Sufism and Psychoanalysis.

Author: Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh
http://www.nimatullahi.org 

This text is the second part of an article from Dr Javad Nurbakhsh called Sufism and Psychoanalysis, published in The International Journal of Social Psychiatry, Vol. 24, Nº 3.

First part of the article: ‘What is Sufism?’ gives us a general view about what Sufism is, specially Persian Sufism; and this second one makes a comparison between Sufism and Psychoanalysis.


Erādat
In the previous article we mentioned that an aspirant (tāleb) starts his search for a master after he senses his own incompleteness and feels the urge to reach perfection. Upon finding a master, the aspirant will submit himself to his will and become his morid (disciple), in order that he may pass through the stages of perfection and finally reach the state of a Perfect Man (ensān-e kāmel). The spiritual bond linking the morid to the master (morād) is called erādat.


According to the literal meaning, the word erādat means simply 'to want', 'will', or 'intend'; but among the Sufis erādat means preferring the will of the master to one's own will. In other words, erādat is the negation of one's own will in face of that of the master. Literally, morid means a person who possesses will, whereas the Sufis, paradoxically, take him to be a person who has no will; and as long as a person has not surrendered his will, he is not qualified to be called a morid. 


Although finding a perfect master depends upon the morid’s search for and finally recognition of one, for the most part, and perhaps completely, the encounter between the morid and the morād comes about unconsciously. It is an affair of the heart, being of a purely spiritual nature.


The spiritual psychology of the Sufis recognizes two principle kinds of the unconscious: that of the heart {del) and that of the 'commanding soul* (nafs-e ammāra) [Note 1]. The heart is considered to be a divine gift. It is compared to a mirror that must be cleansed of the rust of the natural and material world, until it becomes polished and reflects the Truth [Note 2].

The nafs-e ammāra, on the other hand, is considered to be a power that must be transmuted in a real sense into the nafs-e lawwāma ('blaming soul') and finally into the nafs-e motma'enna ('soul at peace'), so that it will be able to return to the Truth. The Sufis have taken this concept from the Koranic verse: "0 soul at peace, return unto thy Lord, well-pleased, well-pleasing!" (LXXXIX: 27-28)


In the heart reside love ('eshq), compassion, self-sacrifice, spiritual chivalry, purity and goodness. This is expressed by the saying of the Prophet: "The heart is between the two fingers of the Merciful" (Ruzbehān 1970, p. 123). From the carnal soul, on the other hand, arise animal tendencies, aggressiveness, baseness and impurity. It is about this soul that the Koran says: "Surely the soul of man incites [ammāra] to evil, except inasmuch as my Lord has mercy" (XII: 53). The discipline and spiritual method of the tariqa ('Path') gradually purify the heart, bringing out its spiritual quality, and, at the same time, transmuting the nafs-e ammāra. That is why the great Sufis have said: "Sufism is the abandonment of the soul to servitude ('obudiyya) and the attachment of the heart to the divine Lordship (robubiyya)."


The Particular Intellect and the Universal Intellect
There are two sorts of intellect in Sufi terminology: the particular intellect ('aql-e joz'i) and the universal intellect ('aql-e kolli). The particular or acquired intellect is exercised in man's daily experience and profits from what man learns in his material life. When necessary, man uses it as an instrument to guard against the dangers of his environment and to dominate nature. At the same time, the particular intellect is a yoke that can subjugate and control the nafs-e ammāra when it becomes wild and misbehaves. Within the framework of social customs and mores, as well as the laws and principles of exoteric religion, this intellect watches over the nafs-e ammāra, but it can never be a guide towards the Truth, and to expect such a lofty task from it is utter absurdity.


About this intellect, Rumi says:
The acquired intellect is like the conduits
Which run into a house from the streets:
[If the house's] water-way is blocked,
It is without any supply [of water].
Seek the fountain from within yourself!"
(Rumi 1926, vol. iv, p. 381). 


In another place he says:
"Imagination and opinion are the bane of the particular reason,
Because its dwelling-place is in the darkness"
(ibid, p. 87). 


Again he says:
"The particular intellect is not the intellect [capable] of production;
It is only the receiver of science and is in need [of teaching]"
(ibid, p. 344). 


When the heart becomes cleansed of the rust of multiplicity, it will reflect the Truth as it is. A person in such a state is called a Perfect Man, and the source of his knowledge or insight, which is devoid of delusion, error, self-love and profit-seeking, is called the universal intellect or 'heart-consciousness'. The person who possesses that intellect can himself be referred to as the universal intellect'. Rumi says:
"The universal intellect and the universal soul are the man of God.
Do not imagine that the Throne and Pedestal are separate from him.
Because his pure essence is the manifestation of God,
Search God in him and in no one else."
(Rumi 1926, vol 5, v.461/462) 

It is in this state that the Perfect Man, who has attained the universal intellect, negates everything other than God, and with the aid of love affirms only Him. As Shāh Ne'mato'llāh Wali says: "The intellect negates everything other than God, so that Love can affirm Him" (Shāh Ne'mato'llāh 1964, vol. 4, p. 87).


Love and Intellect
Very commonly in Sufi literature love is praised and the intellect is disparaged. Of course, what is being disparaged is nothing but the particular intellect, and it should not be mistaken for the universal intellect. Rumi distinguishes these two when he says:
"The particular intellect has given the [universal] intellect a bad name;
worldly desire has deprived the [worldly] man of his desire [in the hereafter]"
(Rumi 1926, vol. 6, p. 30).

What the Sufis have meant by love is nothing but the perfection and intensity of erādat, which is the motivating force of the heart and the fire of its longing. It is by such a force that the heart reaches perfection, not by the particular intellect. Obviously this intellect is dependent upon the sense perceptions and experiences of life. On the other hand. Love is a divine gift and blessing. It is no wonder that in every age the jurisprudents (foqahā), ascetics (zohhād) and others who follow exclusively the particular intellect have denied the lovers of the Divine Beloved and have thought that they were misled. On this subject, Rumi says:
"The particular intellect is a denier of Love,
Though it may give out that it is a confidant"
(ibid., vol. ii, p. 107). 

The Sufis on the other hand, have respected those who have denied them, for they have believed that such men are prisoners of their particular intellects and ignorant of love, and moreover, they are unaware of their ignorance.


