the Holy Quran is given which is also perfect admonition, remembrance (Zikr) and prayer.

The Healing Power of the Holy Qur’an

About the Holy Quran, God said:
We send down (stage by stage) in the Quran that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe. (32)

Abdullah Yousaf Ali comments on this verse as:
In God’s revelation there is a healing for our broken spirits, hope for our spiritual future, and a joy in the forgiveness of our sins. All who work in faith will share in these privileges. It is only the rebels against God’s law who will suffer loss. (33)

Dr. Ahmed E. Qazi and associates examined the effect of recitation of the Holy Scripture (The Quran).As a result of their studies they concluded that high blood pressure was decreased due to listening to the Quran, the heart beat was normalized and the muscles of the body relaxed. These effects of recitation were not only on Muslims but also on non-Muslims (34)

The First Sûrah (chapter) of the Quran is also called Sûrah (Fâtiha) Shifa (Healing and Cure) for all the ailments and this is the Sûrah recited necessarily in all the formal prayers of Muslims.

Dr. Rashid told Hakim Tariq Mehmood that the Patients who were suffering from insomnia were cured by the prayers of Dawn (Fajr) and night (Isha) and the recitation of the Quran and they slept without taking any sleeping pills. (35)

Almightly Allah advised all believers to seek strength in patience and prayer, Allah is with those who are patient. (36)

When the period of suffering seems to be too long, strength seems to be sapping, patience may soon be exhausted unless strength is renewed. Hence, prayer is coupled with patience in the Quranic directive. Prayer is the ever – flowing spring which renews the believers’ energy and gives them new strength. Prayers also add to that perseverance, contentment, confidence and reassurance and make them feel that they are not alone.

Sayyid Qutb adds:
The value of prayer is great indeed; prayer is the direct link between man who is certain to die and the Power which is everlasting. It is the appointed time for the confined nature of man to come to the ever – flowing spring. It holds the key to the endless treasure which has more than anyone needs. It is the gate through which man escapes from his limited confines on earth to the limitless expanse of the Universe. It is the source of spiritual strength and tender compassion. It provides the gentle touch which comforts the tired heart. For this reason, whenever the Prophet (PBUH), experienced some hardship, or whenever he had to make a momentous decision he prayed much in order to make his contact with Allah more prolonged. (37)

Abu Hurairah, a companion of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) was suffering from intestinal pain. The prophet (PBUH) advised him,
“Stand up and pray because healing (shifa) is in prayer.” (38)

Dr. C. Callender, Chair of the Surgery Department at Howard University, Washington D.C. rightly said:
“The miracles of spiritual healing should be accepted as the newest medical technology” (39)

I conclude my paper with Biblical and Quranic verses which are better suited here.

A sufferer prays to God:
Unto thee will I Cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me, if though be silent to me, I become like them that go down unto the pit. Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands towards thy Holy sanctuary…….

Blessed be the Lord, because he had heard the voice of my supplications.

The Lord is my Strength and my Shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth, and with song will I praise him. (Psalms 28:2-3,6-7) (40)

In the Holy Quran God assures:
When my servants (bondmen) ask thee concerning me (tell them) I am indeed close to them, I listen to the prayer of every supplicant when he calleth on Me: Let them also with a will, listen to My call, and believe in Me, that they may be rightly directed. (Al-Quran: 2:186)

