Mental illness in Islam

[kayra]

What does Islam have to say about the huge spectrum of psychiatric disorders recognized today?

I'm not referring to severe disorders like schizophrenia, but more to the astonishing variety of mentally unwell people found everywhere in the world today.

Some phobias, compulsions, addictions, etc. seem to be so powerful that the disordered person genuinely seems to have little or no control over their actions sometimes. Think of an agoraphobic brother unable to leave the house to go to the masjid on Friday, an obsessive-compulsive who can't remove his shoes at all for fear of disease, a nicotine addict or bulimic unable to fast during Ramazan due to their uncontrollable compulsions, a woman who was sexually abused as a child who finds herself unable to be intimate with her husband, the narcissist incapable of being genuinely humble.

How do the scholars view such people? Are their mental disorders a sign of a diseased heart or over-indulged nafs? Or, on the contrary, are these diseases actually gifts from Allah, to test them on a daily or hourly basis, and to make them struggle maybe a thousand times harder than "healthy" people to carry out quite simple fardh or to avoid haram?

Are syndromes like "sex addiction" genuine illnesses, and a genuine handicap, a bit like an amputee who manages to perform salah against the odds? Or are they the person's own fault, some kind of weakness?

I wondered about this long before I became a Muslim, but I concluded that various "experts" would never be able to agree on whether some people were "born that way", or naturally weak, or developed unhealthy ways of thinking due to environment, or chemical imbalance, or any of the above. I know a few people who say "it's not my fault, it's because I have X-ism or I'm a Y-ic" or whatever. Is it really beyond their power to stop themselves from washing their hands 27 times with disinfectant soap every time they touch another person, for example? If so, do the scholars have any opinions as to why a person would be given such an affliction? If not, then are all mental "syndromes" and "disorders" nothing more than over-indulged nafs?

[Allahhuakbar]

What does Islam have to say about the huge spectrum of psychiatric disorders recognized today?

I'm not referring to severe disorders like schizophrenia, but more to the astonishing variety of mentally unwell people found everywhere in the world today.

Some phobias, compulsions, addictions, etc. seem to be so powerful that the disordered person genuinely seems to have little or no control over their actions sometimes. Think of an agoraphobic brother unable to leave the house to go to the masjid on Friday, an obsessive-compulsive who can't remove his shoes at all for fear of disease, a nicotine addict or bulimic unable to fast during Ramazan due to their uncontrollable compulsions, a woman who was sexually abused as a child who finds herself unable to be intimate with her husband, the narcissist incapable of being genuinely humble.

How do the scholars view such people? Are their mental disorders a sign of a diseased heart or over-indulged nafs? Or, on the contrary, are these diseases actually gifts from Allah, to test them on a daily or hourly basis, and to make them struggle maybe a thousand times harder than "healthy" people to carry out quite simple fardh or to avoid haram?

Are syndromes like "sex addiction" genuine illnesses, and a genuine handicap, a bit like an amputee who manages to perform salah against the odds? Or are they the person's own fault, some kind of weakness?

I wondered about this long before I became a Muslim, but I concluded that various "experts" would never be able to agree on whether some people were "born that way", or naturally weak, or developed unhealthy ways of thinking due to environment, or chemical imbalance, or any of the above. I know a few people who say "it's not my fault, it's because I have X-ism or I'm a Y-ic" or whatever. Is it really beyond their power to stop themselves from washing their hands 27 times with disinfectant soap every time they touch another person, for example? If so, do the scholars have any opinions as to why a person would be given such an affliction? If not, then are all mental "syndromes" and "disorders" nothing more than over-indulged nafs?

Asak,


Brother, in my limited knowledge and research that I have done on the field of Jinn/Magic/Possessions..etc, apart from purely medical reasons, the cause of all such ‘Mental disorders’, in most of the cases could be linked or caused by Jinn and Black magic or Evil Eye.

A simple proof of this is, can be seen in the verse from Quran “Those who devour usury will not stand, except as one whom the satan/devil by his touch Hath driven to madness.”[002.275]

There are several books that contains many such proofs from Quran and hadith, along with case studies, one such book thats available is

http://store.dar-us-salam.com/product/199.html

Wassalaam

[kayra]

Asak,


Brother, in my limited knowledge and research that I have done on the field of Jinn/Magic/Possessions..etc, apart from purely medical reasons, the cause of all such ‘Mental disorders’, in most of the cases could be linked or caused by Jinn and Black magic or Evil Eye.

A simple proof of this is, can be seen in the verse from Quran “Those who devour usury will not stand, except as one whom the satan/devil by his touch Hath driven to madness.”[002.275]

There are several books that contains many such proofs from Quran and hadith, along with case studies, one such book thats available is

http://store.dar-us-salam.com/product/199.html

Wassalaam

brother. This doesn't really explain "disorders" apparently caused by childhood trauma or abuse, etc. Also, if you blame a disordered and severely skewed (off-balance) way of seeing things on some third party like jinn or people who do black magic, doesn't this essentially mean you yourself are not responsible?