The Transference Phenomenon
Psychoanalysts believe that creating a relationship between the analyst and the person being analyzed is most important for the therapeutic process. Freud called this phenomenon 'transference'. We know that under certain circumstances the person being analyzed transfers all his past to the person of the physician. In H. Rackers words: "... Freud denominated 'transference' the entirety of the patient's psychological phenomena and processes referred to the analyst and derived from the other previous object relations" (Racker 1966, p.l3).
 
In transference a new relationship is formed between the analyst and the patient, and the latter becomes obedient to the former and puts his trust in him. This obedience and surrendering of one's trust, which stems from the child's relationship with his parents and is now developed into a therapeutic instrument, presents the analyst as a person to be relied upon. Such a relationship is necessary for any successful advance in therapy, and it will take place spontaneously sometime during the course of it. As Freud writes:
We observe ... that the patient, who ought to be thinking of nothing but the solution of his own distressing conflicts, begins to develop a particular interest in the person of the physician. Everything connected with this person seems to him more important than his own affairs and to distract him from his illness" (Freud 1961, p. 367).

Transference vs. Erādat
When the bond of eradāt brings master and disciple together, the aspirant unconsciously projects his image of the ideal person upon the master, transferring his feelings and worldly passions to him. Thus, the disciple fully accepts the master and surrenders his total being to him. The question arises whether or not this phenomenon is what Freud has called 'transference'.


When God establishes a bond between the heart of the morid and that of the morād, the Sufis employ the term erādat to describe what has taken place. It has been said that, "The reality of erādat is the motion of the heart in search of the Truth." (Sajjādi 1960, p. 29).

To answer the above question, we have to distinguish between two kinds of erādat. The first kind is the erādat of those who are dominated by their 'commanding soul', in other words, those whose souls are sick. Such patients practise erādat primarily and essentially because of the command of the carnal soul and secondly and apparently because of the judgment of the particular intellect. Transference in psychoanalysis can be related to only such cases. The second kind is the erādat of the lovers of the Truth, who practice it in relation to a spiritual master first of all because of the guidance of God and secondly because of the approval of the heart. Only in such cases can the Sufi term erādat be applied.


On the basis of what has been said we can conclude:
1. Transference is the establishment of the appropriate relationship between the patient and the analyst, and it may result in curing the patient and bringing him to the state of a normal person. Erādat, on the other hand, is the spiritual relationship between the morid and the morād, established in order to elevate the state of the normal person to that of the Perfect Man.
2. Transference is the establishment of a relationship with an analyst in order to fulfill the desires of the nafs-e ammāra, while erādat is love for another person established to escape from self-love.
3. The transference phenomenon demands the choosing of an appropriate listener to listen to the words of a self-worshipping speaker, while erādat requires becoming a listener qualified to learn how to worship the Truth.
4. And finally, transference is a material, relative and temporal phenomenon, while erādat is something spiritual, absolute and eternal.

Fanā' fe'sh-shaykh (Annihilation of Oneself in the Master)
One of the stages of Sufism is called fanā' fe'sh-shaykh (annihilation of oneself in the master). Some of those who tread the Path become thoroughly attracted (majdhub} to the master by the perfection of their erādat or love ('eshq). Because of the radiation of their erādat they find themselves annihilated in the being of the master, and in whatever they behold they see nothing but him. It is in this state that a morid is said to have reached the station of fanā' fe'sh-shaykh. Many of the great Sufis have reached this station, the outstanding example of whom was Rumi, who became totally attracted to his master, Shams-e Tabrizi. Thus, it is that he has said:
"My master and my morād! My affliction and my remedy!
Let me divulge the secret: My Sun (Shams [Note 3]), my God!
Until thou gazest at me, I am bewildered by love,
for thou art the king of the two worlds; my Sun, my God!
I will become extinguished before Thee so that no trace of me remains:
such is the requirement of decorum; my Sun, my God!"
(Rumi 1965, p. 509)
It is to be noted, however, that fanā' fe'sh-shaykh is a preparatory step for the station of fanā' fellāh (annihilation in God).

Self-Love and Eradāt
As already mentioned, in order to be qualified as a novice on the Path and as one who puts his erādat into practice, an aspirant must be both mentally and physically mature and healthy. The first effect of erādat upon a morid is that his attention is turned away from the world and its affairs and consequently focused upon the morād alone. Thus, the first step that a novice takes with the help of erādat is to direct his attention towards his morād and become free from self-love. Those who are deeply entangled in self-love and self-adoration not only cannot take the initial step successfully, but their erādat has a negative effect. In fact, this entanglement becomes a great hindrance to the development of genuine erādat and consequently to the attainment of the final goal.
This point is well put in Hāfez's poem (Hāfez 1983, ghazal 72, verse 9):
"Going to the door of the Tavern
Is the work of those who are spiritually integrated.
 
Those who boast of their own worth are not given entrance to the quarter of the wine-merchants. [Note 4],
In regard to a patient's relationship with his analyst and the transference phenomenon, Freud reaches the same conclusion, where he says:
"Experience shows that persons suffering from narcissistic neurosis have no capacity for transference, or only insufficient remnants of it. They turn from the physician, not in hostility, but in indifference" (Freud 1961, p. 374).

Morad and Morid
Just as the morād is the manifestation of the divine name, 'al-Morād', so is a morid the manifestation of the name, 'al-Morid'. That is to say, in eradat the object of worship is not an individual person, but God, because both morid and morad are manifestations of the divine name. Therefore, erādat is indeed a divine relationship between two attributes of God, and the carnal and material aspects are irrelevant. 


Acquired Knowledge ('elm-e hosuli) and Knowledge by Acquaintance ('elm-e hodhuri)
It should be noted that the Sufis not only renounce the particular intellect, which is formed as the result of acquiring knowledge in the sensible world, but they also consider knowledge acquired by it as the greatest hindrance in teaching the Truth. It is in this sense that they say: "Knowledge is the greatest veil [to the Truth]." In other words, the Sufis reject all knowledge which is not connected with Love, approving only of knowledge by acquaintance (or beyond the distinction between the subject and the object), the organ of which is the heart. "Knowledge", it has been said, "is a light that God casts into the heart of whomsoever He will" (Shaykh Bahā'i n.d., p. 493). Thus the Sufis believe that acquired knowledge increases one's self-love and egoism and consequently separates one farther from an understanding of the truth. Here Rumi says:
"The Sufi's book is not [composed of] ink and letters:
it is nought but a heart white as snow.
"The scholar's provision is [consists of] pen-marks [written letters and words].
What is the Sufi's provision? Footmarks"
(Rumi 1926, p.366) 

The Chain of Initiation (selsela) and the Authorization of Mastership
The Sufis believe that a person is not qualified to be a spiritual master unless he has traversed the stages of the Path under the guidance of a Perfect Man. He must have become authorized to be a master by the previous master or qotb. In short, a master must have had a vision of the Path and traveled upon it to the very end, knowing it thoroughly. This chain of initiation which exists in genuine Sufi orders reaches back to the Prophet and from him to God. Thus, a so-called master who is not connected to an authentic chain of initiation is not considered by Sufis to be eligible to guide others. Since such a person has not traversed the Path and learned its principles under the mastership of a previous master or qotb, he cannot help or guide other people. There is also the danger of this so-called master mistaking the transference phenomenon for erādat and thus unknowingly communicating his own defects to another person.


