Spirituality/Medicine Interface Project

An Islamic Perspective on Coping with Catastrophe

Authors: Abdul Basit, PhD

Abstract

To better understand Islamic perspective of coping with catastrophe, it is useful to briefly describe the early years of Prophet Muhammad’s mission, a time when he and his companions were constantly coping with traumatic events. Nearly 600 years after Jesus, the Arabian Prophet Muhammad preached the worship of one God, who is the Lord of the Universe. He asked his countrymen to abandon their pagan idols and their licentious ways. According to Armstrong, “Social justice was, therefore, the crucial virtue of Islam.”1 God, said Muhammad, does not favor any special tribe or nation, but loves all humanity. In no uncertain terms, he denounced the discrimination against any man or woman on the basis of race, color, wealth, or social status. Smith states, “In a society driven with class distinction, the new Prophet [Muhammad] was preaching a message intensely democratic, insisting that in the sight of his Lord all men are equal.”2

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References

1. Armstrong K. Islam: A Short History. New York, Modern Library, 2000, p. 6.
 
2. Smith H. The Religions of Man. New York, Harper and Row, 1989, p. 303.
 
3. Armstrong K. A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, New York, Ballantine Books, 1993, p. 155.
 
4. Lippman TW. Understanding Islam: An Introduction to the Muslim World. New York, New American Library, 1982, p. 54.
 
5. Cohen S, Wills TA. Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychol Bull 1985;98:310–357.
 
6. Taylor E. A Psychology of Spiritual Healing. West Chester, Chrysalis Books, 1997.