Alhamdulillah, our trip to Cambodia from 28th November to 1st December 2022 to deliver aid to the Muslims there has been a success. This is a follow-up after a series of various aid, including the building of wells, the building of ablution facilities for madrasahs, and the sponsorship of tahfiz children at Maahad Tahfiz Abdussalam in Phnom Penh. The Maahad provides free education to children from poor and impoverished families.

Our delegation comprised Hamidi Abdul Rahman (the President of PISANG), Dr Nor Azian Abdul Rahman (the Director of Research of PISANG) and Nurah Abdul Rahman (a volunteer from Malaysia). We were greeted by Ustaz Abdus Salam al-Hafiz (the President of the Association for the Development of Cambodian Community, and also the founder and head of Maahad Tahfiz Abdus Salam) and Brother Hannafy.

Our first destination was Koh Kong, near the border with Thailand, which was a 6-hour drive from Phnom Penh. There we had a meeting with the local Muslim community and also visited houses that were built in the sea by poor Muslims who could not afford any land. There are more than 2000 families living in that type of house. Sooner or later, the authorities will demolish the houses, and those people will be homeless. It is a matter of urgency that something must be done now to avoid this catastrophe.

There are many foreign organisations that are currently giving aid to Muslims in Cambodia. PISANG is one of them, but we want to help them in a different way. Giving aid from time to time will help them for a limited period of time, but their conditions will not improve over time. They will remain poor, living in places with no proper sanitation, having little or unaffordable access to education, having extremely limited job opportunities, and will remain dependent on aid.

We know the proverb, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”. In order the change the fate of the Muslims there, we need to provide new infrastructures to enable them to move forward with their lives and be independent of aid. Islam puts a great emphasis on the building of various infrastructures for living, including infrastructures for learning, such as the building of educational institutions. We need funding in order to help them, as they do not get any funding allocation from the government. When we talk about building infrastructures, we are talking about raising a large amount of money. We want to buy about 2000 lots of land, each measuring 5m x 20m. The lots will be used to relocate 2000 poor families. We are working on this project with our partners in Cambodia. This is an important “fi sabilillah” project, and it is achievable if you support our crowdfunding effort. You can contribute to this project by paying your zakat to us or through donations. The whole project will create new job opportunities, and new economic activities in the area will sustain the development of the Muslim community there insha’Allah. By making financial contributions, we will be part of the movement for social change.

Bank details
Bank: Lloyds Bank
Account name: Pisang
Sort-code: 30-90-77
Account number: 17963868
BIC: LOYDGB21434
IBAN: GB32 LOYD 3090 7717 9638 68

By Hamidi Abdul Rahman, Supyan Hussin and Zaharom Ridzwan

Abstract

Introduction: Jinn possession and mental disorder have overlapping symptoms, and different therapy disciplines may diagnose those with overlapping symptoms as either mental disorder or jinn possession or both. The different approaches to psychotherapy do not recognise the existence of jinn possession and thus may be shunned by those with jinn possession. Jinn is spiritually similar to humans and is accountable for their actions. Like the human, jinn has a psyche comprising the aql (intellect faculty) and the qalb (cognitive faculty). In jinn possession, the jinn psyche exists alongside the human psyche in the human body, creating inter psyche conflicts between both psyches. The conflicts are not limited to psychological but can also extend to physical conflicts when both psyches compete to control the human central nervous system. Therapy for jinn possession requires changing the power balance to eliminate the dominance of the jinn psyche over the human psyche. Ruqyah can weaken the jinn’s physical ability, but psychotherapy is needed to strengthen the human mind to address the inter psyche conflicts. Using Islamic existential philosophy as an approach, a new Islamic Existential Psychotherapy (IEP) discusses both human and jinn existential issues and the conflicts between the two species. Method: The impact of IEP on 209 patients with jinn possession, 65 of them with mental disorders, who attended a treatment retreat programme was analysed. Results: Two main themes emerged in the IEP sessions, and IEP was highly successful in changing patients’ approach to the diagnosis of jinn possession, increased their self esteem, higher motivation and compliance through the understanding of inter psyche conflicts. Conclusion: IEP is highly suitable for the psychological intervention of jinn possession as it recognises jinn possession and addresses inter psyche conflicts between the jinn psyche and the human psyche. It is also in harmony with the belief of Muslims and is more palatable to Muslim clients in explaining issues such as the purpose and meaning of life, guilt, grief, and coping mechanisms.

Please click here for full paper.

Abstract:

A case study on a male British Muslim repeat offender was presented. He had been involved in violent crimes since he was a teenager and had served several prison sentences. He had no recollection of committing the crimes and only knew of his
violent actions from others. He was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was under medication. His condition improved briefly but relapsed soon after. His parents brought him to a jinn possession expert, where he was diagnosed with jinn possession using a newly developed jinn possession scale. The subject agreed to engage in therapy for jinn possession. He became aggressive with threatening behaviour during the third therapy session, confirming the case for jinn possession. A multi-psyche model explains how jinn possession can affect behavioural changes and the connection between jinn possession and mental disorders. Modern medication can be complemented with therapy for jinn possession to bring better therapeutic benefits.