Thus, a person who has not received authorization from a previous master connected to a chain will not only be unable to lead a disciple to any state of perfection, but may very well turn him into a person who is sick and spiritually deprived.

Psychoanalysts also rightly claim that unless a person is already psychoanalysed, he cannot analyse someone else. The question which arises here is: Who analysed Freud himself (see Perry 1966, pp. 103-119)?


Transference and Its Effect on the Spiritual Life of the Sufis
It is very difficult to distinguish between transference and erādat. Only Sufi masters and saints, who are very few in every age, can draw the line between them. It is unfortunate, moreover, that in different eras various people connected with Sufism on the popular level have mistaken transference for erādat. Thus, so-called 'masters' who have not reached perfection have unknowingly misused the transference phenomenon to their own benefit without considering its egoistic aspects. 


In this connection Rumi says (Rumi 1926, p. 16):
"On this account the whole world is gone astray, is scarcely cognizant of God's abdāl.' [Note 5]
 
The mentally ill become the morids of this kind of 'master' and establish a transference relationship with him. Then, by claiming that miracles have taken place, which were, in fact the result of the strong emotions established by transference, and by acting as missionaries for their master, they make converts. The so-called master, in turn, unaware of his own egoism, benefits from people's ignorance. Hence, by calling himself a saint he establishes a parasitic livelihood for himself. Sometimes due to a miracle reported by a morid, he comes to think that all the while he has really been a man of God, but has not realized it. In short, this type of 'master' is pulled along by the crowd because of his need to make a living, and in turn he becomes more and more convinced of his own claims. This causes a vicious circle between the morid and the morād, both of them firm in their own egoism.

In every era this vicious circle stimulates a certain number of people to become 'masters', and then morids become enchanted with them and start telling extraordinary stories about them. In this way 'Sufi' schools are established which are really nothing but shops in which the 'masters' display their wares. In reality, people thus, create their own idols and then start worshipping them. This type of master is, in fact, subject to his own morids. 

As a matter of fact, a morid likes to have a certain man as his master, namely, a master who due to his defects and imperfections, always enjoys having a crowd of followers to support him. Here Rumi says:
"Otherwise,[beware, for] the crows [the imposter 'masters'] have lit [the lantern of] fraud:
they have learned the cry of the white falcons"
(ibid., vol. iv, p. 366). 

The result of this type of false Sufism has been that the imposter 'masters' are unable to train a true spiritual progeny and bring them to a state of perfection and mastership. Consequently, the majority of those 'masters' introduce their own offspring as their successors, so that in their order the basis of spiritual mastership is changed into a matter of blood inheritance, thus becoming a material affair.


The genuine and perfect masters of the Path, on the other hand, accept only those disciples who are free from mental illness and ulterior motives and are chosen by God. It was only after the disciples have fulfilled such conditions that they are trained and guided. Most of these masters do not accept the psychologically ill; however, there have been some masters who were so perfect that they could accept this type of person as well. These disciples, or rather patients, undergo treatment through psychoanalysis and transference before they enter upon the spiritual Path as such.


It should be noted that masters of such a degree of perfection have been very few in number. One of the most outstanding of them was Shāh Ne'mato'llāh Wali. This perfect master used to say, "Send whomsoever is rejected by other masters to me, and I will train him according to his aptitude" (see Nurbakhsh 1959). Confirming Shāh Ne'mato'llāh's greatness, Redhā Qoli Hedāyat writes: "The narrow streams complain on the rocks, but the ocean shapes the rocks."


Owing to the skill of such perfect masters, elementary classes have been established in Sufi Orders to cure the psychologically ill. In such classes a perfect master or 'divine physician' treats patients in need of psychological care through transference. When this treatment is completed and the patient has recovered, he either leaves the school, or, if it were God's will and erādat had helped him, he would be initiated and let into the esoteric circle.


Summary and Conclusion
There is no similarity of a genuine and profound nature between Sufism and Psychoanalysis. There are, however, superficial similarities between these schools. While the aim of psychoanalysis is to treat an abnormal person and bring him into a state of 'normality', the aim of Sufism is to treat a psychologically normal person and bring him to the state of a Perfect Man. The analyst-patient relationship is based on the transference phenomenon, whereas that of the morid and the morād is based on erādat. Transference is something material, psychic and temporal; whereas erādat is something spiritual, divine and eternal.


However, given its material, psychic and temporal qualities, transference has not been ignored by the Sufis. There have been perfect masters who have used transference, sometimes as a therapeutic instrument for patients in need of psychological care and sometimes as an initial step in the real program of Sufism.
 
