Thread by @imanmbadawi

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A Muslim’s Guide to Psychology

Many Muslims don’t know how to balance the religious rulings pertaining to parents with the negative consequences on their mental and emotional health in EIP situations. As a religious scholar, I recieve several inquiries about this.

https://twitter.com/theholisticpsyc/status/1599086698033741824

Instead of explaining the religious command in context, many engage the topic with #religious_rhetoric. Beyond the psychological element of parenting, it’s imperative for Muslims to understand the spiritual fallout of being raised by EIPs.

As spiritual development begins in the pre-rational phase, children internalize attitudes toward God through parents. Formative biological bonds leave a spiritual imprint on children, creating base fitri-faith associations that will affect spiritual capacity far into adulthood.

In healthy scenarios, where children’s physical & emotional needs are met, the concrete psychosomatic conditioning of parental bonding matures into an abstract conception of the divine. When absent, the neural pathways meant to promote homeostasis are wired differently resulting

in a malformed emotional & spiritual capacity. Dr. Nicole’s work addresses this from the vantage of human attachment. I, as religious scholar, address it from the vantage of divine attachment & the relevant religious rulings. Much of my #UpcomingBook intersects with this field.

Before sharing some of her posts, though, I felt it necessary to provide a disclaimer and clarify the distinction between the domain of religious scholarship, the field of psychology, and the proper path of interdisciplinary intersection.

Real psychology is a discovery of intrinsic human nature (fitra). As believers in God, we hold that such a discovery necessarily has metaphysical implications. As Muslims, we further hold that no religious tenent contradicts human nature. This is the meaning of Quran (30:30)

The premise of psychology is that humans can discover themselves. Hence, her book title “Meet Yourself” is apt. She attempts to instruct on how to peel away the scabs of trauma and defensive programming to reveal our ‘real skin’. Much of her guidance is on point and beneficial.

How does that fit into Religion? The emotional context of revelation is the fitra. God addresses the healthy human heart (Quran 50:37), since devotional liability can only be vested in those of legal capacity. Children, for example, aren’t subjects of religious accountability.

When formative spiritual capacity is stunted, the adult ability to connect to God & religious symbols is mitigated. Then, when Religion is viewed through that immaturity, it produces a communal dysfunction. In turn, this produces #religious_rhetoric, a uni-dimensional projection.

When the multiple facets of the soul are left unexplored, the ability to grasp religious meanings is blocked. As such, on an inter-generational level, instead of bequeathing a healthy understanding of Religion - a key aim of Traditionalism - MMPs are propogating compound trauma.

Add to that the negative religious experiences shaping the Muslim psyche in minority populations, and mental health becomes a concern, not just because it’s destroying human relationships, but because it’s destroying the most fundamental relationship of all — with our Creator.

This is no small problem and poses real danger on the individual, family and communal levels, for both emotional & spiritual development, over generations. Still, beyond identitying the problem, futher complications occur when we don’t formulate a proper solution.

Pushing ‘Islamic’ psychology to the forefront of religious instruction isn’t the solution. In fact, it could be argued that it’s a symptom of the problem. The incorporation of religiously-sensitive practices in administration of psychological services to Muslims is positive.

However, the misguided application of ‘Islamic’ psychology, in which practitioners appropriate themselves as scholars, or disregard the actual ‘science of the soul’ (tasawwuf), or form a non-expert interdisciplinary conceptual hodge-podge — all these are certainly negative.

There are key distinctions between psychology and tasawwuf.
The entire discourse of self-healing is focused on the SELF. Religious devotion is focused on GOD. Does psychology tell us our devotional responsibility to EIP parents? No, it doesn’t. This is the domain of scholarship.

Do EIP parents deserve respect? Mercy? Forgiveness? What if one’s faith is in danger through dealings with them? What are the limits to parental authority? Do children have rights? These are real questions. Religion offers real answers. That’s the job of a religious scholar.

Psychology & Religion may arrive at similar answers on occasion, but they’re not asking the same questions nor even promoting the same goals. Critical difference. The ‘spiritual’ isn’t generic. We believe in a divine path to self-fulfillment, not a selfish path to divine healing.

Healing is, indeed, about connecting to the self, and - yes - perhaps for most it is a wounded child self, stuck in ‘emotional time’. Still, a healthy connection to self can only be achieved through a healthy connection to its Creator. Psychology doesn’t believe that. We do…

…and appending an ‘Islamic’ label to it doesn’t make it so. An emotionally unaware self, still churning through layers of dysfunctional confusion will be spiritually stunted. This can’t be denied. Does that make psychologists spiritual guides, though? For sure, the answer is no.

Think of it as a physical therapist helping a patient with a broken leg. That’s your psychologist. When you’re ready to walk, though, you need a scholar to know where to go. Walking on a broken leg won’t get you anywhere, but aimless wander on strong feet will still get you lost.

When whole generations are just becoming aware of the ‘back work’ needed to rectify formative wounds, society, itself, becomes a symptom. The human mind can’t escape its own consciousness, but the spirit can. The fitra is the part of us that can transcend our temporal experiences

That is the essence of healing. Good psychologists like Dr. Nicole are helping people learn how to walk again, but only those with wings can teach them how to fly. That is tasawwuf. While I respect her work, upon sharing some of her threads, please bear this background in mind.

May Allah’s infinite peace & blessings be upon Rasūlullāh, his pure progeny & folk, along with his gleaming companions, illuminated inheritors and all loyal followers until the Last Day.

اللهم صل على سيدنا محمد نورِ الأنوار ،و سر الأسرار، وترياق الأغيار ، ومفتاح باب اليسار ،سيدنا محمد المختار ،و آله الأطهار ، وأصحابه الأخيار ،عدد نعم الله و افضاله