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| The Concept of Man & His
Spiritual Powers in Islam Dr. Mehdi Ben Abboud Morocco Generalities: Islamic medicine is based on the image of
man in Islam and the Islamic comprehensive view of man and the
universe. Therefore, the Muslim doctor may prescribe
aspiration to such heights to Muslims and non-Muslims alike according to
the patient's strength of faith. The scientific, medical, philosophical, and
psychological schools in the West are still investigating the image of man
about which Carl Jaspers says it is out of reach, beyond perception and
eludes scientific research. Man is naturally equipped to utilize strength of will, self-confidence and faith in God in getting cured from a host of diseases. Contemplation, remembrance of God, peace of mind, silence, seclusion, hope, optimism, worships, adherence to Shariah, combining material and moral medicine when necessary as enjoined by the Sunna are all aspects of extensive work from an overall point of view based on the moral potentials of life as well as on: a) Mystic and secular sciences based on faith. b) Diligence, which is the highest form of will, based on confidence in God and reliance on Him. c) Enlightened conduct without
narrow-mindedness or ingratitude. Recent experiments add yet another evidence
in support of the effective role of the spiritual approach to treatment
involving will, contemplation and submission to God. Psychosomatic medicine is a good start towards appreciating the interaction between body and mind Some psychosomaticists have embarked on a series of experiments to determine the nature of bio-electric changes in the body resulting from total absorption in Salaat (prayer) and complete submission to God during it. The aim is to establish the therapeutic effectiveness of the spiritual approach to treatment. The ultimate objective of medicine is the
maintenance of man's material and moral well-being through education,
development, enhancement, and prevention of various diseases as well as
through prescribing all sorts of treatment that are materially and morally
effective. According to the Islamic heritage, there are two closely
related kinds of science: the science of bodies and the science of
religions. The real purpose of medicine should be to help man lead a sound
material and moral life so that when he dies he may return to his Creator
with a clear conscience. What should be of primary concern to us is
the real, not the theoretical, image of man. Scientific endeavours should
be made to keep this image pure, undistorted by ideologies and
preconceived ideas based on mere conjectures and not on solid scientific
grounds. We should also extend our view beyond the limited area of secular
sciences into that vast realm of mysticism combining material and
spiritual factors. Man stands to gain both physically and spiritually
depending on how further up he can be elevated to the supramundane
heights, how much he values faith and will, and whether his attitude to
his God is positive. The evoked spiritual power of healing ranges from the ability to effect personal cure to the ability invested in prophets and God's favourites to cure the blind and the leper, depending on the rank of the soul. All medical evidence in all civilizations
and religions support this thesis. I. The Meeting Point of Matter &
Meaning, The Concrete & The Abstract: If human knowledge is indeed mainly divided
into the science of bodies and the science of religions, it occurs to
one's mind that medicine, the knowledge closest to man, may be presented
in two forms: This latter form has gradually been gaining
a notable status with a considerable number of doctors all over the world
who seem to be saying that if only people could realize the therapeutic
potentials latent in their spiritual powers they would readily dispense
with a good deal of the drugs they consume every day which, however, treat
only the symptoms without in any way penetrating to the causes. The deeper we think of and investigate the
real meaning of matter and the real image of man, the more this spiritual
aspect and its therapeutic techniques grow in importance. Physicists and
technologists have come to recognize the dematerialization of matter, the
'thinglessness' of things, and the de-substantiation of substance. When they
got down in their researches to the infinitesimal state of matter after
breaking it up and splitting the atom into electrons of various types and
forms they could not get beyond the concept of electro-magnetic energy and
a multitude of complex mathematical operations reaching a point where the
material structure of things came pretty close to the abstract meaning of
the general scientific concepts. Some even went so far as to say that the
concept of electron and electronic energy with regard to man can never be
understood unless his image in our minds is given a spiritual meaning. The
French physicist, Jean E. Charon, calls the spirit-carrying electron, as
he conceives it, "EON". He says, "We have tried to analyze
thinking as a simple psychological process performed by each one of the
electrons of which our organism consists. What we have found very clearly,
however, is that our mind, which is very similar to the spirit existent in
the electrons, also performs the process of thinking each time we
undertake to do a certain job or whenever we try to form a new idea. That
is, we create new meanings based on information stored in the memory. On a deeper level, what we call
consideration follows the same mechanism of contemplation and thinking. In
view of what we have said, one can realize the great significance of
contemplation to spiritual situations. We should be aware of the fact that our
spiritual roots reach back to millions of years ago. This constitutes a
vast field of knowledge treasured deep down in our unconsciousness. For
this vast knowledge to surface in our conscious minds we have to give
every opportunity to our electrons to enhance the contemplation process,
i.e. to make us discover artificial signs that can at the right time be
decoded and interpreted in our consciousness as symbols. Consideration on
the human level takes another form. When the human body undergoes a
certain disorder we ask ourselves what could restore it to its normal
condition? Well, it is the electrons themselves. The health of the body is
nothing more than the psychological harmony of our eons. When we are ill, either physically or
mentally, what we usually do is to hurry to the doctor, or at least that
is what the modern man does now. Yet, animals and plants are not liable to
such frequent recurrence of disorder. I am not trying to underestimate the role
of doctors or of the enormous amount of drugs they prescribe for their
patients. But in the long run, no matter what the role of the doctor is or
the effectiveness of the drugs he prescribes, the electrons from which our
bodies are made up will have to depend on themselves in restoring balance
to the sick body. Here, too, I think that consideration has an important
role to play. The influence of the spirit on the body and its vital role
in effecting cure has long ceased to be a cause for surprise especially in
the dying years of the 20th century when a host of physical diseases are
treated by psychiatry. I believe there is still a lot to be done in this
direction. Many of our doctors still consider the patient just a physical
body where the spirit plays only a peripheral part. The fundamental cause of disease is
disorder in the spiritual functioning of our eons when they have to accept
information they fail to harmonize with their stored information. The
source of the new information is the conscious mind, that is, of every day
life. The reason why certain therapies, like the acupuncture, have
succeeded is that it is our electrons that are mostly affected by the
disorder. Acupuncture is a means of bringing about electric balance in the
body through redistributing its electric charges. But such a treatment
affects only the less important symptoms of the ailment, the profound
causation of which lies, in fact, on the level of the spirit these eons
carry. This spirit should be activated towards contributing to the cure.