References
Arberry, A. J. (1964). The Koran Interpreted, London.
Freud, S. (1961). Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis, J. Rivière (trad.), London.
Hāfez (1983). The Diwan, P. N. Khanlari (ed.), Tehran.
Nurbakhsh, J. (1959). The Life and Works of Shah Ne'mato'llāh Wali, Tehran.
Perry, W. H. (1966). 'The Revolt against Moses', Tomorrow, London.
Racker, H. (1966). Transference and Countertransference, London.
Rumi, J. (1926). The Mathnawi, R. A. Nicholson (trad.), London.
Rumi, J. (1956). Qazaliyāt-e Shams-e Tabrizi, M. Moshfeq (ed.), Tehran.
Ruzbahān (1970). 'Abharo'l-'Asheqin, Dr. J. Nurbakhsh (ed.), Tehran.
Sayadi, I. (1960). Farhang-e mostalahāt-e 'orafā', Tehran.
Sheij Bahā'i (s.f.). Kashkul, Qom.
Shāh Nematollāh Wali (1964). Rasā'el, Dr. J. Nurbakhsh (ed.), Vol. IV, Tehran.
[1] The word nafs in sufi terminology has an ample meaning as, for instance: the soul, the I, the ego, etc,. for more information aboutnafs and its different levels consult the book "The Sufi Psychology" by Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh.
In sufi terminology, usually, the word nafs is used to refer the nafs-e ammāra (dominant I) (in French: âme concupiscent; in Latin: cupido libido), refering to the human ego dominated by evil. The word names the totality of soul-body, meaning that man is linked to his egocentrism and moved by his passions, "flesh" (from the greek: sarx). On the other hand the nafs walks through different levels in his progress and transformation, for this consult the book "The Sufi Psychology" by Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh.
[2] In Sufi terminology the word Haqq, the Truth, refers to God, the Absolute Being (woŷud-e motlaq). That is the One who is free from every limit. In Qorán words: God is the manifest Truth (24,25).
[3] The "sun" referred to here, besides being the name of Rumi's master, is the sun of the spiritual world, the source and principle of all that exists.
[4] In Hāfez poetry, as in all Sufi poetry, the "wine merchant" symbolizes the Sufi master.
[5] Abdāl, which literally means "substitutes", in Sufi terminology denotes the great saints (walis) on whom the world depends for its existence.] 

Reprinted in www.crescentlife.com by the kind permission of the author from The International Journal of Social Psychiatry, Vol. 24, Nº 3.

Quranic Psychology

Author: Mustafa Mahmood

To be moral, in a philosophical sense, is to be able to find a means of satisfying your desires without infringing the rights of others to satisfy theirs. In this sense, therefore, morality is primarily a socio-materialistic concept, in so far as its object is the equal distribution of pleasure.

The religious concept of morality is, however, diametrically opposed to this. To be religiously moral is to exercise self-control by curbing your desires and restraining your passion in order to attain your exalted status as a human being worthy of inheriting the Kingdom of God, and indeed, the whole world that has been put in your service. You could never be worthy of being a master of this world until you have succeeded in mastering your own "self', that is, being fully in charge of your inner kingdom.

Religious morality in this sense requires progress from the lower level of self-slavishness (being a slave to the self) to the higher level of being closer to God. Rather than a call for a better distribution of pleasure, morality is, in this sense, a call for braiding the shackles of pleasure.

The two approaches, the philosophical and the religious, are therefore totally different and they produce totally different human beings.

Materialistic philosophy, furthermore, has produced a materialistic man who seeks immediate pleasure, an immediate materialistic reward for all human activity, hence his 'temporal' orientation, that is to say, his approach to reality in terms of the 'pleasure of the moment', and what time has to offer. But moments are by definition transitory and time perpetually flies, so that this kind of man inevitably feels he is being left behind, and, paradoxically, with a lump in his throat. The greater the fulfillment of his desires, the greedier and hungrier they get. He bets on time, with no assets for the future; for as a moral human being, he expects death to come, unexpectedly; and, as the fleeting moments give him satisfaction only to take it away from him, he lives in anxiety, pulled apart by conflicting desires, until death comes in the end.

A believer has a different psychological make-up, however, and a different sense of morality based on a different human vision. He sees worldly pleasures for what they are, transitory and, in a very real sense, mortal. They constitute a test which, if passed, should admit him to higher ranks beyond this world. In need, the whole world is nothing but a path of transition from this world to the other, with God as the only security for such a trip. God is the only ruler who reigns supreme, and who determines His weal and woe. If all people decide to profit or do harm to him, they could not achieve anything that was not preordained, he believes, and that is why he is neither overjoyed by material gain, nor over- dismayed by material loss. If things do not go his way he would say to himself:

YOU MAY HATE A THING, WHICH IS REALLY GOOD FOR YOU, AND YOU MAY LOVE A THING THAT IS REALLY BAD FOR YOU: GOD KNOWS AND YOU KNOW NOT. (Qur'ân, 5.2: V.216)

He would fight, audaciously, never flinching from death, chanting
WHEREVER YOU MAY BE, DEATH WILL OVERTAKE YOU, THOUGH YOU SHOULD BE IN RAISED-UP TOWERS.   (Qur'ân, 5.4: V.78)

IT IS NOT GIVEN TO ANY SOUL TO DIE, SAVE BY THE LEAVE OF GOD, AT AN APPOINTED TIME.    (Qur'ân, 5.3: V.145)

He neither envies nor covets the property of anybody; indeed, he pities the 'multitude who walk in darkness', He listens to the whispers of his heart:

LET IT NOT DELUDE THEE, THAT THE UNBELIEVERS GO TO AND FRO IN THE LAND; A LITTLE ENJOYMENT, THEN THEIR REFUGE IS JEHENNAM, AN EVIL ABODE.   (Qur'ân, 5.3: V.196)

WE GRANT THEM INDULGENCE ONLY THAT THEY MAY INCREASE IN SIN.   
(Qur'ân, 5.3: V. 178)

NO AFFLICTION BEFALLS IN THE EARTH OR IN YOURSELVES, BUT IT IS IN A BOOK, BEFORE WE CREATE IT; THAT IS EASY FOR GOD: THAT YOU MAY NOT GRIEVE FOR WHAT ESCAPES YOU, NOR REJOICE IN WHAT HAS COME TO YOU; GOD LOVES NOT ANY MAN PROUD AND BOASTFUL.    (Qur'ân, 5.57:V.22)
SAY: NAUGHT SHALL VISIT US BUT WHAT GOD HAS PRESCRIBED FOR US.
(Qur'ân, 5.9: V. 51 )

These verses combine to inspire the believer with a serene mood, and perfect peace of mind:

IN GOD'S REMEMBRANCE ARE AT REST THE HEARTS OF THOSE WHO BELIEVE.
(Qur'ân, 5.13:V.28)

Such a believer finds ample recompense for the conquered desires, warmth in his heart, and the sweet sense of inner freedom and inward light.

Believing in one God makes for inner unity: he receives inspiration from a single source; he fears one authority, hopes to please one power, and seeks to establish a permanent relationship with one ideal. Such, unity of source and target has a unifying effect on the soul. His character develops internal harmony that precludes all possibility of conflict or discord within.

This is the clue to Qur'ânic psychology: it has immediate ethical and behavioristic implications that contrast sharply with Freudian psychology. Indeed, what is it that Freud has taught?

