According to Avicenna, Allah has made all kinds of people as well as all kinds of beasts and they can be roughly categorized into four types. In fact, as far back as Hippocrates in 450 BC, the idea that people could be categorized according to “types” was very popular and was used as a key to self-development, relationships, job choice, and even health care and maintenance. Hippocrates, and later Avicenna, defined these types as sanguine, choleric, melancholic, and phlegmatic and taught how each type could live a healthier and more personally rewarding life. As Muslims, we can use this insight to help our community grow together, to nurture family relationships, to inspire self-improvement and to heal ourselves.

Physically, the sanguine element has historically represented the nutritive aspect of metabolism; the choleric element, the stimulating and heating aspect; the phlegmatic element, the fluid, cooling and purifying aspects; and the melancholic element, the coagulating, solidifying, drying and concentrating aspects.

A quick definition of each temperament personality usually notes its reaction to stimuli in their environment. Thus, the sanguine temperament is marked by quick but shallow, superficial excitability; the choleric is characterized by a quick but strong and lasting reaction; the melancholic temperament is defined by his slow but deep response and the phlegmatic is famous for his slow but shallow excitability. The first two are extroverts and the last two are introverts.

In the Qur’an, Allah describes man as being created from water (32:8), which is cold and wet; earth (3:59), which is cold and dry; clay (7:12), which is cold and wet; and a sounding clay (55:14), which is hot and wet as it is transformed or hot and dry as it is beaten by the wind.

Although the terms used in the Qur’an vary from the terms used by temperamental “healers” during the time of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the elemental qualities of man remain consistent. Thus, the sanguine element corresponds to the hot and wet sounding clay as it is transformed; the choleric element corresponds to the hot and dry sounding clay as it is beaten by the wind; the melancholic element corresponds to the cold and dry earth; and the phlegmatic element corresponds to the cold and wet water (or raw clay). Although Allah has created each person to have all of these elements, practitioners of temperamental healing have observed that each person usually contains a predominate element.

The opposing idea that all people are alike is a twentieth century idea stemming from the ‘democratic’ idea that if we are all going to be free and equal that we must also be alike. Many popular books on the modern market propel this idea even farther. Books like ‘The McDougall Plan’, ‘The Zone’, and ‘The Atkin’s Diet’ all claim that their diets are the best for everyone and largely discredit any claims that different diets may benefit different types. Furthermore, most discipline books recommend raising children using only one form of discipline and most self-help books recommend that their method is the “one and only” way to success. On the other hand, books like ‘Eat Right 4 Your Type’, ‘Between Heaven and Earth’ (a book on Chinese Healing) and ‘The Medicine of The Prophet’ each emphasize the importance of recognizing people’s health needs according to their various types. The beauty of an Islamic society is that it allows equality but does not define equality with being alike. For example, in the Qur’an it says:

(9:71) And (as for) the believing men and the believing women, they are guardians of each other; they enjoin good and forbid evil and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, and obey Allah and His Apostle; (as for) these, Allah will show mercy to them; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise.

(9:72) Allah has promised to the believing men and the believing women gardens, beneath which rivers flow, to abide in them, and goodly dwellings in gardens of perpetual abode; and best of all is Allah’s goodly pleasure; that is the grand achievement.

The fallacy of equality through being alike is extremely evident in the women’s movement of the 1960′s and 1970′s that sought to create equality of the sexes by turning women into men. This failed because women and men are unique. They can only be equal if they work to improve their unique qualities within their own functional boundaries. In much the same way, the theory of temperament states that people in general must also function within their own boundaries and type. Rather than struggling to become something they are not, or abusing others because they are not as they expect them to be, people must develop themselves and appreciate others according to the gifts Allah has given them.

Many mainstream Americans have difficulty using this valuable system of healing because they cannot get beyond the idea that “everyone must be the same to be equal or right”. Many Christian writers have also explored the temperaments, however, they are largely rejected by the church because many church authorities do not leave room for Christians to learn outside their religion. The authorities of the church say that since it is not written in the Bible it cannot be true. Even so, a number of modern writers have gained much popularity in the past ten years for their spiritual insights into the classical temperament system. Some of these writers are even claiming that the system of temperaments is inherently Christian, although the Muslim physicians were the ones to cultivate and perfect the system. These writers are: Tim LaHaye, (Spirit-Controlled Temperament (1967); Transformed Temperaments (1971); and Why You Act the Way You Do (1984)), and Florence Littauer, Charles Stanley, Larry Burkett and John G. MacArthur.

