Chapter Three (Religious Spiritual Cure )
Allah’s Remembrance Banishes Psychological Fears
Dr. Ramez Taha states that ”remembering Allah immediately dismisses fears, anxieties, and negative thoughts and stops their effect on the emotional centers. This fact is the corner stone and the basis of the seclusion therapy method which has been confirmed through my studies and observing cases of many patients and volunteers. Psychological tests and clinical evaluation proved the decrease of the different emotional levels and the disappearance of anxieties and negative thoughts when using seclusion therapy. These results accord with what is mentioned in the books of jurisprudence and admonition regarding the advantage of remembering Allah in removing one’s fear and anger”.
Imam Al- Gazali claims that ”Remembrance of Allah removes all fears; the heart of the person who remembers Allah becomes filled with relief and satisfaction after he was being afraid and suspicious”. In his book Fiqh Al-Sunnah, Al- Gazali defines remembrance as: ”Remembering, praising, and thanking Allah with one’s tongue and heart, and to describe Him with His Glorious Names and Worthy Characteristics”.
In a number of dictionaries and interpretations, remembering Allah is defined as ” tongue statement and heart confirmation”. Thus, it entails repetition with a mental concentration that arouses emotions and moves the heart. This affects the content and process of thinking and therefore helps in rejecting negative thoughts and distorted images that cause various psychological ailments. This approach has been experimented with a number of patients and normal people who suffer from personal problems and disturbances. They were required to repeat the various remembrances while meditating on every word and meaning that describes the Power of Almighty Allah. They were asked to use their imagination to think of the kind of help that man expects from his Creator, and the results were good where there was a decrease in the negative emotions. The use of imagination and contemplation in this area still requires further study.
In his book Fiqh Al-Sunnah, Sheikh Sayed Sabeq states that :” If the heart feels safe with Allah then it aspires towards this higher idol and finds its way to it without paying attention to his desires or cravings. Thus remembering Allah is a great thing and is has a serious effect on man’s life which can hardly achieve any results with just uttering words. Tongue movement is worthless unless it accords with the heart”. Surah Al-Araf refers to this remembrance where Allah says:” And do thou (O reader!) Bring thy Lord to remembrance in thy (very) soul, with humility and in reverence, without loudness in words, in the mornings and evenings; and be not thou of those who are unheedful”.
This verse indicates that it is preferable that Allah’s remembrance be done secretly without raising one’s voices. Sheikhh Sayed Sabeq, in the above mentioned book, adds that it is out of politeness that the when remembering Allah one should wear clean clothes, which often increases his activity, and to face the Qiblah whenever possible.