Ill and Refuses to Take Medication
Question: 158445
My brother has recently developed some psychological problems.
He exhibits signs of paranoia. His wife has kicked him out of the house and turned his young children; 2 boys and 1 girl against him. They do not want to know him anymore. I took him in to my house. Although he exhibits signs of eccentricity and paranoia he is not violent. In fact he suspects that someone may have done sihr (black magic) to him and his family. Although he has these suspicions, in his state of depression, he refuses to receive any help for his condition. He even argues that it is a test and that he must wait for Allah to lift this suffering. My question is, if he does not want to see anybody about his condition, how can I tell if he has been affected by sihr?.
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.
Yes, what your brother is going
through, whether it is a physical disease or sihr (witchcraft), or it is a
case of mental illness, or anything else, is indeed a test from Allah, may
He be exalted, to His slave. Every test that a person goes through in this
life happens by the decree of Allah, and it is good that your brother
realises and understands this.
But what is not good and is not
correct is for him to think that he has to wait until Allah, may He be
glorified and exalted, lifts this suffering from him. Belief in the divine
will and decree does not mean that one should not take appropriate measures.
Rather, when Allah, may He be exalted, decrees something He also decrees the
measures that could lead to it; feeling full happens by the decree of Allah
but the hungry person should eat (to reach the state of feeling full); and
having children comes by the decree of Allah, but the one who wants to have
children should get married, and so on.
It was narrated from Abu
Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah has not sent down any disease but
He has sent down a cure for it.”Narrated by al-Bukhari,
5678.
Thus it becomes clear that as
Allah decrees illnesses, He has decreed remedies for them that are
appropriate; those who know them know them and those who do not know them do
not know them.
So what you have to do is to
treat your brother kindly according to his situation, and convince him to
seek a remedy for his sickness. It is good to use both ways together, the
usual medical remedy for the one who is in such a situation and looking into
the matter of sihr, which is by his going to a raqi (one who recites
legislated incantations) who can treat him with ruqya by reciting Quran and
proper, well known shar‘i (Islamically legislated) ruqyahs (incantations).
We ask Allah to heal your
brother for you and to help you in dealing with him, and to give you the
best of rewards.
And Allah knows best.
Source:
Islam Q&A
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