Does Islam Need Feminism?

Feminism is a hot topic right now with a lot of misunderstandings and sharp opinions. By definition, feminism is the advocacy of women’s rights based on the equality of the sexes. Equality between sexes does not mean men and women are the same, we know that is not true. It means they should be given the same opportunities and respect regardless of gender and within the context of Islamic feminism, their Islamic rights must be upheld.

Islam advocates for the good treatment of women and pushed for female rights during a time when many cultures viewed women as a lesser gender and some even questioned if women had a soul. For example, Islam gave women the right to inherit and own property, stopped the infanticide of females and gave women the right to divorce as well as deny marrying someone. Yet someone reading this right now is saying “women can’t divorce in Islam without the husband agreeing” and that person just proved a point I will unpack later because that is not true.

These examples along with others cause some to claim that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was the original feminist. Whether or not this term applies, we can all agree he was an advocate for female rights. Imagine a time when abused women had no rights, female babies were buried alive and marriage practices were often forced and oppressive. Widows became the property of the next male kin in the family along with all of the possessions the husband left behind. She was not given any inheritance rather she became part of the inheritance to another man, as if she was a piece of furniture. Undoubtedly, the Prophet (saws) was an advocate for the marginalized.

So far, this all sounds like Islam came to protect women. So why the rise in Islamic feminists? Why are so many male and female Muslims standing up to say Islam needs feminism?

Waves of Feminism

Before we dive into Islamic feminism, we need to grasp how this all began. The first wave of feminism was seen in 1848. This wave focused on the right to vote and was spearheaded by two abolitionist females that were barred from attending the anti-slavery convention in London. In 1870 African-American men earned the right to vote and this greatly motivated suffragettes as no one expected ex-slaves to be granted voting rights before women. While voting was the main focus, the first wave feminists also advocated for equal opportunity to education, employment and owning property. These were radical ideas for the time. It was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to vote.

The second wave begins in 1963. This wave focused on the cultural archetype that women belonged at home and had no place or desire to seek anything outside of child rearing and housework. A book titled The Feminine Mystique acted as social media does for us now and brought together many women. It spread rapidly and began inspiring women towards social advocacy. During this wave, the right to birth control was enacted, educational and employment acts were passed by congress along with the famous Roe VS Wade case that gave women reproductive rights. Even marital rape was finally recognized as an injustice towards women.

The third wave began around 1990 with a focus on claiming female beauty as ours, not a product for men. While the first two waves would label painful high heels and an hour of makeup as patriarchal oppression, the third wave sought to own their female beauty. Essentially saying we can wear high heels with red lipstick and that does not take away our brains nor does it mean we wear it for men. Some people refer to this wave as “girly feminism”.

Currently we are in the midst of what some label the fourth wave, some claim it is still the third while others say the fourth wave has not truly launched. Semantics aside, we are in a “call out” culture that puts emphasis on social media, sexuality, spreading awareness and a great example is the popular #metoo movement.

Islamic feminism pulls from all of these waves. Whether it be regarding legislation, education, cultural archetypes, displays of beauty or sexuality, Islamic feminism is talking about it. We can label it the modern day Islamic wave of feminism.

Islamic Sexuality Oppressed

In the earliest days of Islam, people would talk about sexuality in a mature and adult fashion. We have numerous narrations of people asking the Prophet (saws) questions regarding sexuality. Some of these topics were erectile dysfunction, foreplay and permissible sexual positions. In the book “A Taste of Honey” that sums up Islamic sexuality, he notes that the Prophet (saws) advocated for foreplay as a necessary action for women and seen it as wrong to deny them foreplay and satisfaction.

Can you even imagine Imams talking about this now? These conversations do not happen as much as they should. The Islamic community has become overly conservative when it comes to discussing these topics and as such, many Sisters feel unable to be free sexually or fully satisfied.

This has evolved into some Muslims feeling that it is immodest or shameful for a woman to have a high sex drive or be experimental with her husband. Sexuality is a gift from Allah (most honored, most revered) and that gift is for both men and women. I have read numerous articles and social media posts where Brothers try to assert that women do not have a need to climax nor do they have the same desire.

A popular online writer, Becoming the Alpha Muslim, had a FB post where many Brothers were asserting it was the woman’s fault and her own psychological limitation if she was not satisfied with her husband sexually. I have to wonder if they would say the same thing if the man was not satisfied with his wife.   

