A Source of Healing
“O humanity! Indeed, there has come to you a warning from your Lord, a cure for what is in the hearts, a guide, and a mercy for the believers.— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran”
(Surah Yunus/10: Verse 57)
Yes, in Islam, seeking the pleasure of Allah is considered a source of healing, both spiritual and physical. This is because faith, trust in Allah, and righteous actions are believed to be related to overall well-being and recovery.
Explanation:
Spiritual Healing:
Seeking the pleasure of Allah through worship, such as prayer and dhikr (remembrance of Allah), is a way of purifying the heart and soul, which can reduce emotional stress and promote inner peace.
Physical Healing:
In Islam, healing is in the hands of Allah. While physical treatment and treatment are encouraged, a strong belief in Allah's power to heal and seeking His pleasure through sincere prayer are considered essential components for recovery.
Hadith of Seeking Pleasure:
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) emphasized the importance of seeking Allah's pleasure over human pleasure. A hadith states that whoever seeks Allah's pleasure even if it is not pleasing to others, Allah will suffice and protect him.
Prayer (supplication):
Muslims often pray, asking Allah for healing and well-being, acknowledging His power and mercy. A common prayer for healing is to ask Allah, the Almighty, the Lord of the Mighty Throne, to heal the person, according to childrensnational.org.
The Importance of Pleasing Parents:
A hadith also emphasizes the connection between pleasing one's parents and pleasing Allah, emphasizing the importance of honoring and respecting parents as a way to seek Allah's pleasure and blessings.
Essentially, seeking Allah's pleasure is a holistic approach to healing, encompassing both spiritual and physical aspects, and is a fundamental tenet of Islamic faith.
Some things uplift us because they touch our hearts. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala (glorified is He) knows what hurts us or causes us to feel down; for each of our diseases, there is a cure. The Qur’an is one such source of healing. The Prophet ﷺ (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Make use of the two cures, Qur’an and honey.” (Ibn Majah)
How is the Qur’an a cure? The Qur’an is comprised of the complete, eternal Words of Allah. If we receive a letter from someone we love, our hearts are soothed by reading their words. Because we love them, and especially if it is someone we respect, we take their words seriously and know they have our best interests in mind. If it is someone we are longing to meet, we read their words over and over again, seeking refuge in them, until we meet them.
Now imagine that the Qur’an is made up of the Words of Allah, directed to you. Imagine the longing of the heart for the Words of its Most Beloved, of its Master. From personal experience, if ever I woke up shaken from a bad dream and my heart feels scared and uncomfortable, I recite the Qur’an. It always calms me down. The same is true whenever I have felt sadness; there is something about when the Qur’an enters your heart that takes away any worldly negativity.
The Qur’an also takes us back to what is important. We read that Allah is One, and that He possesses everything, and He is the Lord of the worlds – so how can we ever believe humans work outside of Allah’s Will when we see injustice? We read about the trials of those before us, how they remained steadfast and Allah (swt) was with them – how then can we give up? We read that whoever trusts in Him, then He will be sufficient for him, that He answers all du`a’ (supplication) – how then can we despair? When we are reminded that there is a Day of Judgment, and we can only take with us our good deeds, how small should our worldly desires be to us?
In order for the Qur’an to heal us, we need to read it with that understanding and with the intention of receiving guidance. Sheikh ash-Sha’rawi in his book of tafseer (commentary on the Qur’an) quoted a beautiful statement of Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq, who he said was the most knowledgeable of the secrets of the Qur’an:
لَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّ ٱلنَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُوا۟ لَكُمْ فَٱخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَـٰنًۭا وَقَالُوا۟ حَسْبُنَا ٱللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ ٱلْوَكِيلُ ١٧٣فَٱنقَلَبُوا۟ بِنِعْمَةٍۢ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَفَضْلٍۢ لَّمْ يَمْسَسْهُمْ سُوٓءٌۭ وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ رِضْوَٰنَ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ ذُو فَضْلٍ عَظِيمٍ ١٧٤
"Those who were warned, “Your enemies have mobilized their forces against you, so fear them,” the warning only made them grow stronger in faith and they replied, “Allah ˹alone˺ is sufficient ˹as an aid˺ for us and ˹He˺ is the best Protector.So they returned with Allah’s favours and grace, suffering no harm. For they sought to please Allah. And surely Allah is ˹the˺ Lord of infinite bounty."— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran
And I am amazed at the person who is afflicted with sadness, and he does not flee to the Words of Allah:
And I am amazed at the person who is afflicted with betrayal and deception by people, and he does not flee to the Words of Allah:
"You will remember what I say to you, and I entrust my affairs to Allah. Surely Allah is All-Seeing of all ˹His˺ servants.”So Allah protected him from the evil of their schemes. And Pharaoh’s people were overwhelmed by an evil punishment:— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran
And I am amazed at the person who is afflicted with sickness, and he does not flee to the Words of Allah:
Indeed, adversity has touched me, and you are the Most Merciful of the merciful,’ for verily Allah has said after it: ‘So We responded to him and removed what afflicted him of adversity. And We gave him [back] his family and the like thereof with them as mercy from Us and a reminder for the worshippers [of Allah].'”
(Surah Al Anbiya/21:verses: 83-84)
If we read this and feel that we are far from the Qur’an and that it does not touch our hearts, then we should make the effort to recite it until the words enter our hearts. Plead with Allah for the Qur’an to touch your heart. We have to remember that the Qur’an is truth- if Allah tells us that it is a healing for what is in the hearts, then it certainly is. We have to have yaqeen (certainty) in this. We should also develop our relationship with the Book of Allah by trying to understand it. We should listen to tafseer and read tafseer books if we have access to them. In the age of the internet, there should be no excuse, especially with Imam Suhaib’s amazing series of the tafseer of the short surahs (chapters of Qur’an).
To end with a du`a’ of the Prophet ﷺ, who said that if a person suffers anxiety or grief, they should say:
And Allah (swt) will take away their sorrow and grief and give them in their stead joy. (Ahmad)