Who hasn't experienced relief of pain at a certain spot of the body once
he concentrated his mental power on this particular spot? A great deal is
still unknown about the potentials of our mental and spiritual powers and
their great influence on the body functions. It is the unconscious, which is charged
with the main life-preserving functions such as respiration and digestion.
This does not mean, however, the futility of opening up a channel of
communication between our conscious mind and these unconscious functions
of the body for achieving a state of balance and to enable the conscious
mind to feel and follow up these unconscious processes. This way the mind
is in a better position to anticipate the disorder and, in a way,
forestall it. Through concentrated thinking the mind is thus able in a far
easier way to determine its contribution in bringing balance back to a
malfunctioning unconscious process. The Hakims say, "Feel your
breathing and be aware of its importance. Try to influence it by your
conscious minds". Thinking, thus, emerges as a very important
process for every spiritual development in the universe. On the level of
each electron, this thinking seems to be the proper way of organizing the
influx of heterogeneous information from the outer world into a
meaningful, homogenous body of knowledge that helps one brace up for a
future action. Hence, it is becoming clear for scholars of
physics, psychology, biology, and, to some extent, philosophy that the
wide gap, which previously separated matter from spirit and meaning from
structure is gradually narrowing down. Consequently, the artificial gap
between body and soul is being bridged in an apparent recognition of the
interaction between them especially in the field of medicine with respect
to prevention as well as treatment. This recognition is based on the
diminishing of the molecules of matter to atoms, then to electrons which
has led up to the concept of energy, a point beyond which there are only
meanings of abstract notions or mathematical equations. Matter here
becomes nothing more than a set of relations and proportions that
translate to the mind motions and interacting electro-magnetic energies. If we envisage the body cells and their
ingredients as composed of chemical materials the tiniest of which are the
electro-magnetic eons and pure motion, we can easily conceive the great
similarity between mental functions and the functions of these physical,
infinitesimally small eons and the interaction between body and mind, i.e.
between matter and thought. Recognition of this Interaction, particularly
In the field of medicine, is bound to change our attitudes in trying to
maintain a balance between the physical and psychological aspects of the
human body, and bring about harmony to the functions of the body and of
the soul individually, and then harmony between body and soul as the
integrated sum of the human personality. When we conceive of man as a harmonious
composite of body and soul, little wonder will remain in accepting the
idea of spiritual treatment and its great physical and psychological
efficacy. There has recently been a time when
materialistic thinking prevailed in scientific research leading to a wave
of relevant atheism. Under those circumstances it was difficult to pay any
attention to spiritual treatment except when it was confined to hypnotism
or the distorted practice of boringly slow psychoanalysis based on a
distorted conception of the human soul as is well known about the Freudian
doctrine and its followers. This unhappy distortion did not pass
without casualties. It resulted in perplexity of minds and perturbation of
individual and social behaviour, which in turn led to great confusion
among the common people and a great rift into various schools of thought
among the scholars of medicine, psychology and the humanities. The
impervious confinement of man into this stifling mould of matter deprived
him of a great portion of his due potentials and deformed his real image.
Individuals and societies have been paying a high price for this
deformation. The world we live in is suffering from a host of various
physical and psychological disorders dubbed by the medical public opinion
as "The ailments of civilization" with all the ironical paradox
that goes with the term in collocating the two words "ailment"
and "civilization"; for if there really was an ideal
civilization as dreamed of by mind and heart it would not be so deformed
by intellectual and ethical impurities, nor would there be that large
number of neuroses and psychoses in addition to disorders in most of our
physical organs. What is called modernism now is characterized by the word
"pollution" of the environment including the human body besides
pollution of souls which reveals itself in reversal of facts, forging of
information, ideological terrorism, and the presentation of man in the
image of an animal. In such a turbid atmosphere, when
"hearts are locked up", it is hardly expected that the idea of
spiritual treatment can be embraced. The image of man that modern medicine
is still investigating is one outlined in a set of psychological factors,
avoiding any mention of words like spirit or even soul, and another set of
physiological factors. Despite these continued efforts, modern
medicine admits its inability to solve man's problem especially when it
comes to the relation between his body and his soul. How can a doctor
believe in what he is doing when he is so confused? Psychologists are following an ostrich-style policy of dodging an adequate definition of the term "soul". Some physicians admit that man in general
and man's soul in particular are simultaneously related to the fields of
medicine, sciences and philosophy. But the philosophy of medicine runs
into contradictions when it is confined to the physical image to the
neglect of the spiritual side. It says that man has a body and he is also
this body. This is as contradictory as saying that man has a house and he
is also this house. Man cannot be what he owns. This philosophical
attitude was therefore very unsatisfactory. Modern medicine has finally
settled for ignoring the whole issue. The image of man has gradually been
shrinking to the point where his meaning has become purely materialistic
and, consequently, vague. This state of affairs has led to psychological
crises and serious morbid developments such as the prevalence of
rejection, recalcitrance, neurosis, psychosis, aggression, etc. The
recession of man's image was engendered by the positivistic movement and
monolithic materialism. The value of spiritualism has been lost sight of
and its real meaning has gone with the wind. Consequently, the value of
the mind has declined after it was described by the materialists as a mere
secretion of the brain and particularly after man has completely lost
confidence in himself and in his superiority to other creatures as a
result of Darwinism. Talk about spiritualism has ceased, and psychologists
have disavowed the term "psyche" and started talking about
"behaviourism". Since the materialistic sciences as
expounded by the contemporary barren mentality have failed to meet man's
essential need of wanting to know his real image, meaning and purpose of
living, some thinkers have admitted the futility of such sciences. Jean