If somebody develops an addiction, a phobia, a sexual disorder or an eating disorder or other compulsion as the result of jinn/ black magic, then are they accountable for their resultant actions? Doesn't this discourage attempts to control / cure oneself or seek "conventional" psychiatric / medical treatment?

[MujahidAbdullah]

Salaam walaykum,

My sheikh has written much on this subject one book is called "the Fraud of Freudists". In this book he documents the use of what is called Quranic Therapy.

I studied Quranic Therapy for a year and helped treat several people suffering from various afflictions.

Before one can be treated it first has to be determined whether or not their affliction is spiritual or physical. Once dtermined it is spiritual it can be treated theough various dhikrs and ayats of Quran.

The majority of cases I helped treat were mental illnesses (e.g. Schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, depression)

I also dealt with a few cases that were caused by the use of drugs.

In every case where a person claimed to have a mental illness, the western doctors prescribed medications which made their condition worse, and thus dependent on the drugs to keep them sane.

once they submitted to our care, they were to cease using the meds prescribed to them. after the meds were out of their systems they began their prescribed regiment of dhikr and recitation.

If they could not to the recitation and dhikr themselves, a family member or doctor in training would do it for them until they were capable of doing it themselves.

Every person who stuck to their prescribed dhikr and recitation became completely cured of their "mental illness" within a year or less in many cases.

I am witness that many of these mental illnesses that exist in the west are actually spiritual illnesses and can be cured with the proper ibada.

Most mental illnesses are an invention of the materialist west.

[Ali_Hasnain]

Salaam walaykum,

My sheikh has written much on this subject one book is called "the Fraud of Freudists". In this book he documents the use of what is called Quranic Therapy.

I studied Quranic Therapy for a year and helped treat several people suffering from various afflictions.

Before one can be treated it first has to be determined whether or not their affliction is spiritual or physical. Once dtermined it is spiritual it can be treated theough various dhikrs and ayats of Quran.

The majority of cases I helped treat were mental illnesses (e.g. Schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, depression)

I also dealt with a few cases that were caused by the use of drugs.

In every case where a person claimed to have a mental illness, the western doctors prescribed medications which made their condition worse, and thus dependent on the drugs to keep them sane.

once they submitted to our care, they were to cease using the meds prescribed to them. after the meds were out of their systems they began their prescribed regiment of dhikr and recitation.

If they could not to the recitation and dhikr themselves, a family member or doctor in training would do it for them until they were capable of doing it themselves.

Every person who stuck to their prescribed dhikr and recitation became completely cured of their "mental illness" within a year or less in many cases.

I am witness that many of these mental illnesses that exist in the west are actually spiritual illnesses and can be cured with the proper ibada.

Most mental illnesses are an invention of the materialist west.

MashAllah

May Allah [SWT] bless Shaykh Mubarik Jilani [DB].

[Al-Faruqi]

Salaam walaykum,

My sheikh has written much on this subject one book is called "the Fraud of Freudists". In this book he documents the use of what is called Quranic Therapy.

I studied Quranic Therapy for a year and helped treat several people suffering from various afflictions.

Before one can be treated it first has to be determined whether or not their affliction is spiritual or physical. Once dtermined it is spiritual it can be treated theough various dhikrs and ayats of Quran.

The majority of cases I helped treat were mental illnesses (e.g. Schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, depression)

I also dealt with a few cases that were caused by the use of drugs.

In every case where a person claimed to have a mental illness, the western doctors prescribed medications which made their condition worse, and thus dependent on the drugs to keep them sane.

once they submitted to our care, they were to cease using the meds prescribed to them. after the meds were out of their systems they began their prescribed regiment of dhikr and recitation.

If they could not to the recitation and dhikr themselves, a family member or doctor in training would do it for them until they were capable of doing it themselves.

Every person who stuck to their prescribed dhikr and recitation became completely cured of their "mental illness" within a year or less in many cases.

I am witness that many of these mental illnesses that exist in the west are actually spiritual illnesses and can be cured with the proper ibada.

Most mental illnesses are an invention of the materialist west.

Very beneficial post brother,

May Allah bless your shaykh and make him a means to spiritual salvation for many people. Ameen.

[NNoor]

I'm not referring to severe disorders like schizophrenia, but more to the astonishing variety of mentally unwell people found everywhere in the world today.

Some phobias, compulsions, addictions, etc. seem to be so powerful that the disordered person genuinely seems to have little or no control over their actions sometimes. Think of an agoraphobic brother unable to leave the house to go to the masjid on Friday, an obsessive-compulsive who can't remove his shoes at all for fear of disease, a nicotine addict or bulimic unable to fast during Ramazan due to their uncontrollable compulsions, a woman who was sexually abused as a child who finds herself unable to be intimate with her husband, the narcissist incapable of being genuinely humble.

