Vitalistic paradigms of medicine are the original models of medicine. Not just romantically historical. Not merely traditional like a 19th century Ottoman jubba. Original, in the fullest and most respectful sense. We can even say vitalism is orthodoxy in regards to Islamic cosmology, ontology, and medical philosophy; adopted and incorporated by the greatest scholars of this Ummah through over a thousand years of rigorous intellectual debate, vitalism has earned its keep. And any claim to the contrary must come with tremendous and rigorous evidence to its aid.
[Photo is of the entrance of Maristan of al-Mu'ayyad, a Mamluk-era Islamic hospital from the 15th century in Cairo]
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Fear is one of the most powerful emotions that we have as human beings, and its effect on our hearts as well as on our physiology is profound. States of optimism and hope, where one is realistic and yet expectant of the good, are sought after in Din al-Fitra ( The Way of Wholeness) and embodied to perfection in the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
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The loss of agency is one of the greatest causes of disease in the world. Especially of psycho-emotional disease, but, as elucidated in the video, disease fomenting in one part of the human constitution does not remain isolated therein but eventually permeates through the totality of one’s being. It can be said that by destroying a person’s will, we impair the very dynamis, the very animating force or soul, of that human being. I ask you, what can be more reprehensible than that?
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With the increasing number of cases of suicidal depression plaguing our communities, I assert that it is time that we not only revive the use of this elegant medicine but also the formidable holistic paradigm that it emerges out of and which can wisely make sense and apply this timeless knowledge.
With the recent revelations of Dr. Rania Awaad’s important research on suicidal trends in the Muslim community, I thought to share a little golden nugget (smiles) from the Hikma perspective that might be useful.
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“It is no measure of good health to be well-adjusted to be a profoundly sick society.” – Jiddu Krishnamurti
This might be a shift in cognitive framing for some of you, but your dis-ease with the world and its current state is actually a sign of health and vitality.