Chapter One (Research Frame work )

Introduction

The human being is created from matter and soul; his safety and ability to live a normal life mostly depends on the soundness of his soul and body. The human soul rests in his body, and it is in a state of comfort and ease when the body is free from diseases. Similarly, the body is also sound when the soul is free of any ailments. However, diseases and ailments of the body are different from that of the soul; thus physicians are often mistaken when they tell their patients that their psychological diseases are just illusions due to their ignorance about the ailments of the soul.
Undoubtedly, psychological diseases may lead to physical diseases: for instance, the psychological patient who is depressed and annoyed often suffers from weaknesses in his circulatory system and immunity system. Thus, the physical problems of the body reflect the psychological problems. Both of man’s body and soul are merged together, and neither can exist without the other. Experts in medicine, sociology, and philosophy realized this fact and so they established what is known as psychiatry. This field of medicine has its own specialists, tools, medications so that it became considerably important as physiological medicine. Psychiatric hospitals and clinics were established, also conferences and seminars that deal with the different psychological problems are being held, in addition to colleges and scientific centers that study and examine all that is related to psychiatry.
It is agreed that the soul is a living entity that suffers from the same ailments and symptoms as the body. However, the reality and truth about this amazing creature is known only by Allah, the Almighty. Allah says:” They ask thee concerning the Spirit (of inspiration).Say: ”The Spirit (cometh) by command of my Lord: Of knowledge it is only a little that is communicated to you, (O men!)”. Knowledgeable scientists and intellects agree that the soul is the essence of life, and that its ailments are related to spiritual matters which materialists often deny their effects on healing and cure. They are shocked by this fact that the ailing soul can be cured by Allah’s Will and then by spiritual causes that has nothing to do with physical therapy and medications.
Perfection is only assigned to Allah while man is short in money, number and product; he is also susceptible to diseases and ailments for reasons that He only knows. Man is one of Allah’s creations and is created of soul and body where each is liable to any shortage. He can suffer from psychological diseases that could lead to depression, collapse, and failure. The human soul can also suffer from ailments that result, for example, from magic or an evil eye. Similarly, the body itself can be affected by different physical and physiological diseases.
Allah has chosen man among His other creatures to bestow upon him benevolence and welfare where he is distinguished from them by his mind that knows good and evil and can distinguish between them. Man can also use his mind to grasp and search for knowledge and make use of it to protect himself from ailments to be able to become a builder and heir of earth where he established a civilized life. Allah also cares for man’s righteousness and goodness, so He sent His messengers and Books to guide people to the right path and heal what is in their hearts.
With the revelations from heaven and his own mind, man was able to lead the universe and deal with all worldly sciences that has to do with the philosophy of the universe, characteristics of the various people, as well as the various sciences related to man, animal, and plant. All these features, in addition to those related to life and happiness, were sent with Allah’s messengers.
In this research we are concerned with the science of medicine of man’s soul and body. Man’s soul has its own medicine science which is commonly called psychiatry, and the body also has its physiological medicine science, both of which have its own specialists and medications.
The secret of the soul is known only to Allah, yet it can suffer from certain ailments that make it unable to provide happiness for its bearer, which is the body. Some of those ailments can be treated with medications, while others through legitimate Islamic incantations. Thus, there exist various psychiatric clinics with their own experts and specialists.
The subject of our research is the psychiatric clinics that deal with the ailments of the soul and the devils afflictions which are real diseases that man can suffer from.
Allah created man like all other creatures from clay, but he was distinguished when Allah blew into him from His own soul. Allah says in the Quran: ” When I have finished him (In due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall ye down on obeisance unto him”. This divine blow is the basis for the honor which Allah bestowed upon man only, in addition to the fact that He chose the human beings to be His heirs so that he can build the earth, both physically and spiritually. Thus, man’s established civilization should be far from extremity and over indulgence.
This merge between the soul and matter is the core of human creation, and the forming of the man is established on both of them. Religious teachings should thus be able to establish a balance between them, and this is the basis of the divine messages built on the oneness of God. The last of the divine messages is Islam which was revealed upon Prophet Mohammed -Peace and Grace Be Upon Him- (PGBUH) as the seal for all religions. It is a completion of what the prophets and messengers called for regarding the oneness of Allah in addition to paving a road to a happy and peaceful life for the body and soul. Prophet Mohamed (PGBUH) described this path as his own tradition, warning the ones who deviate from it. He said ”The one who renounce my tradition is not one of us”.