Paul Sartre, for instance, said, "What do I care about
sciences?" So, man is left with no protection against anxiety,
boredom, the bitter meaning of absurdity, and the prevalence of depression
as happened at the turn of the 9th century when it came to be known in the
history of Western literature, particularly in France, as "the malady
of the age". Life then, in the words of some writers at that time,
became a cadaverous affair based on a dry, heartless and mean trinity of
lust for money, selfishness and individualism, which, by the way, was the
official motto recommended by government circles for the citizens;
"Stay at home and mind your own business". No wonder, then, that the age came to a
disastrous end characterized by a spate of suicides after all that chaos
and corruption of souls and the sharp rise in the rate of physical and
psychological diseases. In recent years, however, medical
scientists have come around to admitting the necessity of recognizing
certain clear psychological factors that deeply affect the human body such
as exhaustion, nervous tension and violent crises. Modern medicine recognizes various trends
including the materialistic unilateral view which accepts the body only,
and the dichotomous view which does not deny the existence of two factors:
the body and the soul as an integrated unit which is the human being or,
more accurately, the "person". In every day life, body and soul are
closely related. Physical stimuli become psychological responses and vice
versa. All mental faculties including
consciousness, attention, telepathy, perception, reasoning, judgement,
consideration, understanding, memory, resolutions, decision-making,
behaviour, concepts, emotions, desires, passion, feelings, etc., are
physically based at least in terms of the good condition of the brain and
glands and the effects on the mind of the environment, circumstances,
nutrition, narcotics and liquors, which cause changes in mental behaviour.
By the same token, psychological factors clearly affect the body
especially with relation to heartbeats, blood pressure, metabolism,
shivering, hair standing on end, secretions, fainting, shyness, paleness,
etc. But medical research has not been able so
far to explain the process whereby the body affects the mind and vice
versa to the extent that the physician-philosopher, Karl Jaspers described
this process as "Magie Factice = Factsche Magie". There is also
the enigma of sensory perception being turned into abstract conception and
a psychological state or attitude. Modern medicine is also faced with the
dilemma of the organic location of the mind or the faculties. The question
that eludes answer is: where exactly in the body do the mental processes
take place? There is also the question of the particular type the mind has
taken which gives the body its unique form throughout the stages of
development envisaged by modern scientific research where the body appears
as a carrier of sensation and motion, and the mind as a vague image.
Is it a substance or just a meaning? Is it part of the body or
independent and pre-existent before the body takes shape? To the rest of
these philosophical, religious and medical theories that cannot be
expounded here in detail. The conclusion reached by the American
behaviourists, however, is a type of psychology without psyche opting for
the materialistic theory to the neglect of other theories. Their view of
man is that he is more or less an animal, whose body is a machine worked
by its physiological functions. As for the mind, it is nothing more than
one aspect of these functions. Then Marxism stepped in and ideologized the
rigidity of materialism until it almost became a fanatic creed that
aggressively blocked all routes to discussion and honest scientific
research. Scientists were gagged, and nature was presented in its material
form alone. In the wake of this rigidity, Kretschmer
cited the case of a child who is born blind and dumb. Psychologists and
physicians began to wonder how such a child could possibly have a full
psychological and mental life without access to tactile sensations. How
could this happen if matter was really the origin of psychological life
and the source of mental processes? The efforts made at present have ended up
by creating a situation pervaded by conflicting opinions, multiplicity of
theories, and increased difficulties for finding a solution to man's
problem and determining the relation between soul and body. All these
efforts have so far failed to come up with a clear definition of man's
entity with a view to understanding his meaning and elucidating methods of
treating his diseases on the basis of this interaction between body and
soul. Scientific research today is also trying to understand the relation
between body and soul, but Karl Jaspers underscored the difficulty of such
a quest, when he said, "The image of man is beyond our reach and
eludes scientific research". II. The Unity of Man & His
Components in The Heritage: Man is a well-ordered unit each pan of
which is held accountable for his deeds such as good or bad intentions,
moderation in nutrition, chastity of his body extremities, abstinence from
sins, and ignorance which leads to wronging oneself and others as well and
renders one liable to many physical, mental and psychological disorders. In Islamic heritage man's image is
characterized by cohesion and comprehensiveness. The Quran says: This superior image is made of many
components including: The Body: It is the point of contact between man and the world as well as between man and himself. Al-Nafs (The soul): It is man's self, which is accountable for his deeds. It is educatable and capable of sublimation and nearness to God. The mind: It is the mind that is charged with carrying out man's mission on earth. The heart: It is the seat of God's light and canonical laws and faith in them. Al-Ruh (The spirit): This is the divine breath that irradiates the whole of man's being at the moment of his creation. It is qualified to do what is outside physical or natural laws. Our good ancestors were keen to attain
self-knowledge, as a means of prevention against individual and social
maladies, through strict observation of the Holy Scripture, the Sunna, and
the Islamic laws. Islamic literature has elaborated the two component
spirits and Soul, often considering them two variants of the same concept
though they occur in the Quran and Tradition (Hadith) with various
meanings. In this brief presentation we shall limit
ourselves to the following elucidation of man's image from the perspective
of a contemplative view of life and Islamic heritage. The human body is the visible component of
man's identity and is different from the animal body in that its members
are held accountable for man's deeds because they are created for a noble
purpose. In this sense, the body is the total sum of its individual
extremities or of the purposes for which they have been created. The
unbeliever regards these extremities as nothing more or less than a set of
members devoid of any special life of their own. He fails to recognize
that each of these members has a noble function to perform and that man
should never undermine these members or tamper with their activities, for
they are not as instinctively stimulated as the members of an animal's