REFERENCES AND END NOTES

1. Quoted in Kenneth I. Pargament: The Psychology of Religion & Coping (New York: The Guilford Press, 19987) p.208
2. Enclyclopaedia Britannica(Chicago: William Bentom Publishers, 1975) vol. 8,p.685
3. Dr. Syed Azhar Ali Rizvi: Muslim Tradition in Psychotherapy and Modern Trends (Lahore: Institute of Islamic Culture, Club Road, 1989) p. 1
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid, p. 203
6. Iqbal S. Hussain: The Quran and Modernism Beyond Science and Philosophy (Lahore: Adabistan, 43, Rattigan Road, 2000) p. 308 . The World Health Organization (WHO) sponsored a project titled ‘The Global Burning of Disease’, which estimated that in the year 2000, depression was the fourth leading cause of disability in the world and would be the second – leading cause by the year 2020 . A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, in which it is estimated that the proportion of persons receiving treatment for depression increased more than three – fold from 1987 to 1997. (See for further details Charles Kaelber article Research Indicates Link Between Depression and Spirituality in Research News and opportunities (Durham: North Carolina www.researchnewaonline.org June 2002), p. 5
7. Dale Matthews: Is Religion Good for Your Health in Russell Stannard (ed) God for the 21st Century (Philadelphia: Templeton Foundation Press, 2000) p. 103 and also see the summary of 85 studies published by Dr. Kenneth I. Pargament in his book “The Psychology of Religion and Coping” (pp. 407 – 422), which proves that religion and religious activities are very effective in coping(Varios definitions of coping are given by the famous psychologist Pargament in the aforesaid book at page 85, one of them is: Any response to external life strains that serves to prevent, avoid, or control emotional distress.
8. Ibid
9. Ibid, p. 104
10. Dr. Robert H. Thouless: An Introduction to the Psychology of Religion (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971) p. 78
11. Harold Koenig: The Healing Power of Faith in Stannard Russell (ed) God for 21st Century p. 108
12. Ibid, p. 109
13. Ibid
14. Tara Yeoman: Prayer Study Returns Positive Results: Matthews work shows measured decrease in arthritis pain in Research News and Opportunities, May 2001, p. 3
15. Dr. Usman Najati: Al Quran and Ilmun-nafs (Lahore: Al-Faisal Publishers, Urdu Bazaar) pp. 362 – 363) and Kate M. Loewenthal: The Psychology of Religion: A short introduction. (Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 185 Bonbury Road, 2000) p. 124 – 125
16. Hakim Tariq Mehmood Chughtai: Sunnat Nabvi (The way of the Prophet and Modern Science) Bahawlpur (Hasil Pur); Darul Mutaliah in front of Mosque Bazaar Wali, 1996) pp. 53 – 55
17. Dr. Charles T. Kaelber, op. cit.
18. Kate M. Loewenthal, op. cit. p. 128
19. Kenneth Pargament, op. cit. p. 310
20. Ibid.
21. Mike Fillon: Medical Wonders from Religiosity in Science and Spirit (IL: 115 Campbell Street Suit L-4, www.science-spirit.org) May, June 2002, p.36
22. Al-Quran, 13: 28-29
23. Abdullah Yusuf Ali: The Meaning of the Glorious Quran, Translation and Commentary (Cairo: Darul Kitab Al-Masri) Volume 1, p. 612
24. Al-Quran, 20: 124
25. Dr. Larry Dossey: Does Prayer Heal? In Readers, Digest, June 1996, p. 118
26. Mike Fillon, op. cit.
27. Douglas V. Steer: Dimensions of Prayer ( TN: Upper Room Books, 1997 ), p. 77
28. Ibid
29. Hakim Tariq Mehmud: The Teachings of the Prophet and Modern Sciences (Lahore: Ilmourfan Publishers, Urdu Bazaar, 2000) pp. 210 – 211
30. Al-Quran: 9: 103.
31. Maulana Mohammad Zakaryya: Blessings and Rewards of Keeping Fast (Lahore: Kutab Khana Faizi), p. 27
32. Al-Quran: 17:82
33. Abdullah Yousaf Ali, op. cit; Vol. 1, p. 718
34. Hakim Tariq Mehmood, op. cit; 212
35. Ibid
36. Al-Quran: 2: 153
37. Adil Salahi (ed): Our Dialogue (KSA Jeddah: Arab News, 6th Edition) Vol. 2, pp. 665 – 666
38. Usman Najjati: Hadith & Ilm-un-Nafs (Lahore: Al-Faisal Publishers, Urdu Bazaar, 1988) p. 344
39. Mike Fillon: Science and Spirit, op. cit. p. 37 Quoted in Kenneth Pargament: the Psychology of Religion and Coping. P. 210

About the author:
Assistant Professor of Zoology & Chairperson of HSSRD & winner of CTNS 2001 Science- Religion International award.

Source: with permission
http://www.hssrd.org/journal/spring2003/healing.htm
JOURNAL OF HSSRD SCIENCE – RELIGION DIALOGUE
Hazara Society for Science-Religion Dialogue, Pakistan
(The Hazara Society is for the constructive engagement of Religion & Science)

From: Islamicmedicine.org

11/01/2001

Called “one of the oldest systems of personal development encompassing body, mind and spirit” by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, yoga has become one of the fastest growing health trends today. It has been renowned for centuries for its curative powers of movement.

Yoga consists of a number of “asnas,” or body positions, which one retains for a desired length of time while either reciting “mantras” or breathing in a rhythmic manner. Its benefits have been researched by many doctors who now recommend it to their patients, by many medical schools such as Harvard, and by many foundations such as the Menninger Foundation.

In fact, yoga has become so popular that secretaries have developed a simplified sitting version that they can do at their desks. The elderly, pregnant women and athletes also have their own versions.

Interestingly, for the millions of people enrolled in yoga classes, the Islamic form of prayer has provided Muslims for fourteen centuries with some of yoga’s same (and even superior) benefits. This simple form of “yoga” offers physical, mental, and spiritual benefits five times a day as Muslims assume certain positions while reciting Qur’an and athkar (remembrances).