As Muslims we are uniquely suited to gain from the scientific research in this field as the prophet Muhammad gives us permission to, “Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave… even as far as China” and also emphasizes the uniqueness of the individual within the equality of the society. In other words, Islam has no problem accepting the idea and usefulness of the system of temperaments.

Some of the most prominent Muslim scientists, such as Avicenna explored the theory of temperaments in great detail and an entire field of Islamic Medicine called Unani Tibb, is devoted to healing through the temperaments. Healing through temperaments was popular at the time of the prophet and some of the methods the prophet mentions in the Hadith such as cupping and cautery were popular “balancing” methods in this field of medicine. In addition, the hadiths frequently refer to the ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ qualities of foods, which was another tool used by this healing system.

Avicenna developed his theories based on the Hippocratic definition of the four humors which existed in the body called black bile, phlegm, blood and yellow bile. Before Hippocrates, however, the ancient Greeks had at least three humors they worked with which very much resemble the present day Ayurvedic system of temperament and healing. The idea of four humors, though, most likely originated with Hippocrates, who observed upon examining blood that the red portion of fresh blood is the blood humor, the white material mixed with blood is the phlegm, the yellow-colored froth on top is the yellow bile, and the heavy part that settles down is the black bile (sauda).

Avicenna developed this Hippocratic method even farther when he stated that intercellular and extracellular fluids were secondary humors and that the origin and action the four humors or essences (Arabic: akhlat) and their ultimate fate in the digestive process are affected by diet. Avicenna defines the elements as simple substances which provide the primary components of the human body. Although he also recognized the substances of blood, black & yellow bile and phlegm, he also correlated these to the four elements of earth, air, water and fire and assigned these four elements temperamental qualities of cold, hot, moist and dry. He also pointed out that although there is a close association between a body fluid and its humor, the humor is considered separate and independent of the body fluid.

Other Arab Muslim Physicians who used the theories of temperament are Abu Bakr Muhammad Zakariya Al Razi (865AD), Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya (1292), and Jalalu’d-Din Abd’ur-Rahman ibn Bakr as-Suyuti (1445). All speak extensively in their works on the humors and how a practitioner can heal the sick through balancing of the humors.

Plato(340), Aristotle (325) , Adickes (1907), Spranger (1914) , Kretchmer (1920), Fromm (1947), Meyers (1955) and Keirsey (1987) have all explored the four temperaments in their own way as well. Even Winnie The Pooh explored the temperaments using Pooh as an example of the melancholic, Rabbit as the choleric, Tigger as the sanguine and Eeyore as the phlegmatic type.

Islamic Unani Tibb Medicine was formed by refining the theories of Hippocrates, Avicenna and later Arab physicians even farther. Unani Tibb recognizes the four humors, the corresponding elemental qualities and temperamental qualities. However, Unani Tibb further divides the human being into 2 ‘virtues’ and 3 ‘faculties’. Using the four element system, Unani Tibb recognizes that each human is made up primarily of the progressive and procreative virtue and a second, physiological virtue. They also define people as being divided into corresponding and interactive faculties which are called: the vital faculty which is akin to the spiritual side of a person, the natural faculty which is akin to the physical being of a person and the psychic faculty, which has little to do with “psychic” ability, but actually relates to the conscious and unconscious mind. It is believed that a person is born into a certain temperament though their physical and mental qualities, but by using all the faculties, especially the spirit.

Souce: Islamonline.net

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

In Pakistan the first known case of heroin addiction was recorded in 1980. In 1981, there were only 25 cases recorded. By 1986 there were half a million cases. Now it is estimated the Lhercarebetween 1-1.5 million cases in a population of 95 million. The rate of growth of narcotic addiction in Pakistan is higher than that of USA. In addition to heroin addicts, there are about 1 million opium and hashish users, and 300,000 tranquillizer abusers. The actual number of alcoholics is difficult to determine, since they usually don’t seek treatment. There are only 26 rehabilitation centers and 10,000 trained social workers.

By comparison, in the USA with a population of 220 million, there are 15 milllion alcoholics, 2 million heroin addicts, 5.5 million cocaine users, 6 million tranquilizer abusers and 18 million regularly use marijuana. There are 700 treatment centers. There are 10,000 kids (children born to cocaine mothers).