body are. The hand, for instance, is created for fruitful work and not for
striking, stealing, aggression, distortion, forgery, etc. Rather, it is a
means of production and worship. The same principle applies to each one of
the other extremities of the body which are created to behave in the
framework of the religious teachings so that man's whole being may be
sublimated to the supramundane levels of nobility and charity from the
mundane levels of evil, prohibitions, and corruption. In the course of man's spiritual
development, al-nafs (the soul) passes through many stages each of which
is higher in rank than the one before. These stages include: 1. The Vegetal Soul: 2. The Animal Soul: At this stage when the soul is still living
in an atmosphere of innocence and God's glorification, the mother should
give her baby a large dose of love, fondling and kindness to shield it
against acquired frivolity and privation when later she becomes
unavailable through death or when she is away at work leaving her children
alone at home exposed to all kinds of physical and psychological perils of
a fire breaking out accidentally in the kitchen, or toxic drugs or
detergents swallowed. In addition, there are other possible dangers
arising from the maid's cruelty, inefficiency or ignorance of proper
childcare. At this stage also the mind begins to open up to sensory
perceptions and a little later to abstract conceptions when the baby
becomes curious about the outer world and wants to know through hearing,
seeing, touching and later through its conceiving heart. This gradual
development from perceiving the concrete through the senses into
conceiving the abstract through the heart and mind should be taken into
account by education to cope with the stage of moral development where
altruism should be made to prevail over selfishness. This is the stage
when seeds of righteousness should be sown so that when the child grows to
adulthood he can be expected to respect the rights of others, have
confidence in God, think well of people, and hold out against
temperamental and psychological maladies to which young people are usually
liable such as paranoia, fantasy, infatuation, delusion, depression, etc. This is especially so because such traits
as selfishness, possessiveness, domination, struggle, craze for winning
and seizing make their fullest appearance at the stage of life extending
from boyhood to puberty and the beginning of adulthood. During this stage
another rank of soul is fully conspicuous: 3. Al-nafs al Ammarah: (The Evil-inciting Soul) Religious upbringing followed and
reinforced by proper education that utilizes the natural tendencies will
lead to love of truth, good, and beauty giving rise to the higher rank of: 4. Al-nafs al Lawwamah: (The Self-reproaching
Soul) 5. Al-nafs al-Mutma'innah: (The Reassured Soul) 6. Al-nafs al Radhiyah: (The Contented Soul) If contemporary Western civilization had
been fully aware of the real significance of this contentment there would
never have been a chance for the emergence of this atheistic
existentialism with all its concomitant restlessness and dissatisfaction,
or that discord created by materialistic ideologies whether rightist or
leftist. Nor would there have been amongst us those westoxicated young
people who have given in to this intellectual invasion and feel they are
inferior to their Western counterparts taking Western falsities for
indisputable facts and thus jeopardizing their mental health. A contended
soul turns to God for everything wanted or done. God responds by accepting
it and raising it to a higher status where its conformity with the wider
universe is as harmonious as the beats of music. At that level it becomes: 7. Al-nafs al Mardhiyyah: (The Well-pleased
Soul) Now, this vast spiritual world and the
beginning of true knowledge of God is only accessible when one has
completed the first two degrees of certainty (yaqeen) and exerts
individual effort of judgement in trying to understand God's signs in the
horizons and in oneself until the absolute Truth dawns upon one. Once this
is achieved, further up one goes to have: 8. Al-nafs ul Arifa Billah: (God-knowing Soul) The ultimate objective is always more
knowledge and greater self-purification (this, again, is in sharp contrast
with the distorted idea of catharsis in modern psychology). With this
purification the spiritual powers for curing is greatly consolidated. 9. Al-nafs ul Qudsiyah: (The Saintly Soul) Further up there is nothing except: 10. Al-nafs al Kamilah: (The Perfect Soul) Starting from the rank of saintliness all
barriers are lifted for those nearest to God who are entitled to witness
the Inscribed Register. Their souls radiate with divine light and they are
invested with the power to act beyond the physical or natural laws. This ten-point image gives us a completely
different view from anything we know in contemporary psychology studied at
occidental universities and their oriental blind imitators. Whilst the
Islamic view elevates this image to the highest moral sublimation and
fullest spiritual development, Western psychology is lost in abstractions
and observations made about the human body comparing them with those made
about the animals until it hit the lowest level with Watson's behaviourism. What we stand to gain from the heritage and
Islamic view is combining knowledge with action and enhancing the one with
the other. The spiritual therapy is thus achieved as a result of
contemplation, consideration, prayer, righteousness, piety, patience,
fortitude, certainty, hope, supererogatory rites, fasting, alms-giving,
Quran reciting, etc. all of which based on perception, understanding and
the experiences of the active believers in addition to those contemporary
experiments recently carried out involving some clergymen in Asia as will
be detailed below, This wider view requires using the word
"mind" in a similarly wider sense than that we find in applied
sciences. III. The Mind: It is charged with the noble function of
cognition, which starts with learning religious and secular sciences until
it reaches the highest degree of wisdom. It is the basis of responsibility
and personality, which is not impaired if the body is injured or attacked
by a disease. A one-armed person still maintains all the characteristics
of his identity. If a person is badly shaken by a personal calamity or a
social disaster or is plagued by a chronic tension he can still go on
working though a bit unsatisfactorily. But when a person loses his memory
or breaks into hallucination or becomes schizophrenic or melancholic, then
his personality will really collapse leaving him with just a name that
denotes nothing. On the other hand, if a person confines his
mental activities to the function of learning materialistic and applied
sciences without contemplating God's signs he may be said to enjoy
intelligence but not a "mind"; for he who has no religion has no
mind as the Prophet says. Misuse of the mind or impairing it with
intoxicants, e.g. drugs, alcohols, false ideas, etc. lowers man to the
level of an animal which eats, drinks, mates, and fights until it ends up
into meaningless dust. This uninspiring kind of existence is
behind the well-known absurdity in the atheistic extential philosophies.
