دار محمد Daar Muhammed

There has always been an interest in psychology in society. As of recent, this interest has only spiked across all domains. In personal affairs, health, family, and business. The issue of deteriorating mental health is everywhere, and as a response, we find so many courses, specialists, and researches in the field. The reason behind this spike today is a discussion for another day, in sha Allah. However, the question raised by many Muslims is, does Islam recognise psychology? Does it have any place for human psychology? Is psychology haram?

In the minds of a significant number of Muslims, the answers to these questions remain vague, almost in the negative. These questions are often left without being answered, and the Muslim sadly turns to other sources often foreign to him and his lifestyle as a primary resort, for answers and even definitions of “mental health”, “a balanced life” and “meaning of his challenges”. What is the point in going on? How do I encourage my child to control his impulses? How do I find my purpose? What are the boundaries in the different roles I take in life? What do I do when life situations feel out of control?

In significant and intimate issues like these that profoundly influence the human soul, it can turn destructive, as can be expected, to turn to sources that stem from baseless or unconfirmed claims, creeds, and value systems. Note that to look for benefitting advice from diverse sources is not wrong per se in Islam. A Muslim is strongly encouraged to explore and to open up to new and useful knowledge that aids him in this world and the next. However, to strike any advice against the Islamic framework first before adopting it into his life is integral as a Muslim; as a person who has submitted to Allah’s Will. Allah says in Surah An Nahl, Verse 89:

وَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ تِبْيَانًا لِّكُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةً وَبُشْرَىٰ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ

And We have sent down to you the Book (the Qur’an) as an exposition of everything, a guidance, a mercy, and glad tidings for those who have submitted themselves (to Allah as Muslims).

It would come as a surprise to many, sadly, that to lead a mentally and emotionally stable life in order to perform optimal worship and to teach and encourage the same is from the very base of Islam. We often draw a sharp line out of ignorance between religious practice and a healthy mind and soul separating them as if they were distinct things. The connection between Islam and the search for well-being mentally and physically— something that is supposed to be common knowledge— has now become a wow moment for many of us.

To Top it Off: the Aversion of Contemporary Psychology to Belief in God

In addition to our delayed understanding of Islam’s stance on mental health, the aversion of Western psychologists to religion or any religious reference has aided this separation in clever but subtle ways. Due to their imperialism in all but a few states around the world, their ideas were systematically indoctrinated into the hearts of the younger generations in schools and other learning institutions installed by them in Muslim populations. They made their way into as many subjects in the curriculum as possible. Thus, their claims being postulated as the “standard” found an easy way into both natural and social science subject material. This ascertained that the theory of evolution and the consequences produced by adopting it was covered from a student’s small age at school.

وقوله : ( ونزلنا عليك الكتاب تبيانا لكل شيء ) قال ابن مسعود : [ و ] قد بين لنا في هذا القرآن كل علم ، وكل شيء .
وقال مجاهد : كل حلال وحرام .
وقول ابن مسعود أعم وأشمل ; فإن القرآن اشتمل على كل علم نافع من خبر ما سبق ، وعلم ما سيأتي ، وحكم كل حلال وحرام ، وما الناس إليه محتاجون في أمر دنياهم ودينهم ، ومعاشهم ومعادهم .

An excerpt from Tafseer Ibn Katheer for the above verse: “And We have sent down to you the Book (the Qur’an) as an exposition of everything“. The Companion of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and great scholar Ibn Masud said, “Allah has explained to us in this Quran every science and every thing”. Ibn Katheer comments further; the Quran contains every useful knowledge from the past and the future, the rulings of halal and haram and whatever people need for their dunya and their religion, (and what they need for) their life here and their life in the next world. Note that he said “every useful knowledge”.

