Reading the therapeutic contract in the Quran

Day #10

On reaching the #depressive #position

The depressive position is a concept introduced by Melanie Klein to reflect a psychic maturational process that reflects an infant s capacity to integrate its split experience of the primary carer as two separate part-objects: ideal and loved; persecuting and hated into one integrated object. While at the beginning, the main anxiety is narcissistic and concerned with the survival of the self, in the depressive position, anxiety is also felt on behalf of the object and capacity for concern for the other develops causing guilt and leading to reparation.

In the previous post, I reflected on the psychic meaning of Iblees’ position referring to the narcissistic position. This position belongs to the paranoid schizoid position in Kleinian terms, when one is still split about their internal objects.

Unlike Iblees who is not capable of expressing guilt, Adam does. Thus he works towards the depressive position.

2:37  Then Adam received some words from his Lord and He accepted his repentance: He is the Ever Relenting, the Most Merciful

In his experience of guilt and repentance, there is an acknowledgment of separateness, submission to God, and return to his mercy.

It is in this very act of separation and recognition that our subjectivity as human beings is born, a subjectivity rooted in the duality of the relationship with God, meaning the impossibility of merger. While Iblees fails to assimilate this reality, Adam does. This understanding leads Adam to become God’s subject, a vertical relation with the Devine is established and is the core of the depressive position from an islamic perspective.

In other words the story of creation is also the story of psychic development which can go either way, we are all prone to narcissistic tendencies as well as neurotic anxieties. The mitigating circumstances depend on our relational capacity to reconnect with the source of Goodness, God.

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Reading the therapeutic contact in the Quran

On #Narcissism and #Omnipotence

Day #9

In the following verses we see the seeking drive mentioned earlier being activated. So far Adam and Eve lived in a sublime state where needs were met without the experience of frustration which engenders thought and learning. Now as God has assigned them with a task on earth, they needed to become embodied, situated creatures.

We are also introduced to an antagonist, iblees. The story becomes three dimensional in that we are introduced to a vertical relationship between God and his creatures and a horizontal one between these creatures and a third position where conflict arises and is resolved, and I will try to explain this as we go along.

Two transferential currents can be identified, a neurotic and a narcissistic one.

Iblees represents destructive narcissism. His envy towards Adam and fear of loss of his position of favourite in the eyes of God and the angels leads him to a destructive act, that of severing ties with the source of goodness, God.

While we read this as a story, it equally describes a state of mind and a psychological process emanating from a narcissistic wound. The psychic defence or disease of the heart is narcissism, its symptoms are arrogance and omnipotence.

Interestingly, the root of the word Iblees in Arabic means the one who despairs from God’s mercy. So it is a name that describes the action that leads to narcissism and omnipotence.

2:34  When We told the angels, ‘Bow down before Adam,’ they all bowed. But not Iblis, who refused and was arrogant: he was one of the disobedient

2:35  We said, ‘Adam, live with your wife in this garden. Both of you eat freely there as you will, but do not go near this tree, or you will both become wrongdoers.’

2:36  But Satan made them slip, and removed them from the state they were in. We said, ‘Get out, all of you! You are each other’s enemy. On earth you will have a place to stay and livelihood for a time.’

2:37  Then Adam received some words from his Lord and He accepted his repentance: He is the Ever Relenting, the Most Merciful

2:38 We said, ‘Get out, all of you! But when guidance comes from Me, as it certainly will, there will be no fear for those who follow My guidance nor will they grieve

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Reading the therapeutic contract in the Quran

On the process of #teaching and #learning

Day # 8

I mentioned in the previous post (day # 7) that the life drive seems to go hand in hand with responsibility “I am putting a successor on earth”, relatedness to God “He taught Adam” and knowledge “He taught Adam all the names of things”.

The process of teaching and learning is worth reflecting on at this stage in terms of our own experience as human beings. How does this story relates to us and if God had taught Adam how is that knowledge transmitted to us?

Surat Al-Baqara

2:30  [Prophet], when your Lord told the angels, ‘I am putting a successor on earth,’ they said, ‘How can You put someone there who will cause damage and bloodshed, when we celebrate Your praise and proclaim Your holiness?’ but He said, ‘I know things you do not.’

2:31  He taught Adam all the names [of things], then He showed them to the angels and said, ‘Tell me the names of these if you truly [think you can].&rsquo

2:32  They said, ‘May You be glorified! We have knowledge only of what You have taught us. You are the All Knowing and All Wise.’