Of course, not all the yoga positions are found in the Islamic prayer. However, hospital researchers have concluded that patients benefit from even a simplified version of yoga, and most hospital yoga programs, such as those at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Center in Massachusetts, consist of only five to seven positions.

The Muslim prayer has five positions, and they all (as well as the recitations we make while performing the prayer) have a corresponding relationship with our spiritual and mental well being, according to modern scientific research. The benefits of performing specific movements and recitations each day come from the correct rendition of the position or action itself, the length of time the position is held, and from careful and correct recitation techniques.

Each of the five prayer positions has a corresponding yoga position, and the positions together “activate” all seven “chakras” (energy fields) in the body. The idea of activating a chakra may sound linguistically strange, but it is easier to understand once one translates that word into more familiar language.

Eastern healers believe that each of the chakras correlate to major nerve ganglia that branch forth from the spinal column. Thus, the concept of activating these nerve centers is akin to getting a chiropractic adjustment or installing a medical stimulating device on the spine to correct corresponding bodily malfunctions.

In layman’s terms, the idea of chakras can be understood by thinking about how the sense of “feeling” functions. One notices, when touching any part of the body, that that part responds by being more “awake” and aware. Another part of the body that was not touched, but is along the same nerve pathway, may also respond.
When a person is sitting, for instance, they may not be thinking about their legs, which are momentarily at rest; however, if someone touches them, they will again be “aware” of them. Chakras work in much the same way.

Studies have found that varying areas of the body, when activated by touch, movement or thought, evoke specific emotional and physical responses in much the same way that a smile can evoke the feeling of happiness, and actually increase circulation – even if one was feeling sluggish and unhappy before smiling. This is one of the reasons that it is so important to perfectly perform all of the movements of the Islamic prayer, rather than haphazardly rushing through them.

The Takbir and Al Qiyyam together are very similar to the Mountain Pose in yoga, which has been found to improve posture, balance, and self-awareness. This position also normalizes blood pressure and breathing, thus providing many benefits to asthma and heart patients.

The placement of the hands on the chest during the Qiyyam position are said to activate the solar plexus “chakra,” or nerve pathway, which directs our awareness of self in the world and controls the health of the muscular system, skin, intestines, liver, pancreas, gallbladder and eyes. When the hands are held open for du’a, they activate the heart “chakra,” said to be the center of the feelings of love, harmony, and peace, and to control love and compassion. It also governs the health of the heart, lungs, thymus, immune system, and circulatory system.
Muslim researchers have shown that when Muslims recite the Qur’an, old thoughts, feelings, fears and guilt are released or healed, and blood pressure and stress levels are reduced. Virtually all of the sounds of the Arabic language are uttered while reciting Qur’an, creating a balance in all affected areas of the body.

Some specific sounds, in fact, correspond to major organs in the body. In his research and creation of eurhythmy, Rudolph Steiner (founder of the Waldorf Schools), , found that vibrations made when pronouncing the long vowels, ‘A’, ‘E’ and ‘U,’ stimulated the heart, lungs, and the thyroid, pineal, pituitary, and adrenal glands during laboratory tests.
The position of Ruku is very similar to the Forward Bend Position in yoga. Ruku stretches the muscles of the lower back, thighs, legs and calves, and allows blood to be pumped down into the upper torso. It tones the muscles of the stomach, abdomen, and kidneys. Forming a right angle allows the stomach muscles to develop, and prevents flabbiness in the mid-section.

This position also promotes a greater flow of blood into the upper regions of body – particularly to the head, eyes, ears, nose, brain, and lungs – allowing mental toxins to be released. Over time, this improves brain function and ones personality, and is an excellent stance to maintain the proper position of the fetus in pregnant women.
The Sujud is said to activate the “crown chakra,” which is related to a person’s spiritual connection with the universe around them and their enthusiasm for spiritual pursuits. This nerve pathway is also correlated to the health of the brain, nervous system, and pineal gland. Its healthy function balances ones interior and exterior energies.

In Sujud, we also bend; thus activating the “base chakra,” which controls basic human survival instincts and provides essential grounding. This helps to develop levelheaded and positive thinking along with a highly motivated view of life, and maintains the health of the lymph and skeletal systems, the prostate, bladder, and the adrenal glands. We also bend the “sacral chakra” during Sujud, thus benefiting and toning the reproductive organs.

The position of Al Qaadah, (or Julus) is similar to the Thunderbolt Pose in yoga, which firms the toes, knees, thighs, and legs. It is said to be good for those prone to excessive sleep, and those who like to keep long hours. Furthermore, this position assists in speedy digestion, aids the detoxification of the liver, and stimulates peristaltic action in the large intestine.

Last, but not least, the “throat chakra” is activated by turning the head towards first the right and then the left shoulder in the closing of the prayer. This nerve path is linked to the throat, neck, arms, hands, bronchials, and hearing – effecting individual creativity and communication.

