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Peace be upon you, dear brothers and sisters.
Today, I published an article stating that grief may be the result of an old sin. Some objected, saying, "No, grief, depression, and these phenomena are the result of physiological fluctuations, weather changes, medications, environmental factors, etc." Of course, brothers, this comment and objection indicate a deep problem in thinking and connecting the unseen world with the visible world. Therefore, I would like to clarify some important issues in this matter and others.
First of all, brothers, those who say, "No, no, depression is just hormonal disorders, etc.," my brother has been studying and teaching topics of depression and mental illnesses for 25 years. We have studied and continue to study in pharmacology and treatment courses about "Major Depressive Disorder" (clinical depression) and not incidental grief. We have studied about schizophrenia and different types of depression: "Seasonal Depression," "Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder," and for example, "Dysthymia," which is milder than depression.
We have also studied therapeutic guidelines for treating depression and different types of medications: "SSRIs," "SNRIs," "Atypical Antidepressants," "TCAs," and others, and their relationship with serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and non-drug treatments and psychotherapy in psychiatric interviews. So, brothers who say, "No, no, depression is related to hormones," are not being blamed. We have been studying and have studied these topics for a long time. We also study "Bipolar" disorder, schizophrenia, "Anxiety" (different types of anxiety), and what is called schizophrenia or psychosis and bipolar disorder.
For those with scientific enthusiasm, we will provide some links in the comments to lectures we recorded during the Zoom sessions for our students during the Corona pandemic. You will find some details there. Praise be to God, we understand these topics very well.
At the same time, there is absolutely no contradiction between mental illnesses resulting from disturbances in neurotransmitters, the use of certain medications, or being influenced by the environment, upbringing, and personality, and the idea that the grief that afflicts a person or some mental illnesses may be the result of a trial from Allah, the Most High.
The evidence we use to explore science, let's talk about "Science," observational and experimental science, even to study this science, we need the mind, innate premises, innate premises, we need authentic and documented evidence, we need the senses. We are on a journey of certainty, especially in the recent episodes, we have proven in detail that these very sources of knowledge lead inevitably to the proof of the existence of the unseen world, and the proof of the existence of unseen causes for material phenomena. We have also shown that these same sources of knowledge are used to distinguish between false unseen and superstitions and nonsense, and on the other hand, the unseen that the mind, innate nature, and authentic evidence point to its validity and the senses.
Therefore, there is no contradiction. Now, when we say, for example, that Allah, the Most High, healed someone from an illness, and this person had taken medication, imagine someone comes and says, "No, no, it was not Allah who healed him, but this medication is related to the receptors on his cells and thus led to the production of the 'Second Messenger' or some components inside the cell, and this led to the disappearance of the disease." This means profound ignorance and a lack of understanding of the harmony between the unseen world and the visible world. Allah, the Most High, created these causes and the healing properties in these medications, so there is no contradiction in saying that Allah healed this person and destined that the medication would work and its effect.
Similarly, when it is said that a person is afflicted with grief, of course, we differentiate between grief and clinical depression. And some, when I wrote that I would do a live broadcast, said, "No, no, Sheikh, there is a difference between grief and depression." Brothers, no blame, my brother repeats and says that for 25 years in academic work and mental illnesses, one of the topics I love, study, and master, and therefore we know very well that grief, incidental sadness, and incidental melancholy are completely different from clinical depression, for which we need to judge a person as having this disease based on certain symptoms of a certain severity for a certain period, not incidental melancholy for a day or two or three.
Now, brothers, Allah, the Most High, may decree that a person be afflicted with melancholy, and this may be due to a sin committed by this servant. Who said that Allah can only bring about these diseases through miracles? This is just the evaporation of water and its collection on nuclei in the sky, and thus water condenses and under the pressure of gravity, it falls. There is no contradiction, my dear, between all of this, between the material causes that we know and that Allah, the Most High, created these properties and these laws and that He brings about this rain as a mercy to His servants. This is true, and that is true.
Scientific theories or let's say established scientific facts are true, and on the other hand, that Allah, the Most High, sends down rain as a mercy to the servants is true, the same evidence that we use to produce "Science" (observational and experimental science) points to it. In detail, in the journey of certainty, in the episodes responding to those who say, "Do not mix faith with material sciences," and in the episode "The scientific evidence for the existence of angels" (of course, a strange title to many, but please watch it), and in the episode "Can the existence of Allah be proven scientifically?" We will provide the links, God willing, in the comments.
So, my brothers, yes, Allah may impose grief and sadness upon a servant to purify him from a sin he has committed, and this grief and sadness may be due to common causes known to humans. Now, regarding mental illnesses, such as depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and the like, are they punishments, trials, or divine purifications, or are they physiological disorders resulting from a lack of serotonin or an increase in dopamine in the mesolimbic area, and other classifications that we usually talk about?
I say, my brothers, once again, there is no contradiction in reality. After a long breath in studying this subject and a long review of the evidence, and after asking and consulting on the matter, I have concluded, and Allah knows best, that there is a genetic predisposition for mental illnesses or what we call "predisposition." There is a genetic predisposition for mental illnesses. This predisposition does not mean that there is a specific gene that, if found in you, will cause you to suffer from depression, schizophrenia, psychosis, or others, but rather that you will be more susceptible to contracting this disease if other factors converge, because these diseases are "multifactorial," meaning they have multiple causes.
There is a genetic predisposition that cannot be attributed to a specific gene; it is very difficult to attribute it to a specific gene on a specific chromosome.
At the same time, there are other "physical disorders." If a believer is afflicted with depression, he will be more capable of dealing with it and enduring it, and he will be further away from falling into things like suicide, which many non-believing depressives fall into or a percentage of them. Similarly, like patients with bipolar disorder, a percentage of them commit suicide. The believing human is not more capable of endurance, more capable of dealing, and further away from falling into problems like suicide and others if he is afflicted with these mental illnesses.
Therefore, I have not come across anyone who tells me that he has the following symptoms, I do not tell him that you have depression, but rather I tell him: "Go to a psychiatrist, go to a psychological counselor." And usually, I present the psychological counselor in most cases. I tell him at the same time: "You must perform the morning and evening remembrances, comfort yourself, read the Book of Allah, and read the book of good thoughts about Allah that I wrote." At the same time, we refer him to a psychiatrist or a psychological counselor. This does not contradict that at all, gentlemen.
And not everyone who suffers from a mental illness is a sinful disobedient person, no. There are believers who may suffer from mental illnesses, but again, faith and righteousness are more likely to lead to good dealing with these diseases and to some extent prevent one from contracting them. That is, the rate of infection in believers who understand their faith, understand their Islam, and are reassured and happy with their Islam because they understand it well, these are further away from contracting these diseases, and Allah is the Most High, the Most Knowing.
Therefore, in conclusion, gentlemen, when we say that you may be grieved by an old sin from which you have not repented and have forgotten, but Allah has not forgotten it, you may be grieved because you are committing a sin that has dulled your sense of it, you may be grieved because you have left a duty and saw that Allah did not punish you with a worldly punishment, so you were reassured and forgot this duty or your sense of guilt towards leaving it. As long as we say "may," we have not gone astray, because we have not limited the cause of grief to the sin and the old or new guilt, but rather we say that the believer is sensitive and his conscience is alert, and he reviews himself if he is afflicted with grief, sadness, and depression to correct his condition. And this does not prevent him from taking the causes of removing worldly grief, and if he is ill, he should take the treatments. And Allah is the Most High, the Most Knowing.
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.