2:33  Then He said, ‘Adam, tell them the names of these.’ When he told them their names, God said, ‘Did I not tell you that I know what is hidden in the heavens and the earth, and that I know what you reveal and what you conceal?’

Jaak Panksepp is a neuroscientist and psycho biologist who coined the term “affective neuroscience“, the name for the field that studies the neural mechanisms of emotion. He identified the seeking system which motivates animals and mammals to engage with the external world. Perhaps in psychoanalytic terms this would correspond to the curiosity drive. Our need to engage with the external world to survive produces a by product which is learning (Solms, 2023).

However Islam takes a different view, our need to survive is only to be able to seek and find God. The process of learning is not a by product of the encounter between instinct and environment but an intelligent design that is specific to the human race, endowed with free will; it is the end goal and essence of our human existence. In fact, psychoanalyst and neuropsychologist, Mark Solms in his book, The Hidden Spring, explains that consciousness is a very baffling phenomenon because it is not necessary for our survival which reinforces the idea of a higher objective for our existence.

Hence the capacity to learn which I think these verses refer, is our capacity to understand our environment and decipher its divine laws, something written in our epigenetics

TBC…

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Reading the therapeutic contract in the Quran

Day # 7

The story of creation symbolises a pivotal point in man’s psychic development.

It has so many layers and encompasses many psychoanalytic theories that I hope to be able to break down and lay out in an understandable way.

2:30  [Prophet], when your Lord told the angels, ‘I am putting a successor on earth,’ they said, ‘How can You put someone there who will cause damage and bloodshed, when we celebrate Your praise and proclaim Your holiness?’ but He said, ‘I know things you do not.’

2:31  He taught Adam all the names [of things], then He showed them to the angels and said, ‘Tell me the names of these if you truly [think you can].

2:32  They said, ‘May You be glorified! We have knowledge only of what You have taught us. You are the All Knowing and All Wise.’

2:33  Then He said, ‘Adam, tell them the names of these.’ When he told them their names, God said, ‘Did I not tell you that I know what is hidden in the heavens and the earth, and that I know what you reveal and what you conceal?’

First God tells the angels He is putting successors on earth. They contest and point to man’s destructive propensities. But God says that He knows what they do not know and teaches Adam the names of all things.

There are two perspectives being developed in these verses. One on an individual level and the other on an organisational level.

On an individual level the angels point out the death drive while God reassures them knowing the overriding capacity of the life drive.

Freud suggested in his theory of mind that we are governed by drives that create a sense of need in us. This needs pressures the ego into action to reduce this pressure and meet the need, like eating to reduce the sensation of hunger. He suggested that the life drive is opposed to the self-destructive death instincts or death drives.

In the verses above, both drives are acknowledged. Man’s capacity for love and hate. But the verses also shows a reassurance, that God knows which side will prevail and why.

It also indicates that the life drive goes hand in hand with responsibility, relatedness to God “He taught Adam” and knowledge “He taught Adam all the names of things”

TBC…

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Reading the therapeutic contract in the Quran

Thought of the day

Day # 6

“The term ‘internal object’ means a mental and emotional image of an external object that has been taken inside the self. The character of the internal object is coloured by aspects of the self that have been projected into it. A complex interaction continues throughout life between the world of internalised figures and objects and in the real world (which are obviously also in the mind) via repeated cycles of projection and introjection.”

This definition, from the Melanie Klein trust, is important at this point to understand the psychic process that is being described and developed through the verses we have read and that serve as a preamble to verses 30 to 39.

In Surat Al Fatiha, man identifies and introjects a complete whole Object he can relate to, rely on and submit to. Unlike human internal objects, it is an object that one comes to experience with one’s heart and is guided to with one’s mind.

I wonder if this is a point of divergence between European and Islamic views of the psyche; Islam proposes a heart psyche, while western propensity leans towards a mind psyche. But perhaps this idea will become clearer as we go along.

Internalising God as a complete whole object, that is completely separate from being human, that has no needs, no beginning no end and escapes our human imagination seems to be the task at hand.

The importance of understanding this concept helps then unpick all the projections we as humans direct towards God when we refuse to enter in his peace. Verses 25 to 29 can be viewed as an introduction to this important psychic process that will be symbolised in the story of creation. It reminds us of the separateness and absolute omnipotence of this Object.