It is a kind of disease, for which there is no cure except faith, It becomes clear from this definition why
in Islam the mind is considered the basis of the mission with which man is
entrusted on earth. It is also the only safeguard against psychological
and social disorders such as suicides. Consequently, knowledge, specially in the
field of humanities, should be weeded out to safeguard individuals and the
whole society against diseases arising from the pursuit of prohibited
things. Now, a word about prohibiting all intoxicants in Islam. It is
meant to prevent the harm done by them to the body and mind. It is like
the red traffic light, which saves lives that could be lost in road
accidents. As Islam lays such a great stress on the mind it is only
natural that it does not allow anything to interfere with its functions or
disrupt them. Islam allows only what is essential for growth and for the
welfare of the individual and the society as a whole. IV. The Heart: It is the seat of intentions, faith,
devotion, inspiration, and the light which, in the words of Imam Ghazzali,
God casts into it. What is crucial to the heart is its orientation: is it
oriented towards God or is it lured by satanic passions and desires; for
the heart is the seat of either divine guidance or devilish misguidance. It has often been said that the heart,
being the source of emotions, denotes changeability and must therefore be
strongly supported by the mind and adherence to God, i.e. to the Shariah,
as the mind is the light of the canonical law and hence the real shield
for the heart against error. If this happens then people will have (hearts
to understand with) as mentioned in the Quran. Every deviation from the right course by
the mind or the heart leads to the disease of hearts (IN THEIR HEARTS
THERE IS A DISEASE), obliteration of mental vision and the domination of
distorted ideas disseminated by ideologies and some intellectual
philosophical trends which have created the psychological and social
maladies prevalent now on a wide scale in this age of crises and
explosions. In this connection, some Western physicians are getting
interested in studying diseases resulting from misleading knowledge. What must be mentioned here is that the
atheistic philosophical theories are being exploited by the corrupt to
promote immorality and licentiousness and reap windfall profits from
selling barbituaries to the young misled people. This has created a
situation where parents are no longer able to communicate with their sons
and daughters who are washed away by the wave of sexploitation. Corrupt profiteers are building their
wealth on the dead hearts of the young generation who are brainwashed by
propagandistic campaigns selling Freudianism, Darwinism, Marxism, and all
sorts of atheistic materialism. Proliferation of such misleading
ideologies and philosophies is bound to have adverse effects on proper
thinking, faith, the right balance, moderation, modesty, and dignity. It
also contributes to the spread of all sorts of diseases: venereal, heart,
psychological, mental, you name it. Since the heart is the seat of faith, it is
essential that it remain clean and pure; otherwise it will be the origin
of all such maladies that affect the rest of the body as evidenced by the
fact that psychosomatic diseases account for 60% of the cases under
treatment in our modern times. V. The Spirit: It is the divine breath in man after he is
fashioned by the hands of God: This is the most effective component of
man's image that has been completely ignored by the 20th century though it
is the real pivot of man's existence. Thanks to this vital component we
understand the significance of ordinary and extraordinary phenomena. It is
the point of departure for true knowledge to the most elevated levels.
Talk about the spirit is usually limited by the difficulty of explaining
this almost inexplicable aspect of man: THEY ASK THEE CONCERNING THE SPIRIT. SAY: THE SPIRIT (COMETH) BY COMMAND OF MY LORD. OF KNOWLEDGE IT IS ONLY A LITTLE THAT IS COMMUNICATED TO YOU (0 MEN!) (Quran, S.17: V.85) Therefore, we can only refer to certain
points in the Islamic heritage that could help us understand the meanings
of will, truth, independent judgement, and individual endeavour for
spiritual treatment. The spirit is a luminous essence of a fluid nature that differs from anything perceptible through the senses. This fluid is made of atoms that are different from those imagined by physicists. It is more like luminous circles that penetrate bodies and members and spread in them as fire spreads in matter. The luminous essence is a discerning power that is aware of itself and its God to the extent of how much momentum it maintains from its origin. Spirits differ along the same patterns of difference between persons in their talents. The spirit is an indivisible whole and an ethereal secret in communication with the world of secrets because it roams in purity the realm of God's glorification. It is capable of perception and conception in a luminous fashion. Its properties are different from anything we know about matter or perceptual objects. Like bodies, spirits have their distinctive features. Things surrounding a spirit are reflected on it as objects are reflected on a mirror Bodies originate in the same way as spirits radiate atom by atom. The spirit is a power whose light is the origin of talents. For each spirit there is a certain capacity and a certain form. There are as many various degrees of capacities and forms as there are people created by God. Treatment is greatly affected by a given capacity and form of a person's spirit. Being different from matter, the spirit is able to act supernaturally. Access to the invisible world is gained only by believers endowed with physiognomic powers who can see by the light of God and whose invocations are well received and responded to for the spirit has the following properties: a) hearing from remote distances. b) Seeing remote places. It also enhances the believer's other senses. The best illustration of the spirit's
visionary and predictive powers and its capability of acting beyond the
physical and natural laws is the record of miracles achieved by prophets
and God's nearest favourites including the ability to cure the sick. At a
lower rank than that, ordinary people can also have various degrees of
similar powers and abilities depending on the strength of their faith and
will, the extent of their mental concentration, and how profound their
submission to God is. SPIRITUAL TREATMENT The Prophet Muhammad said: "Make
full use of the two cures: honey and the Quran". This means that cure is two-sided: material
and moral. Man can benefit from both. Islam, being the religion of
moderation, prescribes both ways of treatment without excess in the former
or neglect of the latter as man is an integral composite of body and soul.
