IJCRR - 5(1), January, 2013
Pages: 90-94
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THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HEART AND CONSCIENCE HEALTH
Author: Mohammad Zarei, Rahmatollah Joghataei Sabzevari, Zahra Noori Varmal
Category: General Sciences
Abstract:One of the greatest blessings of God is health and according to religious teachings, the highest extent of health is human's spirit and heart health. Islam introduced the true meaning of health for humans and because human's life and living does not limit to worldly life, health considers in a broad context which humans reached to health and well-being in all facets of life by performing the religious sects and the need to acquire to this significant issue and the key for world's happiness is to recognize spirit and self. This study aims to explore the significance of human's spiritual and intellectual aspects, define heart and considers the health and disease according to the narratives and verses and finally indicate the effectiveness of heart's health on human body and introducing the spiritual dimensions.
Keywords: Health, Heart, Disease, Medic.
Full Text:
INTRODUCTION
Health is one of the great blessings of God which has two dimensions: the first dimension is physical health which plays a main role in human’s greatness and intellectual ability and its maintenance is very important. However, the second dimension, which is more important than physical health, is heart and spiritual health. In Islamic school, as physical health has been emphasized on and no, one is entitled to damage his/her health and is led to disease and killed by doing damaging works such as drinking poison and damaging to the body and lack of physical hygiene, it is not appropriate to harm spiritual health and doing inappropriate things. By referring to the Islamic teachings, these two types of health and the necessity of thanksgiving are very important. Imam Ali (Peace be upon Him) said in a narration there are three types of blessings for humans: Firstly, lack of need to people, that is having enough livelihood to manage affairs of life. Second, which is more better than the first one, is physical health and the third one which is more virtuous than the first one is piety and spiritual health.
Given the importance of human’s spiritual health, this article aims to study this issue which has an effective role in physical health. One of our main tasks in the world is to recognize the spirit and becoming aware of health standards and its diseases and also the types of heart diseases and finding the ways to treat them, because human’s physical dimension is not all his/her reality as the unbelievers and denials of God and the Hereafter think about. “…Worldly life is nothing but dying and living, what causes our death is time and nature…and unfortunately many Muslims are affected to this materialistic type of thinking, for we know no dangerous disease but physical disease such as gastrointestinal and cancer to making our mind to treat and cure them".
Heart: The Companion of Ethical Issues ‘Heart’ literally means the pure of everything, as human heart which is the most purest of his existential being. The term heart, which is used as changing the objects, has other applications and attributions. One of the contributions of this term is self. Although the term heart is the same pineal part of human body in medical and physiological sciences.
Heart in Qur’an More than one hundred and thirty times heart mentioned in Qur’an, and it is so clear that by Heart in Qur’an, it does not mean the fleshy heart. By studying the various verses in which heart used and some traits, cognitive states and features related to human’s self and soil attribute to heart, such as understanding, thinking, decision-making, making friendship and enemies, ascending and descending, etc. It is resulted the term heart in Qur’an is the same as human’s spirit and self and is attributed to all his/her realities, which the illness and health is originated from the thoughts, beliefs and good and bad deeds.
Heart Diseases in terms of Qur’an Allame Tabatabiae mentioned in Almizan interpretation that: The sentence “…there are diseases in their heart” is summarily indicate that human’s heart is under the danger of some disease and when some disease percieved for something has also a physical state, because health and disease are oppositions to each other not to each of them is supposed on. There is no supposition on the other hand such as blindness and eyesight which a person cannot be called as a blind one due to the fact that he is not able to see it, because there is no talent to see it and also it cannot be attributed to something else.
Because the person has no talent for becoming health and in any place in which God Almighty mentioned the disease for the hearts, its states also mentioned and the outcomes mentioned and some issues has been mentioned which indicated that the hearts lost their innate strengths and deviated from the path of moderation. Let note the following verses: “… there is the time when the hypocrites and those whose hearts are sick said: God and His Messenger had promised us nothing but lie and deceive” (Ahzab: 12) and the verse: “…when the hypocrites and those who are diseased in heart said that these people’s religion deceived them” (Anfal: 49). “… in order to God make the temptations of Satan as sedition and experiment in diseased people’s hearts (Haj: 53) and also other verses".
In interpreting disease and heart’s health, Allame Tabatabaie said: “Heart's disease is that someone affects a kind of anxiety and doubt and make his belief to God and the assurance to his verses turbid and unclear and the belief in his hearts is mixed with unbelief, and therefore it can be observed that the person is affected by a state of temperament proper to disbelief and therefore the deeds he/she performs is appropriate to disbelief in God and his revelations".
