Islamic Beliefs in Healing of Loss and Grief

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Islamic Beliefs in Healing of Loss and Grief
Afghan Refugees/Cross Cultural Counselling
By Nooria Mehraby MD Kabul, MM (Pathology) Kabul,
M.Counsel UWS Counsellor/Project Officer (Middle
Eastern Communities The N.S.W. Service for the
Treatment And Rehabilitation of Torture and
Trauma Survivors (S.T.A.R.T.T.S)
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Afghanistan MORE THAN 25 YEARS OF WAR
1979 - 1989 RUSSIAN OCCUPATION 1989 - 1992
CIVIL WAR 1992 - 1994 CIVIL WAR (ISLAMIC
GOVERNMENT) 1996 Taliban Occupies and
destroys KABUL 2001 Taliban rules 85 of the
country (Taliban Knowledge Seekers) 2001 US
War against Terror 26 December 2001 Interim
Government 2 MILLION INTERNALLY DISPLACED MORE
THAN 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE KILLED 5 MILLION AFGHAN
REFUGEES AROUND THE WORLD
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Ethnicity
Pashtun 38 Tajik 25 Uzbek 6 Hazara 19
Minor ethnic groups (Chahar Aimaks, Turkmen,
Baloch, and others)
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Religion
Islam - Sunni 84 - Shi'ite 15 Other
1 (Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Zoroastrian and others)
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5 MILLION AFGHAN REFUGEES AROUND THE WORLD
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• Afghan refugee children playing in the cemetery
  at
• Naser-Bagh Refugee Camp (Peshawar, Pakistan)

Photo Nooria Mehraby
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• Afghan refugees and a general view at
• Naser-Bagh Refugee Camp

Photo Nooria Mehraby
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• Tents at Naser-Bagh Refugee Camp

Photo Nooria Mehraby
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• Mud-brick house at Naser-Bagh Refugee Camp

Photo Nooria Mehraby
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• Repairing a Mud brick house at Naser-Bagh
  Refugee Camp

Photo Nooria Mehraby
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• Child helping to build her house at
• Naser-Bagh Refugee Camp

Photo Nooria Mehraby
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• The Clinic at Naser-Bagh Refugee Camp

Photo Nooria Mehraby
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• Water Supply at Naser-Bagh Refugee Camp

Photo Nooria Mehrabi
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• Amputee Survivor of the war
• at Naser-Bagh Refugee Camp

Photo Nooria Mehraby
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• Dying of cancer at Naser-Bagh Refugee Camp

Photo Nooria Mehraby
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• Children helping their relatives to build a
  mud-brick house at
• Naser-Bagh Refugee Camp

Photo Nooria Mehraby
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• Child caring for her brother at the door of
  their house at Naser-Bagh Refugee Camp

Photo Nooria Mehraby
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Common Psychological Problems

• Post traumatic Stress Symptoms
• Depression
• Generalized Anxiety
• Panic disorder
• Psychosomatic problems(50)
• Grief and loss
• Psychosis

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Counselling Afghan Clients

• Concept of Counseling
• Safety
• Exploration
• Social reconnection
• Practical Assistance
• Spiritual Healings

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Five Practices

• The Shahada that is bearing witness that there
  is no God but Allah and that Muhammad, p.b.u.h.
  (Peace be upon him) is the last messenger of
  Allah,
• Establishing regular prayer, (Salat)
• Fasting for the whole month of Ramadan
• Giving to charity regularly (Zakat), 
• Pilgrimage to The Holy City of Mecca (Haj) once
  in a lifetime if one can afford it.

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Islamic Burial and Death Customs

• Burial
• Funeral
• Mourning

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Type of loss

• Babies and children
• Still Birth
• Miscarriage and abortion
• Spouse
• Parents

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Suicide

• The Quran says Do not Commit Suicide ,as God is
  merciful to you (QuranSurah 4,verse 29)

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Predominant Affects

• Muslims consider a person who committed
  suicide, as someone who has turned his/her back
  on Islam
• Shame
• Guilt
• Anger
• Disgrace
• Stigma
• Fear

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Quotes from Scriptures..

• A Hadith states that the actions of a person,
  acting out of a disturbed mind cannot be held
  against the person.
• If a person has in the heart the goodness to the
  weight of one atom, and has said, there is no God
  but Me, he/she shall come out of Hell-fire
  Quran (2147)

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Divine Decree

• Muslims believe that Allah creates every soul and
  life, and that life is a gift from God.

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Divine Decree cont
Muslims believe that there is life after death,
that Allah appoints a time for each person to
pass from this existence into the next and that
death is unavoidable and will take place when
the time is right.
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Trial and Test
Be sure we shall test you with something of
fear and hunger, some loss in goods, lives and
the fruits of your toil, but give glad tiding to
those who patiently persevere. Who say, when
afflicted with calamity To Allah we belong, and
to Him is our return (Quran 2155).
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Patience Brings Reward
I have no reward other than paradise for my
believing servant who is patient when I take away
one of his beloved from among his companions of
the world Quran 63 what ever trouble,
illness, anxiety, grief, pain and sorrow afflicts
a Muslim, even if it is the pricking of a
thorn-Allah removes some of his sins because of
itHadith
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Self Initiative

• Surely God does not change the condition in
  which people are until they change that which is
  in themselvesQuran (1311).

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Positive Thinking

• So the fact is that along with every hardship
  there is also ease, indeed, with every hardship
  there is also ease Quran(945-6)
• It may well be that Allah brings about ease
  after hardship Quran(657).
• You should know that victory comes with
  patience, and relief comes after distress, and
  that with every hardship there is also
  ease.Hadith

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Devotion to Allah
He guides to Himself those who turn to Him in
penitence, those who believe and whose heart has
rest in the remembrance of Allah. Verily in
remembrance of Allah, do hearts find rest.
(Quran 1327-28).
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Mercy and Forgiveness

• And I have said seek forgiveness from your
  Lord. He was ever forgiving
• Quran 7110

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Professional Assistance

• Seek treatments slaves of Allah, for Allah did
  not create a disease except He created a cure for
  itHadith
• Looking after your self is the obligation of
  each Muslim. Hadith

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Culturally Appropriate Counselling Techniques

• Challenging and reframing distorted thinking
• Prayer for Gods mercy and forgiveness
• Psycho-spiritual education

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Final Note
Whatever we are given is a gift from Allah. We
are not its owner. Everything belongs to Allah
and returns To Him.To Allah we belong, and to Him
is our return. Amen