It is believed that a person who activates all seven nerve pathways at least once a day can remain well balanced emotionally, physically and spiritually. Since this is the goal of all sincere Muslims, we all should strive to attain the perfection of stance, recitation, and breathing recommended in the Hadith while performing our prayers – the very same techniques of perfection taught in popular yoga, Tai Chi, and many other exercise classes.

From: Islamicmedicine.org

Minorities in Great Britain struggle to find their own identities.

According to the World Health Organization this year, depressive disorders are the fourth leading cause of ill health and disability amongst adults worldwide. By 2020, it is expected that mental health disorders will represent the world’s largest health problem (Duckworth p.2). The spread of urbanization has been viewed as a major contributory factor to this as although it does increase opportunities for many, it also increases the pace of living and individualism.

The pressure to assimilate can be a daunting factor for immigrants even though waves of immigration over decades have enriched life in the United Kingdom; a culture that increasingly fails to provide a valid meaning for life. In the process it is not only many members of the immigrant population that become vulnerable to mental ill health, but also many indigenous people as well.

Their unique contributions, no matter how small, become devalued and sidelined while the crisis of modern day living becomes greater than they and those around them can handle. Where religion once offered order in home life and the outer world in addition to an opportunity towards self-understanding and growth, the calls of the outer world seem to promise offers of instant rewards whereby one can easily ‘follow the piper that plays the sweetest tune’. For those who have worked in the booming British mental health industry another story is told; a story that highlights the inadequacies of modern psychiatry for both the indigenous and non-indigenous alike.

When British journalist Magnus Linklater read ‘A Memoir of Moods and Madness’ by psychologist and manic depressive Kay Jamison, he discovered that she had confronted a disease that has defied many including the experts – remaining unreflected in the rhetoric of last year’s governmental White Paper on Reforming the Mental Health Act in England. In fact the gory details of the history of the British mental health industry up until today has done little to explore the minds of the mentally unbalanced, still strapped by fear of the unknown and embarrassed by the minds that are losing their own. Control has been the order of the day repressed by drugs, other forms of treatment and the judicial system. As in some parts of Africa today, once under the Muslim Turks in medieval Anatolia the ‘hospital villages’ of the Seljuk Empire viewed the mentally ill as people not to be feared and tortured as in the West but as ill people who had the choice to be admitted into the community under protection to be treated free of charge exempt from income tax on any income they would make (Songar p.3).

In today’s National Health System in Britain, Archie’s height was found to be intimidating to his fellow students thus attracting defensive aggression caused by the insecurity complexes of the mentally well.

His manic depression began at school and he was eventually unable to cope with school life.

Archie’s response to his arrival at a mental hospital was, to say the least, aggressive, being dragged inside kicking and screaming. From North to South he has resided in many hospitals and escaped many times. He has been exposed to a torrent of treatments but it was his inner recognition of his rights, character and will that survived the dilemma (Linklater 1-3). It is these characters I have found that are most likely to survive and end up the least handicapped, but for others the story is not the same especially where culture is involved as an additional fear to be reckoned with.

Ethnic Minorities Imprisoned in their own Minds

Both users and providers of the system have reflected concerns in many specialized British publications. The British mental health system has shown over-representation by certain groups, including Muslims.

Research has found that ethnic minorities are more likely to be admitted to hospitals under compulsory sectioning of the Mental Health Act (1983) requiring urgent treatment and thus placed in locked-up wards. They are likely to be diagnosed as schizophrenic not recognizing the reaction to how they are being treated (Hussein p.1) Sometimes incarceration is in a prison cell. Once at the mercy of this end of the mental health system, it is difficult to get out. If you were not a schizophrenic when you entered, the likely-hood of becoming one once on the inside is great due to the high doses of neuroleptic drugs given in preference to non-drug based treatments such as therapy. In a society that up until recently doesn’t equate religion as a way of life and is insensitive and ignorant towards any cultural and religious practices other than its own – a process of ‘imprisoning of the mind’ occurs among some groups increasing reactions of depression and anger as a result of the way they are perceived and treated.