On the other hand, heart’s health is something that heart is placed in somewhere that created there or on the other hand heart does not lose the path of mediation and returning this state to heart’s purity is in God’s monotheism and trusting to Him and dismembering from anything else which is drawn by the whims. Therefore, if the one who affects to heart’s disease is going to cure him/herself and remove his disease must repent to God and it is having faith to Him and mentioning to good thoughts and decent deeds. Sin is a Disease Every human is created healthy and pure in every circumstances as innate structure and inside dignity. Greed, envy, avarice, hypocrisy, immorality and other sins are inherent to humans, but they are the complications that are affected to human due to a series of family and social factors. The Prophet said that: “Every child born on the context of monotheism, Islam and prophecy. This is the parents who bring them up as believers or disbelievers. “ O people, surely the lord give unto you advices and sermons and it is a healing of what (religious and moral beliefs) is in your hearts and is all guidance and mercy for believers” (Younes, 57). According to Qur’an, this disease can be forgiven. “save those who repented and reformed afterwards and compensate for the past sins which their repentance will be accepted , because God is allforgiving, all-merciful”.(Al-emran,8).
The Surrendered Heart, the Only Wealth to be Saved It can be seen among Abraham’s rhetoric in describing the resurrection that: “there will be no much effect in that Day except a surrendered heart”. “ Salim”, which is derived from health, has a clear cut idea, i.e. a heart which is away from any disease and moral and religious deviations”. In some hadith, the concept of a surrendered heart is well indicated
1. In a hadith narrated by Imam Sadegh (PBUH) below the verse in question that: The heart which is no affected by polytheism and doubt will be elapsed and is worthless”.
2. On the other hand, it is known that intense material and worldly devotion interest is brought human to And therefore a surrendered heart is the one in which is devoid of “ love of the world”, as Imam Sadegh mentioned in an another hadith below this verse that: “ this is the heart that is healthy of worldly love”. According to the verse 197 of Sura Baghare, it becomes clear that a surrendered heart is the one in which is the source of divine piety by being healthy.every guilt and deviations, because love of this world is the source of every sin.
healthy. 3. Finally, a surrendered heart is the one there is nothing within but God, as Imam Sadegh said regarding a question about this verse that: “ a surrendered one is the one which meets God while there is nothing within but God”.
It is completely clear that by heart in these cases, it means human’s soul and spirit. Ibn Jouzi mentioned six perspectives regarding heart’s health in his interpretation: 1. Being healthy from infidelity. 2. A safe heart which is the heart of believers, because those of pagans is diseased.
4. Being intact from the damages of children’s properties and 6. Being safe from innovations and being sure of traditions.
As the health of apparent heart is the cause of physical health and its disease is the one with all body members, why are body cells are fed by the kind of blood which is transferred to all parts of body by the help of heart, as the health and corruption of human’s life programs is a reflection of health and corruption in belief and morality.
The effect of spiritual diseases on human’s body Health cannot consider only from the perspective of body, because experience has proved that not only internal disturbances, diseases and emotions disrupt thinking’s disturbances and anxiety, it has also bad effects on the body and is the source of various diseases, for example, two mental illness mentioned:
Jealousy One of the mental illness is jealousy. Although a jealous one is care of all aspects of health, the severity of jealousy, being intensified in his heart, makes him angered and destroy his health. Imam Ali (PBUH) said: “…well-being is the result of a little envy” (14), which he mentioned a significant issue of medicine and health and indicated that jealousy is the source of many diseases. It has been scientifically proven that ulcer disease and a series of human’s inner diseases are resulted from psychological diseases and concerns which is based on jealousy. One of the scientists wrote: it is not possible that a jealous man have a happy life.
Imam Ali often emphasized on this issue, including in Speech 225 that he said: “Surprisingly, jealous people are healthy. In an another place he said: “ jealously is a fatal disease that will not be disappeared unless the destruction or death of someone which is envied”. He states in another case that: “there are three things that brings its owner to disturbance: hatred, envy and immorality”, and also said that “the worst people in terms of comfort is a jealous one”. (15).
Hopelessness Being hopeless of the future and disappointment from God’s mercy is considered as greatest sin and is led humans to blasphemy and it is resulted in grief. It is one of the human’s mental states that brings mankind nothings but sickness and disease. Imam Ali said: “sadness and sorrow will destroy the body”.
When the one who has sorrow is happy in life? Let not have grief in life to have a happy life Soul and body are interconnected and unified to such an extent that the good and bad states of one of them will affect on the other. And this issue has been accepted by all past and present scientists. Human body is affected by mental states and the psyche is also affected by body states. Imam Ali said: “sorrow is half of the aging”. Scientists have proved in scientific research that a considerable part of the disease in different parts of the body is resulted from spiritual emotions and mental concerns.