Freud believes that guilt is a kind of disease, that repentance is regression, that control of desires is repression, that regret is the outcome of a complex, and that forbearance is apathy.

Freud looked at all action in terms of behavior and motive, in disregard of the real intention and sincerity. He could only see the animal inside man, and dealt with human motivation within the framework of base appetites and lust. He believed that all dreams could be interpreted in this way: whatever was round, such as a cave, a ditch, a hole or a ring, stood for the female; while anything upright, such as a pen, a sword, a tower, a stick (and even a serpent) stood for the male; and all movement, such as walking, running, climbing, flying and swimming, stood for the sexual act.

He looked on the soul as completely isolated from its metaphysical sources but he could not recognize the devil's temptation, angelic whispers, or divine afflatus.

Of a child's attachment to his mother, he spun out an Oedipus complex--- an unconscious desire to kill the hated father, which assumes in the child the conscious behavior of flattering him and endeavoring to ape him. In the world of adults, however, this is compensated for by worship of the heavenly father, which, according to Freud, represents redemption of their unconscious desire to kill the earthly father.

Freud believed that human character assumed its final shape in the first five years of one's life; subsequently it became the destiny of the individual, and all psychiatry could do, would be in the nature of providing sedatives or helping the repressed feelings and desires to have an outlet. Freud could not see, in short, any other areas of the soul except the base, animalistic region.

The chief weakness of Freudian psychology is, however, its reluctance to recognize the possibility of change. Qur'ânic psychology establishes this as a norm; cure is always possible because it involves a restoration of the original soundness of the human soul, the removal of extraneous element--- such as hate, malice, envy, lust etc.

According to the Qur'ân, there are many levels of the human spirit apart from the low, animalistic one: the soul has seven 'grades' which proceed from temptation and expiation, to inspiration, and peace, to harmony and contentment, and finally, to perfection. Man can proceed from one grade to the next, higher and higher still, through obedience to God and genuine worship. Moderation has been established by the Qur'ân as the ideal mode of behaviour.

We are met, everywhere, by instructive examples of the change within the soul from darkness to light, even instantly, by God's guidance. A prominent example was that of Omar Ibn-al-Khattab who, during the life of the Prophet, (pbuh) instantly changed from a life of pagan cruelty and iniquity to one of exemplary and perfect justice.

WE HAVE STRIPPED AWAY ALL RANCOUR THAT IS IN THEIR BREASTS.
(Quran, 5.15: V.47)

Such is the kind of instant psychological cure which we learn from the Quran and which is not to be found in any other secular discipline.


reprinted in www.crescentlife.com with permission from:
http://members.muslimsites.com/skalghazal/psychology.htm

Psychological and Mental Health

Author: Prof. Dr. Omar Hasan Kasule, Sr.
 
Psychological or mental health can be defined in both positive and negative terms. Positively it can be viewed as a state of being in which an individual is stable and balanced. Human beings function at three levels: the personal (within the self), inter-personal (with others) and trans-personal (beyond the personal).  Hence the balance is 3-dimentional and involves being in harmony with oneself, the human society around you, and fulfilling the orders and commands of the Creator to attain His pleasure.

Negatively it can be looked at as the presence of mental or psychological problems. Unlike physical health, mental and psychological health is difficult to define exactly because of inability to define and measure in a concrete way as is done in physical sciences.

The Qur’an has used the term inshirah al sadr to refer to a state of psychological well being as is indicated in the following verses: 6:125, 10:57, 16:106, 20:25, 94:1.

The Qur’an has used the term dhaiq al sadr to refer to states of psychological imbalance as shown in the following verses: 6:125, 11:12, 15:97, 26:13, 29:33.

Psychological stress (dhaiq nafsi) has also been mentioned in the Qur’an in several verses: 6:125, 9:25, 9:118, 11:12, 11:77, 15:97, 16:12, 18:6, 26:3, 26:13, 27:70, 29:33, 35:8, 65:6).

The term hayatan dhanqah has been used to refer to a life that has psychological stress 20:124.

Throughout the Qur’an psychological well-being is associated with taqwa whereas psychological or mental imbalance are associated with ma’siyat. The implication is that those who live according to Allah’s guidance will live a balanced life.

Psychological imbalances are of two types.
The first type, which is the overwhelming majority, is due to physical causes that are either known today or will be known for sure at some time in the future through scientific research.
The second type is due to moral causes.

The Qur’an has concentrated on the latter.  Whereas the first type will respond easily to chemical and other physical methods of treatment, the second type requires spiritual approaches involving strengthening îmân, taqwah, and ibadat as well as avoiding ma’siyat. Our discussion today will be confined solely to the second type.


PERSONALITY
Mental and psychological well-being are affected to a large extent by the underlying personality. Personality is the totality of behavior of an individual with a given tendency system interacting with a sequence of situations (tendency means there is consistency).

People’s personalities differ (Bukhari 4:461 hadith # 699).

Some are good some are not. Most people are average; the exceptionally strong are rare (Bukhari 8:3341 hadith #505).

There is a model personality for a community that is considered the ideal for that community. There is however a universal ideal that is described by the Qur’an and the sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH) (Hayat 3:459-460)
The Quran expounds in very clear terms a distinct concept of individual growth and development. A human being is both, body and soul, matter and spirit. It is the unique balance between the two contrasts that makes humans what they are, the highest creation. The original condition of the human being is that of fitrah which is uprightness. A human being is born in a natural state of purity (fitrat al Islam). The potential to do good or bad exists. It is the early environment that determines how those potentials are enhanced. If the environment is good, the good potentials are promoted. If it is bad the bad ones are.

The essence of a person is the nafs and not the physical body. Thus personality and behavior are referred to as the nafs. The Qur’an has described several states of nafs, [maraatib al nafs (12:53, 89:27-28, 75:2, 89:27)]:

• nafs ammarah (tendency to evil, 12:53),
• nafs lawamah (conscience and concern with moral rectitude, 75:2),
• nafs mulhamah (inspired to piety and taqwa),
• nafs qanu’ah (satisfied with what it has),
• nafs mutma’inna (calm, 89:27),
• nafs radhiyah (appreciative, 89:27-28),
• nafs mardhiyyat (appreciated, 89:27-28), and
• nafs kamilah (perfect).

The nafs can be purified by acts of ibadat, avoiding the forbidden, generally being conscious of the creator, and constant meditation about the creation. An individual may not succeed alone. Living in a righteous community surrounded by others is necessary to motivate and encourage purification.

