• Mental illness, magic, jinn or the evil eye
There are references in the Qur'an to madness, magic spells, possession by jinn and to the evil eye. There seems to be some sort of differentiation in the Qur'an between madness and the other three. However, as psychiatrists we tend to treat those who are affected by any of these as psychiatric patients. Could you please throw some light over these matters and give us references from the Qur'an and Hadith to help us study the Islamic point of view in these matters. This will be of immense help to us in understanding our patients and the mentally ill in general.
The first time I read your letter, it came to me as a shock that madness should be grouped with the other three when to someone like me it is totally different. However, I can understand how psychiatrists tend to group these things together. There is nothing in the Qur'an, which suggests that madness can affect a person as a result of a magic spell or an evil spirit. There are references to madness in the Qur'an, but mostly in quoting what disbelievers used to say about prophets, including Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Moses (peace be on them both and all other prophets).
As for black magic, or using a magic spell to influence someone's behavior or his power of thinking, I have [elsewhere] given a detailed answer to questions on this subject. I have explained that according to Islam, magic has no material presence whatsoever. There are references in the Qur'an to magic mostly with regard to the magicians employed by Pharaoh to try to outbid the miracles of Prophet Moses, peace be upon him. But it is clear in the Qur'an that the work of those magicians was nothing more than mental tricks. Magic cannot produce anything whatsoever. The encounter between those magicians and Moses is reported in more than one surah, most notably 7 & 20 "Al Aaraf" and "Taha". In the latter surah, you may refer to Verses 57-76. It is clearly stated by Allah that what the magicians produced, using their ropes and staffs, was mere trickery: Their ropes and staffs so appeared to him, by the force of their magic, as if they were moving. In other words, it was all a mental trick. The staffs and ropes did not move.
As for the evil eye, it is a form of envy. In the penultimate surah of the Qur'an entitled "Al-Falaq" or "The Daybreak", the prophet is instructed to seek refuge with his Lord from the evil of envy. As the surah is short we may quote it in full: "Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the Daybreak from the evil of what He has created; from the evil of darkness when it gathers; from the evil of conjuring witches; and from the evil of the envious when he envies." In order to explain what the envy may do, it is perhaps useful to quote what the late Sayyid Qutb has written in his priceless work "In the Shade of the Qur'an", when he commented on this surah:
"Envy is the evil begrudging reaction one feels towards another who has received some favors from Allah. It is also accompanied by a very strong desire for the annihilation of such favors. Some harm to the envied may result from such baseless grudges. Now, this may either be the outcome of a direct physical action of the envier or may result from the suppressed feelings alone.
"We should try not to feel uneasy on learning that there is countless number of inexplicable mysteries in life. There are several phenomena for which no account has been offered uptil now. Telepathy and hypnosis are examples of such phenomena.
"Very little is known about the mysteries of envy and the little that is known has often been uncovered by chance and coincidence. In any case there is in envy an evil from which the refuge and protection of Allah must be sought. For He, the Most Generous, the Most Merciful and the One who knows all has directed His messenger and His followers to seek His refuge from this evil. It is unanimously agreed by the Islamic schools of thought that Allah will always protect His servants from such evils, should they seek His protection as He has directed them to do.
"Al-Bukhari related that Aisha said that the Prophet would, when getting into bed to sleep, recite: "Say: He is Allah the One..." and "Say: He is the Lord of the Daybreak, ..." and "Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of men," (i.e. the last three Surahs of the Qur'an) and blow into both hands; starting with his head, face and front part of his body, he would then run his palms over the rest of his body. He did that three times."
That is what Sayyid Qutb has written on envy and I think it gives you a very clear picture of the Islamic attitude to what is known as the evil eye which is a form of envy.
As for the Jinn, the two major references in the Qur'an to which I would like you to refer are those in Verses 29-32 of Surah 72 entitled "Al-Ahqaf" and to Surah 72 entitled "The Jinn." You may also refer, if you will, to Verses 12-14 of Surah 34 entitled "Sabaa", or "Sheba".
From these references, particularly the first two, you will realize that the jinn are another species of Allah's creation. They share with us life on earth and we cannot see them while they can see us. They are required to believe in Islam as they have been previously required to believe in the message of Prophet Moses. Like human beings, most of them do not submit to Allah as a matter of choice. They continue to ignore the call of Prophets and messengers as human beings do. The nature of their creation is different from ours. Prior to the advent of Islam, they were able to climb high in the atmosphere to eavesdrop on angels as they glorified Allah, hoping to hear some news which affected the world. They were prevented from doing so, just before the start of the revelation of the Qur'an. They are accountable for their deeds on the day of judgment. Those of them who have done good in this life will be rewarded by admission into heaven and those who continue to do evil will be thrown in hell.