Early Western psychologists included the concept of the soul, the existence of a Creator and the significance of religion in man’s life and well-being to a considerable extent. It was difficult to find a scientist who specialised in the study of the human soul who was a fully-fledged atheist. However, as the influence of the church began to decline and the clergy failed at protecting their texts and serving the masses satisfactorily, new ideas began sprouting from the abyss. Charles Darwin’s book, On the Origin of Species, was out, and with some clever propaganda, Darwinism got the better of the Western scientists. A new sub-field was created called Evolutionary Psychology. This was aimed to portray and then ingrain in their own populace as well as in the colonies under their control at the time, that the theory of evolution was “the standard”. It positioned itself in a way that made it look like the theory at hand was able to answer all of life’s questions, something no other theory could. Anything besides it, especially religion, was viewed with question. A large base of common people followed them willingly. This following grew rapidly due to the aforementioned incompetence of the clergy and decline of the church. The scientists soon decimated any religious involvement in the human psyche.

Very quickly, the field of psychology, which was essentially the study of the human soul, became the study of the human mind. The field continued reducing enough to change its subject matter further from the study of the human mind to the study of human behaviour. Now, the concept of the soul, as per those leading the study of psychology in the Western world, was non-existent. History saw the science branching into various perspectives with the intentional exclusion of the influence of religion in every one of them. Spirituality and religion were shrewdly made two different categories, the first being a personal search for meaning and latter, communal practices that have little to do with man on a personal level.

This is only a summary of one main cause but is sufficient to illustrate what has led us to where we stand in current times. Add to this our lagging behind research and study of our Beautiful Religion and teaching it holistically to our young, which is a recipe for a lot of confusion and erroneous conclusions. Today, in many parts of our Ummah, Psychology and mental fitness have been so much separated from the knowledge in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم that it has become “strange” to connect the two. This could be no further from the truth.

“We have sent down to you the Book (the Qur’an) as an exposition of everything”

The Quran discusses deeply about human psychology delving into man’s psyche, its influences and drives, different forms of inspiration and behaviours exhibited by human beings, psychological dysfunctions with real-life examples, the soul’s path to salvation, and maintaining peace in all aspects of life, in all circumstances of life. The rituals we are obligated to do, if done as they are required, build fortresses for our mental states higher and stronger than we conceive. The ikhlas (sincerity in worship) Islam demands, and the thought process it trains a believer to have nips off many mental problems in their buds. Overwhelming distress, debilitating sensations of pain, obsessions of a person, or thing are just a few examples of situations addressed in more forms than one in our daily practices as Muslims. The Quranic verses expound on the process of life, man’s cognitive abilities, and the levels of the soul. It explains to man the miracle he is, his unique speciality amongst all other creations of Allah and the wonders he has been facilitated to do, if he is willing to. This Religion, in all its glory, is the unparalleled launching point for the study of the science of psychology. A dip into the psychology carried in the Book of Allah will soon have one feeling, “this is a sea which has no end!”

As it is clear, psychology is not haram but instead, encouraged if studied in the shade of the Religion with Allah; Islam. It is a noble subject that differentiates itself from others in the way that its main theme involves the well-being of the human being. Hence, it is encouraged in the Revealed texts to look for benefits and reliefs for man, be them dunyawi (worldly) or ukhrawiy (of the Hereafter) as long as they are acquired through the proper foundations and in the shade of correct guidance. The significance of proper foundations in this subject, in particular, cannot be undermined. This is due to its main element being the soul, which is directly linked to the faith and religion of man.

Psychology, in its essence of studying the human soul, using pure knowledge to complement Iman and adopting healthy habits that fuel the believer’s sincere aspirations, is not haram but rather an integral part of being a complete Muslim. It is time we return home; our Deen and explore carefully the treasures we left behind or overlooked so that we may be guided as we face the world we live in today. Allama Iqbal’s profound words in the late 20s and early 30s are still very relevant;

If modern psychologists could gather the courage to take seriously the insights and experiences of the prophet, the mystic, and the poet, they would be able to discover new worlds precisely where they now think absolutely nothing exists. They would then be forced to revise and reconsider a great deal of their knowledge. Science is unaware of these new worlds in the depths of the self because psychology has not yet taken the necessary risk of letting go of its own assumptions and expectations.

(Afzaal, 2008)