Religious Teachings and Mental Health
Actually, many of the common mental illnesses like obsession and personality disorders can be treated with religious teachings.
This is according to Hossein Keivani, clinical virologist and founder of the first specialized virology laboratory in Iran. He spoke to IQNA about the relation between mental and physical health:
Verse 33 of Surah Ar-Rahman says: “Jinn and mankind, if you can penetrate the diameters of the heavens and the earth, do so, but you cannot do so without power and authority.”
There are many verses in the Quran and many Hadiths about the enormity of heavens and about different sciences.
In verse 27 of Surah Luqman, God says: “If all the trees in the earth were pens and the ocean, with seven more oceans, were ink still these could not suffice to record all the Words of God. God is Majestic and All-wise.”
One field in which there are a lot of references in religious texts is mental health. If we use religious teachings in this area, we will not need any other recommendation. Stress, anxiety, excessive desires, deceitfulness, etc are the root causes of many illnesses. If we acted upon religious teachings, we would not face so many mental problems that arise from them.
A major part of physical health is dependent on mental health. By acting upon what the Quran and the Infallibles (AS) have told us, we can achieve mental health and consequently physical health as well.
There are many good recommendations in these teachings. Because our soul is from God, we can have mental health by acting upon the Quran.
If that is the case and if man treads on the right path, he can reach a status in which the angels prostrate before him.
