Qur'anic healing for spiritual ailments: Between tradition, religious law and contemporary law

Medicine and Law

Volumn 27, Issue 2, 2008, Pages 259-284

  Asman, Oren ^a,b,c  

^a HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM   (Israel)

^b International Center for Health Law and Ethics

^c UNIVERSITY OF HAIFA   (Israel)

Author keywords

Blood money; Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM); Egypt; Ethno medical ethics; Ethno medicine; Islam; Israel; Jordan; Liability; Majnun; Mental health; Negligence; Qur'an; Qur'anic healing; Religious healing; Traditional healing

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; BLOOD MONEY; CRIMINAL JUSTICE; HOMICIDE; HUMAN; ISRAEL; LAW; MEDICAL LIABILITY; MEDICAL PRACTICE; MEDICOLEGAL ASPECT; MOSLEM; QUAR ANIC HEALING; TRADITIONAL MEDICINE;

EID: 48149092292     PISSN: 07231393     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (121)

1. Okasha, Ahmed, "The Impact of Arab Culture on Psychiatric Ethics", in Ethics, Culture and Psycahitry. ed. Ahmed Okasha et. al (Washington: American Psychiatric Press, 2000), 21.
2. The Quran [Qur'an] is the primary source of Islamic law. The orthodox view is that God is the speaker throughout, Muhammad is the recipient, and Gabriel is the intermediary agent of revelation. As it is considered to be the word of God, The Qur'an cannot be contradicted or overruled. See: Welch, A.T. et al., "al-Qur'an", Encyclopaedia of Islam. ed. P. Bearman et al. (Brill, 2006). Brill Online: http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=islam_COM-0543
3. Criminal Appeal 36/55 Sheikh Mustafa Da'ud Dasuqi v. Attorney General, Psakim 20, 163-167.
4. [majnun] literally means "jinn possessed" or "inspired by a jinn". Welch, A.T., "madjnun" in The Encyclopedia of Islam. ed. P. Bearman et al. (Brill, 2006). Brill Online: http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=islam_SIM-4748.
5. Criminal Case (Tel Aviv) 303/54 Attorney General v. Sheikh Mustafa Da'ud Dasuqi.
6. Yankelovich Partners, Inc. Telephone poll for Time/CNN. June 12-13. 1996. Time 1996:(June 24):58-62, as cited on: Linda L. Barnes et al, "Spirituality, Religion, and Pediatrics: Intersecting Worlds of Healing", Pediatrics 104(6) (Oct. 2000): 899.
7. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recognized that religious traditions and spirituality can affect clinical interactions and has outlined several basic guidelines for practitioners. See: American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Bioethics, "Religious objections to medical care". Pediatrics 99 (1997):279-281;
8. Also, The Ethics Chamber of the Israeli Medical Association has recently published guidelines regarding treatments that are related to faith and religion." See: Zman Harefu'ah 21(2) (June-July 2006): 54.
9. Al-Krenawi describes the treatment of a Bedouin-Arab in an outpatient psychiatric clinic in Israel integrating a cultural ritual (ordeal by fire) with modern therapy. See: Alean Al-Krenawi, "Integrating Cultural Rituals into Family Therapy: A Case Study with a Bedouin-Arab Patient in Israel", Journal of Family Psychotherapy 10(1) (1999): 61-73;
10. Z. Ben-Eli describes two vignettes taken from his practice as a psychologist: A holistic psychological therapy which included a ritual to remove a curse and in another case a therapy which included hypnosis and eventually a ritual to expel the demon out of the patient's body. See: http://www.beneli.co.il/?az=p_desc&page=25 (Last visited: 17.10.2006).
11. The position paper of the Ethics Chamber of the Israeli Medical Association states: "It is preferable to combine spiritual and faith related therapy with ordinary medical care, while not having the two collide. In some cases, treatments based on faith or religion may be in contrast with the attending physicians' professional opinion and with common medical knowledge. The physician will not be forced into any kind of treatment which contrasts his professional opinion or his conscience. Nevertheless, the Doctor shall respect his patient's wish to receive any sort of these treatments, if his request does not pose an immediate threat to the patient's health, the health of other patients or the medical staff, and as long as this treatment does not come at the expense of medical resources needed by other patients". Zman Harefu'ah 21(2) (June-July 2006): 54.
