Zahir Farah R, Qoronfleh M Walid
Irfa'a Foundation, Burlington, ON, Canada.
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Front Psychol. 2025 May 16;16:1538865. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1538865. eCollection 2025.
The new millennium is witnessing a remarkable shift within the scientific community, to be increasingly understanding and accepting the impact of meditative, spiritual, and even religious practices, on health and wellbeing. This has been precipitated ironically, by cutting edge scientific studies. Rigorous empirical research in epigenomics and neuroscience is proving that religious and spiritual experiences impact psychology and physiology. Therapeutic and prophylactic benefits from spiritual meditative practices (SMPs) are now proven for a variety of chronic conditions, notably in mental health wellness. While all forms of SMPs are currently being investigated, those from the Islamic tradition are lagging behind interrogation of similar SMPs from other traditions, such as mindfulness. Traditional Islamic SMPs have remained largely hidden or misunderstood, and as yet poorly translated into the modern context. In this paper we situate Islamic SMPs in the context of how they impact mental health and wellbeing, explaining their breadth and depth. We highlight the efficacy of dhikr and Quran recitation therapies as treatments for addiction and anxiety, noting historic evidence, and discuss how they may be integrated into modern mental health treatments. A millennium and a half of historical data proves their efficacy as psychotherapy. Precedent for the use of Islamic SMPs to treat mental illness for all people regardless of faith exists, highlighting their potential for wide implementation today. Of the Islamic SMPs that can most easily be accessed by modern people, listening to Quranic recitation and forms of dhikr therapy are notable for their ease of administration and strikingly uniform positive results. More rigorous empirical studies are called for to better translate Islamic SMPs into modern complimentary and alternative medicine, as they hold great promise as universally adoptable cogent modern psychotherapies.
新千年见证了科学界的显著转变，即越来越理解并接受冥想、精神乃至宗教实践对健康和幸福的影响。具有讽刺意味的是，这一转变是由前沿科学研究促成的。表观基因组学和神经科学方面的严格实证研究证明，宗教和精神体验会影响心理和生理。精神冥想实践（SMPs）对各种慢性病，尤其是在心理健康方面的治疗和预防益处现已得到证实。虽然目前正在对所有形式的SMPs进行研究，但来自伊斯兰传统的SMPs在与其他传统（如正念）的类似SMPs的研究方面滞后。传统的伊斯兰SMPs在很大程度上仍不为人知或被误解，并且在现代背景下的翻译也很差。在本文中，我们将伊斯兰SMPs置于其对心理健康和幸福的影响背景下，解释其广度和深度。我们强调赞念和古兰经诵读疗法作为成瘾和焦虑治疗方法的有效性，并指出历史证据，并讨论它们如何融入现代心理健康治疗。一千五百年的历史数据证明了它们作为心理治疗的有效性。存在使用伊斯兰SMPs治疗所有人群（无论其信仰如何）精神疾病的先例，这凸显了它们如今广泛应用的潜力。在现代人最容易接触到的伊斯兰SMPs中，听古兰经诵读和赞念疗法因其易于实施和显著一致的积极效果而值得注意。需要进行更严格的实证研究，以便更好地将伊斯兰SMPs转化为现代补充和替代医学，因为它们作为普遍适用的有力现代心理疗法具有巨大潜力。
