Author – Saira Qureshi, LMHC, Ed Psych M.A.
The believers, both men and women, are guardians of one another. They encourage good and forbid evil, establish prayer and pay alms-tax, and obey Allah and His Messenger. It is they who will be shown Allah’s mercy. Surely Allah is Almighty, All-Wise. (At-Tawbah 9:71)
Islam as a religion with a Divinely offered way of life (shariah) values family and community strength building, immensely. Given this blessing, we can feel encouraged to offer social support to each other as best we can and, in doing so, also set a healthy psychospiritual support model for future generations to benefit from.
The sociological aspect of human psychological well-being cannot be ignored. Every family and group of people, as a community or nation, needs each other to rely on during different life situations, while both working together and independently to improve personal and collective lives within familial and societal sociological structures.
O humanity! Be mindful of your Lord Who created you from a single soul, and from it He created its mate, and through both He spread countless men and women. And be mindful of Allah—in Whose Name you appeal to one another—and honor family ties. Surely Allah is ever Watchful over you. (An-Nisa 4:1)
As strangers to each other or close family and community members, everyone has a role and responsibility to fulfill. Nobody can always have it easy all of the time with others, when it comes to agreeing and finding support, because of individual differences in personal perceptions and limitations as to how open-hearted one person may be able to understand and fully support another or not. Still, we can help create an atmosphere of mutual realization of first – at least, by offering a listening ear to each other and then work towards sincere cooperation while supporting each other with resources, time, and positive personal presence. Deep-seated and generationally negative lived experiences further make it harder to look for social support within one’s family and community.
Al hamd Allah and Shukr Allah that there are several hadith (sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and real-life examples where he (saw) expressed deep commitment to being supportive and listening to others while offering revelatory guidance and allowing healing in people who came to him being hurt, rebuked, persecuted, enslaved, scared, sad, violated, worried, and grieving.
How can Muslim mental health professionals offer support to Muslim clients and all our clients from other faith backgrounds to develop positive relationships in their families and communities? It is through working on their own personal ways of thinking, feeling, and interacting with or responding to others with courtesy and dignity. When relationships are really sour, we can encourage a safe, dignified manner of extending peace and goodwill, and help individuals gradually become able to find peace within and not be prone to ill-treating others, even if they may have been ill-treated.
The believers are but one brotherhood, so make peace between your brothers. And be mindful of Allah so you may be shown mercy. (Al-Hujurat 49:10)
As mental health professionals and scholars, we have a rich traditional wisdom from our faith, which we can apply in offering psychospiritual interventions to clients by encouraging them to seek helpful social supports and, when necessary, help them develop communication and emotional regulation skills along with the capabilities to forgive within reason, based on their individual life situations and the nature of dysfunctional relationships.
When compassion, empathy, mercy, respect and trust are our high ideals, then we must practice and apply them in our everyday interactions with each other. Otherwise, additional psychological problems such as antisocial behaviors, isolation, bitterness, and irritability can continue to diminish further one’s capacity to learn to trust other people again, after having been emotionally hurt.
Seeking social support is one of the cornerstones of healing. Trials and traumas can leave anyone at any age deeply wounded and spiritually drained. The emotional and psychological tolls of feeling betrayed or abandoned are stories we hear all the time from the most vulnerable people – young or old – and thus it is self-evident that the need for community to step up and offer healing spaces is imperative.
You are the best community ever raised for humanity—you encourage good, forbid evil, and believe in Allah. (Ali ‘Imran 3:110)
Beyond recovering from challenges in relationships, it is essential to acknowledge that, as humans and believers, we have a Divine command to be mindful of our accountability to our Creator, Allah swt, for everything we do. This includes how we interact with each other as individuals and families, and with communities. This realization can help everyone in taking into account their own responses towards others when seeking social support or offering themselves as social support to others who may need help.
And you will see every faith community on its knees. Every community will be summoned to its record of deeds. They all will be told, “This Day you will be rewarded for what you used to do. (Al-Jathiyah – 45:28)
We are fortunate that Allah swt Himself encourages us to strive for a clear conscience and to be sincere when we intend to support each other, knowing that all our actions are meant to embody doing good and preventing harm.
Conclusion
With good intentions and a clear resolve to mend relationships, we can all benefit as individuals, family members, and community members, especially in the world’s broader societal spaces, where one may frequently find hurtful biases and prejudices. Families and communities must be positive supports for family and community members to prosper. It is with a desire to realize this supportive role in the professions of mental health counseling, social work and clinical practices – that we uphold the tenets of goodness through all relationships. We pray that Allah swt continually enables mental health professionals to support clients through difficulties in their relationships and to help them develop socially and emotionally healthy connections, not only within families and communities but also beyond, in a very diverse world.
Further readings
alHarbi, H., Farrand, P., & Laidlaw, K. (2023). Understanding the beliefs and attitudes towards mental health problems held by Muslim communities and acceptability of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as a treatment: systematic review and thematic synthesis. Discover mental health, 3(1), 26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44192-023-00053-2
Ali, S., Mahmood, A., McBryde-Redzovic, A., Humam, F., & Awaad, R. (2022). Role of Mosque Communities in Supporting Muslims with Mental Illness: Results of CBPR-oriented Focus Groups in the Bay Area, California. The Psychiatric quarterly, 93(4), 985–1001. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-022-10002-x
Bradshaw, J., Siddiqui, N., Greenfield, D., & Sharma, A. (2022). Kindness, Listening, and Connection: Patient and Clinician Key Requirements for Emotional Support in Chronic and Complex Care. Journal of patient experience, 9, 23743735221092627. https://doi.org/10.1177/23743735221092627
Castillo, E. G., Ijadi-Maghsoodi, R., Shadravan, S., Moore, E., Mensah, M. O., 3rd, Docherty, M., Aguilera Nunez, M. G., Barcelo, N., Goodsmith, N., Halpin, L. E., Morton, I., Mango, J., Montero, A. E., Rahmanian Koushkaki, S., Bromley, E., Chung, B., Jones, F., Gabrielian, S., Gelberg, L., Greenberg, J. M., … Wells, K. B. (2019). Community Interventions to Promote Mental Health and Social Equity. Current psychiatry reports, 21(5), 35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-019-1017-0
Ineanei, R. R., and Al-‘Anani H. (1990). Freedom & Responsibility in Qur’anic Perspective. American Trust Publications
Tanhan, A., & Young, J. S. (2022). Muslims and Mental Health Services: A Concept Map and a Theoretical Framework. Journal of religion and health, 61(1), 23–63. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01324-4
Rassool, G.H. (2021). Islamic Psychology: Human Behaviour and Experience from an Islamic Perspective (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429354762
Utz, A. (2011). Psychology from the Islamic perspective. Riyadh: International Islamic Publishing House. ISBN: 978-603-501-108-2
Websites
https://yaqeeninstitute.org/read/family-community