The cost of drug treatment to the nation (USA) is $117 billion per year. In 1986 congress allotted only $2.5 billion to control drug traffic, a $110 billion industry. The value of cocaine seized at the borders in 1985 was $70 million (5 million in 1981) and marijuana $70 million (2 million in 1981). Next to Columbia, the USA is the second biggest producer of marijuana.

In addition to morbidity, the alcohol and drug scene is closely connected to the crime rate. In 1985 alone 800,000 arrests were made for drug violations (compared to 400,000 in 1973). Of the 523,000 inmates in the U.S. prisons, one-third admitted drinking alcohol before committing the felony. Of the 50,000 auto accidents deaths annually, 23,000 are related to acute alcoholism, 5,000 being teenagers. In addition about 1500,000 arrests occur annually in traffic violation due to alcoholism. In addition great man made disasters have taken place due to one man’s alcohol indulgence i.e. the captain of the Exxon tanker in Alaska. No wonder, the ethics committee in US congress was so careful in choosing the Defence Secretary. One third of all 75,000 AIDS cases are occurring in IV drug abusers or their partners. 54%,of drug related AIDS are in heterosexual men, 16% in women, 20% in homosexual men, 8% in partners of drug users and 3% in children born to mothers with drug abuse or whose partner was drug abuser. The alcohol and drug abuse in children as young as 5 is increasing at an alarming rate.

In addition to alcohol, marijuana, heroin and cocaine, the other drugs abused are an angel dust (PCP), speed, MDMA (estacy), china white, MPTP, tranquilizers and anabolic steroids. Let us discuss some of the medical aspects of these drugs in brief.

Marijuana: Has 400 known chemicals, 61 of them affect the brain, the THC or delta 9 Tetrahydro Cannabinol is the most active ingredient. Marijuana impairs memory, concentration and reading capacity. Increases anxiety, apprehension and fear. It damages heart and lung. It lowers testosterone (male hormone) and sperm count and affects the outcome of pregnancy. It is more carcinogenic than cigarettes.

Cocaine: A potent brain stimulant, was initially thought to be harmless, thus added to the soft drink (coke) in 1900. When given intravenously, it produces intense high and intense low (depression), hallucination, convulsion, cardiac arrest and death.

Heroin: (Opium) morphine derivative. Usually injected by needle, but can be snorted or smoked. It is highly addictive with intensely withdrawal. Overdose results in death.

Amphetamines: Are “pep pills” to fight fatigue and stay awake, suppress appetite, and stimulates heart and central nervous system. Dangerous in large doses and can cause psychological addiction.

Barbiturates: Are used to overcome intense high and produce sleep. It can be fatal when used with alcohol.

LSD (Acid): It is a powerful hallucinogen, can cause psychotic reaction and mental breakdown.

New Drugs: MDMA (estacy) is LSD + Cocaine, causes disorientation initially but leads to permanent brain damage. China White is 1,000 times more potent than heroin. MPTP causes Parkinsonism (brain damage).

Alcohol: Alcohol damages all organs of the body in due course. It damages liver (cirrhosis), causes stomach bleeding (ulcer), heart (cardiomyopathy), sex hormones and the immune system. Its effect on the brain can be acute (intoxication, delirium) or chronic (ataxia, memory loss, coordination). It is linked to breast cancer and fetal damage in women. But it is violence, homicide, suicide and drunk driving which takes most lives.

Prorile of An Alcoholic And Drug Abuser:
Instead of writing at length the problems of drugs and alcohol in youths of America, which cost the nation billions of dollars, and cost mothers their sons and dauqhters (MADD), I think it will be bette if I print an autobiography of one of my patients (19 years old, white female, upper class, name withheld). She writes …

“When I was in high school, my friends and I began to experiment with marijuana. After the excitement of smoking pot became “old hat”, we began to try different drugs – such as hash and THC. Pretty soon cocaine and LSD were introduced to us and it was common place to go to any party “high” on one or more of these drugs. Several times, I had very frightening experiences. Specifically one night, after taking LSD I went home (to my parent’s home) before my”high” was over. Usually, I stayed overnight with a friend who “tripped” with me. On this night, my boyfriend and I broke up right after I took the LSD, so I went home alone. Mv parents were asleep in the next room and I felt that I had to be very quiet, so as not to wake them. I was afraid to make any noise , plus I was upset over the breakup of my relationship with my boyfriend. When the LSD took effect, I was very frightened. The walls looked as though they were melting: I heard strange noises; I hallucinated, even after closing my eyes. The sights were very unpleasant and frightening images. But l couldn’t do anything but lie in bed, waiting for the drug to wear off. I didn’t think I could tell my parents, since I knew I had taken an illegal and dangerous drug- I was awake nearly all night, scared to death with no one to talk to. For days after this incident, I was nervous and jumpy and depressed. The incident was a major shock to my system and one that I would never want to repeat.