I think you've answered your own question. Phobias, compulsions and addictions are not severe disorders, and in my opinion can rarely be called mental illness. Most of the things you mention were in the past looked at as character flaws that and individual could work on improving. Nowadays they slap a clinical label on it and in doing so cause the individual to think that it's simply a condition he must live with and as a result he gives up trying to improve.

I honestly believe that in most of these cases it's not mental illness or black magic or whatever, just an individual who is unable to put in the effort to change, or perhaps is not receiving the help he needs. No need for medication or incantations, just more willpower.

[hamza75]

brother MujahidAbdullah

can you please PM me, i tried contacting you but couldn't;

where can i buy this book, the Fraud of Freudists

jazakallah khair

Salaam walaykum,

My sheikh has written much on this subject one book is called "the Fraud of Freudists". In this book he documents the use of what is called Quranic Therapy.

I studied Quranic Therapy for a year and helped treat several people suffering from various afflictions.

Before one can be treated it first has to be determined whether or not their affliction is spiritual or physical. Once dtermined it is spiritual it can be treated theough various dhikrs and ayats of Quran.

The majority of cases I helped treat were mental illnesses (e.g. Schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, depression)

I also dealt with a few cases that were caused by the use of drugs.

In every case where a person claimed to have a mental illness, the western doctors prescribed medications which made their condition worse, and thus dependent on the drugs to keep them sane.

once they submitted to our care, they were to cease using the meds prescribed to them. after the meds were out of their systems they began their prescribed regiment of dhikr and recitation.

If they could not to the recitation and dhikr themselves, a family member or doctor in training would do it for them until they were capable of doing it themselves.

Every person who stuck to their prescribed dhikr and recitation became completely cured of their "mental illness" within a year or less in many cases.

I am witness that many of these mental illnesses that exist in the west are actually spiritual illnesses and can be cured with the proper ibada.

Most mental illnesses are an invention of the materialist west.

[Al-Faruqi]

brother MujahidAbdullah

can you please PM me, i tried contacting you but couldn't;

where can i buy this book, the Fraud of Freudists

jazakallah khair

The PM system is deactivated, ask the mods to exchange your email addresses...

[kayra]

Salaam walaykum,

My sheikh has written much on this subject one book is called "the Fraud of Freudists". In this book he documents the use of what is called Quranic Therapy.

I studied Quranic Therapy for a year and helped treat several people suffering from various afflictions.

Before one can be treated it first has to be determined whether or not their affliction is spiritual or physical. Once dtermined it is spiritual it can be treated theough various dhikrs and ayats of Quran.

The majority of cases I helped treat were mental illnesses (e.g. Schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, depression)

I also dealt with a few cases that were caused by the use of drugs.

In every case where a person claimed to have a mental illness, the western doctors prescribed medications which made their condition worse, and thus dependent on the drugs to keep them sane.

once they submitted to our care, they were to cease using the meds prescribed to them. after the meds were out of their systems they began their prescribed regiment of dhikr and recitation.

If they could not to the recitation and dhikr themselves, a family member or doctor in training would do it for them until they were capable of doing it themselves.

Every person who stuck to their prescribed dhikr and recitation became completely cured of their "mental illness" within a year or less in many cases.

I am witness that many of these mental illnesses that exist in the west are actually spiritual illnesses and can be cured with the proper ibada.

Most mental illnesses are an invention of the materialist west.

I was already quite skeptical about the diagnosis of many "mental / physical disorders". I suffered from debilitating insomnia for 15 years, to the point where I was hallucinating from lack of sleep. Not even the strongest drugs worked. Nor did psychotherapy, acupuncture, reflexology, expensive sleep clinics, etc. One hour of sleep for me was like a ridiculously far-fetched and impossible goal.

Many doctors suggested I was bi-polar, and predominately manic, and this was why I couldn't sleep. They gave me lithium, and it nearly killed me!

When I first visited my Shaikh, and asked for his prayers, I wasn't actually hoping for a "cure", I just wanted his spiritual guidance - insomnia had become such an integral part of me that I accepted it as my destiny.

AFter I went back home, I slept for over 8 hours, and awoke to the clear sound of an athan (azan), even though it was far too early for local prayers - when I checked later on the internet, it was the exact time of the athan in my Shaikhs's village =) I've slept like a baby ever since.

This made me wonder - all those doctors who insisted I had a chemical imbalance / genetic predilection for insomnia / needed strong addictive sedatives / needed regular and expensive treatment etc. - were they just guessing? Or were they right, but Allah makes people ill when He pleases, and cures them when He pleases? Was it a punishment - or just a symptom - of years of Western living, eating haram, etc.?

Every day on the news we read about "unlucky" people - celebrities, etc. - "suffering" from terrible "diseases" like addictions and compulsions.

This is why I started wondering - are these really medical conditions?

Your post answered a lot of my questions.