To read more on object relations follow this link

Internal objects – Melanie Klein Trust

Surat Al-Baqara

:25  [Prophet], give those who believe and do good the news that they will have Gardens graced with flowing streams. Whenever they are given sustenance from the fruits of these Gardens, they will say, ‘We have been given this before,’ because they were provided with something like it. They will have pure spouses and there they will stay

2:26  God does not shy from drawing comparisons even with something as small as a gnat, or larger: the believers know it is the truth from their Lord, but the disbelievers say, ‘What does God mean by such a comparison?’ Through it He makes many go astray and leads many to the right path. But it is only the rebels He makes go astray

2:27  those who break their covenant with God after it has been confirmed, who sever the bonds that God has commanded to be joined, who spread corruption on the earth- these are the losers

2:28  How can you ignore God when you were lifeless and He gave you life, when He will cause you to die, then resurrect you to be returned to Him

2:29 It was He who created all that is on the earth for you, then turned to the sky and made the seven heavens; it is He who has knowledge of all things

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Reading the therapeutic contract in the Quran

Thought of the day

Day # 5

In psychoanalysis we talk about psychic defences while the Qur’an talks of diseased hearts. So are they the same phenomenon under different labels?

At first I thought they may refer to the same thing. However, in Islam, the foundation of a healthy heart is its connection to God and this is probably where the two concepts part ways.

As mentioned in the previous post, the heart is fed by a stream of external information that comes from its environment. Without the capacity to connect with the purifying source this external flood can sweep us away.

Thus we are introduced to another disease which is arrogance. Equality of men in the eyes of God does not sit well with people who think that they are special. This arrogance corrupts the heart and leads to an interesting phenomenon of turning a blind eye to the truth as reflected in verses 8 to 16.

Verses 17 to 28 of Surat Al Baqara reflect on the impact of the psychological phenomenon of turning a blind eye. Knowing something deep down but deciding against the truth and how misleading this is. Again the antidote to this disease is mindfulness of God and pondering his signs that are all around us.

God in addressing our demand for guidance is listing for us all the diseases our hearts can face and how to cure them.

Surat Al-Abqara

2:8  Some people say, ‘We believe in God and the Last Day,’ when really they do not believe

2:9  They seek to deceive God and the believers but they only deceive themselves, though they do not realize it

2:10  There is a disease in their hearts, to which God has added more: agonizing torment awaits them for their persistent lying

2:11  When it is said to them, ‘Do not cause corruption in the land,’ they say, ‘We are only putting things right,’

2:12  but really they are causing corruption, though they do not realize it

2:13  When it is said to them, ‘Believe, as the others believe,’ they say, ‘Should we believe as the fools do?’ but they are the fools, though they do not know it

2:14  When they meet the believers, they say, ‘We believe,’ but when they are alone with their evil ones, they say, ‘We’re really with you; we were only mocking.’

2:15  God is mocking them, and allowing them more slack to wander blindly in their insolence

2:16  They have bought error in exchange for guidance, so their trade reaps no profit, and they are not rightly guided

2:17  They are like people who [labour to] kindle a fire: when it lights up everything around them, God takes away all their light, leaving them in utter darkness, unable to see

2:18  deaf, dumb, and blind: they will never return

2:19  Or [like people who, under] a cloudburst from the sky, with its darkness, thunder, and lightning, put their fingers into their ears to keep out the thunderclaps for fear of death- God surrounds the disbelievers

2:20  The lightning almost snatches away their sight: whenever it crashes o

2:21  People, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, so that you may be mindful [of Him]

2:22  who spread out the earth for you and built the sky; who sent water down from it and with that water produced things for your sustenance. Do not, knowing this, set up rivals to God

2:23  If you have doubts about the revelation We have sent down to Our servant, then produce a single sura like it- enlist whatever supporters you have other than God- if you truly [think you can]

2:24 If you cannot do this- and you never will- then beware of the Fire prepared for the disbelievers, whose fuel is men and stones

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Reading the therapeutic contract in the Quran

Thought of the day

Day#4

The first five verses detailed the characteristics of those who are mindful of God and who are the guided ones. These characteristics are harnessed and reinforced by the five pillars of Islam which act like a psychological immune booster.

It is then only logical for the verses that follow to address what causes deficiencies and diseases in this immune system. But more importantly what psychic structure is concerned with these efforts.

In verses 6 to 16 we are introduced to the impact of not keeping that relational bond with God on the heart. God speaks of two types of people; those with sealed hearts and those with diseased hearts. Two problems are identified along with two psychic defences: omnipotence and denial.

Al Ghazali, in the Marvels of the Heart, gives a great example of what happens in the heart. He says that if we thought of the heart as a reservoir, it could either be filled by streams pouring into it, or if we dig deep we get to the pure source that feeds it from within.