It is this comprehensiveness both in its teachings and in its view of man
that characterizes Islam and distinguishes it from other religions. Man needs to penetrate into the core of
matter and the essence of things in order to understand the visible world
around him. But he also needs to turn his mind to the world of light and
the invisible so that he may not get lost in ignorance and blind imitation
driven by impetuosity and foolishness of young age. What most people readily accept is that man
is endowed with great potentialities for growth, learning, adjustment, and
cure of a host of diseases. These potentialities also include the moral
and spiritual powers, which the patient can utilize if he knows how to use
them. The extent to which he can benefit from these latent powers hinges
upon the real value of his faith, persistence of his certainty, cleanness
of his heart, purity of his soul, trust in God, and devotion to truth. The point of departure is the strength of will which is graded upwards from: 1) Wish, 2) Clarity of purpose, 3) Intention, 4) Determination, 5) Firmness, 6) Perseverance, 7)
Diligence, which is the highest level attained by the believer who
is elevated to the zenith of complete trust in God. It can be said in general that in the
domain of worships strength of will and frequent use of contemplation are
basic factors of the act of consideration, which ultimately conduces to
profound submission to God. Some physicians have been observing the
biological and physiochemical changes that co-occur with absorption in
religious consideration and profound submission during worship. The point
of interest in these investigations, conducted recently, was reaction on
the will and use of this will in controlling disorders. It was established that such changes were
not observed in other situations such as hypnotism. The changes recorded
were biological in terms of electro-waves of the brain. In the state of relaxation what happens is
that the will affects the contraction of muscles, which are connected to
nerves in the spinal cord, causing them to relax. This muscle relaxation
gives one a feeling of relief that has preventive advantages and can even
be useful in heart attacks and at times of intense agitation and
excitement. Similar observations about willed relaxation are also found in
Yoga. Here, the strength of will is aided by assuming certain physical
postures that aim to cause relaxation in specific muscles and joints. The
purpose of such Yoga exercises is the reduction of tension in a group of
muscles of opposite direction. Relaxation of muscles accompanied by
closure of the eyes systematically affects the electro-encephalogram in
the following way: 1) Electro-waves are medium with pulses
ranging between 9 and 12 waves per second, which is characteristic of
alpha waves. 2) After opening the eyes, even when one is
still relaxed and calm, alpha waves disappear and are replaced by faster,
less regular waves called "Basic Waves". 3) Scientists agree that alpha waves
indicate "calm and stillness", and Basic Waves indicate
"activity and movement". 4) The effect of light on the retina leads
to wakefulness and activity in the cerebral cortex. 5) On the contrary, even when the eyes are
closed, thinking of a certain subject or problem leads to the
disappearance of alpha waves. 6) Alpha waves were not observed in worried
persons even when they closed their eyes. 7) Experimental tests involving Buddhist
monks show that when they are in deep meditation they have alpha waves
even if their eyes are wide open. 8) This situation means that in the case of
these monks alpha waves are different in that they do not indicate
"calm and stillness" because cerebration here has to do with
refined intellectual activity. Alpha waves in this case are not in
contravention of cerebral activity. 9) The experiments of Dr. Dass and Dr.
Gasto consist of recording the electro-encephalogram of the Yogist: 9.1 The electro-encephalogram takes the form of alpha waves upon entering into a state of meditation with the eyes closed. 9.2 Once the eyes are opened, the alpha waves disappear. 9.3 Alpha waves also disappear on cerebration relating to search for an "image" and resulting in telepathy. 9.4 Soon alpha waves reappear upon getting into introspection. 9.5 These waves do not disappear even when the monk opens his eyes, which shows that something must be happening in his cerebral cortex. 9.6 Finally, after a long time, slower waves appear ranging from 7 to 8 pulses per second. These are called "Theta waves" which spread all over the head. 9.7 The appearance of Theta Waves may be caused by entering into a state of unoccupiedness in which the mind is completely cut off from its surroundings and freed from "other passions and attachments". 9.8 The maintained appearance of alpha waves after the eyes are opened is an evidence of disengagement from the surroundings and related attachments. 9.9 This cerebral case is not observed in
relaxation, hypnotism, or in conditioning of metabolism. Observations made during the period of
repose after passing through meditation show: 1. Lower blood pressure and slower heart beats and respiration rate. 2. Blood pressure stabilizes but the heart beats go down to less than 30 pulses per minute. Breathing decreases and becomes feeble. 3. Inhalation of oxygen is rapidly reduced from 251 cm3 per minute during the relaxation to 211 cm3, then rises after meditation to 242 cm3 per minute. 4. Exhalation of carbon dioxide goes down from 219 cm3 during relaxation to 187 cm3 during meditation and then up again to 219 cm3 after meditation. Thus the proportion of: exhalation of carbon dioxide does not inhalation of oxygen except after meditation when exhalation increases slightly. 5. What really changes is the inhalation of oxygen so that the proportion: O2 remains constant. 6. This change constitutes less inhalation while exhalation remains constant. 7. The rate of respiration is reduced involuntarily. 8. Voluntary reduction of the respiration rate showed increase in the need for oxygen to offset the carbon dioxide not yet exhaled which could lead to toxemia and possibly asphyxia. The experiment had to be discontinued of course. 9. With meditation, metabolism tends to be aerobic rather than anaerobic. These two processes are conditioned by hormonopoiesis that necessitates either one or the other. Anaerobic metabolism increases with the increase of lactic acid. During the pre-meditation stage of
relaxation the secretion of lactic acid is put at 11 .4 mgs. per hour for
each 100 cm3 of the circulating blood. Then it goes down to 8 mgs. during
meditation and even further down to 7.3 mgs during the immediate
post-meditation stage. 10. This lactic acid is known to result
from muscular contraction. Reduction of its amount has nothing to do with
reduction in muscular tension as one might think at first, for we observe
this tension reduction during relaxation with no change in the amount of
secreted lactic acid. 11. The rate of lactic acid secretion is
put at 11.4 mgs. at the beginning of relaxation. It goes down to 10.25
mgs. per hour for each 100 cm3 of blood at the end of this stage.