To basically treat these diseases, it is required that the attention be paid on the root of the disease and the concerns and anxieties are dealt with before medical and drug treatment and remove them from the patients. Seventy percents of the patients who referred to medics can personally treat if they free himself from the constraints of fear and anxiety, including: nervous indigestion, some stomach ulcers, heart diseases, sleeping sickness, some types of headaches and some types of paralysis. Dr Joseph Montako, the author of the book regarding stomach disorders also mentioned the same opinion that what is eaten does not cause ulcers, but what eats you ( concern) is the cause of appearing this wound. Dr Elvariz, working in Mayoukar clinic said that there is sometimes direct relationship between the severity and weakness of stomach ulcers and the severity and weakness of the rate of internal emotions.
This finding relies on the experiments and research in 15000 patients who referred to the clinic for the ulcer disorders and four-fifth of them did not believe that the basis and cause of their disease is due to their ulcer. Fear, worry, envy, high egotism, non-merit in compromise with the environment are main causes of ulcer diseases and its wounds. Ulcer stomach is the cause of death, and according to the contents of “Life” magazine, it is the tenth grade among the most dangerous diseases. Brothers Mauo, which their clinic is well-known, announced that more than half of the hospital’s beds are occupied by those who are affected to nervous disturbances and their disease is not due to fact that their nerve is corrupted or disturbed, but rather from the internal emotions, withdrawal, anxiety, worry, fear, failure and hopelessness.
The outstanding chapters of Dr. Edward Podlsok entitled “ prevent from the concerns to be occurred and have a healthy and comfortable life” is indicated: what effect has concern with the heart? Blood pressure is resulted from concern, rheumatism may be due to concern, how the stomach will be weakened by concern? Worry, sweat glands and diabetes is caused by worry. Dr. William McGonikel said in American Association of Dentists that: concern causes damage and decay to teeth and so continued his speech: “ the emotions and feelings which is created by worry and fear causes the disturbance the disturb of calcium and will decay teeth.
Psychotherapy by Faith Some tendencies have recently been created among the psychologists that favors more attention to religion for mental health and mental illnesses. They believe that faith in God is an extraordinary force that gives human a kind of spiritual power. it makes help humans in tolerating the life difficulties and takes them away from the concerns and anxieties that many people are affected to.
The tendency to material things and the competition to own it causes spiritual pressure and confusion on modern humans and put them under the attacks of anxieties and various mental diseases. One the first one who raised this issue was William James, the American philosopher and psychologist. He says: “ without doubt, faith is the most effective treatment for anxiety. Faith is a force that should be existed in humans life to be benefitted from. Lack of faith is a warning that causes human’s inability against the life difficulties. He said in another elsewhere that: there is an unbroken relationship between God and us. If we put ourselves under the dignity of God and be surrendered, all our dreams and desires will be fulfilled”.
The psychoanalyst, Karl Jung , said: During the last thirty years ago, many people from various nationalities consulted to me and I cured hundreds of patients, however the patients who are living in the second half of their life ( that is thirty years onwards), I have not even seen one patient who does not need to one particular religious orientation in life. It can assuredly be said that all of them were the victim of mental diseases for this reason which were bereft of what is given to the followers of religious sects, and only when all of them returned to religion and religious views are fully treated.
Another psychoanalyst, A.A . Brill puts it that: Never will a religious man be affected to mental illness. The American psychologist, Henry Link mentioned in the book “returning to faith” that: as a result of my long experiences in carrying out the psychological tests on workers, I figured out the religious people and those who goes to monarchies have much more strong and better personality than those who never goes to worship God.
The therapeutic Physicians As the body’s disease can be treated with referring to the physician and taking prescriptions and eating medicines, spiritual diseases can also be treated by the physicians which this kind of disease can be eradicated from their spirits and hearts by becoming aware to its instructions and practicing them, though it is too heavy and chronic. The physician of these kinds of diseases is God the compassionate, prophets, imams and clergies. The way God introduced for curing the sins is Qur’an and the way prophets and imams and clergies introduced is the wise speech, compassionate advices and kindly preaches.
CONCLUSION Mental health is the highest form of health which is interpreted as morality. It is incumbent upon everyone to make his heart pure of the Satanic temptations and moral vices and it is making pure heart with remembering God and the strong faith in God that humans are reached to a stable composure and this health has a direct relationship on human’s physical health. It is required, for those who want to purify his heart, to make use of the ways introduced by Allah.
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