The Believer and Mental Illness

Question :

Does a believer ever become affected by mental illness? What is the cure for mental illness, considering that modern medicines and chemicals are used only present-day theories to cure it?

Answer:

For sure, man is often beset with worries regarding the future and sadness regarding the past. Some forms of mental illness are more detrimental to the body than physical ailments are. The cures to these diseases are better achieved by what the Shari'ah prescribed the Ruqya much more so than by the use of modern medicine. Among its cures is what is mentioned in the authentic Hadith related by Ibn Mas'ud, may Allâh be pleased with him.

No believer says the following invocation when suffering anxiety, sadness, or worry, except that Allâh will give him a way out of his worries:
"O Allah, I am Your servant, son of Your servant, son of Your maidservant, my forelock is in Your Hand, Your command over me is forever executed and Your decree over me is just. I ask You- O Allah by every name belonging to You which You named Yourself with, or revealed in Your Book, or You taught to any of Your creation, or You have preserved in the knowledge of the unseen with You. That You make the Qur'an the life of my heart and the light of my breast, and a departure for my sorrow and a release for my anxiety."

One should also say:
"None has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allah); how perfect You are! Indeed, I have been from the wrongdoers."

If one desires more than this, he may refer to the books of the scholars on the topic of statements of remembrance. Examples include: Al-Wabil As-Sayyib, by Ibn Al-Qayyim; Al-Kalim At- Tayyib, by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah; Al-Athkaar, by Nawawi; and also Zad Al-Ma'ad, by Ibn Al-Qayyim.

But when the faith weakens, so weakens the self acceptance of Shari'ah cures, People nowadays place more trust in physical remedies than in remedies prescribed by the Shari'ah. When a person's faith is strong, the Shari'ah remedy is more effective, and faster in results than other cures.

We all know the story of when the Prophet ﷺ sent a man to lead an expedition, the expedition arrived at a Bedouin tribe of people, and received no hospitality from them. Then Allah. Almighty willed for the leader of that tribe to be bitten by a snake. The people of the tribe, after consulting one another, decided to go to the newcomers, hoping that there is a person who can make Ruqya among them. The Prophet's Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, refused to help them unless they gave them a certain number of sheep, a proposal which they thought acceptable. One of the Companions read Surat Al- Fatihah over the leader of the tribe, who in turn became active and normal, as if he was never bitten in the first place. This is the effect of reading Surat Al-Fatihah, but we must remember that it was a man whose heart was replete with faith who read it. When the expedition returned, the Prophet ﷺ said:
"How did you know that it was a Ruqya?"

In these times, weakness in religion and faith are common, and people place their full trust in apparent matters only. Contrary to them, another group has emerged who by magic and by playing with the minds of people, have managed to swindle and dupe many of those who are gullible. Thus are people separated by two extremes, but then again, there are still those who are in the middle.