Reduction does not begin to precipitate until meditation is well under
way. 12. This establishes that meditation makes
metabolism tend to be aerobic. 13. This phenomenon occurs at first with
reduction in muscular tension of course but then specifically because
metabolism itself is affected by meditation. 14. The signal initiating metabolism
originates in the brain and is transmitted to the tissues of the body
members through the parasympathetic nervous system which helps
vasodilatation and affects harmonic secretion besides secreting a number
of hormones of great importance to the body in general and the brain in
particular, one of which is noradrenaline. 15. Aerobic metabolism is of great benefit
to the body organs. Some physicians hope to develop a drug that can effect
the same result for curing angina pectoris and thrombus. It is extremely
important to remember that cancer is always connected with the anaerobic
tendencies of metabolism. This makes us consider oxygen a preventive means
against cancer. 16. We can safely say, then, that
contemplation and submission affect that portion of the autonomic nervous
system known as the parasympathetic system, to the extent of reducing its
secretion of noradrenaline known for its vasoconstrictor action. 17. This reduction of activity does not
occur as a result of the will factor alone. Drugs, on the other hand, have
only a limited effect in this concern. These findings bear evidence of the close
connection between structure and meaning or what is called "matter
and spirit". Thus, the clouds that used to shroud the body-soul
relationship have been amply dispersed. Medical thinking has also changed, after
the British Philosopher David Hume, from adhering tenaciously to the
concept of mechanical inevitability to admitting the existence of moral
and spiritual factors that go beyond the visible, material ones and
greatly influence them. These would include the factors of will,
intention, prayer, invocation of God for oneself as well as for others, in
addition to other methods of treatment beyond the circle of the official
academic medicine. These factors are employed by all religions
in spiritual treatment. As human beings are almost identical in their
physical anatomy, so are they almost made the same way spiritually and
psychologically. Their emotional, mental and spiritual functions are also
similar. The only advantage Islam has over other creeds and religions is
the perfection of the message and completion of God's favour upon Muslims,
as the Quran says (5:4). Islam is also distinguished by its overall
scientific view of the universe and existence encompassing finite time and
absolute eternity; the visible and the invisible; the past, present and
the future. From the religious point of view, there are
several means of spiritual treatment including: 1) Will, silence, seclusion, concentration. 2) Attention, trust in God, devotion to purpose and action. 3) Faith and certainty. 4) Prayer, submission, and recitation of the Quran. 5) Remembrance and supplication both during prayer and at other times. 6) Reflection, consideration, contemplation, heeding God's commandments and discerning through wisdom. 7) Knowledge of the Shariah secrets and
firm belief in the benefits of worships and the virtues of religious
teachings. Answering prayers and fulfillment of
requests depend to a large extent on: 1) Purifying the heart from all doubts. 2) Refraining from doing evil or committing sins. 3) Eliminating pessimism and despair. These can be achieved when one is close to
God so that God may be close to one at moments of trouble. One is never
afraid or desperate in the security of God's presence. This also implies a
sort of adjustment, but in a far wider sense than that narrowly used in
modern psychology. The "environment" to which man should adjust
must be expanded to include: The External Environment: Location, climate, geographical situation, fresh or foul air, pure and potable water, the sun and its connection with the material, biological life, etc. The Internal Environment: The circulating blood with its well-balanced chemical components of proteins, fats, salts, vitamins, hormones, minerals, hematocytes, etc. The Psychological Environment: Temperament, emotional life, instinctive and acquired traits, etc. The Socio-economic and Political Environment: The family, school, street, administration, work, etc. All these are important factors in shaping up man's upbringing and personality. The Moral Environment: The surrounding atmosphere with positive virtues or negative vices and the influence either have on man's attitudes. The Intellectual Environment: The ideas, views, trends, philosophies, traditional and scientific or semi-scientific beliefs, ideologies, educational and cultural attitudes, etc. The Spiritual Environment: This is based on supra-mundane conceptions in contrast with the mundane perceptions. The former would form the core of the mystic science of hearts" based on belief in the Unseen World, historical events and evidence, introspection, and consideration of the horizons. It is this kind of adjustment resulting in
safety for man's body, soul, mind, heart, and spirit that gives a clear
illustration of Islam's comprehensiveness and unique characteristics which
can be summed up in the five life fundamentals: soul, mind, religion,
offspring, and wealth, each of which is adequately covered by the Islamic
teachings. Accordingly, obedience, which is religion
itself, is synonymous with adjustment; righteousness is the gateway to
obedience, and the basic condition for answering prayer. Man is inherently good as he is created in
the best of moulds according to the Quran. Later deviation from the right
path is acquired and can be prevented or cured. For the more disobedient
man becomes, the farther he drifts from the light of his Creator; and
every new sin he commits is in fact a new barrier out casting him into the
world of darkness. The most striking uniqueness about Islam is the direct relationship between a Muslim and God. In Islam nothing or nobody plays agent or mediator between God and man. And God has promised to respond to whoever calls on Him, provided the call emanates from a pure heart: WHEN MY SERVANTS ASK THEE (MUHAMMAD)
