Golden Age Muslim Scholars
MUSLIM SCHOLARS
The knowledge of many Muslim scholars from the seventh to the fifteenth centuries CE often spanned various fields (Farooqi, 2006). Their academic works from areas such as philosophy, physiology and theology/spirituality have contributed to Islamic psychology.
Abu Zayd Al-Balkhi (D.322 AH/934 CE)
Abu Zayd Ahmed ibn Sahl al-Balkhi was a 9th century Muslim Polymath, whose contributions to knowledge covered many diverse fields, including medicine, psychology, geography, philosophy, politics, theology, Arabic grammar, poetry, literature, mathematics, astronomy, sociology as well as others. He also introduced the concepts of mental health and the use of cognitive therapy to treat anxiety and depression. He is considered to be one of the world’s first known cognitive psychologists, centuries ahead of his time, studying and suggesting cognitive treatments for anxiety and mood disorders. It is in the 9th century that the physician al-Balkhi introduced the concepts of mental health and pioneered the use of cognitive therapy to treat anxiety and depression.
Al-Balkhi was born in the year 322 AH (934 CE), in a village called Shamisitiyan, in the Persian province of Balkh, now Afghanistan. He received his early education from his Father and was a follower of the philosopher al-Kindi. Unfortunately, most of al-Balkhi’s valuable works have been lost, with a few aspects of his legacy remaining, such as his text Masalih al Abdan wa al-Anfus, Sustenance of Bodies and Souls, a manuscript that al-Balkhi is arguably most known for. This manuscript is located in the Ayasofya library, Istanbul and consists of 268 pages devoted to the sustenance of the body and 73 pages devoted to the sustenance of the soul (or psyche). The first part refers to the physical aspects of health and the second psychotherapeutic part concerns the soul, which to the secular mind might be likened to the psyche. It is this second section that is receiving wide interest, due to its insightfulness in the field of psychology and perhaps given the worldwide increase in anxiety and mood disorders (Badri, 2013), as well as a greater number of Muslims presenting with mental health conditions and seeking treatment (that also incorporates their Faith). He discusses many mental health conditions that were largely left unknown and untreated for centuries before being clinically recognised as such only as recently as the 20th century. He provides insights on human psychopathology and diagnoses of psychological conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorders, depression, fear, anxiety, stress and phobias and their treatment by cognitive behaviour therapy, which are not only very much in sync with modern psychology, but importantly are a step ahead in incorporating a greater dimension to include the soul and the worship of God.
Al-Balkhi describes symptoms and treatments and provides advice on preventative measures and how to return the body and soul to a healthy state. He normalised mental illness by dismissing taboos and stigma. So why is there so much stigma today in the 21st century?
Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (D.313 AH/925 CE)
Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi was one of the most well-known and respected physicians of the 9th century because of his revolutionary contributions to medicine and psychiatry. Al-Razi influenced several medical fields including neurology, paediatrics, pharmacology, psychosomatic medicine, and medical ethics. He was one of the first known physicians to describe the idea of psychotherapy and use it in his practice. Using the idea of “sound mind in a healthy body”, he helped many of his patients attain complete health.
Al-Razi was born in 865 A.D. in al-Rayy, which is located outside Tehran. He moved to Baghdad where he undertook medical studies and later practiced at one of the local hospitals. Al-Razi wrote 237 books in his lifetime, 36 of which are still available today. His books outlined symptoms and definitions of as well as differential diagnoses and treatments for different mental illnesses.
Ibn Sina/Avicenna (D.428 AH/1037 CE)
Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Sina, also known as Avicenna was a philosopher and a physician who delivered innovative treatments and contributed to the fields of psychology, medicine, theology, chemistry, poetry and geometry (Farooqi, 2006; Haque, 2004). He memorised both the Qur’an and Aristotle’s Metaphysics (Inati, 2015), and is estimated to have written between 100 and 250 works, including his famous writings al-Shifa (The Healing), Risalah fi-l-Nafs (Treatise on the Soul) (Awaad et al., 2018; Inati, 2015), and al-Qanun fi al-Tibb (The Canon of Medicine); the latter being the primary textbook taught in medical schools throughout Europe until the 16th century (Lim & Khan, 2017).
Ibn Sina was aware of the mind-body connection (Awaad et al, 2018; Farooqi, 2006), and used a combination of sources (empirical, rational, and revealed sources) to access a number of treatment techniques. His therapeutic techniques in the treatment of mental illnesses are similar to those used today and more than 1000 years after him (Avicenna, 1877).
Al-Kindi (D.259 AH/873 CE)
Abu Yusuf Ya’qub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi, known as the ‘Philosopher of the Arabs’ authored at least 231 treatises and manuscripts on a range of topics, including philosophy, psychology, medicine, metaphysics, and mathematics (Adamson, 2018; Jumu’ah, 2014; Najati, 1993). Al-Kindi proposed several theories related to intellectual operations, including theories on perception, emotional processes, and sleeping and dreams (Awaad et al, 2018; Ivry, 2008). Significantly, al-Kindi attached great importance to cognitive strategies in the treatment of depression.
Al-Ghazali (D.510 AH/1111 CE)
Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali was one of the greatest philosophers of Islam (Campanini, 2015), an Islamic scholar, jurist, and mystic. He argued that “more attention should be directed to treating diseases of the heart (psyche), which has an infinite lifetime” (al-Ghazali, 2005, p. 929). Al-Ghazali elaborated on the spiritual diseases of the heart, including arrogance, ignorance, envy, miserliness, and lust (Haque, 2004). He encouraged individuals to engage in tazkiyat al-nafs, or the purification and training of the self (including its cognitions and behavioural inclinations) to cure these diseases.
Ibn Taymiyyah (D.728 AH/1328 CE)
Ibn Taymiyyah mastered the Islamic sciences. His main goal was to build an Islamic framework for psychology (and other sciences) free from the influence of foreign ideas. He looked at the relationship between cognitive and emotional states. He believed that only by examining the world through revelation could we rid ourselves of the limitations to human rationality and emotions in order to acquire ultimate truths (An-Najar, 2004).
Ibn Al-Qayyim (D.751 AH/1350 CE)
Ibn al-Qayyim was one of the most important students of the scholar Ibn Taymiyyah (Livingston, 1992). He mastered a number of Islamic sciences including Islamic jurisprudence, Hadith, Arabic, and Quranic commentary (Krawietz, 2006). He was also knowledgeable in many branches of the natural sciences (Livingston, 1992). Ibn al-Qayyim’s works were mainly drawn from the Quran and Sunnah; any knowledge he took from contemporary sciences would be only that which could be supported with revelatory sources (Najati,1993). His psychological contributions emphasised the importance of reflection, meditation, and introspection in the pursuit of happiness. Ibn al-Qayyim advocated for the importance of mental health and supported cognitive behavioural interventions. He described a sequential stage-theory of cognition and behaviour based on terms used in the Quran to describe thinking (Abdul-Rahman, 2017a; Badri, 2000). When referring to diseases of the heart (i.e. anxiety, depression, anger, and sadness), he states that the heart is harmed by what harms the body and vice versa (Ibn al-Qayyim, 2011, p.26). He took a balanced approach to treatment, combining somatic and cognitive therapies centuries before his Western counterparts (Abdul-Rahman, 2017b).
