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| Psychological and Mental
Health Prof. Dr. Omar Hasan Kasule, Sr.* Psychological or mental health can be
defined in both positive and negative terms. Positively it can be viewed
as a state of being in which an individual is stable and balanced. Human
beings function at three levels: the personal (within the self),
inter-personal (with others) and trans-personal (beyond the personal).
Hence the balance is 3-dimentional and involves being in harmony
with oneself, the human society around you, and fulfilling the orders and
commands of the Creator to attain His pleasure. Negatively it can be looked at as the
presence of mental or psychological problems. Unlike physical health,
mental and psychological health is difficult to define exactly because of
inability to define and measure in a concrete way as is done in physical
sciences. The Qur’an has used the term inshirah
al sadr to refer to a state of psychological well being as is
indicated in the following verses: 6:125, 10:57, 16:106, 20:25, 94:1. The Qur’an has used the term dhaiq al
sadr to refer to states of psychological imbalance as shown in the
following verses: 6:125, 11:12, 15:97, 26:13, 29:33. Psychological stress (dhaiq nafsi) has also been mentioned in the Qur’an in several verses: 6:125, 9:25, 9:118, 11:12, 11:77, 15:97, 16:12, 18:6, 26:3, 26:13, 27:70, 29:33, 35:8, 65:6). The term hayatan dhanqah has been
used to refer to a life that has psychological stress 20:124. Throughout the Qur’an psychological
well-being is associated with taqwa whereas psychological or mental
imbalance are associated with ma’siyat. The implication is that
those who live according to Allah’s guidance will live a balanced life. Psychological imbalances are of two types. The second type is due to moral causes. The Qur’an has concentrated on the
latter. Whereas the first
type will respond easily to chemical and other physical methods of
treatment, the second type requires spiritual approaches involving
strengthening îmân, taqwah, and ibadat as well as avoiding ma’siyat.
Our discussion today will be confined solely to the second type. PERSONALITY Mental and psychological well-being are affected to a large extent by the underlying personality. Personality is the totality of behavior of an individual with a given tendency system interacting with a sequence of situations (tendency means there is consistency). People’s personalities differ (Bukhari 4:461 hadith # 699). Some are good some are not. Most people are average; the exceptionally strong are rare (Bukhari 8:3341 hadith #505). There is a model personality for a
community that is considered the ideal for that community. There is
however a universal ideal that is described by the Qur’an and the sunnah
of the Prophet (PBUH) (Hayat 3:459-460) The Quran expounds in very clear terms a
distinct concept of individual growth and development. A human being is
both, body and soul, matter and spirit. It is the unique balance between
the two contrasts that makes humans what they are, the highest creation.
The original condition of the human being is that of fitrah which
is uprightness. A human being is born in a natural state of purity (fitrat
al Islam). The potential to do good or bad exists. It is the early
environment that determines how those potentials are enhanced. If the
environment is good, the good potentials are promoted. If it is bad the
bad ones are. The essence of a person is the nafs and not the physical body. Thus personality and behavior are referred to as the nafs. The Qur’an has described several states of nafs, [maraatib al nafs (12:53, 89:27-28, 75:2, 89:27)]:
The nafs can be purified by acts of ibadat,
avoiding the forbidden, generally being conscious of the creator, and
constant meditation about the creation. An individual may not succeed
alone. Living in a righteous community surrounded by others is necessary
to motivate and encourage purification. The factors that determine the development
of personality are: biological inheritance, the physical environment, the
culture, socialization, group experience, and unique individual
experiences. With the exception of biological inheritance, all these
factors can be manipulated for good or for bad. Personality is set quite early in life. It
can change during life but these changes are minor. A person has the
capacity to overcome many disabilities in the basic personality. Thus
behavior does not always reflect the underlying personality. It is this
capacity for self-improvement, taking charge, and striving for the best
that makes humans morally responsible. It is a matter of disagreement whether
personality once set is permanent or is changeable. The moderate view is
that personality is fairly constant and only minor modifications can be
made to it in later life. This emphasizes the importance of education and
training early in life when the personality is still malleable and can be
modified in the desired way. Thus early childhood upbringing is the main determinant of psychological health. Societies that neglect this stage pay a heavy price in terms of psychological imbalances later on. ENHANCING THE POSITIVE Communities and individuals who strive to
enhance the positive attributes of the nafs and qalb enjoy
good mental and psychological health: The Qur’an has described positive attributes of the nafs:
The positive attributes of the qalb are:
The nafs can undertake actions to improve or strengthen itself:
DISCOURAGING THE NEGATIVE Good mental and psychological health can be achieved by discouraging the negative attributes of the nafs and the qalb. The negative attributes of the nafs described by the Qur’an are:
The negative attributes of the qalb are:
The qalb can be afflicted by diseases.