I stopped taking “drugs” immediately after my senior year in high school- (I had only discovered drugs at the beginning of the school year). But, I guess the stage was set off for my future reactions. Drugs did not help- they were just for fun at first – but then once the “high” was gone, there was a real “let down” feeling that followed. So we’d either do more drugs or drink a few beers to make that feeling go away. Even now, whenever I get down or “stressed out”- the first thing I do is have a few drinks. The day after is always unpleasant if I have had too many drinks – so the opportunity for a vicious cycle is there. I honestly believe that the “harmless” experiments with marijuana, several years ago, may have been the start of this tendency to turn to alcohol today. The bottom line is, I’d be a hundred times better off today – happier and wealthier if drugs had never entered my life years ago.

The Islamic Perspective:
The objectives of Islamic divine laws are the protection of faith (belief in one God), life ( abortion. suicide, homicide), property (ownership) and the mind (intoxicants). Normally in the brain there is an inhibitory control which tells us not to engage in shameful or wrongful acts. Any suppressant drug including alcohol will suppress this nerve pathways and take away such restraint. Ability to make a judgement, to protect the body or honor, a quality for humans is taken away under the influence of drugs.

There are two main features of Islamic prohibitions:
a) lslam stops the wrong at the inception and not at the end. There is nothing like safe drinking age, or safe drugs to get high. Most of the teenage alcoholics don’t buy the alcohol from the store but get it at home. Islam makes equal laws for both children and parents by prohibiting completely (total abstinence), but the West does not. It is for this reason, the West has been crippled to handle the problem of drugs and alcohol, because it has made duel standards.

b) Islam blocks all the avenues to the wrong. Therefore not only illicit sex is prohibited, but casual mixing of sexes freely is prohibited, but obscenity and pornography is prohibited, and in the same context, not only drinking wine is prohibited, but making it , selling it, keeping it, or even growing grapes for the sole purpose of selling it to winery for making wine is prohibited by the Prophet (PBUH). Some 1400 years ago, Allah(swt), our creator and sustainer, who cares for us, sent down following revelation in the following order, mentioned in Quran.

Al Baqarah 2:219: “They ask you concerning wine and gambling.” Say: “In them there is great sin, and some profit, for men, but sin is greater than the profit.”

Al-Nisa 4:43: “O you who believe! Approach not prayers, with a mind befogged, until you can understand all that you say.”

Al-Ma’idah 5:93: “O you who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divinations by) arrows, are an abomination of Satan’s handiwork: Avoid such (abomination) that you may prosper.”

Al-Ma’idah 5:93: “Satan’s plan is to sow enmity and hatred among you with intoxicants and gambling, and to hinder you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. Will you not then give up.”

The above verses came over period of years and when the last verse came, Muslims threw away all the wine into the streets and stopped completely in whatever state they were in, and streets of Medina were flowing with wine.

Sayings of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) and about wine and other intoxicants.

1. “Every intoxicant is khamr, and every khamr is haram (unlawful)- reported by Muslim.

2. “Of that which intoxicates in a large amount, a small amount is haram” (Ahmad, Abu-Daud and Al-Tirrnizi,).

3. “Khamar (intoxicants) is the mother of all evils”. Reported in Bukhari.

The solutions: There are no easy solutions. In fact it is a multifactorial problem and each aspect should be addressed individually, and seriously, both by the government and by the public. While the total ban on production, import and export is the ideal solution to create a drug free society, by experience (i.e. in the USA with total ban on alcohol in 1920′s) it is difficult to achieve unless strict laws are made and enforced on drug producers, traffickers and offenders, a law, that sees distinction between the helpless victim and a powerful drug Lord. Our current system punishes the former and spares the latter. Islam offers such tough laws to influence our morality and health. While we are trying to do these, we in the mean time should pay more attention to the needs of the victim by the education of the masses, social workers, law enforcements agencies and the physicians at the same time developing treatment and rehab centers in large scale as human sufferings continues to grow and son, daughters, husbands and fathers are being lost daily. All these require motivation and commitment from all of us. It is beyond the dignity of a human being to become dependent on alcohol and drugs and not be able to serve himself, his family and his creator in the best possible manner.