CONCERNING ME, I AM INDEED CLOSE (TO THEM): I LISTEN TO THE PRAYER OF
EVERY SUPPLIANT WHEN HE CALLETH ON ME. (Quran,
S.2: V.186) And God does listen, but not to anyone: So, the way to God is wide open for anyone
who wants to enjoy the bliss of nearness to God. But one cannot begin to
step into the road to God until one is completely dedicated to Him with a
concentration of will and after one has purified one's heart of all other
attachments. These are of three types: Loyalties to others amounting to polytheism
whether overt or covert. This is the neo-paganism in our modern times of
idolizing leader, rationalism, materialism, Darwinism, Marxism,
Freudianism, capitalism, nationalism, the banner, gold, and many other
such distracters. Major sins that cut off man's relation with
God leaving him with disturbing feelings of insecurity and depriving him
from peace of mind. Closeness to God is the highest degree of conformity
to the ultimate truth. It makes man live in harmony with himself and with
others. On the contrary, getting farther away from God disrupts this
harmony and breeds instability and anxiety leading to psychosomatic
diseases and social disorders in the form of public upheavals and
militancy. Lust for rank, wealth, power, etc., neglect
of duties, and failure to heed God's prohibitions. These deviations tend
to switch off the light of spiritual potentialities that are latent in
man. All major religions, notwithstanding the
impurities that have pervaded them, exhort their followers to turn to God
with remembrance, contemplation, and prayer. Remembrance of God is in fact
an act of recalling higher truths. This reminds us of Plato's theory of
learning which argues that the soul had been knowledgeable until it got
into the human body when it forgot, and that by learning it recalls what
was forgotten. Remembrance in this sense is a kind of learning and its
opposite, neglect, is a kind of ignorance, which is either temporary or
chronic. Now, ignorance is classified as a disease because it is the
gateway to all evils and harms caused by committing prohibited things such
as addiction to drugs and alcohols. The best means of remembrance is reciting
the Quran and reading the Traditions (Hadith). But remembrance should not
be confined to lip-service. It should extend to include obedience and fear
of God at moments of weakness. With remembrance in this wider sense one
becomes alert and God fearing, which is the surest way to good conduct,
good health, and peace of mind. Religion can be summed up in three words:
faith, submission, and charity. Failure to stay away from what Islam has
prohibited leads to physical disorders caused by venereal diseases,
intoxicants, malnutrition whether in the form of over-eating or
under-eating, and neglect of such other vital health-preserving factors as
fresh water, unpolluted air, exposure to sunlight, physical exercises,
fasting, moderation in sleep, and peace of mind attained through
contemplation, remembrance and prayer. Faith and trust in God is man's best shield
protecting him against despair and depression. Many physicians have become
aware of the great therapeutic effects of remembrance and prayer. Most
notable amongst these in the West is Dr. Alexis Curril, a Nobel prize
laureate, and author of: "Man, That Unknown Being". He published
a short paper about the medical effect of invocation and prayers in which
he says that weakness and atrophy of the sense of veneration and moral
obligation is as serious as atrophy of the brain. Moral atrophy has made
modern man totally blind from the spiritual point of view. As such he is
not capable of forming a community. Alexis adds that it is this low
quality of the modern individual that stands behind the decline of our
civilization. The sense of veneration is most apparent in
prayer. When prayer, supplication and remembrance become a daily regular
practice, especially if they are carried out in complete submission, the
effect becomes tangible. In a way, this effect is similar to that of a
ductless gland such as the thyroid or suprarenal gland. So, it leads to
mental and organic change, which occurs in a gradual manner as if a light
has been switched on inside the all-feeling soul. A moment of truth dawns upon man as he is
able to see himself for what he really is: selfish, greedy, proud and
arbitrary in judgement. This self-revelation is conducive to moral
restoration. Gradually, man regains stability and peace of mind leading to
harmony between physical and mental activities and providing him with
greater fortitude and forbearance. Dr. Alexis says in his paper that a doctor
should feel happy when he sees his patient pray. For the resulting
tranquility of mind will be of great help in bringing about speedy
recovery. The results of supplication are especially
striking in cases where all other methods of treatment have proved to be
futile. Dr. Alexis asserts that at times the effect
of prayer takes an explosive form when patients with serious diseases such
as cancer, nephritis, ulcer, and tuberculosis get cured in almost no time.
This phenomenon almost always occurs in the form of unusually acute pain
followed by feeling of relief and recovery. Surgeons and physiologists had
never seen such quick recoveries in their experiments before. Elsewhere in the paper the author says that
societies which lack the need to turn to God are not a long way from total
disintegration and collapse. "We can think of the sense of veneration
as very similar to oxygen, and prayer as very similar to breathing". In their attempts to investigate man's
spiritual powers and understand the nature of influence prayer and
remembrance have, scientists and thinkers are nearing consensus that there
must be a spiritual environment without which the living matter would lose
its meaning, value, and purpose. It is the point of contact between man,
who is a composite of body and soul, and the Creator, who is unlike
anything we know, according to the Holy Quran. REFERENCES 1. DR. ALEXIS, "Carrel". 2. MARVIN KARLINS and LEWIS M. ANDREWS, "Biofeedback". 3. Revue Science et vie No. 670 Juillet 1973. 4. JOSEPH MURPHY, "Techniques in Prayer Therapy" (French Translation:Lapriere Guerit). 5. JEAN E. CHARON, "Mort voici ta defaite". |