The factors that determine the development of personality are: biological inheritance, the physical environment, the culture, socialization, group experience, and unique individual experiences. With the exception of biological inheritance, all these factors can be manipulated for good or for bad.

Personality is set quite early in life. It can change during life but these changes are minor. A person has the capacity to overcome many disabilities in the basic personality. Thus behavior does not always reflect the underlying personality. It is this capacity for self-improvement, taking charge, and striving for the best that makes humans morally responsible.

It is a matter of disagreement whether personality once set is permanent or is changeable. The moderate view is that personality is fairly constant and only minor modifications can be made to it in later life. This emphasizes the importance of education and training early in life when the personality is still malleable and can be modified in the desired way.

Thus early childhood upbringing is the main determinant of psychological health. Societies that neglect this stage pay a heavy price in terms of psychological imbalances later on.


ENHANCING THE POSITIVE
Communities and individuals who strive to enhance the positive attributes of the nafs and qalb enjoy good mental and psychological health:

The Qur’an has described positive attributes of the nafs:

• giving preference to others (ithaar al nafs,  59:9),
• belief (iman al nafs,  6:158, 10:100),
• fear of Allah (taqwa al nafs,  91:7-8),

The positive attributes of the qalb are:

• health (salamat al qalb,  26:89,   83:41),
• purity (taharat al qalb,  5:41, 33:53),
• mercy (rahmat al qalb,  3:159, 57:27),
• balance and equilibrium (tama’ininat al qalb,  2:260, 48:18),
• softness (liin al qalb,  3:159, 39:23),
• openness (inshiraah al qalb, 6:125,  94:1).

The nafs can undertake actions to improve or strengthen itself:

• selling itself to Allah to get His pleasure (bai’u al nafs li llah, 2:207,  9:111),
• purification (tazkiyat al nafs, 2:151,  92:18),
• change to improve (taghyiir ma bi al nafs, 8:53, 13:11),
• repentance (tawbat al nafs, 2:54,  4:64).

   
DISCOURAGING THE NEGATIVE
Good mental and psychological health can be achieved by discouraging the negative attributes of the nafs and the qalb. The negative attributes of the nafs described by the Qur’an are: 

• extravagance (israaf al nafs, 39:53),
• jealousy (hasad al nafs,  2:109),
• covetousness (shuhhu al nafs,  4:128, 59:5, 64:16),
• passionate bodily desires (shahwat al nafs,  21:102…43:71),
• transgression (dhulm al nafs,  2:54 … 65:1),
• pride (ujb al nafs,  4:49),
• temptation (fitnat al nafs,  57:14),
• corruption (fujuur al nafs,  91:7-8).
• deception (khidau al nafs  2:9)
• treachery (khiyanat al nafs  2:187, 4:107).

 
The negative attributes of the qalb are:

• thinking of the bad (dhann al qalb bi al asayi,  48:12),
• hardness (qaswat al qalb),
• confusion (waswasat al qalb,  2:74,  57:16,  44:5).

 
The qalb can be afflicted by diseases.

• seat of diseases of a moral nature (amradh al qalb  5:52, 74:31):
• lahw (7:43 … 59:10),
• ghaflah (18:29),
• ghill ( 21:3) ,
• ghaidh  (3:118-119),
• ma’siyat, kibr  (40:35 … 40:56),
• nifaq, (2:8-10 … 3:167).

The qalb can be influenced or changed. This can be from human action or sometimes divine intervention from Allah (SWT).
  
PERSONAL FAILURE
Many situations or psychological imbalance are actually cases of personal failure (‘ajz) that the prophet warned about.

Personal failure can manifest in many ways. Persons may become addicted to bad habits and sins. They become socially incompetent or lazy about their basic responsibilities in the family and society. This failure is a cause of sadness and distress to the individual concerned, the family, and the whole society.


CAUSES OF PERSONAL FAILURE
Forgetting Allah and neglecting His commands is the start of failure. There are some cases of failure that can not be attributed to any fault of the person but to unfortunate circumstances. Allah usually helps such people when they turn to Him and ask for help.

"Anas reported that Allah's Messenger ( may peace be upon him) used to make this supplication:"O Allah, I Seek refuge in you from miserliness, from sloth and from decrepitude." Muslim 3: 1421, Chapter 1129, Hadith # 6539

"O Allah! I seek refuge with You from distress and sorrow, from helplessness and laziness, from miserliness and cowardice, from being heavily in debt and from being overcome by men" Bukhari 4:92, hadith # 143

Umar b. al-Khattab said: The Prophet ( may peace be upon him ) used to seek refuge in Allah from five things; cowardliness, niggardliness, the evils of old age, evil thoughts, and punishment in the grave. Hadith 1534

Anas b. Malik said: The Apostle of Allah ( may peace be upon him ) used to say: " O Allah, I seek refuge in you from incapacity, slackness, cowardliness, niggardliness, decrepitude; and I seek refuge in you from the punishment in the grave; and I seek refuge in you from the trial of life and death." Hadith 1535

Anas b. Malik said: I used to serve the Prophet ( may peace be upon him ) and often hear him say: " O Allah, I seek refuge in you from care, grief, burden of debt and being overpowered by men." The narrator then narrated some more things which the narrator al-Taimi ( in the previous tradition ) reported. Hadith 1536

Abu Hurairah said that the Prophet ( may peace be upon him ) used to say: " O Allah, I seek refuge in you from poverty" lack and abasement, and I seek refuge in you lest I cause or suffer wrong." Hadith 1539

Abu Hurairah said: The Apostle of Allah ( may peace be upon him ) used to say: " O Allah, I seek refuge in you from four things: Knowledge which does not profit, a heart which is not submissive, a soul which has an insatiable appetite, and a supplication which is not heard." Hadith 1543

Anas b. Malik said: The Prophet ( may peace be upon him ) used to say " O Allah, I seek refuge in you from a prayer which does not profit," He also mentioned another supplication. Hadith 1544

Shutair b. Shaki ( b. Humaid ) said: I said: Apostle of Allah, teach me a supplication. He said: Say : " O Allah, I seek refuge in you from the evil of what I hear, from the evil of what I see, from the evil of what I speak, from the evil of what I think, and from the evil of my semen" ( i.e. sexual passion ). Hadith 1546

Anas said: The Prophet ( may peace be upon him ) used to say: " O Allah, I seek refuge in you from leprosy, madness, elephantiasis, and evil diseases." Hadith 1549

"Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet ( may peace be upon him ) said to Abu Talha " Choose one of your boys to serve me." So Abu Talha took me ( to serve the Prophet ( may peace be upon him ) by giving me a ride behind him ( on his camel ). So I used to serve Allah's Apostle ( may peace be upon him ) whenever he stayed somewhere I used to hear him saying, " O Allah! I seek refuge with you ( Allah ) from worries and grief, from incapacity and laziness from miserliness and cowardice, from being heavily in debt and from being overpowered by other men." Bukhari 8:250, hadith # 374.


