Mental Illnesses in the Islamic Heritage: Abu Bakr al-Razi as a Model (An Analytical Study)

Abstract

This research aimed to examine Abu Bakr al-Razi’s conception of the nature of the soul (Rūḥ) and its functions; to explore the psychological disorders he addressed in his writings, and to examine the therapeutic methods he employed in dealing with mental disorders. This is done by examining whether Al-Razi, through his descriptions of psychological problems, proposed methods of dealing with them that can be utilized and applied in the contemporary context of Muslim societies. To achieve these objectives, the research adopted a combined analytical and descriptive approach. The research population was defined to include professionals in the field of psychology who are interested in integrating traditional therapeutic practices, through qualitative analysis of heritage sources. Accordingly, the research population is the same as the original population of the research. The research sample is limited to the group to which the research is directed only; no specific sample was selected using any of the sampling methods typically applied in empirical studies. The research tools used in the analytical part included textual analysis of heritage sources, conceptual analysis, and bibliographic review of secondary sources, in addition to the researcher’s own observations from clinical practice and exploratory interviews. The research reached the following results: it was found that Al-Razi’s conception of the soul (Rūḥ) is closely linked to his thought arising from the integration of philosophy with medicine, which distinguished his view of the nature of the soul (Rūḥ) from others. It was also found that Al-Razi’s writings reflect an early awareness of psychological disorders, which continues to attract contemporary scholarly interest. Moreover, the research discovered that al-Razi’s therapeutic methods can be effectively employed in contemporary psychotherapy. The research concluded with key recommendations, namely the establishment of collaboration between research and therapeutic institutions to develop a comprehensive diagnostic manual, in addition to formulating an integrated Islamic therapeutic approach based on the methods proposed by Al-Razi for treating disorders.