Definition of neurosis and its most common types:

 Books of psychology, particularly those that have to do with psychiatrists, confirm that neurosis is a kind of agitation that is not based on an anatomic factor. It is a psychological or functional disease that has no organic basis; and it causes psychological agitation although the patient maintains normal mental abilities.

 Psychologists say that anxiety neurosis, which is the most serious neurotic disease, is the most common one. It may be temporal or permanent. Some specialists have defined it as “a generalized feeling of hateful resentment, prediction of danger, and fear caused by an expected danger whose source is unknown”.

 One of the great authors once read the autobiography of a wealthy and influential friend of his. This wealthy influential person wrote: “I live in continuous fear, constant fear of people, of things, and of myself. Great wealth, high social status, good health, manhood, women, love, and red nights could not grant me tranquility or peace of mind. I am bored with everything, and I have tried everything. I hate myself, and I am afraid of myself. Don’t you see the ghosts around me? Don’t you see fright opening its mouth to devour me? Why is all of this fear? Why are these worries? Everything is in my hands, so why should I be so afraid? Perhaps I am afraid because there is nothing I should be afraid of! I am afraid of the unknown, which I do not know! I am lost in this world because I have reached the zenith of life. Life is now my worst enemy. I am afraid of life itself.”

 While speaking about human needs, psychologists say: Man is in need of security. But where is security? Diseases and illnesses that afflict people are innumerable; and people are always afraid of malignant tumors, heart attacks, ageing, and paralysis. They are always afraid for their provision; and they are in need of security, success, love and sympathy.

 But psychologists seem to have forgotten the fact that man’s first and foremost need is faith, because if he has faith, he feels tranquility and peace, and he loves other fellow humans, because they are all Allah’s creatures. If man believes in the Almighty Allah, he succeeds to achieve the secret behind his existence.

Positive fear and negative fear:

  In fact, psychologists have distinguished two kinds of fear: positive fear and negative fear. If you fear Allah, All Mighty, and commit yourself to His Divine Commands, you feel peaceful and secure. In this sense fear of Allah is positive because it is conducive to tranquility, security, happiness, love and success. But if you fear sh3er than Allah, All Mighty, you achieve only anxiety, neuroses, and loss. To this effect, Allah, Most Gracious, says,

“Those who believe and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah: verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.”

[Ar-Raad; 28]

  This Quranic Verse shows clearly that people’s hearts do not find rest and tranquility until they remember Allah, Most Gracious, and are conscious of Him. That is why Allah, Most Merciful, says,

“Verily, man has been created very impatient, irritable when evil touches him, and niggardly when good touches him, except those who are devoted to prayers, those who remain constant in their prayers, and those in whose wealth there is a recognized right for the beggar who asks and for the unlucky who has lost his property and wealth, and those who believe in the Day of Recompense, and those who fear the torment of their Lord: verily, the torment of their Lord is that before which none can feel secure, and those who guard their private parts except with their wives and the (women slaves) whom their right hands possess – for (then) they are not blameworthy.”

[Al-Maarej; 19-30]

The pivot of this article:

  In fact, the pivot round which this article turns is that the most precious feeling that you may have in all of your life is to be tranquil and secure. In this context, Abu Salamah Bin “Ubaidillah Bin Muhsan Al-Khatmi quoted Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), as saying,

“If the one of you gets up in the morning secure with his people, healthy in his body, and has food for one day, it is as if he owned the whole world.”

 A great king once asked one of his ministers, “Who is the king?” The minister answered, “You are.” The king said, “No! The king is someone who does not know us, nor do we know him. He has a simple dwelling where he finds shelter, a righteous wife that pleases him, and provision that suffices him. If he knew us, he would strive to please us; and if we knew him, we would strive to humiliate him.

  In short, the lack of such basic human needs as tranquility, security and peacefulness, which are lacking nowadays, stand behind most diseases and illnesses. The more developed medicine is, the clearer becomes the fact that psychological stress, i.e. distress, stands behind most diseases, while tranquility, security, and peace of mind stand behind good health. Furthermore, nothing can grant you as much security as monotheism does, and nothing can fill your heart with as much fright as polytheism does. To this effect, Allah, All Mighty, says,

“So invoke not with Allah another god, lest you should be among those who receive torment.”

[Ash-shuaraa; 213]