Islamic Rights Oppressed

Islam has put in place specific rights for males, females and family members. We can think of them as base guidelines on how to treat those around you and ensure they are taken care of. Each marriage and family has their own unique dynamics, in some cases, people may actually waive some of those rights but that can never be forced. The problems arise when Islamic rights are denied.

We see this when inheritance is taken by the older Uncle instead of the daughter and her money is spent. He excuses this by saying she is too young or he knows how to handle money better, but that inheritance is her right. Sometimes we see a husband forces his new wife to live with his Mother instead of giving her a private space of her own and furthermore expects her to serve his Mother. That is denying her the rights of a wife and I do not need to explain how many Mother-in-law issues we have currently.

Mosque

A woman has the right to pray at a mosque just as a man and it is forbidden to deny her this, but we all know this is happening in our communities. Even if the man does not explicitly say, “I don’t want you here” (as many do) websites like Side Entrance illustrate how poor some of the female prayer areas are. As if they are discouraging women to attend the mosque and could care less about their spirituality.

When you shove women into a basement not even half the quality of the main prayer area, where they cannot even see and properly hear the Imam, do not tell me you care at all about their faith. This concept of separate prayer rooms did not happen during the time of the Prophet (saws) because back then male accountability was enforced, not women being accountable for men who do not lower their gaze.

Divorce

Some Brothers believe their wives cannot divorce them unless they agree to it. (I said we would get back to this)  Let us pause for a moment, how would that work with abused women? Do you actually believe a man who beats his wife will say, “Sure hunny, I divorce you” or will he beat her for asking? A woman can divorce a man, it is called a khula and I recall a specific situation where a young revert exercised this right to divorce her abusive husband who also happened to be an Imam. He tried to assert she could not do it so she took him to the local shura council and they reminded him of her rights, she got her divorce.

From these few examples I highlighted, we see Islamic rights which were granted to the women from Allah (swt) being denied. Often the men may actually believe this is just or somehow in line with Islam, when in actuality, this is culture and it is against Islam.

Cultural Oppression

Recently I saw a situation where a husband wanted to marry someone else because his wife gave him two healthy baby girls instead of a male. The Prophet Mohamed (saws) put emphasis on the blessing of having female children yet culturally some Brothers still take the stance that a male child is superior. This is a baby, yet some will wrongfully label a male baby as superior due to their culture.

Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Whoever supports two girls till they attain maturity, he and I will come on the Day of Resurrection like this”. Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) joined his fingers illustrating this.

[Muslim]

Some of the expectations within culture put a woman in a cage and tell her to obey. She is denied the freedom to speak her mind truthfully or disagree. Yet wives of the Prophet (saws) did not always agree with him and a woman even publically disagreed with Omar (ra) who was known for being strong-minded and he commended her for it. You can only cage people for so long before they seek to burn down the cage.

Summary

All of this illustrates that within Islamic culture, some women are not able to be sexually free with their husbands and feel like their satisfaction pales in comparison to his needs. Some Sisters struggle with their fundamental Islamic rights being denied.

Cultural beliefs are causing Sisters to feel less appreciated and their voice not recognized. We have areas with a lot of room for improvement.

My Own Take

When you come into Islam as a new Muslim woman, you expect to see such honor and high regard for women but the truth is Muslims are humans and as such are fallible. What I have seen has made me realize there is a reason why so many people stereotype Islam as oppressive. There is a reason why so many people think Muslim women are marginalized. If I may be so bold, if I had interacted with Muslim culture prior to studying Quran I would have ran away. Alhamdulillah that I focused on the religion and not the culture.

Instead of debating with feminists and arguing that Islam has no need for feminism, we should start asking why so many women feel they are oppressed. What is happening that so many men and women are speaking out for the rights of women? Something has to be causing this and those that reduce feminism to nothing more than “angry man haters who don’t respect men” are trivializing real issues and real injustice.

If you read the Quran without any cultural or media influence you get a feeling of protection for women, honoring women and equal rewards for male and female.

“…Never will I allow to be lost the work of [any] worker among you, whether male or female; you are of one another…”

[Quran 3:195]

From my perspective as a revert, Islam in itself does not need feminism, but the Islamic culture does. Call it by any name you like, perhaps the word feminism is jarring and I personally do not identify as a feminist as I do not love labels. We can say the Islamic culture needs justice for genders, the culture needs to take a step back and the deen take a step forward.

