Treating Distress and Grief

Assalamu alaykum

Subhanallah, Glory be to Allah, we have been blessed to be in the folds of a deen, a religion that has come with a cure for everything. If we only try to seek the answers in the words of Allah we will not be disapointed. Depression is one of those hot topics which I have been asked alot about and its something that I havent got all the asnwers to myself, hence we look into the gift of Islam for our answers o those life long questions. How to deal with life!

The following is the basic steps we should all be trying to strive for, to keep us going in days of trials and for distress and grief. Know that what we go through in this life is nothing to those trials and tribulations of those before us. However Allah test our pios predesessors in a different way to how He tests us. Saying that we all have the same remedy which can be found if only we open our eyes to see and open our hearts to feel.

Wassalam

Writings of Immam Ibn al-Qayyim on Treating Distress and Grief:

Following this discussion of cures, we will pause to look briefly at the list written by Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) in which he lists fifteen kinds of remedies through which Allaah may alleviate distress and grief:

1. Tawheed al-Ruboobiyyah (Unity of Divine Lordship)

2. Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah (Unity of Divinity)

3. Unity of belief, i.e. Tawheed al-Asmaa’ wa’l-Siffaat (Unity of the Divine Names and Attributes).

4. To declare that Allaah is far above mistreating His slave or punishing him without any cause on the part of the slave himself.

5. Admission on the part of the slave that he is the wrongdoer.

6. Beseeching Allaah by the best of things, which are His Names and Attributes. Among the most comprehensive in meaning of His Names and Attributes are the Names al-Hayyu (the Ever-Living), al-Qayoom (the Eternal).

7. Seeking the help of Allaah Alone.

8. Putting one’s hope in Allaah.

9. Putting one’s trust in Allaah and handing over all one’s affairs to Him, recognizing that one’s forelock is in His hand, that Allaah runs all one’s affairs as He wills, that His command is ever executed and that His decree is just.

10. Reading Qur’aan and pondering its meaning, seeking consolation in it for all disasters, and seeking a cure in it for all diseases of the heart (i.e., spiritual or psychological diseases) for it washes away grief and heals his distress and anxiety.

11. Seeking the forgiveness of Allaah.

12. Repentance

13. Jihaad (striving for the sake of Allaah).

14. Salaat (prayer)

15. Admitting that one has no power or strength at all, and attributing them to the One Who holds them in His hand.

Can Muslims be affected by psychological problems?

Question:
Is it possible for a Muslim to be afflicted with psychological problems? (Because some people say that a Muslim cannot be affected by psychological problems).

Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.

Undoubtedly man may be afflicted with psychological problems such as worries about the future and grief over the past. Psychological problems affect the body more than physical problems do. We should know that the worries and distress that affect a person are among the things that expiate his sins and reduce the burden of sin; if he is patient and seeks reward with Allaah, he will be rewarded for that.

Treating these problems in the ways prescribed in Islam is more effective than treating them with physical medicine, as is well known.

One of the treatments prescribed in Islam is to recite the du’aa’s narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to relieve worries and distress, for example, the saheeh hadeeth narrated from Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him):

“There is no-one who is afflicted by distress and grief, and says:
‘Allaahumma inni ‘abduka ibn ‘abdika ibn amatija naasyati bi yadika, maada fiyya hukmuka, ‘adlun fiyya qadaa’uka. As’aluka bi kulli ismin huwa laka sammayta bihi nafsaka aw anzaltahu fi kitaabika aw ‘allamtahu ahadan min khalqika aw ista’tharta bihi fi ‘ilm il-ghayb ‘indaka an taj’al al-Qur’aana al-‘Azeema rabee’ qalbi wa noor sadri wa jalaa’ huzni wa dhihaab hammi
(O Allaah, I am Your slave, son of Your slave, son of Your maidservant; my forelock is in Your hand, Your command over me is forever executed and Your decree over me is just. I ask You by every name belonging to You which You have named Yourself with, or revealed in Your Book, or You taught to any of Your creation, or You have preserved in the knowledge of the Unseen with You, that You make the Holy Qur’aan the life of my heart and the light of my breast, and a departure for my sorrow and a release for my anxiety),’ but Allaah will take away his distress and grief.” This is one of the remedies prescribed in sharee’ah. One may also say: “Laa ilaaha illa anta, subhaanaka inni kuntu min al-zaalimeen (There is no god but You, glorified (and exalted) are You, truly I have been of the wrongdoers).” [cf. al-Anbiya’ 21:87]

Another form of treatment is ruqya with which a person may treat himself – which is better. The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to do ruqyah for himself by reciting al-Mi’wadhatayn (the last two soorahs of the Qur’aan) when he went to sleep, then he would wipe his face and whatever he could of his body. Or a person may go to someone whose religious commitment he trusts to do ruqyah for him.

If he wants to know more, he can refer to what the scholars have written about du’aa’ such as al-Waabil al-Sayyib by Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Kalim al-Tayyib by Shaykh al-Islam, al-Adhkaar by al-Nawawi, and Zaad al-Ma’aad by Ibn al-Qayyim.

From the fatwas of al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, Kitaab Fataawa Islamiyyah, vol. 4, p. 465-467.