 
Lectures on Islamic Medicine
     http://www.iiu.edu.my/medic/islmed/index.html
Prof. Dr. Omar Hasan Kasule, Sr.
Deputy Dean (Research & Postgraduate Affairs),
Kulliyyah of Medicine,
International Islamic University Malaysia
e-mail: kasule@iiu.edu.my

The Mental State and the Shariah

Author: Prof. Dr.Omar Hassan Kasule Sr.

Legal Competence (Ahliyyat) & Legal Guardianship (Wilayat)
I    LEGAL COMPETENCE: (ahliyyat)
II   RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS (huquq & wajibat)
III  DEFICIENT LEGAL COMPETENCE (ahliyyat naqisat)
IV THE CONCEPT OF WILAYAT

I  LEGAL COMPETENCE: (ahliyyat)
 
Definition:
A person with full legal competence has full rights in decisions and actions regarding his person and property. He also has full responsibility for his actions of commission or omission. Legal competence (ahliyyat), is the basis for intention (niyyat). Niyyat is the basis of validity of human actions. Therefore human actions can not be valid without legal competence.

Conditions of Legal Competence  (shurut al ahliyyat )
The following are the defining conditions of legal competence:
(a) intellect ('aql), and puberty (buloogh)
(b) knowledge ('ilm) and
(c) freedom (hurriyat).

The main condition is that of intellect.  All the others depend on and support it. The human intellect is so important that the Qur'an has severely condemned misuse (ta'atiil), of human intellect (7:179, 8:22). No human action can be carried out well and correctly without using human intellect correctly.

Intellect, 'aql and puberty, buloogh
Intellect and puberty are considered together because they are closely related. A child with superior intellect but is pre-pubertal has diminished legal competence.  A post-pubertal person with intellectual deficiency has diminished legal competence.  A person who is defined as having legal competence must have sufficient intellectual capacity to understand rights, obligations, and the accompanying actions.  He must also be able to understand the basic sources of Islamic law, the Qur'an and sunnah, as they relate to actions contemplated.  However this knowledge need not be comprehensive or primary; those who do not know can follow those who know, taqlid. We must distinguish intellectual competence from wisdom. Many youths in their teen ages commit many mistakes because they lack experience and wisdom and not because they are intellectually incompetent.

Determination of Intellectual Competence
Intellectual competence can not be measured directly.  Surrogate measures are therefore used by the Law.  The most commonly used and legally-accepted surrogate measure is puberty, buloogh.  At puberty a group of observable intellectual and mental phenomena appear that indicate intellectual maturity. These coincide with the development of abstract thought and ability to reason rationally.  The thinking of the pre-pubertal child is concrete whereas that of the post-pubertal teenager is abstract.  Abstract thinking is more powerful and efficient than concrete thinking.  Spermache in males and menarche in females are biological signs of puberty.  Secondary sexual characteristics develop in both genders at puberty.  In both genders the age of 15 is considered to be an age of intellectual maturity and therefore of legal competence.  The Qur'an has recommended testing orphan children to make sure that they are mature enough intellectually to be given responsibility for their wealth (4:6, 6:152, 17:23).  Sexual awareness and sexual restrictions are also tied to intellectual development.  Pre-pubertal children are allowed to enter rooms of adults but they have to request permission if they are post-puberty (24:58-59).

Knowledge
Knowledge of obligations, rights, actions and their consequences can affect legal competence.  A human has an inner capacity to know what is good, hasan, and what is bad, qabih.  This knowledge may not be perfect and reliable all the time for all people. It is therefore necessary to have knowledge from the creator as set out in the law, shariah.  A legally competent adult is obliged to know the fundamentals of religion, al ma'alum fi al diin bi al darurat.  These include knowledge of the basic acts of worship as well as the prohibited actions. There is a specific obligation to know the law relating to an activity being undertaken. The laws and regulations of marriage must be known by those intending marriage, nikaah. Those engaged in trade must know the laws relating to buying and selling, bay'u wa al shara'u.
The following grades of actions must also be known:
(a) the obligatory, fardh; some may be individually obligatory, fardh 'ain or communally obligatory, fardh kifayat
(b) recommended, manduub
(c) permissible, mubaah
(d) offensive, makruh
(e) unlawful, haram.
It is also important to understand that one act can be permissible in one circumstance and forbidden in another circumstance like salat before sunset and after it. The legal dispensations, rukhsah, must be known for all obligatory actions.

Freedom
Freedom of action also defines legal capacity. A person who is restricted like a prisoner has diminished legal competence. This is because he can not exercise his rights or discharge obligations fully.
 
II  RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS (huquq & wajibat)
Fundamental rights
The fundamental rights are represented by the five Purposes of the Law (maqasid al shari'ah):
(a) Religion (din)
(b) Life (nafs)
(c) Intellect ('aql)
(d) Progeny (nasl)
(e) property (maal).
These rights are not abridged on the basis of gender, age, sanity, or disease. There are innate rights for all humans that can not be denied because of the mental state. It is only their exercise that can be regulated by the law in deficient mental states.

Obligations
For each of the five fundamental rights mentioned there are rights and obligations. For example the right to freedom of religion carries the obligation to protect the basic tenets of religion from distortion and undertaking religious activities. The right to life also has the obligation to preserve life and not harm it except as allowed by the law. The right to property has the obligation to pay zakat and feed the immediate family.

Rights and obligations in different situations
The rights and obligations of the individuals vary and depend to a large extent on the legal competence. A fetus has rights of inheritance, nutrition, and medical care but has no obligations at all to anybody. A pre-pubertal child has the right to be looked after and educated by the parents; he has diminished obligations like obeying parents, starting praying at the age of 7 years and being punished for not praying beyond the age of 10 years. Beyond puberty the human has both rights and obligations but these also vary by circumstances. For example the obligations of the wife are not the same as those of the husband nor are their rights exactly the same. In child custody, the non-custodial parent who is the father has definite rights as regards the upbringing of the child but has the obligations of nafaqat.

