In the name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful. Praise be to the one who has bestowed the light of prophethood and revelation upon humanity so that they may achieve true contentment and bliss in this life and in the hereafter.
May the choicest salutations and peace be upon our Master and Prophet Muhammad, who came to guide humanity out of the darkness and suffering of this temporal life and provided humanity with the glad tidings that the trials and tribulations of this life are a spiritual cleansing and elevation for the life hereafter, should they believe. And may salutations and peace be upon his noble family, companions and those who followed after them in excellence.
It is upon the request and insistence of my beloved friend, Dr. Hooman Keshavarzi, that I provide a preface to this book, entitled Psychological Themes in Classical Islamic Literature. It is important to note at the outset of reading this book the motivations and intentions by which Muslim scholars both in the past and present wrote their works and investigated intricate matters of knowledge. Muslim scholars have always chiefly been inspired and motivated by revelation and Islamic scripture in their academic works and construction of civilization. Thus, the rich Islamic intellectual heritage and civilization that has been transmitted to us, has its primary roots in revelation, i.e. the Qur’ān and the Sunnah. By reflecting and looking at scripture, Muslim scholars became keenly interested in a vast array of intellectual issues and matters. Within the context of healthcare, Muslims were inspired to investigate, construct and establish magnificent healthcare institutions and hospitals on account of the tradition of the Prophet, may Allah bless him & grant him peace, when he instructed a female companion Rufaydah al-Aslamiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her, to establish a tent for the wounded members of the Battle of Khandaq (Tabaqāt 3:427). Such a tradition led Muslims to consider the possibilities of building upon the idea of establishing a place of healing and treatment for the sick in an institutional manner. This eventually led to the construction of the famous bimaristans and dar al-Shifas, that the world witnessed in Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo, Istanbul, Edirne, Bursa and various other cities throughout the Ottoman lands where both physical and mental illnesses were treated. Muslims were then motivated to find various treatments and uncover healthcare treatments on account of the famous prophetic tradition, wherein the Prophet Muḥammad, may Allah bless him & grant him peace, states, “For every sickness there is a treatment. And when the treatment is applied to the sickness, they shall be cured by the permission of Allah” (Muslim, 2204). Such prophetic traditions led Muslims to uncover the treatment to various ailments that are well-documented.
More specifically, as it pertains to psychology and mental health, I would like to draw attention to the Prophetic cure and prayer that he, may Allah bless him & grant him peace, taught his companions, may Allah be pleased with them, and by extension the ummah for depression and anxiety. On one occasion, the Prophet, may Allah bless him & grant him peace, entered the Masjid and saw Hazrat Abū Umama, may Allah be pleased with him, a companion from among the Ansar sitting, wherein the Prophet, may Allah bless him & grant him peace, said to him, “Oh Abu Umamah, what is it that [has caused ] you to sit in the Masjid outside of the prayer times?” He responded, “My anxieties and debts are overwhelming me oh Prophet of Allah”. The Prophet, may Allah bless him & grant him peace, then responded, “shall I not teach you some words, that should you recite them, Allah, Most Exalted and Sublime, shall rid you of your anxieties and relieve you of your debt?” Hazrat Abu Umama, may Allah be pleased with him, replied, “Most certainly, Oh Prophet of Allah”. The Prophet, may Allah bless him & grant him peace, stated, “then whenever you go to sleep in the evening and awake in the morning, say, ‘Oh Allah, I seek refuge in you from [debilitating] anxiety and sadness, I seek refuge in you from incapacity and laziness, I seek refuge in you from cowardliness and miserliness, and I seek refuge in you from being overwhelmed [by] debt and being dominated by men’” (Abū Dawud, 1555). Furthermore, Hazrat Abū Bakr al-Siddīq, may Allah be pleased with him, once asked the Prophet, may Allah bless him & grant him peace, “Oh messenger of Allah, teach me some words that I can recite in the morning and in the evening. The Prophet, may Allah bless him & grant him peace, stated, “Say: Oh, Fashioner of the Heavens and the Earth, the Lord of all things and Possessor of everything, I testify that there is no god except You. I seek refuge in the evil of myself and the evil of the devil and his associates”. He, may Allah bless him & grant him peace, then said, “Say this in the morning, evening and when you retire to bed” (Abu Dawud, 5067).
The following prayers of the Prophet, may Allah bless him & grant him peace, identify the importance of mental health. By virtue of asking to be relieved or protected from these conditions, it is an indication that such conditions may be commonplace among people and that it can have very debilitating and adverse effects on the human condition. As can be witnessed in this book, Muslim scholars therefore rose to the occasion to attempt to truly understand the nature of anxiety and depression (see section 4) and how to treat them. They were curious about, how these emotions manifest in people, their causes, triggers and psychological strategies that could be employed to rid themselves of these conditions in addition to seeking refuge in Allah. These burning concerns arose out of examining and being inspired by revelation that led them to these various rich discussions of mental health that are extremely relevant to this very day. Additionally, as seen by the second prophetic prescription above, Muslim scholars never divorced mental health conditions from metaphysical or spiritual issues. While it is important to employ prayers and strategies to ward off anxiety and depression, it is equally necessary to seek refuge in Allah from the evil influences of the self and from the unseen realm. Therefore, as you will notice in the book, many of the entries that deal with psychological techniques or topics are often intertwined with spiritual advice, litanies and practices.
Finally, I commend the editors and contributors of this work, who extracted various sections from the rich Islamic scholarly heritage as they relate to topics of human psychology to help answer and benefit modern psychological questions and issues. It is my firm belief that through the investigation of revelation, the prophetic prayers and the writings of the Islamic scholars in their commentaries, reflections, anecdotes and recommendations, the modern field of psychology and mental healthcare delivery can be transformed. It is time for modern psychologists to examine the rich Islamic heritage and revisit spirituality as a platform by which to understand and examine human psychology. I beseech Allah, Most High, that He accept this work as a service for His sake and a source of benefit, healing and transformation for all of humanity. Amīn.
Shaykh Moḥammed Zakariya ibn Ismā’īl Patel al-Jogwarī
Imam of Masjid al-Taqwa, Toronto, Canada