IN THE AGE OF ISLAMOPHOBIA, WHY REVERTS ARE LEAVING ISLAM

By Monique Hassan

People often talk, write, rant about “Islam —the fastest growing religion in the world”. This is true. Pew research statistics highlight that Islam is predicted to be the dominant religion of the world by 2060. This is not simply due to conversions. The fact that a Muslim family typically has more children than other religious families also contributes to this growth. Islam does have a high rate of reverts, with a majority of women, accepting the faith. Yet, many ignore the darkness that eclipses this beautiful fact. Many reverts become apostates. This is what we hear from imams who pastor to converts, we hear this in revert chat groups.

Based on my experience, I did not say some of them, I did not say a few of them, I said many, if not most. So why? Why are reverts leaving Islam? After all of that sacrifice and hardship which come with the territory, after being rightly guided and accepting the oneness of Allah  why would they then decide to leave?

The overwhelming emotional state you will see in any revert group — online and offline— is one of isolation and lack of acceptance. It is neither the lifestyle nor their beliefs.

Upon the shahadah, the born Muslim community smiles in our faces and says,“Mashallah, you chose Islam. You are so great!”

Then they walk away and leave us alone in our newly Muslim state. Like a child we are entering a new life, a new way of thinking and perceiving the world. We don’t always know what to do; we don’t know who to trust or who to listen to. Many assume others are helping us or have become our friends when truthfully, most of us spend our Eids alone and we break fast alone. Many of us have never even stepped foot into the house of another Muslim. Majority of reverts are alone in their walk of faith.

Last Ramadan, I stopped going to community iftars. I regret it, but I did that for one reason. I didn’t want to feel like a stranger anymore. Sure, people that know me greet me with kind words and some of the sisters in my community have beautiful hearts, but I end up eating by myself. Sometimes, I even sit on the ground by the playground. Rather than looking like the unpopular girl that no one wants to sit with, it looks like I am  watching my child swing.

Alone.

Eventually, we don’t want to feel this anymore, it feels like rejection. So what do we do? We back away from the community. We isolate ourselves, even more (which is dangerous), because we don’t want to keep feeling like an outsider. We are left without any support network or other believers around us, and we try to brave the disbelieving world alone.

How many born Muslims find it hard to live in a society full of Islamophobia and traditions that go against their lifestyle. Reverts typically do this alone.

THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT

Often, we are told this is haram, that is haram, you need to stop doing that. Yet, the earliest Muslims focused on aqeedah before legislation, so why are we expected to become an Islamic scholar overnight? Then, we face the other side of the spectrum, the so called ‘moderate’ Muslims on the extreme left. The liberals and the self proclaimed ‘Islamic feminists’, who insist hijab is not fard, neglect their prayers and have dust covered Qurans on their bookshelf. They tell us to loosen up and “why are you being so extreme, born Muslims are not this strict— so why are you”. One sister told me I was like ISIS, because I stated that only sexual acts within the sanctity of a permissible marriage are considered halal forms of intimacy.

We are told on the left that we are too strict and we are told on the right that we are not strict enough. We are searching for where we belong, but the truth is we are strangers in this world.Strangers in our western society where we grew up and strangers in the Muslim community because we are different. We have to learn to embrace that strangeness and let it become part of us-we won’t escape it, so we have to cope with it.

“ABU HURAIRA REPORTED, THE MESSENGER (PEACE BE UPON HIM) SAID, “ISLAM BEGAN AS SOMETHING STRANGE AND IT WILL RETURN TO BEING STRANGER, SO BLESSED ARE THE STRANGERS.” SAHIH MUSLIM 145

Lifestyle Changes

Let me explain to you what reverting to Islam means for most of us. We all have our own unique stories of what led us on this path, but after taking our shahadah, the stories become all too similar. Slowly, we lose most if not all of our friends, not necessarily because they judge Islam, but because our lifestyles are so vastly different. Some reverts are shunned by their own family. I knew a revert who is not allowed to pray in her mother’s house, they force her to pray in the backyard. Some of us are blessed and have some family that try to understand (Alhamdulillah), but all too often many lose the majority of their loved ones.

We give up our past identity and our very way of life. All we have become accustomed to is changes. The person we were prior to shahada is gone. Imagine for a second, truly sit back and imagine if you walked away from the life you have always known and changed yourself from the inside out in a massive way. Cutting yourself off from what you have always known and have always been, in order to willingly adopt a completely new lifestyle. When you adopt this change, you expect acceptance. Instead you come to realize you are an outsider on both sides, caught between two worlds.