12. An example concerning the Palestinian's view over the matter can be found in an article published in al-Arabiyya Net on 28.1.2006.(al-Arabiyya is a daily TV news channel, broadcasting from Dubai, which started to broadcast on March 2003 and has become since a well known and popular news channel. The channel also operates a web-based newspaper) "Hamas' overwhelming victory creates a wave of anecdotes in the Palestinian Lands". The article describes the reactions in Gaza to the election results. Some of the anecdotes express a fear of "Islamisation of the Street and forcing the use of the veil". One anecdote is as follows: "Prime Minister, Mahmoud alZahar, declared that no more transfers (to hospitals) or medical care outside (the Palestinian area) are allowed. Treatment with Qur'an is now prescribed". This may indicate that Palestinians generally view modern medicine as the mainstream acceptable treatment and the Qur'anic healing as a treatment method of secondary importance.
13. Ahmed Okasha, Elie Karam, "Mental Health Services in The Arab World" Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 98 (1998):406-413.
14. Various Newspaper Articles in Egypt may reflect on this. For Example: al-Majalis (26.6.1990): 60-64 "A heated debate between Physicians, Religious Scholars and those who treat with the holy Qur'an";
15. al-Liwa' al-Islami (29.9.1994): 1, "Can Religious constraints be put to treatment with the Qur'an?";
16. al-Ahram (25.9.1994): 10, "Demand [of the Society for Qur'anic treament] for codification of practicing Qur'anic treatment";
17. al-Liwa' al-Islami (22.12.2005): 7 "Ask the Mufti - Dr. 'Ali Jum'a: Treating with the Holy Qur'an";
18. al-Mujtama' (18.6.2005): 58, "Fatawa al-Mujtama' - Qur'anic Healing (an answer by Jad al-Haqq, taken from www.al-eman.com ".
19. Al-Krenawi et al. report that with a group of 87 non psychotic mental health out-patients in Zarka, Jordan, all patients sought informal community systems as immediate and extended family, religious leaders and traditional healers. 70% of the male patients consulted religious leaders and Qur'anic healers. See: Alean al-Krenawi et al., "Gendered Utilization Differences of Mental Health Services in Jordan", Community Mental Health Journal, 36(5) (2000): 501-511.
20. The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics estimated the number of Israeli Muslims on January 2005 at 1.107 million, which constituted about 82% of the Israeli Arab population. See: "Press release for the occasion of 'id al-adha" dated 19.1.2005. Posted on: http://www.cbs.gov.il/ hodaot2005/01_05_15.pdf (Last visited: 1.10.2006)
21. Alean Al-Krenawi, John R. Graham, "Gender and biomedical/ traditional mental health utilization among the Bedouin-Arabs of Negev". Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry 23(2) (1999): 219-243.
22. For instance: In Egypt, there are 0.9 psychiatrists per 100,000 people and 0.4 psychologists per 100,000 people; in Jordan there is 1 psychiatrist per 100,000 people and 0.6 psychologists per 100,000 people; in Israel there are 13.7 psychiatrists per 100,000 people and 35.6 psychologists per 100,000 people. See: Mental Health Atlas 2005 (Geneva: World Health Organization, 2005).
23. During an interview I conducted in April 2006 with a Muslim Sheikh, practicing traditional Qur'anic healing in Israel for 20 years, he said: "It is well known that morbidity rates are higher with less educated people. Also, as long as the level of education is low, people would trust the traditional healer [mu'alij] more than any Doctor, Psychiatrist or psychologist. In Egypt, for example, as illiteracy and poverty are widespread, most Egyptians would go first to a traditional healer. It is also a more accessible treatment. A visit to the Doctor would cost about 100 EGP while the traditional healer would charge about 2 EGP or even work for free. In Israel it is quite the opposite. Since many people are educated, they first try all other methods of treatment and only when they find no use in it they turn, reluctantly, and as a last resort, to a traditional healer".
