QURANIC GUIDANCE

The need for trained Muslim counsellors to serve as chaplains has grown exponentially in our times owing to peoples’ modern lifestyles. And as Islam is an all-embracing way of life that caters for the needs of those in distress, in hospital, prison or at home, the author has accomplished a valuable task in encapsulating both the theory and practice of counselling along the Islamic lines. Being an experienced, professionally trained psychologist, with scores of publications in his field of specialization, Hussain’s deliberations on this timely issue, based on primary Islamic sources, are both instructive and highly welcome.

Apart from pressing home the truth that the Qur’an and Sunnah are invaluable sources of divine guidance (pp. 9–22), the author focusses his attention on spelling out the interventions prescribed and permitted by Islam for ameliorating the plight of patients. In this context, he highlights the therapeutic and spiritual benefits of [ibadah (devotional worship) and dhikr (remembrance of Allah)