A HARDSHIP I DO NOT WISH ON ANY MUSLIM

For those reading this that are born Muslims, have you ever thanked your family for raising you as a Muslim? You should. Take a moment to appreciate the blessing in being raised in a Muslim household, being taught how to pray and always knowing about the Final Prophet .

I want you to really feel what I am about to say because this is a heartbreaker for reverts. Imagine if your mother and father were disbelievers, and now imagine they died in a state of disbelief. Let that sink in. You know the potential implications. Imagine your aunts and uncles dying as disbelievers. The Prophet (peace be upon him) could not make duaa for his own uncle. We have to obey this example. For reverts, this is usually our entire family.

HOW TO COPE AS AN ISOLATED REVERT

As reverts, the best source of strength is going to be our iman. We have to rely upon it or we cannot make it. We must remember that the first generation of Muslims were all reverts! Looking to this example we see the first martyr Summaya , a mother and a wife, whose life was taken because of her faith. We see the countless sahaba that were tortured; we see the example of Bilal crying out ONE GOD as they mercilessly tortured him on the burning sand. (May Allah be pleased with both of them) The Prophet  was pelted with rocks from children for simply trying to do dawah.

In looking to Islamic history we see countless examples of strength during adversity. Yes, we must face anti-Muslim bigotry and yes we face feeling ostracized on both ends, but these tests are not nearly as harsh as what the sahaba endured.

“DO THE PEOPLE THINK THAT THEY WILL BE LEFT TO SAY, “WE BELIEVE” AND THEY WILL NOT BE TESTED?” QURAN 29:2

This is where I tell you change your perspective, change your heart. These hardships are like proving grounds. This isolation and pain is our jihad, alhamdulillah. We can choose to fall apart and say it is too much, or we can choose to stand up and show gratefulness for these tests! If you are isolated, then know that you are never alone, Allah (Glorious and Exalted) sees us and knows all.

Angels are always at your side recording all that you do, every struggle is recorded and every time you say ALHAMDULILLAH during those struggles it is known.

Every time you fall to your knees crying for strength and pouring your heart into sincere duaa, it is heard.

Every tear is a blessing. Just as hot water cleans and purifies, our heated hardships can clean our hearts if we allow it.

Monique Hassan is a writer specializing in behavioral health and Islamic psychology . She also works at an inpatient behavioral health hospital. She has a bachelors of science in psychology with a biology minor and is certified in crisis prevention and intervention. She is a revert, a wife and a mother. Visit her website www.MoniqueHassan.com

Happy New Year 2019!

*Time is something you can't get back or buy more of.

*Know yourself as a creature in need and reduce your pain in life.

FIRST EPISODE OF 2019! TUNE IN NOW!

Counselors’ Tips on How to End Haram Relationships

By Monique Hassan

Original posted on AboutIslam here

Temptation is all around us, yet one temptation that proves to be formidable is haram relationships. It is such a growing issue in our Muslim communities that amongst college students in America, 57% of men and 48% of women report engaging in premarital sex.

Our society markets sexuality and relationships outside the context of marriage and family. Although this might seem acceptable for non-Muslims, it is a grave sin and never permissible for us, Muslims.

Is Love Haram?

Love in itself is not haram, it is a beautiful feeling and a blessing. It is not haram to find someone attractive or want to spend time getting to know your potential spouse before marriage. However, we must remember there are halal ways to do this which ensure neither one of you transgresses the limits set by Allah (the most Glorified, the most Exalted).

Ending a haram relationship and staying out of it takes commitment and action. You might be wondering how you can accomplish this if you are already involved.

So, let’s look at 6 ways you can begin this process and hold true to it.

1. Cut the Connection Completely

You may be tempted to remain in contact with them under the false belief that it will somehow lessen the initial pain of separation. It only makes it harder and keeps the temptation in front of you. Imagine if you put drugs in front of a drug addict, it makes the recovery that much harder.

You need to distance yourself from this person, delete all their contact information and block all social media profiles. Do not engage them in anyway; you are detoxing them from your system.

2. Choose Your Friends Wisely

The social circles you choose to be involved with impact you more than you realize. If your friends are supportive of haram relationships and frequently engage in activities which are in opposition to the commands of Allah (swt) then you are setting yourself up for failure.