Many writers have highlighted that this stems from a racial stereotyping and cultural imperialism adopted by mental health professionals amongst a people who have become increasingly emotionally disabled due to the sterile environment. (Hussein p.1). This in reality is not surprising, as modern psychology has largely been dependent on a tradition that divorces the importance of the soul from the social being. No attempt is made to develop any detailed understanding of how the religious beliefs of Muslims influence their relationship to themselves and their environment. It has been the experience of family members and some supportive communities that have challenged the machinations of the mental health system seeking accountability and change. From this has arisen community-based support agencies and professionals often under-resourced and undermined. It was these resources that were found useful in response to the backlash of September 11th. The Association of Muslim Schools enlisted consultants to advise teachers on how to handle the situation. Many teachers, however, have preferred to take a personal approach to each pupil. Some Islamic schools have used prayer as a means of achieving calm, whilst others have held discussion workshops. One pupil from an Islamic School experienced recurrent nightmares about the events. She feared that Islamic schools, as gathering points for Muslims, might be bombed and she also held anxiety for her relatives in Pakistan. “When Afghanistan first began getting bombed, my mum was so scared for my safety, she didn’t want me to go to school. I was scared too but she read some verses from the Qur’an and I felt better after that…” (Akbar p.8).

In a report in the Journal of General Internal Medicine in 2000 there was a call to improve guidelines for the treatment and detection of depression and to ascertain the characteristics of a physician that might contribute to the under-detection of depression in minorities (Reuters Health p.1). This is probably due to the stereotype of what constitutes the symptoms of depression. Undetected, it can vent itself in the form of aggression or withdrawal.

Mental Health and Spirituality Go Hand-In-Hand

Islamic schools have used prayer as a means of achieving calm.
Islamic teachings encourage patience, prayer and turning to Allah (swt) in times of need and for guidance, but when one is struggling to survive in society and when discerning what is important isn’t easy, one can easily lose one’s way. This happens even in some Islamic countries undergoing fast urbanization whereby the state’s desire to catch up with the rest of the world has had a marked effect.

These emotional stresses communicate themselves through somatic or physical complaints. “That is because they believe, then disbelieve, so a seal is set upon their hearts so that they do not understand” (Surat ul Munafiqun 63:3). And there we are, separated from our hearts – the seat of emotion, awareness and wisdom amongst physicians whose trade is not guided and informed by these notions. It is only recently, that there has been increased recognition through ‘person-centered’ medicine of the major role of psychosocial factors in the patients’ well being and illness. Studies fail to address the question of why physicians may be less religious and why they appear to resist discussing religion in the clinic (Chibnall p.1). Over the last 30 years, hundreds of services claim to use psychosocial rehabilitation, however there is unfortunately great confusion as to what this means and entails (SDG p.2). Mental Health Social Worker Abul Hussein argues that religion or spirituality can act as a part of the holistic healing process – the center of balance – that gives calmness and peace so vital to recovery (Hussein p.4).

The awareness of what resources we have at our disposal when applied creatively can achieve a lot. It is not only for us to develop it further, but for modern mental health to realize that the process of returning to a state of balance can best be addressed by recognizing and assimilating the inner wealth already in possession of the patient spiritually, psychologically and culturally. Only then will modern mental health be equipped with the resources it needs to facilitate its original objective.

Sources:

Akbar, Arifa. “Moral Question Perplexing Young Muslims: Who are the Goodies and Who are the Baddies?” The Independent. # 4,685.10/23/01.

Chibnall. John, T & Brooks. Christy, A. “Religion in the Clinic. The Role of Physician Beliefs” Southern Medical Association. 94:4(2001) 374-379. Online 1-10. Psychiatry. Medscape. 06/26/01.

Duckworth, Lorna. “One in Five Children has a Behavioral or Mental Problem”. 03/13/02. 2. World: Science. Independent.co.uk. 03/20/02.

Hussein. Abul. “The Issue of Religiosity in Mental Health: Are We Forgetting the Missing Link?” Crescent Life. 1-6. Crescentlife.com. 06/26/01.

Linklater, Magnus. “A Tale of Ordinary Madness”. 02/25/01. 9. Society. Guardian Unlimited. 04/26/01.

Reuters Health “Doctors May Miss Depression in Minorities, Men”. Reuters Health. 06/12/01. 1-2. News. Depression.com. 03/11/01.

Songar, Ayhan. “Socio-Psychiatric Institutions in Old Turks under Islamic Tradition”. 5. Home: Islamic Psychology. Islamset.com. 06/17/02.

Southern Development Group “Int’l Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation. Publication Information”. Southern Development Group. 1-3. Psychosocial.com. 06/25/01.

From: islamicmedicine.org

A genre of medical writing intended as an alternative to the exclusively Greek-based medical systems derived from Galen was that called at-tibb an-nabawi or “Prophetic Medicine.” The authors were clerics, rather than physicians, who advocated traditional medicine as mentioned in the Qur’an and as practiced during the life of Prophet Muhammad. It concerned the medical ideas assimilated from Hellenistic society, thereby producing a guide to medical therapy acceptable to the religious.

Therapy consisted of diet and simple medications (particularly honey), bloodletting and cauterization, but no surgery. Topics covered included fevers, leprosy, plague, poisonous bites, protection from night-flying insects, protection against the evil eye, rules for coitus eruptus, theories of embryology, proper conduct of physicians, and treatment of minor illnesses such as headaches, nosebleeds, cough and colic. It was prohibited to drink wine or use soporific drugs as medicaments.