One may think of disbelief or kufr, as an intent to cover this pure source and not connect with it. Hence the heart becomes sealed to the truth and to the capacity for insight as mentioned in verses 6 and 7.

TBC…

Al Baqara 2:6-16

2:6  As for those who disbelieve, it makes no difference whether you warn them or not: they will not believe

2:7  God has sealed their hearts and their ears, and their eyes are covered. They will have great torment

2:8  Some people say, ‘We believe in God and the Last Day,’ when really they do not believe

2:9  They seek to deceive God and the believers but they only deceive themselves, though they do not realize it

2:10  There is a disease in their hearts, to which God has added more: agonizing torment awaits them for their persistent lying

2:11  When it is said to them, ‘Do not cause corruption in the land,’ they say, ‘We are only putting things right,’

2:12  but really they are causing corruption, though they do not realize it

2:13  When it is said to them, ‘Believe, as the others believe,’ they say, ‘Should we believe as the fools do?’ but they are the fools, though they do not know it

2:14  When they meet the believers, they say, ‘We believe,’ but when they are alone with their evil ones, they say, ‘We’re really with you; we were only mocking.’

2:15  God is mocking them, and allowing them more slack to wander blindly in their insolence

2:16 They have bought error in exchange for guidance, so their trade reaps no profit, and they are not rightly guided

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Reading the therapeutic contract in the Quran

Thought of the day

Day #3

We are not really left hanging… God tells us immediately who are those who are mindful of God

2:3  (those)who believe in the unseen, keep up the prayer, and give out of what We have provided for them

2:4  those who believe in the revelation sent down to you [Muhammad], and in what was sent before you, those who have firm faith in the Hereafter

2:5  Such people are following their Lord’s guidance and it is they who will prosper

We are immediately given the first challenge, we have to believe in the unseen. In the word Ghaib, we also find the meaning of that which is not acquired by the five senses. A challenge to go beyond the mind’s eye. Mindfulness of God requires digging deep but also operates on three relational axis:

⁃ A humbling act of submission to Allah by believing in what He tells us about what is beyond our grasp (an antidote to narcissism)

⁃ A vertical relationship with our lord through prayer that reminds us of the bond with Allah and what each party has contracted for (an antidote to omnipotence)

⁃ A horizontal relationship with others through an act of care: giving out of what they have been given (an antidote to isolation and estrangement)

So the opening guidance works on providing the seeker with an immunological response to internal structures that can lead to deviation from the righteous path.

Hence, the five pillars of Islam, shahadah, zakah, prayer, fasting and pilgrimage, which incorporate this belief in the unseen, work as the foundations and boosters of our psychological immune system and are first and foremost beneficial to us.

So what is this immunological response going to strengthen?

TBC…

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Reading the therapeutic contract in the Quran

Thought of the day

Day 2

Thinking of the Fatiha as the opening of a request and a contracting with God, exalted is He, we can then move to the next chapter Surat Al-Baqara in which there is an immediate acknowledgment of this request, we say “guide us to the straight path” and God responds,

2:1  Alif Lam Mi

2:2  This is the Scripture in which there is no doubt, containing guidance for those who are mindful of God

2:3  who believe in the unseen, keep up the prayer, and give out of what We have provided for them

2:4  those who believe in the revelation sent down to you [Muhammad], and in what was sent before you, those who have firm faith in the Hereafter

2:5  Such people are following their Lord’s guidance and it is they who will prosper

In this response we are immediately introduced to the first hurdle that may prevent from receiving this guidance; namely narcissism and its remedy, mindfulness of God.

I was thinking here about the concept of mindfulness of God as opposed to mindfulness practices today and all the positive psychology that puts man at the centre of the universe.

A mindfulness practice where we put ourself at the centre is a narcissistic practice that boosts one’s ego ideal and makes a person believe that they hold their own answers within and do not need an other.

But what does mindfulness of God mean then?

TBC…

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Ramadan reflections, psychoanalytic perspectives

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Reading the therapeutic contract in the Quran

Thought of the day

Day # 1

Ramadan is the month of Quran and I would like to invite you this month while we seek the benefits of these blessed days and nights to read the therapeutic contract within the verses of the suras that promise us healing, peace of heart and peace of mind. When we engage with therapy, (and to Allah belongs the utmost example of perfection), we go to our therapist with a demand or a problem. We go to someone we know has credentials and expertise to be able to understand our predicaments and help us understand something about them. We tell him our presenting issues and begin therapy.