“A man is upon the religion of his friend, so let one of you look at whom he befriends.”at-Tirmidhi

Surround yourself with righteous friends that will help guide you and bring positivity into your life. Righteous friends will help you during the healing process after you make the initial step to cut the connection with your haram relationship.

3. Be Honest With Yourself

Ask yourself why you felt the need to get involved with this relationship in the first place. Were you seeking validation to help your self-esteem? Are you a sister who is having difficulty with your Father-Daughter relationship and sought out another male role model in your life? Do you struggle with self-control?

Once you identify why you engaged in these relationships, you are more able to prevent it in the future and grow a deeper understanding of your own self.

As Muslims, we know that haram relationships are a grave sin, therefor to enter into this usually has a reason behind it more than just fun and attraction. Find that area of your life that is creating this weakness, something is making it more difficult for you to control your desires. This takes introspection and honesty.

4. Positive Coping Skills

This step forward is going to test you and you will face some difficult moments. It is important during those tests to have a coping skill which is positive and can keep you on track. Examples of positive coping skills include journaling, nature walks, painting, listening to Quran or cooking.

Find a positive and rewarding hobby to take your mind off the temptation and keep you involved in something beneficial.

5. Fasting and Duaa

Our Prophet (peace be upon him) told us fasting will help assist you in preventing those haram interactions. It makes it easier to control our impulses and keeps us more aware of our faith.

“0 young men, those among you who can support a wife should marry, for it restrains eyes from casting (evil glances). and preserves one from immorality; but those who cannot should devote themselves to fasting for it is a means of controlling sexual desire.”Muslim

Alongside fasting, making duaa is a strong weapon in the struggle against shaitan’s influences. Make duaa daily asking for the strength and faith to avoid haram relationships. Ask for guidance and assistance as much as you feel compelled to do so. There is no such thing as making too much duaa.

6. Fine True Love on the Prayer Mat

The purest and most unconditional love is that between you and your creator. No matter how much you have transgressed, you can always turn back to Allah (The Most Glorified, Most Revered) and make true repentance.

{So remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful to Me and do not deny Me. O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.} Quran 2:152-153

Cry your heart out in sujood when it is hard and talk to Allah (swt), let it all out on your prayer mat and find solace in the embrace of your faith.

Final Thoughts

Engaging in these haram relationships will not help you in the future and can leave scars on your heart which will impact your future marriage. Imagine if a Sister has her heart broken by someone she was involved with, that emotional scarring may impact how vulnerable she allows herself to be for her future husband.

A Brother that frequently engages in fornication may find he has a more difficult time staying faithful to his future wife as he has become accustomed to this lifestyle and shaitan will undoubtedly remind him of it.

Let that concept sink into your mind for a moment, these haram relationships can not only hurt the person you claim to care about, they can hurt your future spouse that you haven’t even met yet.

Maintaining a clear heart with consciousness of Allah (swt) will only serve to make you a better spouse one day when you are ready for that step. If you truly seek love and companionship, do it in a halal way in accordance with the guidance of your creator.

Is Islam Compatible With Psychology?

By Monique Hassan

ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY

The pen has been lifted from three; for the sleeping person until he awakens, for the boy until he becomes a young man and for the mentally insane until he regains sanity.

[at-Tirmidhi]

If we look back at Islamic History, we see the first large-scale psychiatric hospital built by Muslims in the year 705 AD (86 AH) in Baghdad, Iraq. Shortly after this more were built such as in Cairo.

During the Golden Age of Islam, advancements were continuously being made in a variety of medical fields. Outstanding minds like Mohamed Al-Razi and Abu Zayd al-Balkhi were studying illnesses and making progress in the understanding and advancement of psychology alongside other medical fields. We were utilizing treatments that resembled early cognitive behavioral therapy and psychoanalysis years before these were known as western advancements.

Contrary to some stigmas and attitudes prevalent in today’s society, the patients were not automatically viewed as being influenced by sin or possessed by jinn. Although diseased hearts being influenced by sin is a factor in one’s mental state and we cannot ignore the possibility of jinn, we cannot assume all cases of mental health concerns are related to those variables.

In most cases, therapy alongside faith is not only an effective treatment but it serves double duty as a catalyst to improving one’s own self- awareness and lifestyle choices related to their deen.