The treatises also provided numerous prayers and pious invocations to be used by the devout patient, with the occasional amulet and talisman, as they were particularly popular between the 13th and 15th centuries. Some are still available today in modern prints.

In contrast to many writers on this topic, the historian and theologian adh-Dhahabi, who died in 1348 (748 H), keenly attempted to combine the traditional medicine of Arabia and the revelations of the Prophet Muhammad with the ideas and terminology from the Greek-based system. He frequently cited Hippocrates and Galen as well as medieval Islamic physicians.

On the other hand, the popular treatise by the religious scholar Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuti, who died in 1505 (911 H), was based almost exclusively upon what was known of medical practices during the time of the Prophet. It was derived from the Qur’an, traditions of the Prophet known as Hadith, and the practices of the early Muslim community.

Although a considerable number of Prophetic Medicine treatises were written, we do not have the name of any medical practitioner known for practicing this type of medicine. The reason for this, of course, may well be that our written sources are for the most part skewed towards the Greek-based system and have omitted details of other practices.

The treatises on Prophetic Medicine appear to have been addressed to the same audience as the Islamic tracts on the plague. Both types of writings were especially popular in the 13th and 14th centuries, and later. The plague tracts have as their primary focus the collection and interpretation of various hadith that were considered relevant to the concept of infection and the appropriate social reaction to contagious diseases. They also attempted to offer some medical explanations and remedies for the plague, and sometimes a historical documentation of the plague up to that time . They, like the treatises on Prophetic Medicine, were mainly written by religious scholars, although a few were composed by writers trained both as physicians and theologians.

Most Commonly Documented Prophetic Remedies

Henna

Henna (scientifically known as lawsonia inermis) has been well known for a long time in the Muslim world. It is extensively grown in India and Sudan, and is used mainly for cosmetic purposes. The plant is sometimes called the “Magic Plant” because it has a great healing effect, contains many healing substances like tannine and other glue-like substances, and it has an anti-microbial and an anti-viral effect. It is natural, inexpensive, and has no known sides effects when taken orally. Indications for its use are as follows:

Burns: It is very effective when applied to a first or second degree burn. It:
-reduces pain.
-reduces fluid loss from the burn site, which is important if the area is large.
-has an anti-microbial effect, and so reduces the risk of infection.
-sticks on the wound site until healing is complete.
-is easy to apply either in paste or powder form.
-is inexpensive and easily available.

Healing Properties: Henna promotes wound healing, especially chronic wounds and ulcers. The main cause of this is not known, but it may be its nourishing effect on the wound and its anti-microbial properties.

Anti-Hemorrhage Effect: Henna has proven to be efficient in the management of nose bleeding (epistaxis), providing a long-lasting cure. One dose is generally sufficient. It is more successful than cauterization, which normally has to be repeated and cannot guarantee that there will not be a recurrence of bleeding. The only side effect of henna here is that it can cause slight sneezing. Henna can be used at other sites like a bleeding duodenal ulcer or oesophageal varicose veins, with no known side effects. Its anti-bleeding effect may be due to its coagulation or local burning properties.

Anti-Viral Effect: Henna has an anti-viral effect. This is evident in its treatment of warts (particularly those that are resistant to liquid nitrogen treatment), Herpes Simplex (applied as a powder, it dries the vesicles at the site, prevents ulceration and crust formation, and prevents secondary infection). This benefit of henna is very promising, and should be explored further. It can also be used to treat AIDS.
Onion seed or hibat al-barakah (Nigella sativa)

This plant is found throughout India in the form of bushes, with blue flowers, that reach a height of approximately half a meter. It originally came from Turkey and Italy, and was brought to India by physicians to be cultivated. The seeds are black and triangular in shape, have a strong pungent smell, and contain a considerable amount of oil.

It is incorrect that Arabs learnt about its benefits from Greeks because, before the advent of Islam, there is no record of its use. Its therapeutic use was initiated after Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) mentioned its efficacy and its potential to cure. Abu Hurayrah states, “I have heard the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) say that there is cure for every disease in black seeds except death.”

Khalid Ibn Sa`ad states that he was traveling with Ghalib Ibn Jabr when he (Ghalib) fell ill during the journey. Ibn Abi Ateeq (nephew of Ayesha) came to meet us. On seeing the distressed one, he took five or seven black seeds, ground them, mixed them in olive oil and dropped them into both his (Ghalib’s) nostrils. Ghalib Ibn Jabr became healthy with this treatment.

Ayesha told us that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) stated that there is cure in black seeds for all ailments except sam. I asked him, “What is sam?” He said, “Death.”