I invite you to begin your reading with that understanding in mind and note the importance of Surat Al Fatiha. It is our contracting with God Exalted is He. We go to him with that demand. It is then understandable why no prayer is valid without al Fatiha, because every prayer is a reminder of this contract we initiated and an act of engagement that reminds us that God is present for us and we should call upon him at least 5 times a day to remind ourselves.

Surat Al-Fatiha

The Opening

1:1  In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy

1:2  Praise belongs to God, Lord of the Worlds

1:3  the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy

1:4  Master of the Day of Judgement

1:5  It is You we worship; it is You we ask for help

1:6  Guide us to the straight path

1:7 the path of those You have blessed, those who incur no anger and who have not gone astray

So how does God respond?

TBC…

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Ramadan reflections, psychoanalytic perspectives

Subhanallah, I was reading Surat Al-qasas when I came across this sentence in verse 32 When Allah, exhaled is He, is talking to prophet Moses, peace be upon him and He tells him:
.1 And cross your arms tightly to calm your fears.

Watch this video of Peter levine where he explain in minute 2:45 of the video a technique to calm one’s fear in what is considered to be new techniques to work with trauma patients.

It turns out it’s an old technique written hundreds of years ago in the Qur’an 😉

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359540499_Exploring_Object_relations_in_the_Qur’an

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14753634.2021.1916144?journalCode=rpco20

The here and now and the relativity of time.

A whimsical thought for the festive season.

 

It’s Christmas time and I do enjoy this time of year because, within the darkness of winter and shortness of daylight, we have created a festival of light. However this year my mind drifted towards something else: the question of the relativity of time. It started with the meaning of the celebration, the birthday of Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him. It made me think about the new trends within the Muslim community to try to create a buzz around The Mawlid of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, having an Islamic tree and putting gifts under it, as well as the yearly debate around that time of the year, whether celebrating is a bid’ah that should not be followed or a harmless reminder of the blessed event. The amusing thing is that neither date is really correct. It has long been established that Jesus (PBUH) was not born on the 25^th of December. On the other hand, while historians say that Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) was born on the 12^th of Rabi’ al-Awwal, the fact that we follow the lunar calendar means that each year we celebrate his birthday at a different time.

So what is the purpose of celebrations in Islam? I had to compare this event to other celebrations in Islam, and they are basically two. The first one is after the month of Ramadan, which is the month of fasting. The second is after performing pilgrimage. It then occurred to me that what we celebrate has nothing to do with time itself, time is a tool. What we are celebrating is the performing of an act. One can deduce that a meaningful celebration is one that comes as a result of an exerted effort in the here and now. It is an exercise of mindfulness. Being anchored in time, more specifically in the present and not being anchored by time, celebrating dates that don’t carry a sense of personal development or achievement.

This concept draws one’s attention to the relativity of time. And the question is perhaps, what makes it valuable? The fact that time has transformed from its initial purpose as a tool at our service to a subduing force may hold the answer. We are now in a relentless race with a concept we have created to measure our lives. We want to harness it, travel through it, slow it down. We have made it into a goal. And in the process, we shifted the focus from the essence of life, which is being meaningful in our existence to pursuing an illusion that can only produce more illusions…

 

 

An-nafs is a very fascinating concept. It could be translated as the self. But while the etymology of the word self is an emphatic expression of the “I”, the etymology of the word Nafs is the emphatic expression of transcendence. The three Arabic letters forming this word have one original meaning which is an exhaled breath.

It made me reflect on the divine breath that was blown into Mary, and the divine breath that is blown into every baby.  The word Nafs that is so representative of our human experience is the fruit of this exhaled divine breath that brings us to life. It simply means just as in the post about Maslow’s pyramid of needs that at the beginning of man’s story is transcendence.

Perhaps the choice of Arabic as a language to convey the message of God is that the implicit and explicit meanings work together to convey this message of love, of unity and duality. It follows that operating from a pure I or ego perspective that does not take into account this dyad is operating from a false self. But perhaps this thought deserves more time for reflection.

While still on the subject of etymology and linguistic precision, I would like to mention another important term. Having read a few papers by Freud this year, I came across another interesting term which is hysteria. This term first used to describe the condition of some women, comes from the Greek word meaning “of the womb” or “suffering of the womb” the womb itself meaning the belly.

If you look at the etymology of the word rahim (the Arabic word for womb) you will find that at the root is the meaning of mercy the quality that goes with the womb and motherhood.  When we oppose the two, one ties the word to a place of psychological troubles, the other to a place of mercy.

Perhaps these are signs of profound conceptual differences between the Islamic perspective of the human condition and a non-faith-based perspective.