Apart from these similarities, their world is separate from ours. There is no interchange between them and us. Neither can they accomplish our purposes nor do we know anything about theirs. Allah has not made us subservient to their desires nor has He made them subject to our might. Therefore, the idea of anyone of us, man or woman, being possessed by a jinn and that such possession can affect his mental power and his action or prevent something from being done by him or stop him from his intended action is totally absurd. Unfortunately, such thoughts may find a receptive ear with sections of people. The fact is that there is no truth in them.
I totally agree that when a patient comes to you with a disturbed mind, you treat him as mentally ill person and treat him to the best of your ability.
• Mercy killing: No killing can be merciful
What is your view about euthanasia, or mercy killing? Those who support it say that "modern medical technology can prolong a patient's life only artificially." They also argue that people should have the right to die with dignity and that they should not be made to suffer unbearable pain. Please comment.
The termination of human life is caused by Allah. He alone determines when a person should die. He also determines the cause of his or her death. When people interfere with that process which Allah has determined, they actually kill. It is interesting to note that euthanasia is defined as "mercy killing." That definition acknowledges that it is a killing, and all killing is forbidden in Islam, except as punishment for certain well defined crimes. A person who has not committed any of these crimes should not be killed under any circumstances. Even if he makes it clear that he wishes to die, and even if his wish is the result of suffering a long, incurable illness, terminating his life is forbidden. The reason is that whoever puts him to death actually puts himself in the position of Allah, determining when that person should die. This is an assault on Allah's authority.
The arguments used in justifying euthanasia are far from convincing. People argue that modern medical technology can prolong a patient's life artificially. This calls into question the definition of life and how it is prolonged. If what is meant is that people are put on life-supporting machines, which means that they will die once the machine is switched off, then that is a very special case. What we have to ask here is whether the brain of such a person needing a life-supporting machine has ceased to function. If it has, then the life of that person has ended, even though his heart may continue to beat with the help of that machine. Here we are not speaking about euthanasia, but about the definition of life and whether it exists in such a person. There is no doubt that doctors should use every available means in order to preserve the life of a patient. The use of such life-supporting machines is highly beneficial, if it gives the doctors a breathing space to administer the treatment which ensures that the patient recovers. But when it is clear that the patient's brain has died, then there is no way to bring him back to life. If he is put on a life-supporting machine, there is simply no benefit in that. All that is happening is to cause the patient's heart to continue to beat without any hope of recovery. The patient has actually died except in name. The switching off of the machine does not in this case fall under "euthanasia." It is letting a natural course take its effect.
The notions of the "right to die with dignity" and "sparing the patient unbearable pain" are not acceptable. There is no lack of dignity in a person being ill and needing treatment. If he cannot control his own body function, then he should be helped with these. To terminate his life for that reason is inhumane. To speak of euthanasia in this case is actually suggesting that people are unwilling to help those who are in need of medical and human care. It is a condemnation of modern society that it argues for "mercy killing" in their cases. There is no mercy in such a killing. If people want to be merciful, then they should take good care of such patients. On the other hand, most types of pain can be relieved with appropriate treatment. With the modern advances in medical care, the type of pain which used to be unbearable can easily be reduced or relieved. In case where it cannot be helped, the patient should be reminded of the fact that he will be rewarded for his pain. If he bears it with resignation and accepts what Allah has determined for him, then his reward will be the forgiveness of his sins. A believer will always be willing to accept such pain for the prize of earning forgiveness.
• Message [of Islam]: Conveying and convincing others
I recently sent a letter to a radio station, but it turned out to be a Christian preaching station. The person who answered my letter spoke about the enlightened vision of Jesus Christ and suggested that those who do not follow that vision are in total darkness. Could you let me know how to convince him of Islam and to tell him that what he is doing is wrong?
The first thing to remember about this question is that we, as Muslims, are not required to convince anyone of the truth of Islam. Allah will not ask anyone of us: How many people have you convinced or how many have become Muslims as a result of your efforts? Indeed, He has told His messenger: "You certainly cannot guide whomever you please; It is Allah who guides whom He will. He best knows those who accept guidance." (28:56) What Allah will question us about is whether we have fulfilled the task He has assigned to His messenger and to all Muslims: Namely, conveying the message of Islam to mankind. That is our task: To explain Islam to people and to tell them that Allah requires them to believe in it. If they accept it, they reap the fruits of being rightly guided. If they reject it, we have fulfilled our task.
I hope that I have made the distinction clear between doing our part which is within our power, and the results that our efforts produce. I appreciate your keenness to have this broadcaster see the light of Islam. To do so, you only have to supply him with the relevant information. You may send him a letter or reply, or send him some books relevant to the topic you raised with him, or relevant to his essential beliefs and the basic beliefs of Islam. If you do so, you have done a good service to your faith. Whether he will be convinced is a totally different matter.
You should not be hesitant to send him whatever information is available to you about Islam. Followers of other religions do the same. I continue to receive letters from Christian missionaries and followers of religions. They either reply to some points they have read in Arab News or speak about their faiths or invite me to follow their own religion. Muslims should not hesitate to present their faith to other people. By doing so, they actually do them a great service, because they explain to them the faith which Allah accepts from human beings.