Chemical Composition: The seeds contain 1.5 % volatile oil and 37.5 % non-volatile oil. In addition to this albumen, sugar, organic acids, glucoside, melanthin, metarbin and bitter substances are also found. The glucoside is toxic in nature; hence its in large doses and for a prolonged period may be harmful.

Its therapeutic uses are as follows:

-Zahbi stated that it removes the obstruction of any part of the body, expels the gases and strengthens the stomach.
-It is emmenagogue, lactogogue and a diuretic.
-It is an anti-helminthic, if taken with vinegar and useful with chronic colds.
-Its inhalation is beneficial in the treatment of common colds.
-Its oil is effective with alopecia (hair loss).
-Half a teaspoon, if boiled in water, is helpful for asthma and alleviates the toxic effects of bee and wasp stings.
-Continuous use of the seeds is effective for mad dog bites.
-Paralysis, facial palsy, migraine, amnesia and palpitations are also ailments which benefit from it.
-It can also be used as an expectorant and antipyretic.
-It normalizes the secretions of the stomach and pancreas. This is very effective in the treatment of Diabetes Mellitus.
-It expels stones in the kidney and bladder if taken with honey.
-It is effective in jaundice when taken with milk.
-Its powder, when taken with water, is good for hemorrhoids.
-If black seeds are boiled in vinegar and then applied to the teeth and gums, it reduces inflammation and pain of the gums.
-It is also reported that its fine powder is effective if applied in the early stages of cataracts.
-Black seed is also used for skin disorders.
-The oil is also effective in earache.

Olives

The olive, a sign of peace and friendship throughout the world, is described in the Holy Qur’an in Surat At-Teen.

Found extensively in Asia minor, Palestine, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Italy, North Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, the state of California in America, Mexico, Peru and southern Australia, the olive plant stretches up to three meters in height. Its leaves are bright green and very attractive; and its fruits are bright bluish or violet in color. Although olives consumed straight from the plant are very nutritious, they are not usually eaten due to their metallic taste. A pickled version is consumed largely in Europe. Olives are preserved in vinegar and imported from Spain, Italy, France, Turkey and Greece, and are favored in Europe and Arab countries. Olive oil is a good preservative for other foods such as sardines and other fish.

The use of olives goes back to ancient times. Vessels full of olive oil have been found, among other articles, during the excavation of ancient Egyptian graves. According to the scholars of Hadith, when the Great Flood subsided, the first thing to be seen on the earth was an olive tree.

According to Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah, Sayyid Al-Ansari narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) said, “Eat olive oil and massage it over your bodies since it is a holy (mubarak) tree.”

According to Ibn Al-Juzi, Zanbi, Alqama Ibn Amir narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) said, “There is olive oil for you; eat it, massage it over your body, since it is effective for hemorrhoids.” Basoor reported that Aqba Ibn Amir narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) stated, “You have the olive oil from this Holy (mubarak) tree; treat yourself with this, since it cures the anal fissure.” Abu Na’im reported that Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) stated, “Eat the olive oil and apply it (locally), since there is cure for seventy diseases in it, [and] one of them is leprosy.”

Composition:

Olive oil has a place in pharmacology in the U.S.A. and Britain. Both of these countries have attributed prime importance to olive oil in the treatment of various ailments, and have fixed standard parameters to evaluate its purity.

It contains palmatic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, steanic acid, myristic acid and glycerides. In this case, it is not dissolved in water but in alcohol, ether, chloroform and liquid paraffin.
The adulterant very often used in the olive oils found on the market is the seeds of the tea plant, arachis oil. Sometimes machine gun oil and refined machine oil are also found in it.

According to Ibn Al-Qayyim, the red colored oil is better than the blackish one. Its therapeutic uses are:

-It gives exuberance to the facial complexion.
-Prevention against poisons.
-Regulates the digestive process.
-Expels intestinal parasites.
-A good tonic, making the hair healthy, shiny and makes it stronger. Adds luster.
-A massage of olive oil with ordinary salt over the gums is a remedy for several diseases of the gums and teeth.
-Local application of olive oil or the water extracted from the crushed olive oil leaves is effective on boils, rashes and itching.
-Chronic ulcers and boils, which are difficult to heal, are healed with olive oil when applied locally.
-According to Zahbi, it strengthens the hair and body; hence can be used as a good tonic and for delaying the aging process.
-It helps raise a low libido.
-A combination of normal saline and olive oil is highly effective in burns.
-A soak of olive leaves in water is effective against mouth and lip ulcers, and dermatitis due to allergies.
-The concentrated watery solution of the extract of olive leaves and fruits is very effective against dental cavities and leukoplaquea in the mouth.
-This solution is applied along with vinegar for alopecia to enhance hair growth.
-It is also stated that the local application of this extract removes the scars of small pox and boils.
-Ground olive seeds mixed with butter is effective on brittle nails.
-Pickles prepared from olives are a good appetizer, and stop constipation.
-Its crushed leaves can be applied locally to check excessive perspiration.
-The water extracted from the leaves along with honey is used for ear drops and is effective in various ear ailments. The oil procured by burning the wood of the olive branch is effective against all fungal infections, e.g., ringworm, tenia, versicolor in addition to eczema, psoriasis, dandruff and alopecia.
-Applying olive oil on the scalp is highly effective against dandruff.
-It causes hair growth and reduces hair loss. The application of olive oil in the eyes relieves inflammation.
-A massage of olive oil all over the body tones up the muscles and organs, and relieves muscular pain.
-Some physicians also advocate a massage of olive oil for epilepsy.
-It relieves the sciatica and arthritis.