The qalb can be influenced or changed. This can be from human action or sometimes divine intervention from Allah (SWT). PERSONAL FAILURE Many situations or psychological imbalance
are actually cases of personal failure (‘ajz) that the prophet warned
about. Personal failure can manifest in many ways.
Persons may become addicted to bad habits and sins. They become socially
incompetent or lazy about their basic responsibilities in the family and
society. This failure is a cause of sadness and distress to the individual
concerned, the family, and the whole society. CAUSES OF PERSONAL FAILURE Forgetting Allah and neglecting His
commands is the start of failure. There are some cases of failure that can
not be attributed to any fault of the person but to unfortunate
circumstances. Allah usually helps such people when they turn to Him and
ask for help. "Anas reported that Allah's Messenger
( may peace be upon him) used to make this supplication:"O Allah, I
Seek refuge in you from miserliness, from sloth and from
decrepitude." Muslim 3: 1421, Chapter 1129, Hadith # 6539 "O Allah! I seek refuge with You from
distress and sorrow, from helplessness and laziness, from miserliness and
cowardice, from being heavily in debt and from being overcome by men"
Bukhari 4:92, hadith # 143 Umar b. al-Khattab said: The Prophet ( may
peace be upon him ) used to seek refuge in Allah from five things;
cowardliness, niggardliness, the evils of old age, evil thoughts, and
punishment in the grave. Hadith 1534 Anas b. Malik said: The Apostle of Allah (
may peace be upon him ) used to say: " O Allah, I seek refuge in you
from incapacity, slackness, cowardliness, niggardliness, decrepitude; and
I seek refuge in you from the punishment in the grave; and I seek refuge
in you from the trial of life and death." Hadith 1535 Anas b. Malik said: I used to serve the
Prophet ( may peace be upon him ) and often hear him say: " O Allah,
I seek refuge in you from care, grief, burden of debt and being
overpowered by men." The narrator then narrated some more things
which the narrator al-Taimi ( in the previous tradition ) reported. Hadith
1536 Abu Hurairah said that the Prophet ( may
peace be upon him ) used to say: " O Allah, I seek refuge in you from
poverty" lack and abasement, and I seek refuge in you lest I cause or
suffer wrong." Hadith 1539 Abu Hurairah said: The Apostle of Allah (
may peace be upon him ) used to say: " O Allah, I seek refuge in you
from four things: Knowledge which does not profit, a heart which is not
submissive, a soul which has an insatiable appetite, and a supplication
which is not heard." Hadith 1543 Anas b. Malik said: The Prophet ( may peace
be upon him ) used to say " O Allah, I seek refuge in you from a
prayer which does not profit," He also mentioned another
supplication. Hadith 1544 Shutair b. Shaki ( b. Humaid ) said: I
said: Apostle of Allah, teach me a supplication. He said: Say : " O
Allah, I seek refuge in you from the evil of what I hear, from the evil of
what I see, from the evil of what I speak, from the evil of what I think,
and from the evil of my semen" ( i.e. sexual passion ). Hadith 1546 Anas said: The Prophet ( may peace be upon
him ) used to say: " O Allah, I seek refuge in you from leprosy,
madness, elephantiasis, and evil diseases." Hadith 1549 "Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet
( may peace be upon him ) said to Abu Talha " Choose one of your boys
to serve me." So Abu Talha took me ( to serve the Prophet ( may peace
be upon him ) by giving me a ride behind him ( on his camel ). So I used
to serve Allah's Apostle ( may peace be upon him ) whenever he stayed
somewhere I used to hear him saying, " O Allah! I seek refuge with
you ( Allah ) from worries and grief, from incapacity and laziness from
miserliness and cowardice, from being heavily in debt and from being
overpowered by other men." Bukhari 8:250, hadith # 374.
Lectures on Islamic Medicine *Prof.
Dr. Omar Hasan Kasule, Sr. e-mail: kasule@iiu.edu.my |