24. Jacqueline, C., "Jinn" in Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an. General Editor: Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Georgetown University, Washington DC. Brill, 2006. Brill Online: http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/ entrv?entry=q3SIM-00237.
25. Welch, A.T., "madjnun" in The Encyclopedia of Islam.
26. Jacqueline, C., "Jinn" in Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an.
27. Q 55:14-15: "He created men out of clay and genie [jinn] out of smokeless flame"
28. MacDonald, D.B., Massé, H., "Djinn" in The Encyclopedia of Islam Vol. 2 p. 547-548.
29. Q 72: 1-3. This is a rather polemic phrase, which is believed to have been revealed to the prophet in Mecca (before the Hijra to Madina in the year 622AD): "Say: 'It has been revealed to me that a group of genies listened (to the Qur'an) and said: "We heard a Magical Qur'an. A guidance for wisdom. we believed in it and shall never join (in worship) anything with our lord. He has taken neither a wife nor a son"'".
30. Tritton, Spirits and demons, as quoted in Michael W. Dols, Majnun: The Madman in Medieval Islamic Society (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992), 213.
31. The legal discussion of genies [jinn] included discussing and fixing their legal status in all respects, including the possible relations between them and mankind. Only few of the Mu'tazila (a theological group that emphasized rationality in Islamic thought) ventured to doubt the existence of genies, and even when doing so, they simply constructed different theories of their nature and their influence on the material world. See: MacDonald, D.B., Massé, H., "Djinn" in The Encyclopedia of Islam Vol. 2 p. 547-548.
32. Welch, A.T, "madjnun" in The Encyclopedia of Islam.
33. Passages of the Qur'an revealed to Muhammad while in Mecca, prior to the hijra of the year 622 AD.
34. Q 2:168; Q 16:115 and Q 2:173.
35. Q 2:219.
36. Q 5:6.
37. Q 16:69.
38. Q 17:82: "The Qur'an we send down will bring cure and mercy to the believers; and will provide the unbelievers with nothing but loss"; Q 41:44: "Say: 'To the believers it is a guidance and a cure; but those who do not believe, there is heaviness in their ears, and for them it is blindness; those - they are called from a far place".
39. O'Connor, Kathleen Malone. "Popular and Talismanic Uses of the Qur'an." Encyclopaedia. of the Qur'an. General Editor: Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Georgetown University, Washington DC. Brill, 2006.
40. Dols, Majnun: The Madman in Medieval Islamic Society, 211-212.
41. O'Connor, Kathleen Malone. "Popular and Talismanic Uses of the Quran", Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an.
42. After interviewing a Sheikh practicing Qur'anic healing, a Muslim physician, describing the extra treatment some of his patients receive, a central member of the Islamic movement, and a person who went to Qur'anic treatment, I have discovered that most of these methods are still applied today in Israel.
43. The [sunna] consists of oral statements of the prophet Muhammad [hadith] and his practices, and is considered a guide to human conduct. Muslims accept the validity of the [Sunna] in so far as it does not contradict the Qur'an. If it does so, it is rejected as not originating from the holy prophet. Based on these two primary written sources (Qu'ran and Sunna), Muslim law is mostly consistent, except for issues not specifically mentioned in these primary sources.
44. In a religious response [fatwal by al-Shaikh 1bn'Ath?min, published in Fatawa Islamiyya, vol. 4: 465-466 he refers the questioner to several books regarding treatment of oneself while reading from the Qu'ran, such as: Al-Wabil al-Sayyib and Zad al-ma'ad (by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya); al-Kalim al-Tayyib (by Ibn Taymiya); al-Azkar (by al-Nawawi).
45. Dols, Majnun: The Madman in Medieval Islamic Society, 249-250.
46. For a list of books of this kind see: http://www.ruqya.net/ mrajh1.html (Last visited: 15.4.2006).
47. Riyad Muhammad Samaha, Dalil al-Mu'alijin bi-al- Qur'an al-Karim (Cairo: 1996).