Ointment prepared from olive oil has very good healing agents:

-It heals the sinuses and fistuli very quickly.
-If taken internally, 25ml of olive oil mixed with 250ml of barley water is highly effective against chronic constipation.
-It is a good diuretic; hence is used in ascites.
-It removes kidney stones.
-In view of the research carried out in the U.S. and Britain, one concludes that it is good nourishment, particularly for kidney ailments where an intake of nitrogen containing protein is contraindicated.
-We mentioned already that the Prophet (pbuh) stated that it is a good remedy for anal fissure. Hence, patients were advised to take two spoonfuls of olive oil at bedtime and an ointment was applied on the fissure locally before sleeping and in the morning. The ointment is prepared from eight spoonfuls of olive oil and two spoonfuls of ground henna leaves.
-Its combination with other prescribed drugs of Prophetic Medicine is a good remedy for psoriasis and eczema.
-The impressions of several doctors practicing in Middle East and North Africa reveal that gastro-intestinal cancer is not detected among those who are used to consuming olive oil. Japanese doctors also endorse this, and have the opinion that olive oil prevents the incidence of cancer in the gastro-intestinal tract.

Siwak and Dental Hygiene

A variety of oral hygiene measures have been performed since the dawn of time. This has been verified by various excavations throughout the world where toothpicks, chew-sticks, twigs, linen strips, birds’ feathers, animal bones and porcupine quills were recovered.
Those that originated from plants, although primitive, represent a transitional step towards the modern toothbrush. About 17 different plants have be used as natural instruments of oral hygiene.

The most widely used twig since early times is the Siwak or Miswak. The stick is obtained from a plant called salvadore persica that grows around Makkah and in the Middle East in general. Although there is no reference to the use of the siwak in the Qur’an, there are several hadith mentioning the benefits of siwak in maintaining oral hygiene; hence, it has been used widely among Muslims since the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). In this respect, our Prophet (pbuh) can be considered among the first dental instructors of proper oral hygiene.

Composition: Salvadora persica is a small tree or shrub with a crooked trunk that is seldom more than one foot in diameter. It has scabrous and cracked bark, and is whitish with pendulous branches. The root bark is light brown and the inner surfaces are white. It has an odorlike cress, and its taste is warm and pungent.

To ascertain its chemical composition, the air-dried stem bark of salvadora persica was extracted with 80% alcohol and then ether, and underwent exhaustive chemical procedures which indicated that it is composed of trim ethylamine, an alkaloid which may be salvadorine, chlorides, high amounts of fluoride and silica, sulfur, Vitamin C and small quantities of tannins, saponins, fiavenoids andsterols.

Repeated use of siwak during the day produces an unusually high level of oral cleanliness. It has been proven that plaque is formed immediately after eating. After 24 hours, it starts to act on the teeth. However, it can be eliminated through meticulous tooth-brushing.

Proper oral hygiene should be taught by dentists, but it requires a person’s time and dexterity. Among those Muslims who ritually practice the use of siwak, rigid oral hygiene by a dentist may not be required.

Siwak and other twigs can be effective in removing soft oral deposits. They can even be promoted as effective instruments in oral health and dental programs for the population at large.
There is evidence that salvadora persica contains antibacterial properties. Some other components are astringents, detergents and abrasives. These properties encourage some toothpaste laboratories (Beckenham, UK, Sarakan Ltd.) to incorporate powdered stems and/or root material of salvadora persica in their products. Although commercial powders may be highly efficient in plaque removal, their use has been shown in a survey to cause a high incidence of gingivitis. Plaque eradication is essential, but it should not be in a manner that creates negative side effects for other tissues.

In conclusion, siwak and powdered siwak are excellent tools for oral cleanliness. They are highly recommended in preventive dental health programs in Muslim countries. Recommendations should be made to manufacturers of toothpaste to include the powdered form of siwak in an abrasive form of toothpaste.

Source: islamonline.net