HEALTH
The Spiritual Approach to Better Mental Health The Khalil Center offers Islamic psychology-centered help in both Chicago and Los Angeles BY STEPHENIE BUSHRA KHAN
M
ental health is part of being human, a matter of adjustment and how you deal with what’s going on around you. At times, these events can be rather challenging. Emotional problems can be situational or biochemical in nature. Tranquility, which is felt in the heart, is defined as how one deals with adversity, for, as God tells us, “Be sure We shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere” (2:155). The Quran and Hadith help us understand happiness and mental health. Unhappiness, grief and stress affected both the prophets and ordinary people. The Quran informs us that many prophets experienced extreme difficulties. Through these two core sources, Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) laid the foundation upon which later Muslim scholars used to diagnose different types of mental illness as being the outward manifestation of the interaction of body and soul, religion, science and spirituality. They viewed all of these elements as mutually intertwined. Islamic psychology is the science of the ego/self (nafs), which refers to our soul and heart. The Quran uses nafs in both the individualistic (2:48) and the collective sense (4:1), thereby indicating that although all human beings possess the positive qualities of a
Hooman Keshavarzi
nafs, they are individually responsible for exercising the free will that it provides them. The Quran, which is the ultimate guide for those who are striving to lead normal lives, categorizes abnormal behavior into al-nafs al-amaara (the commanding self [12:53]), which gives guidance to help overcome the inner turmoil caused by this nafs, to bring our peaceful self into being through the al-nafs al-lawaama (the correcting self [75:2)], which leads to the al-nafs al-mutma’inna (the reassured soul content with God’s Will — a state of serenity [89:27-28]). When we become aware of how we think and behave, we begin to develop our sense of morality. This awareness, when complemented with mindfulness, enables us to be aware of our actions.
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Unlike traditional Western psychology, the spiritually based CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy) that arose in the field during the 1960s describes the link among thoughts, emotions and behaviors so that patients can be guided toward developing more adaptive behavior.
THE ISLAMIC APPROACH
Islamic psychology, pioneered by Abu Zayd al-Balkhi (850934; see Malik Badri, “Abu Zayd al-Balkhi’s Sustenance of the Soul: The Cognitive Behavior Therapy of a Ninth Century Physician,” 2013), began during Islam’s golden age, traditionally dated from the 8th to the 14th centuries." In his writings on the body and soul, all of which were based on the Quran and Hadith, al-Balkhi stated that diseases that affect one’s spiritual and psychological health are related to the body and the soul.
He critiqued those contemporaneous physicians who emphasized their patients’ physical health to the exclusion of their mental health, arguing that one can be considered healthy only when both the body and the soul are healthy. If the body is mentally ill, then the patient’s physical body will suffer as well. Al-Balkhi, who pioneered cognitive therapy, as well as psychotherapy and psychophysiology, stressed that individuals should develop and then maintain healthy thoughts and feelings. Ibn Sina (980-1037), the founder of modern medicine, believed that mental illness was environmentally and chemically based. In 705, al-Razi, among the leading physicians of his time, founded the world’s first psychiatric hospital in Baghdad. Malik Badri, Ph.D. (19322021), a Sudanese professor of psychology, is considered the father of modern Islamic psychology. Among his several published books and articles, the “Dilemma of Muslim Psychologists” stands out. He founded the International Association of this field (www. islamicpsychology.org) to increase awareness of both it and the interaction between mental and physical health. Going far beyond traditional psychology, he focused on cleansing one’s ego and the spirituality of the heart and soul through the Quran and Hadith. His philosophy made the birth of the Khalil Center (www. khalilcenter.com) possible. Hooman Keshavazi, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist living in Chicago, is the center’s founder and current executive director. A clinical therapist holding a masters and a doctorate in clinical psychology from Istanbul’s Ibn Haldun University, he is an adjunct professor at the American Islamic College (aicusa.edu) and Hartford Seminary (www.hartsem. edu), as well as an instructor of