48. The book also includes a letter from the head of the General department for research, writing and translation in al-Azhar Islamic Research Academy, approving that the book does not include material that contradicts the Muslim religious belief.
49. A copy of this book has been delivered to me lately by a Muslim Sheikh, practicing traditional Qur'anic healing in Israel. He reported that he relies to a great extent on this book.
50. Dols, Majnun: The Madman in Medieval Islamic Society, 223.
51. Oral statements of the prophet Muhammad. Part of the Sunna.
52. M. Farooqi, "The Medicine of the Prophet: A Message Par Excellence" (May 31, 2005). Posted on: http://www.islamonline.net/English/Science/2005/05/ article13.shtml#* (last visited: 4.10.2006).
53. The following is merely a partial review of issues related to treatment with the the Qur'an, relevant to the legal and ethical analysis which follows. For a more comprehensive review see: Samaha, Dalil al-Mu'alijin bi-al-Qur'an al-Karim; Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Medicine of the Prophet (trans. Penelope Johnstone, Cambridge: The Islamic Texts Society, 1998).
54. al-Jawziyya, Medicine of the Prophet p. 17.
55. al-Jawziyya, Medicine of the Prophet, p. 46.
56. Dols, Majnun: The Madman in Medieval Islamic Society, 253-254.
57. He gives an example regarding a female whose cancer was treated by mastectomy of the left breast. At a later time, cancer was found in the right breast as well. This time she was treated with the Qur'an until the genie agreed to leave her body. Then her pain stopped and the doctors found no trace of cancer in her body.
58. Samaha, Dalil al-Mu'alijin bi-al- Qur'an al-Karim, 12.
59. The [Fatwa] is an authoritative explanation or clarification of an issue: A person [mustafti] presents the [mufti] with a question. The latter, a Muslim, learned in Islamic law, responds with a written [fatwa].
60. Kitab al-Lu'lu' al-Makin min Fatawa Ibn Jabarin, p. 22.
61. Muslim (2201);
62. Bukhari (2276).
63. Dr. 'Ali Jum'a is currently the "The Mufti of the Egyptian lands", and therefore considered an important Egyptian mufti.
64. "The Qur'an is indeed a cure, but the cure is by utilizing it to turn to God and mention his name with his own words which are the best. This treatment is not to be taken without understanding and awareness. Therefore, it is not enough to read the Qur'an while going to the specialist Doctor, but the person also has to look for the reason for his punishment while reading the Qur'an, until God will bless the organic medicine and it will bear fruits." Published in al-Liwa'al-Islami (22.12.2005): 7, "Ask the Mufti - Dr. 'Ali Jum'a: Treating with the Holy Qur'an".
65. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Medicine of the Prophet, 46-48.
66. For example, see Samaha, Dalil al-Mu'alijin bi-al- Qur'an al-Karim, 11: "After reading verses upon the woman, the genie spoke through her tongue, informing us that he is the cause to her sickness, and that he is planning to hurt her knee as he did to her breast. With guidance and treatment with the Qur'an he was persuaded to leave her, asking us to forgive him, and for the woman's forgiveness. Then he greeted us and left".
67. Q 23:155: "Do you think we created you in sport? And that you will not be summoned back to us?"
68. al-Jawziyya, Medicine of the Prophet, 46-48.
69. Samaha, Dalil al-Mu'alijin bi-al- Qur'an al-Karim, 103-104.
70. For example: Abu Dawud (Tibb, 17-18): "There is no incantation except for the eye or bites";
71. Sahih Muslim (Salam, 56-57): "The Messenger said that God permitted incantations for the (evil) eye and bites".
72. al-Jawziyya, Medicine of the Prophet, 132-133.
73. al-Jawziyya, Medicine of the Prophet, 133-141.
74. Hisham al-Khatib, alTabib al-Muslim waAkhlaqiyat alMihna (Amman, 1991) p. 205.
75. al-Jawziyya, Medicine of the Prophet, 46-48.
76. "A man brought a [majnun] boy to the prophet asking him to pray for him. The prophet asked him to bring the boy closer, and then grabbed the boy's cloth and started beating his back saying "Get out! enemy of God!". Then the gaze in the boy's eyes tamed normal again. Then the prophet prayed while the boy was between his hands. After the prayer the boy returned to normal". See: Samaha, Dalil al-Mu'alijin bi-al- Qur'an al-Karim, 104-105.
