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ABSTRACT
Muslim chaplains face a plethora of challenges. Notably, two directly focused on the chaplain are: (1) attuning to and triaging the spiritual and emotional needs of Muslims they are serving and, then, (2) accompanying them on their spiritual journey. These challenges are amplified even more during the COVID-19 pandemic when people are turning to spirituality for coping. In addition, communities that are disproportionately burdened by disease morbidity and mortality, as one study of Black Americans showed. This paper seeks to critically examine the difference between Islamic spiritual gnosis and spiritual bypassing. For chaplains, this differentiation is essential to provide effective and meaningful Islamic pastoral care because it helps the client to powerfully leverage sacred beliefs and regulate while trying to navigate challenging experiences rather than glossing over or avoiding dealing with these challenges. I believe a potential solution to both is found in humility.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 All translations of the Quranic verses are taken from the M. A. S. Abdel Haleem translation published by Oxford University Press (2008).
2 Long and Ansari, “Islamic Pastoral Care and the Development of Muslim Chaplaincy”.
3 Unpublished data with the permission of the researchers: Kameelah Mu'Min Rashad, Shawn Bediako, and Abdul-Malik Merchant, Black Covid Survey.
4 In the Quran, those who truly serve God are described as ‘those who walk humbly on the earth.’ (Quran 23:63).
5 Hook et al., “Cultural Humility,” 353–366. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032595.
6 Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, 364.
7 Quran 67:1.
8 Hujwiri, The Kashf al-Mahjub (The Revelation of the Veiled), 275.
9 IbnAjiba, Mi’raj Al-Tashawwuf Ila Haqa’iq Al-Tasawwuf, 39.
10 Al-Razi, At-Tafsir Al-Kabir, v. 16, 102.
11 Picciott and Fox, “Exploring Experts’ Perspectives on Spiritual Bypass,” 65–84.
12 Ibid.
13 In many places in the Quran Allah encourages spirituality. For example: ‘The one who purifies his soul succeeds and the one who corrupts it fails’ (91:9–10). Also, ‘Prosperous are those who purify themselves, remember the name of their Lord, and pray’ (87:14–15).
14 Bernard et al., “Spirituality, Resilience, and Positive Emotions”; Exline, “Religion and Spirituality,” 746.
15 Through Islamic scholarship there is an opportunity for fame and prestige. AbuHamid Muhammad Al-Ghazali (d. 505/1111), the influential jurist and theologian who became the most prominent highest position of his time, said in his autobiography, Al-Munqidh Min Al-Dalal, “When I reflected on my intention [of] teaching and found it for not purely for Allah’s sake; rather, what inspired and move [my intention] was seeking fame and widespread prestige.” Furthermore, scholarship provided forward mobility by attaining positions such as fuqaha (jurrists), mu’allimeen (teachers), kutab (scribes and government secretaries). Muhammad Al-Ghazali, Al-Munqidh Min Al-Dalal, 94; Griffel, Al-Ghazali’s Philosophical Theology, 5, 35–41; Saad, Social History of Timbuktu, 81–2.
16 Quran 35:28
17 Cashwell, Glosoff, and Hammond, “Spiritual Bypass: A Preliminary Investigation,” 162–74.
18 Quran 4:95.
19 Quran 39:9.
20 Quran 2:195.
21 Versteegh, The Arabic Language, 63.
22 Mandhur, Lisan Al-Arab, v. 7, 230.
23 Delaney, “The Spirituality Scale,” 145–67; Makkar and Singh, “Development of a Spirituality Measurement Scale,” 1–8; Monod et al., “Instruments Measuring Spirituality in Clinical Research,” 1345–1357.
24 Jung, Modern Man in Search of A Soul, 58.
25 Zaruq, Sharh Al-Hikam Al-’Ataiya, 247.
26 Park et al., “Positive and Negative Religious Coping Styles as Prospective Predictors of Well-being in African Americans,” 318–326.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Abdul-Malik Merchant
Abdul-Malik Merchant serves as the Muslim Chaplain at Tufts University and the Essex County Sheriff’s Department. In these roles, Imam Abdul-Malik offers mentorship, supports, and teaches students and inmates to coordinate programs and activities related to Muslim life in their respective facilities. During his undergraduate program in Islamic Studies – specializing in Islamic culture from Umm al-Qura University in Makkah, Saudi Arabia – is when Abdul-Malik realized he could use his passion for service, particularly with the disenfranchised of society. After nearly 10 years studying and living abroad, Imam Merchant returned to Boston, MA in 2016 with his wife and children to take a leadership position primarily focusing on spiritual care and counseling in New England's largest mosque. In Spring of 2020, Abdul-Malik completed a Masters of Theological Studies at Boston University’s School of Theology concentrating on practical theology. Upon graduation, he was awarded the Tisch Faculty Fellowship and Boston Bridges Fellowship. Abdul-Malik Merchant serves as a board member for the Muslim Wellness Foundation, on the executive planning committee of the National Black Muslim Covid Coalition and the Black Muslim Psychology Conference. He asks that you keep him and his family in your prayers.