Firstly, I am a young man, 20 years old, and am studying in the Faculty of Medicine. My father died recently, most of the responsibilities have fallen on my shoulders. I have a brother who is older than me but he is disabled. A few days ago I went through a psychological crisis. I started feeling afraid of sickness and death, and thinking that I would die that day, and other such strange thoughts. I went to a psychiatrist and he said to me: “You are suffering from anxiety and depression.” He gave me some medicine but I am not taking it.
I started to follow the teachings of Islam, praise be to Allaah, and I turned to Allaah and now, praise be to Allaah, I feel much better. I am also reading Qur’aan and praying in the mosque. My question is: in this situation do I need to take medicine or not? Is this from the Shaytaan or is it a nervous disease?.
The believer cannot do without his Lord. He is the only One
Who can bring benefits or ward off harm. By turning to Allaah you did the
right thing.
Death is a reality, and Allaah has decreed it for every soul,
as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Everyone shall taste death”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:185]
No matter how hard a person tries, he can never ward off that
which Allaah has willed and decreed for him, namely death.
But fear should not prevent a person from worshipping and
obeying Allaah, rather it should do the opposite. Fear should motivate one
to worship and obey Allaah. Fear – as Ibn Qudaamah said – is the whip of
Allaah with which He drives His slaves to persist in seeking knowledge and
acting upon it, so that they may attain the status of being close to
Allaah.
Fear may cause a person to become worried, anxious or ill,
which may in turn cause him to despair of the mercy of Allaah; in this case
his fear is not something good, it is bad.
It should be noted that a lot of worry and psychological
stress is caused by not being content (with the will and decree of Allaah).
We may not get what we want, and even if we do get what we want that may not
make us feel content as we had hoped; the idea that we had in our minds
before getting it was better than the reality.
Even after getting what we want we may still suffer from
anxiety and fear of losing that blessing. There is no remedy for this apart
from accepting the decree of Allaah, thanking Him for His blessings and
patiently bearing the difficulties and calamities that Allaah has decreed
for us.
Your situation may require a doctor, but you should note that
most people’s diseases are not physical, rather they are psychosomatic.
Dr al-Faarez says: It became clear that for four out of five
patients their sickness had no physical basis at all, rather their sickness
stemmed from fear, anxiety, resentment and selfishness, and a person’s
inability to create harmony between himself and life.
Look at how Ya’qoob (peace be upon him) wept for his son
Yoosuf (peace be upon him) and lost his sight. Look at how distress
overwhelmed ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) when the people
slandered her by telling lies about her, and she kept weeping so much that
she said: “I though that grief would tear me apart.” Agreed upon.
Dr Hassaan Shamsi Pasha said:
In the event of anxiety, secretion of a substance called
adrenaline increases in the blood, the blood pressure rises, the heart rate
increases, and a person feels heart palpitations or may feel as if something
is sinking to the bottom of his chest.
He may become paranoid and rush from one doctor to another,
wondering what is wrong with his heart, when there is nothing wrong in his
body but he still suffers pain in his stomach and has indigestion, or
bloating in his abdomen, or frequent urination or headaches.
You have to have faith and fear Allaah; always recite dhikr
and wirds that are prescribed in sharee’ah, because this is one of the
greatest remedies that will get rid of the thoughts that are going around in
your mind and the things that hearts grieve over.
Some of the du’aa’s narrated from the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) that deal with such matters include the
following:
1 – It was narrated from Anas (may Allaah be pleased with
him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used
to say: “Allaahumma inni a’oodhu bika min al-hammi wa’l-hazani wa’l’ajzi
wa’l-kasali wa’l-jubni wa’l-bukhli wa dala’ il-dayn wa ghalbat al-rijaal
(O Allaah, I seek refuge with You from worry, grief, incapacity, laziness,
cowardice, miserliness, from being heavily in debt
and from being overcome by men).” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6008.
2 – It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood said: The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“If a person who is afflicted by anxiety or sorrow says: ‘Allaahumma inni
‘abduka wa ibnu ‘abdika wa ibn ammatika naasiyati bi yadika maadin fiyya
hukmuka ‘adlun fiyya qadaa’uka as’aluka bi kulli ismin huwa laka sammayta
bihi nafsaka aw ‘allamtahu ahadan min khalqika aw anzaltahu fi kitaabika aw
asta’tharta bihi fi ‘ilm il-ghaybi ‘indaka an taj’al al-Qur’aana rabee’a
qalbi wa nooar sadri wa jalaa’a huzni wa dhahaaba hammi (O Allaah, I am
Your slave, son of Your slave, son of Your female slave, my forelock is in
Your hand, Your command over me is forever executed and Your decree over me
is just. I ask You by every name belonging to You with which You have named
Yourself, or, or You have taught to any of Your creation, or You have
revealed in Your Book, or You have preserved in the knowledge of the Unseen
with You, that You make the Qur’aan the life of my heart and the light of my
breast, and a departure for my sorrow and a release for my anxiety)’, then
Allaah will take away his anxiety and sorrow, and will replace it with joy.”
It was said: “O Messenger of Allaah, should we not learn it?”
He said: “Yes, whoever hears it should learn it.”
Narrated by Ahmad, 3704; classed as saheeh by Shaykh
al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 199.
3 – It was narrated that Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqaas said: The
Messenger of Allaah (S) said: “The prayer of Dhu’l-Noon which he said when
he was in the belly of the fish: ‘Laa ilaaha illa Anta, subhaanaka inni
kuntu min al-zaalimeen (none has the right to be worshipped but You (O
Allaah), Glorified (and Exalted) be You [above all that (evil) they
associate with You]! Truly, I have been of the wrongdoers’ [cf al-Anbiya’
21:87]. No Muslim man calls upon Allaah with these words concerning any
matter but Allaah will answer him.”
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3505; classed as saheeh by
al_Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3383.
See also questions no.
21677
and
32457.
And Allaah knows best.
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