77. The interview was conducted in April 2006. a part of his description is as follows: "He asked me to lay down on the bed and started reading from the Qur'an. I acted as if I was slowly falling asleep. He called my name and asked 'who is hiding inside you?'. He started shaking me and turned directly to the demon inside me. I pretended to be unconscious. He keeps conveying the message that you do not matter to him, but it is the demon inside you that interests him. After some time he said that the demon is still hiding and slapped me, shouting at the demon 'get out! Damn you!'. Suddenly, my hands were tied and I was given an electric shock. This really hurt. Then I was given another shock and couldn't bear it anymore. Then he asked me 'Who are you' and I replied 'I am ..., leave me alone'. He replied 'Good! You woke up'.
78. In the interview, conducted on April 2006, the Sheikh said in that regard: "Some use a light electric shock. But the patient might have heartbeat problems. Why risk an electric shock? He might die of a heart attack!".
79. Such beatings were even defined by some Muslim scholars I talked to as "charlatanism" and "anti-Islamic".
80. Posted on the website: "Islam- Question and Answer": http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?In=ara&ds=qa&lv= browse&OR=11049&dgn=4 (Last visited: 15.4.2006).
81. Posted on the website of the Ministry of Al Awqaf - Supreme Council for the Islamic Affairs, Egypt. the fatwa was issued on 20 December 1980. Posted on: http://www.islamic-council.or (last visited: 1. 12.2006).
82. "I heard the prophet say 'who ever tie an amulet, God will not do as he wishes'".
83. Posted on the website of the Ministry for Islamic Affairs, Waqf, Education and Guidance, Saudi Arabia. See: http://fatawa.al-islam.com/ fatawa/Display.asp?FatwaID=657&ParentID=33&Page=6 (Last visited: 15.4.2006).
84. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, al-Tibb al-Nabawi (Cairo: Dar al-Taqwa, 1999) p. 41.
85. al-Jawziyya, al-Tibb al-Nabawi, p. 38-45.
86. Criminal Appeal 36/55 Sheikh Mustafa Da'ud Dasuqi v. Attorney General, Psakim 20, 163-167.
87. Criminal Appeal 36/55 Sheikh Mustafa Da'ud Dasuqi v. Attorney General, Psakim 20, 165.
88. Doctoes ordinance [new version] 1976, §1.
89. Doctor's ordinance [new version] 1976, §48.
90. Doctors' Regulations (competency to execute irregular activities), 2001. sixth and seventh additions.
91. Civil wrongs ordinance [new version], §63.
92. Penal code - 1977, §378: "One who hits a person, touches him, pushes him, or uses force in any other way, directly or indirectly, without his consent, or with consent obtained deceptively - Assaults".
93. Civil wrongs ordinance [new version], §23. The definition of assault here is almost identical to the criminal definition.
94. Civil wrongs ordinance [new version], §26: "False imprisonment is depriving a person's freedom, utterly and unlawfully, for a certain period of time, using physical measures or by appearing as authorized."
95. Civil Appeal 2781/93 Mi'asa'Ali Da'qa vs. Carmel Hospital, Piskey Din 53(4) 526-625.
96. Civil wrongs ordinance [new version], §24(5); 27(3).
97. The Treatment of the mentally ill Act - 1991 and the respective regulations, supply the district psychiatrist with the authority to issue an order for one's involuntary hospitalization, based on a psychiatric evaluation. Furthermore, during hospitalization, special means - such as tying up a patient - may be used. Severe standards are set regarding recording the use of special means, limitations and safety instructions.
98. Criminal Appeal 36/55 Sheikh Mustafa Da'ud Dasuqi v. Attorney General, Psakim 20, 167.
99. Samaha, Dalil al-Mu'alijin bi-al- Qur'an al-Karim,12.
100. In a case brought before the Israeli Supreme Court, a homeopathy therapist was found negligent for disregarding reports about the deterioration of his patient's condition. He continued to encourage the patient's mother to abstain from giving him his drugs, until the parents brought the child in a life threatening condition to a hospital. Permitted Criminal Appeal 10709/03 Yosef Ross vs. The State of Israel (Decided: 4.7.2005).
