The Ruqyah Syar’iyyah Spiritual Method as an Alternative for Depression Treatment

Abstract

This paper aims for an in-depth discussion of the Islamic spiritual method known as the ruqyah syari’yyah, an increasingly popular method used to treat depression. Ruqyah is a spiritual treatment process based on methods that are in line with other religious practices such as prayer and zikr (divine remembrance). The objective of this study is to identify the health level of research subjects before and after ruqyah spiritual treatments. Research was conducted for this study using qualitative methods that combined interview and observation. The degree of depression of the subject was determined using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The study was carried out involving two subjects experiencing serious degrees of depression that are marked as subjects X and Y, who received scores of 60 (extreme depression) and 56 (extreme depression). After ruqyah syar’iyyah spiritual treatment was given, subjects X and Y, respectively, obtained scores of 10 (normal) and 8 (normal). The findings of the study are expected to educate the public about correct Ruqyah syar'iyyah spiritual treatment methods, and to encourage an understanding of the development of alternative treatments that can produce therapeutic effects for people with mental depression.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n4p406