Rights & obligations and Relationship to Legal Capacity
The variation of rights and obligations explained above depend on the level of legal competence which as we mentioned before depends to a large extent on the intellectual competence. Thus the fetus has the least number of obligations whereas an adult has a full slate of rights balanced by obligations.

Privileges Of The Legally Competent (kamil al ahliyyat)
The legally competent person has full rights regarding his person, nafs, and his wealth, maal. The rights of the person include decisions on medical treatment, rights about wealth include property and financial transactions, and rights on personal matters like marriage and divorce. The rights exist from the fetal period and can not be denied on account of deficiency in legal competence. The exercise of these rights is restricted in cases of legal incompetence to protect the interests of the incompetent. A legally competent adult is responsible for all his acts of commission or omission. He has obligations under the law that he has to fulfil. The obligations however vary. The law considers the age of 7 years as the age of discrimination, sinn al tamyiiz. Between the age of 7 and puberty and depending on the speed of development, a child may have intellectual competence to make correct decisions about some matters but no actions can be valid unless approved by the legal guardian. After the age of 7, the obligation of prayer is enforced though not with the rigour in adults.
 
III  DEFICIENT LEGAL COMPETENCE (ahliyyat naqisat)
Types of legal competence
Legal competence is of two types
(a) legal competence with regard to rights, ahliyat al wujuub
(b) legal competence with regard to obligations, ahliyat al adaa. 
Both types can be full, kamilat, or deficient, naqisat.
 
Deficiency can be permanent or temporary. The deficiency may be general or specific. The general may involve several intellectual functions or cover several practical situations. The specific is more restricted. 
A person may be incompetent in some matters and not others. Legal competence can be with regard to rights, ahliyat al wujuub or with regard to obligations, ahliyat al adaa. Rights can not be denied but their exercise can be restricted. Obligations depend on the level of legal competence. Persons with legal incompetence can be excused from specific obligations.

Impediments to Legal Competence
Adults can be legally incompetent when they have an attribute recognized by the law as an impediment to legal competence. These impediments that exempt an adult from performance of obligatory duties, mawaniu al taklif, may be voluntary, mawaniu al taklif al ikhtiyariyat, or involuntary, mawaniu al taklif ghayr al ikhtiyariyah. The voluntary impediments to legal competence, mawaniu al taklif al ikhtiyariyat are also referred to as acquired, 'awaridh muktasabat. They are impediments that are
(a) a result of conscious human choices
(b) which humans could avoid or prevent by appropriate measures
(c) which can be repaired after occurrence.
Involuntary impediments to legal competence, mawaniu al taklif ghayr al ikhtiyariyat, are also referred to as heavenly interventions, awaridh samawiyah. The following is a list of impedinments recognized by the law:

Intoxication, sukr: 
This is loss of full intellectual competence due to taking alcohol or a psycho-active substance.

Insanity, junoon: 
Insanity is a general term for mental conditions in which rational reasoning and behaviour are impaired to a severe degree. Extreme cases of insanity give rise to no confusion at all whereas many are not so easily definable. Psychiatrists should be involved in the definition of psychiatric conditions that are considered junoon. The restrictions on the insane (hajr al majnoon) covers marriage, divorce, and property transactions. Thus the following actions if undertaken by the insane are null and void under the law: divorce (talaq al majnoon) and disposal of property (mal al majnoon).

Mental retardation, safah: 
The restrictions on the insane mentioned above apply to the mentally-retarded (hajr al safiih). The Qur'an forbade giving wealth to the mentally-retarded, safiih (4:5) The guardian concludes contracts for the fool-hardy (2:282). Insanity and mental retardation have various degrees. There are degrees in which sufficient intellect is retained to make those concerned liable for their actions. The judgement in this matter is left to the physician. The degree of loss of legal competence should be congruent with the degree of mental retardation.

Loss of consciousness, ighma:
The unconscious person can not exercise his rights nor can he discharge obligations.

Infancy and childhood, sigar: 
The restriction of rights on the pre-pubertal child (al hajr sabiyy) ends with puberty. Even before puberty, a child who is intellectually competent and understands what he is doing, is allowed to make and execute decisions. Actions that are purely in the interest of the child with no manifest harm such as accepting a gift can be made by the understanding child without the approval of the guardian. Actions that have the potential to harm the child are null and void if not approved by the legal guardian.

Terminal illness, maradh al mawt. 
This term is used for severe illness that can cause death. The mental state of the patient is not normal in such a condition due to the worry, anxiety, and pain. Salat is modified (KS 506) for terminal illness or any other serious illness.

Forgetting, nisyaan & sahaw: 
Forgetting is a temporary loss of intellectual competence related to memory.

Absence of mind, ghaflat: 
This is a condition in which use of intellectual faculties is diminished. No effort is made to use the full potential of the human intellect.

Sleep, nawm: 
Sleep is a temporary lowering of the level of consciousness. Unconscious intellectual functions continue during.

Menstruation, haidh. 
The period immediately before menstruation as well as the period of menstruation are period of increased mental and psychological stress that affects legal competence. The menstruating women can not be divorced (KS p. 210). She does not pray, fast, or perform some rites of hajj.

Errors, khata: 
Humans are prone to err and they can correct their errors when they realize them

Coercion, ikrah: 
If a person is forced into an evil action he is not responsible 7:88, 20:73, 23:33

Traveling, safar:
Traveling has psychological and physical stresses that can impair normal intellectual functioning.
There are situations in which legal competence is lost although the person is not intellectually deficient such as the debtor who is declared legally incompetent to protect the rights of the creditors.
 
IV  THE CONCEPT OF WILAYAT
Legal guardianship, wilayat, is legal authority given to a guardian, wali, to make and carry out decisions regarding the person, nafs, or wealth, maal.  Guardianship is related to legal competence. The guardian must himself have legal competence to qualify as a guardian. He must in addition be able to carry out the duties of guardianship. A guardian acts on behalf of a person who has deficient legal competence. The decisions of a guardian acting on behalf of another person are binding on that person. The guardian, wali, is a blood relation and if not available the state or the judge. The nearest blood relatives have guardianship with regard to issues like child upbringing, treatment of the child.
END
 
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