There are, however, some materialists who deny the ailments and diseases related to the soul as well as their methods of treatment. To them, there are only body diseases and every thing else is considered mere fictions and illusions. This was especially noticed in the West when religion (the church) was separated from the state in Europe, due to the discord between religious teaching and the mind that is the result of the distortion of the previous divine books. This has led to the fact that many people went astray and denied the teachings of their prophets. Such denial encompassed all fields of life, where religion was to them like a décor, as they believed in all the material things in life and denied all spiritual aspects. As a result, terror spread by the church which was seen in the killing and harassing of intellectuals and scientists who were burned alive because they analyzed sacred religious facts. Thus, they adopted the idea of separating religion from life, as they claimed that this gives man more freedom to create and invent which will inevitably lead to advancement and progress.
On the other hand, slavery and terrorism hampers man’s creativity and originality, and that believing in spiritual issues and unseen matters impedes man’s freedom and ability to work. Thus, the people who believed in religion and spiritual matters are considered to be societies that live far from reality as they are tied to things beyond matter, life, and the universe. As a result, they remain captivated by religious and spiritual ideas that hinder their freedom of movement, production, and invention thus neglecting reality which eventually lead to their decline.
This revolutionary thought was introduced towards the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth, which is undoubtedly based on the trio logy fabricated by the Jew. They took these ideas from the pagans of Babel and Persia, in addition to distorting the teachings of Prophet Isa (Peace Be Upon Him).They succeeded in their mental, religious, and political distortions where they managed to force western people of old times to adopt such unconvincing and illogical distortions.
Wal Deurant was one of the leading intellectuals who said that the Christians were deeply concerned with the idea of facing the Day of Judgment without sin. Thus, all sensual pleasures are considered to be seductions from the devil, and for that reason they repress their pleasures with fasting and various forms of physical torture. That accords with the well-known priesthood theory found in their ancient methodology, which says that ”the more you torture your body, the more elevated your soul will become”. They were also suspicious regarding things like music, white bread, liquor, warm baths, and shaving beards which they consider to undermine god’s clear and outstanding will.
Martin Luther, the leading figure in religious reform, said: ” One cannot combine between the Bible and the mind, one of them should give way to the other. All god’s signs mentioned in Christianity are illogical and quite impossible…the mind is faith’s biggest enemy…it is the devil’s worst creations like a bad woman afflicted with skin diseases and should be destroyed…throw dunk at her face…and drown her.”
Voltaire also criticized in his historical writings the Anglican and Christian attitudes regarding the development of society and the history of humanity. According to him, the philosophy of history is based on the idea that the advance and development of society is independent from god’s will. He thus fought against priesthood and what he called the strange religious ideas. To him, Christianity was the biggest enemy to progress, so he severely criticized the Catholic Church of that time. Similarly, Jean Jack Rousseau proclaimed that his book ”The Social Decade” to be the corner stone of the French Revolution which later became the bible of the French people. It called for believing in god and the denying the revelations; thus separating between religion and secular life.
Such ideas summarize the current western belief regarding the decline and the renaissance movements in history. Yet, these scholars were unable to explain the reason behind the great Islamic renaissance which is based on both religion and worship (body and soul).This indicates that their definition of renaissance is incorrect, for such definition should be applicable to all kinds of renaissance.
Renaissance is always based on civilization that could either elevate of destroy it. Civilization means ” a way of life that characterizes each society ”, regarding its soul and body. Since the people’s relations and conducts reflect their concepts about life, then civilization is ” a group of concepts about life”. When Muslims used to fully apply the Islamic beliefs and concepts, they were the most advanced people of the world and the least oppressed. The beauty of the body and its psychological and intellectual fitness reflected their spiritual force which they received from the Quran and the prophetic tradition (the bodies elevated along with the souls).The souls which elevated with moderate physical worship resulted in a great unprecedented Islamic renaissance that quickly spread throughout the world.
Durant describes the Muslim countries during the Caliphate saying ” the Caliphs secured people’s lives, provided opportunities for talented people, and spread prosperity for six whole centuries in all places of the world. They encouraged education which led to the boom of sciences, arts, philosophy, medicine, making those countries the most advanced ones. Andalusia definitely reflects the great Muslim renaissance which was established there one day.
Facts reveal that existence does not include what is tangible only; electricity, for example, is a living, active entity inside wires that produce power used for various purposes. It is also considered a destructive force, like winds and hurricanes, which destroys everything upon Allah’s orders yet no one can touch wind. Similarly, the souls of humans, jinn, angels, and animals do exist, and no sane person can deny this fact, yet they can neither be touched nor seen. This fact indicates the existence of effects of certain causes that can not be sensed through hearing, seeing, or touching.