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

Maudsley Debate

Maudsley Debate

12th Dec. 6.00-7.30pm,

Wolfson Lecture Theatre, Institute of Psychiatry

Motion: This house believes that charges of institutional racism against psychiatry damage patient care

For: Swaran, Robin Murray

Against: Kwame McKenzie, Lee Jasper

Open to the public. Should be interesting.

VeenaDr Veena S Raleigh, FFPH
Lead, Methods and Research, Informatics
Healthcare Commission
Finsbury Tower
103-105 Bunhill Row
London EC1Y 8TG
Tel: 020 7448 1775 (int ext 3825)
Mobile: 07977 157329

Coming Soon

Assalamu alaykum

I've been working on some articles, well I have been gathering a lot of thoughts!

Inshallah I am planing to do an article specifically on the psychology of depression and the Islamic prespective, its cures and prevention. I would really appriciate it if anyone has any stories, question, problems or anything you can contribute to the article, can you please contact me or e-mail me with your contribution, you will remain anonymous so no need to get shy! Your information, what ever you care to share, will remain confidential and anything you do wish to share I will try my upmost to shine some light on the matter.

Jazak allah khair

wassalam

Self Image Psychology

assalamu alaykum,

a good talk by Yassir Fazaga regarding covering a wide scope of Islamic perspective of psychology, including self esteem, anxiety and more...

Self Image Psychology - Part 01
Self Image Psychology - Part 02
Self Image Psychology - Part 03
Self Image Psychology - Part 04
Self Image Psychology - Part 05
Self Image Psychology - Part 06
Self Image Psychology - Part 07
Self Image Psychology - Part 08
Self Image Psychology - Part 09
Self Image Psychology - Part 10
Self Image Psychology - Part 11
Self Image Psychology - Part 12
Self Image Psychology - Part 13
Self Image Psychology - Part 14
Self Image Psychology - Part 15

Self Image Psychology expounds on some of the harmful messages promoted by the western media. The speaker points out how these common messages damage the Muslims’ self-image psychology. Among the many things discussed in this presentation are examples of proper self-respect and self-reverence from the lives of the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (s). In addition, the speaker mentions common acts that entail lack of self esteem, such as the changing of Muslim names to non Muslim ones and the changing of the Islamic identity in general. The mere nature of this discussion reveals how Muslims today really view themselves.

http://www.ilmquest.org/
http://www.audioislam.com/?subcategory=Taqwa

Why this blog, Why now?

Assalamu alaykaum

Many have asked what is the role of psychology to play in the daily running of life, indeed many have asked me, what is the point ofsychology? What exactly do you do? Why did you study psychology in the first place?... Well for sometime I myself did not know why psychology existed, whats the point of having this field which is trying so hard to become a science just like biology or chemistry but at the same time boasts of its uniqueness of the study of mind and behaviour, something that any other science cannot do in harmony.

I started this blog as I thought there was a need to express the psychological points of view with a Muslim tongue. A lot of the mainstream traditional psychologists are asking themselves what role do we have to play in the war on terror? In this current climate of today, what do psychologists have to do? How can we make things better? Well I think I have the answer... the answer however is very complex, and cannot be given in totality by just one person, as one person cannot be the mouth piece of the whole of humanity, as humanity is diverse, cultural, unique and wonderful, but I do attempt to give a partial insight.

Psychology in the eyes of the west is not complete, indeed it is the study of mind and behaviour which no other science is able to do and understand, however one vital ingredient is missing... something that is the key to understanding a person in totality, what is it? It is the soul. Something that religion has something to offer and it is the soul which psychology is lacking.

Ive always saw institutionalised psychology in the west as studying through a keyhole, they are trying so desperately to see whats on the other side, and they are even trying different approaches in trying to pick the lock to open the door and get a better picture, but they cant. This is because of that crucial ingredient that they are overlooking, and that is the science and the psychology of the soul, when you put the study of the mind, behaviour and the soul together to find you have the whole picture of an individual. Now with spirituality, emotion, intelligence, behaviour, cognition a whole person can be understood, and the development of psychology is no longer restricted to just the surface of an individual you have the oppotunity to go much deeper then that.

The role of each and every one of us is to active members of society, we do so by excelling in what ever field we are involved in. At a time when Muslims are being misrepresented and misunderstood, I felt it was time that the psychological world new what it meant to be a Muslim, and for us to make our mark in every facet of society, that means the psychological world too. Islam is being misrepresented, and its being misrepresented in psychology too, this will have major implications in the study and the implimentation in and around the field, thus I felt I had to be more active as a psychologist, not just that a Muslimah psychologist and I call on all to do the same, get talking, get out there and most of all get active.

I hope Inshallah that this blog will be of benefit for all.

peace be with you
wassalam

First post

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatuallahi wa baratu and May Peace and Blessings be upon you all

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I start with the usual opening when done to address a group

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Inalhamdulilah nahmadahu wanastaeenahu wanastaqfir wanatawakel elayh wana'ootho beliaha min sharuri anfusina wamin sayi'ata a'maalina manyahdiallahu falamuthilalah wamanyudlil falahathiyalah waashaduan laillahaillalah washadu anna muhammadancabadahu warassuluh 'mab'd

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Verily! All praise is due to Allah, and may His peace be upon the Prophet Mohammed (salalahi wa alyhi wa salam).

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First post as usual to welcome. Feel free to comment on any of the posts
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Wa alykum asalam wa rahmatuallhi wa baratu