What is the position of the Revealed Law regarding
mental[1]
illnesses in general and especially depression, whisperings and anxiety?
Answer (Imam Muḥammad Saʿīd Ramaḍān al-Būṭī):
To treat any illness, whether physical or psychical (nafsī), is permissible
and preferable. However, due to the situation that we now find ourselves in, I
believe that psychiatry (at-ṭibb an-nafsī) cannot yet be deemed
successful. Rather, in most cases, its point of departure is hypotheses that
are not supported by any sound science. Therefore, it is rare to see the
treatment of mental illnesses produce any positive, beneficial effect. What is
often imagined to be a cure is nothing more than a covering and a temporary
alleviation of the illness.
The secret behind this failure is that the nafs[2]
(as scholars of the West conceive of it today, along with their students in our
Muslim, Arab East) is a physical, material phenomenon. Therefore, treating any
illness therein can only be – as they imagine – by going back to its presumed
source, which is the body, because it is the only thing they can see in front of
them.
However, the truth is that psychical phenomena in a person’s life are
not connected to the body and its effects, as they imagine to be the case, but
rather to the spirit (rūḥ) and its effects. The spirit, in turn, is completely independent of the
body, although it does pervade all its parts and cells just as water flows
through a plant or a moist stem.
And I believe that the West is close to waking up to this fact. Today,
that which is called ‘science’ is bringing forth a new point of view that contradicts the notion that science only moves, or indeed does not fully exist, unless it is under the sway of matter, which is everything or is the source of everything.
Thus, what is called depression or long-term mental anxiety is from the
effects of the spirit, and is the consequence of some of its states. Therefore,
treating illnesses like these must start from a point of view that comprises
the spirit.
Since Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He, has decreed that the spirit remain one of His secrets and that its reality be beyond the knowledge of any
human being, the only refuge from mental illnesses – including depression and
anxiety – is to nourish the spirit with more remembrance (dhikr) of
Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He, to turn to Him in worship and supplication,
to strengthen one’s faith in Allah, and to trust His wisdom and be pleased with
His decision. Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He, described this treatment
clearly in His Book when He said, “Only in the remembrance of Allah can the
heart find peace.” [ar-Raʿd 13:28]
In fact, true faith in Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He, is the best fortification
for the soul against every evil that may lie in wait for it.
And the proof for everything we are saying is the various mental illnesses
that are wreaking havoc on the western world today. Despite the best efforts of
psychiatry and its practitioners, through experiments and treatments, they have
failed to get rid of these illnesses.
[Translated
from Maʿ an-Nās: Mashūrāt wa Fatāwa (Damascus: Dār al-Fikr, 1423/2002),
v.1, p.184-185]
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[1] (tn): A few terms
needs to be explained. The words nafsī translates as ‘spiritual’,
‘mental’ or ‘psychical’, the latter being the opposite of ‘physical’. The term ʿilm an-nafs, literally ‘the science of the nafs’, translates as ‘psychology’
while at-ṭibb
an-nafsī, or ‘the medicine
of the nafs’, translates as ‘psychiatry’. The major difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist is that the latter is a medical doctor and can thus prescribe medications, while the former stays within the realm of therapy, i.e. counseling and behavioral intervention.
[2] (tn): i.e. ‘psyche’ or ‘soul’
2 comments:
As a pharmacist, I understand that deficiencies in certain nutrients, side effects of various medicines and hormonal problems can also lead to depression- Is shaykh al- Bouti (rahimullah) negating such physical causes?
@Shahed
Please elaborate on your understanding.
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