101. Such cooperation has been mentioned in various international conferences I attended as a desired and to some extent as an already existing cooperation: During the 13th World Congress of Psychiatry, held in Cairo, 10-15 September 2005, cooperation between traditional healers and physicians was described by an Egyptian physician as follows: "Usually it is possible to have good working relations between physicians and traditional healers, which will refer the schizophrenics and demented to the Doctors, and deal more with the neurosis cases"; During the First International Workshop of Ethnomedical Ethics, held during the 16th World Congress for Medical Law in Toulouse, 11 August 2006, Dr. Soumah from Dakar, Senegal, reported of a psychiatric hospital providing combined therapy in psychiatry: Once a week, psychiatric sessions are conducted with both psychiatrists and traditional healers.
102. During his interview, the Israeli Sheikh told me: "When the genie appears, you see a change in the body, in the way the black part of the eye looks, the voice changes etc. You might even see a small gland running through the body. Some healers use this gland, and when it travels to the big toe, they sting it, and with the splash of blood, some air goes out, and this is Satan himself. This method exists but I prefer not to use it. The tool you use for stinging the man might be unclean, or the person might be diabetic. One cannot know. It is better to stay away from things that might end badly"
103. Doctors' Regulations (competency to execute irregular activities), 2001. sixth and seventh additions.
104. During his interview, the Israeli Sheikh told me: "If you use beating, it should be done with a small cleaning stick for the teeth [siwak]. You do not apply it on the forehead. Only on the shoulders, the buttocks and the calves. There are also those who use strangling: I showed you how one can strangle a person without blocking the airways, but you can never know - maybe the person suffers from low blood pressure and by this strangling you would (damage him)."
105. Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) is considered highly efficient and safe. Only 3 out of 100,000 treatments end with death of the patient, usually related to the risks of the anesthesia. Use of muscle relaxants prevents spinal fractures; in cases of cardio-vascular diseases and arrhythmia, ECT requires resuscitation equipment and preferably also a monitor. See: Selected Chapter in Psychiatry, ed. H. Munitz (Tel Aviv: Papirus, 2003) (in Hebrew) p. 632.
106. The Treatment of the mentally ill Regulations - 1992, § 34-35.
107. Related by Abu Dawud, al-Nisa'i and Ibn Majah. Quoted in: Al-Jawziyya, Medicine of the Prophet, 103.
108. al-Jawziyya, Medicine of the Prophet, 106.
109. Abu 'Ubayd said the basic meaning of the term 'medicine' [tibb] is skill with various things. A man may be called [tabib] (literally: A doctor) for his skills and cleverness. Quoted in al-Jawziyya, Medicine of the Prophet, 104.
110. Joseph Schacht, An Introduction to Islamic Law (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1964), 182.
111. Schacht, An Introduction to Islamic Law, 181.
112. Schacht, An Introduction to Islamic Law, 185.
113. A sort of collective financial backup for the culprit, to be furher detailed in the following section.
114. Schacht, An Introduction to Islamic Law, 185.
115. Schacht, An Introduction to Islamic Law, 186.
116. [fard kifaya] is a collective duty, the fulfillment of which by a sufficient number of individuals excuses the other individuals from fulfilling it, such as funeral prayer, holy war, etc. See: Schacht, An Introduction to Islamic Law, 121.
117. Muhammad K. Mansour, al-Akhkam al-Tibiyya 'al-Muta'aliqa bi-(al)Nisa' fi al-Fiqh al-Islami (Amman: Dar al-Nafais, 1999) p. 17.
118. The words of Al-Khattabi, as quoted in: Ibn al-Jawziyya, Medicine of the Prophet, 105.
119. See: Al-Ahram (25.9.1994): 10, "Demand [of the Society for Qur'anic treament] for codification of practicing Qur'anic treatment".
120. Schacht, An Introduction to Islamic Law, 182.
121. Schacht, An Introduction to Islamic Law, 181