We must remember that our brothers and sisters struggling with mental illness are shown mercy and patience from Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). We must strive to show mercy to the ummah if we expect such mercy to be shown to us.

Islamic Psychology Basics

Various theories and treatment models exist within psychology, however, you will notice an overlapping of concepts between what we know to be true within our deen and what we study in psychology.

One of the most famous names in Psychology is Sigmund Freud, who amongst other things, believed that humans were driven by subconscious sexual and biological urges. Freud also proposed that human beings are innately dark and full of desire. Others such as Alfred Adler disagreed with Freud and argued that humans are more driven by social urges rather than innate biological desires. This is a classic nature versus nurture argument.

Islam tells us the full truth, that both of these doctors are correct to some extent. We know that struggling against our inner temptations and thoughts is a form of jihad (struggle). We also know that men and women are biologically different to the point how we perceive and interpret the same situation will not be identical.

We are a product of our environment; we cannot deny the impact of socialization upon our personality. We must also acknowledge we are impacted by our DNA, we can look to stories of twins separated at birth yet when they met up again as adults they have similar jobs and life choices. We are a product of both nature and nurture; we are not exclusive to one.

Our Subconscious

Subconscious influences are described by some within psychology as a set of deep, inner instinctual desires which are then filtered through our moral compass and rationalizations. We can think of it like an iceberg. Below the water lies the dark and mysterious subconscious which has our desires and primal urges. As we move closer to the observable tip of the iceberg we encounter our thought patterns and moral compass. Once we break the surface we see the product of our moral compass critiquing our earthly desires.

From the Islamic perspective, we know that our nafs are part of our self, our subconscious. This is sometimes interchanged with ruh or spirit. Often nafs is designated for the soul inside of the body whereas ruh refers to the soul being outside of the body. In Quran, one’s inner self or nafs, are described in 3 stages.

• Nafs that influence evil, Nafs al-ammara bissuu (primal, raw desire, pleasure seeking)

• Nafs that blame, Nafs al-lawwama (self critique, morality, decision making, awareness)

• Nafs at peace, Nafs al-mutma inna (righteous behaviors, contentment, tranquil, striving for hereafter)

We can think of Nafs al-ammarra bissuu as earthly, primal desire. Nafs al-lawwama as a transitional stage where we engage in jihad against our own temptations and self. Nafs al-mutma inna can be thought of as spiritual enlightenment and a reassured soul.

[To the righteous it will be said], “O reassured soul, Return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him], And enter among My [righteous] servants, And enter My Paradise.

يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ رْجِعِي إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَّرْضِيَّةً فَادْخُلِي فِي عِبَادِي وَادْخُلِي جَنَّتِي

[Quran 89: 27-30]

Heart

Our heart, or qalb, is mentioned many times throughout Quran and hadith. Some psychological disorders and behavioral issues stem from diseases of the heart. We can think of our heart as being one of three types.

1. The dark, diseased and dead heart which is void of iman (faith). Shaytan (Satan) does not need to tempt this heart as he has taken up residence within it.

2. The struggling heart that has iman and wants goodness, but is fighting against darkness. This heart is in a state of jihad and shaytan tries to take advantage.

3. The illuminated heart full of iman .This is a protected and strong heart radiating noor (light).

The only way to have an illuminated heart is to make Allah (Swt) the center of our hearts. All too often we put things into this slot that were never meant to be there, such as career or spouses. That is not to say that we should not love our spouse, but no one can come above Al-Wadood (The Loving) An-Noor (The Light).

And conceal your speech or publicize it; indeed, He is knowing of that within the heart

وَأَسِرُّوا قَوْلَكُمْ أَوِ اجْهَرُوا بِهِ إِنَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ

[Quran 67:13]

Therapists often look towards a person’s social network for ongoing support and increased accountability. They are trying to bring heart, love and service into the therapeutic equation. We know that when we submit to Allah (swt) and make duaa for Him to open our hearts, that is the best source of support and accountability.

Final Thoughts

Islamic psychology is essentially the integration of spirituality and modern psychology. Just as many Islamic principles like nafs line up with psychology, we can also look at elements of Islam from a psychological perspective. Such as looking at the psychological benefit of wearing the veil or how fasting impacts our behavioral health choices.

Therapy which is combined with faith will ultimately be more positive and impactful for those within the ummah that are struggling with mental health concerns. Not only is Islam compatible with psychology, we can see the field of psychology as a tool given to us from Allah (swt).