For full paper please click here.

Abstract:

The belief in jinn possession is embedded in the Muslim faith. A previous quantitative
study had identified symptoms of jinn possession. It shows that there are overlapping symptoms between jinn possession and mental disorders, leading to different diagnoses. An exploratory study was done to investigate the possibility of jinn possession amongst patients who have already been diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and epilepsy using four case studies. All the patients have at least five significant symptoms of jinn possession and were on medication for their  respective mental disorders. Thermal images of the patients were recorded using a
thermal imaging camera to monitor temperature change before and after ruqyah. The thermal images before and after ruqyah were compared, and it was observed that parts of the body temperature for all four patients became hotter after ruqyah, indicating that all of them have jinn possession. This reaction to ruqyah is considered as a sign of jinn possession by ruqyah practitioners. It is possible that some of those who have been diagnosed with mental disorders may also have an underlying jinn possession issue. Using ruqyah as a complementary therapy on this category of patients may bring better therapeutic benefits. Further studies need to be conducted to identify the extent of jinn possession amongst those with mental disorders. The
symptoms of jinn possession can be used as a guide for identifying possible cases of jinn possession amongst those with mental disorders.

For full paper please click here.

Abstract:

The belief in jinn possession is deeply rooted amongst Muslims. A previous quantitative research has identified 23 significant symptoms of jinn possession. The loadings of the symptoms were used to create a scale for positive identification of jinn possession. The scale aims to provide the easy identification of jinn possession without knowing the complexity of jinn possession. The scale can be used for early identification of jinn possession or identification of jinn possession cases amongst mental health patients. 1088 data samples from the previous research, comprising of 530 cases of jinn possession and 588 cases of non-possession, were used to create the scale. The score of every sample were calculated, and the computed data were analysed using Receiver Operations Characteristics. A cut-off score of 1.9 was obtained to indicate those considered to have jinn possession. A new set of 188 participants were recruited to validate the scale by comparing the diagnosis according to the scale with that of ruqyah. 109 participants were diagnosed as having jinn possession by the scale, with 108 of them confirmed by ruqyah giving a success rate of 99.1%. The scale is a useful instrument that health professionals can use for positive identification of jinn possession without the need for learning ruqyah. Suspected cases of jinn possession can then be referred for complementary treatment with confidence.

For full paper please click here.

Abstract:

A case study on a female Malay living in the UK with serious eczema was
presented. Her parents believed that it was a condition called santau, a
common cultural belief in South East Asian countries. Santau is believed as
the insertion of poisonous materials into the victim’s body with the help of
jinn. Santau is normally differentiated from other medical skin conditions
by the rapid deterioration of the condition and rapid improvement after
successful treatment. Her skin condition was intolerable after a trip to
Malaysia. Unable to be admitted to hospital because of the pressure on
hospital beds during the Covid-19 pandemic, she resorted to intensive
multiple-day ruqyah therapy, a therapy based on the incantation of verses
from the Quran. Remarkable improvement was observed after three days.
Apart from delivering therapeutic outcome, ruqyah therapy as a
Traditional and Complementary Medicine has its role in relieving the
pressure on the mainstream health system especially in time of pandemic.

For full paper please click here.

Abstract:

A case study of a male British Muslim of Pakistani descend with severe
cluster headache was presented. The patient only responded to morphine
treatment but his condition continued to deteriorate. He resorted to ruqyah
complementary therapy, which is based on incantations of the Quran, after
seeking advice with a local imam (Islamic cleric). His condition improved
significantly and continued to have weekly preventative ruqyah therapy.
Since resorting to ruqyah, he has not any morphine treatment and the level
and duration of pain have reduced significantly. Ruqyah is popular for the
treatment of jinn possession but has also been found to have therapeutic
effect on non-mental health problems. The case illustrates that
complementing mainstream medicine with ruqyah can bring many benefits
especially within the Muslim community. Cooperation between mainstream
health service and faith healers is needed.

For full paper please click here

Hamidi Rahman: Mental Health vs Jinn Possession, Sleep Paralysis, Ruqyah, Tasawwuf

Video produced by Connatasians on 29 May 2020

Online talk and Q&A organised by FabMinds on the topic of ruqyah, jinn possession and mental health help on 13th May 2020 by Hamidi Abdul Rahman, the chairman of PISANG

PISANG Chairman, Hamidi, delivered a talk on “Understanding Jinn Possession” at Bait al-Rahmaan mosque in Ridderkerk, Rotterdam, The Netherlands on 19th October 2019.