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J Clinic Care Skill 2024, 5(2): 55-61 |
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Received: 2024/02/7 | Accepted: 2024/05/26 | Published: 2024/06/21
Received: 2024/02/7 | Accepted: 2024/05/26 | Published: 2024/06/21
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Tavakol M, Tavakol N. Patient's Spiritual Support Pattern Based on Quranic Verses. J Clinic Care Skill 2024; 5 (2) :55-61
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M. Tavakol1, N. Tavakol *1
1- Medical Ethics Research Center, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran
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Introduction
The concept of human health has four basic dimensions, including mental health, physical health, social health and spiritual health [1]. The importance of spirituality in healthcare has increased in recent years. Researchers and clinicians now recognize spirituality as a patient need [2]. Spirituality, as one aspect of human existence, accompanies all aspects of health and illness and is a source of support and improvement for patients [3]. Spiritual health comprises two dimensions: Religious health and existential health. Religious health represents a person’s relationship with God or an unlimited power, while existential health represents a person’s relationship with others, the environment and their inner relationships [4]. Providing spiritual care to patients can lead to spiritual peace and give patients meaning and purpose [5].
Nurses, as primary caregivers, play a fundamental role in the spiritual health of patients by identifying all the patient’s needs, including spiritual needs [6], and should provide spiritual care and support to the patient [7]. Spiritual care includes interventions such as support in religious practices and activities that provide comfort and convenience to the patient, enhance self-confidence, spiritual health, a sense of wholeness and well-being, improve quality of life, decrease feelings of loneliness and reduce levels of anxiety and stress, and improve interpersonal communication [8]. Research on spiritual care by nurses shows that this skill is not yet developed among nurses and that it is necessary to implement educational programs to improve nurses’ skills in spiritual care [9, 10].
The way to improve nurses’ skills in the Iranian Islamic society environment is to familiarize nurses with reliable religious sources, such as the Holy Quran and the teachings of this heavenly miracle to provide spiritual support and care to patients. Muslims consider the Holy Quran to be their holy book, which contains behavioral and spiritual instructions for all aspects of Muslim life, and they incorporate the teachings of this holy book into their daily lives [11, 12]. Muslim patients believe in the healing power of the Holy Quran [13]. Healing and curing through the Holy Quran is a new type of treatment in which faith and remembrance of God have a powerful influence on the status of brain activities from tension to relaxation [14, 15].
Studies show that reading and memorizing the Holy Quran can have a positive effect on mental health and coping with everyday stress. It can reduce levels of anxiety, depression and sleep disorders and also improve physical health and social functioning [16-18]. Various studies have shown that prayer is a factor for human growth and excellence, to such an extent that we consider prayer therapy one of the new treatment techniques [19]. Research results on the positive effect of prayer on the treatment process of various patient groups, such as hemodialysis [20], cardiovascular [21], and cancer patients [22] are accessible.
Considering the proven effects of therapeutic prayer on patients’ recovery and the unique role of nurses in caring for and communicating with patients, there is a need for nurses to learn to take spiritual care of patients in accordance with the culture of society by utilizing the teachings of the Quran and Iranian Islamic culture to meet the spiritual needs of Muslim patients and promote patients’ mental health. Despite the fact that much attention has been paid to the category of spirituality in the field of health and treatment in recent years, no systematic study has been conducted in this area due to the important role of nurses, so a review of nurses’ spiritual support for patients based on the prayers of the Quran seems necessary. This study was conducted to review the verses of the Holy Quran and recognize supportive verses for nurses’ spiritual support and palliative care with their Muslim patients.
Participants & Methods
This qualitative research was conducted in a qualitative paradigm using the summative content analysis method in 2023. In this type of analysis, the focus is on discovering the basic meanings of the word or its themes. Summative content analysis is a qualitative approach to analysing textual data [23], and in order to find the concepts related to spiritual support and care in the Quran, we used this method. The searched words in the Quran included Quranic prayers, hopeful verses and directive verses that included moral concepts and lifestyle instructions. The main source for the study was the Holy Quran [24]. Also, the interpretations of the selected verses in the authentic books of interpretation, mainly Shia, as well as in some narrative books were examined and the meanings of the keywords were looked up in authentic Quranic dictionaries. First, appropriate Quranic keywords such as illness, death, repentance, patience, and forgiveness were selected in consultation with Quranic experts, 1252 verses were reviewed and selected. In this way, the data that provided primary information about spiritual support according to the treatment process and the conditions in which the patient's condition, and considered the nurse’s responsibility in caring for and supporting the patient was selected. Finally, 89 verses were selected. The data were analyzed using the Elo & Kyngas method. An inductive approach was utilized to directly identify codes and categories from Quran verses. Each unit of analysis was a Full verse [25]. Subsequently, an expert thoroughly examined all sacred verses to acquire a comprehensive understanding of the data, while also jotting down reflective notes in the form of intermittent memos. Descriptive codes were then developed to depict the data, along with in-vivo codes that mirror the language of the verses. To facilitate real-time reflexivity in the data analysis process, an iterative procedure of coding and memo writing was executed [26, 27]. The codes were later reviewed by the research team to identify similar ones that could be categorized to offer condensed and meaningful representations of the observed patterns. Ultimately, these similar categories were amalgamated into themes.
Findings
All verses of the Holy Quran were examined according to the research objectives. In the first phase, a total of 1252 blessed verses were selected, and then by adjusting the content of the blessed verses to the research objectives and examining them more closely, 89 blessed verses that had the theme of prayer and supplication were selected and listed (Table 1).
Table 1. Initial codes (holy verses), subthemes and themes
The verses examined were assigned to the 12 themes of asking for children and heirs, patience, Satan’s temptation, asking for help to endure suffering and hardship, remembrance and prayer, repentance and conversion, asking for a good end, remembering the resurrection, getting rid of enviers and tempters, losing hope in God’s mercy, receiving a reward and giving thanks for God’s blessings.
Asking for children and heirs
This theme included verses that were useful for conceiving a child, praying for a healthy and virtuous child, vowing to have a child in the womb, and asking for a good child and family, and the nurse can teach these verses to the patient.
Patience
In this theme, there were verses that invite the patient to be patient and steadfast in the hardships caused by the disease.
Satan’s temptation
This group of verses informed the patient not to be tempted by the devil during illness. The patient prayed that God protects him from the harassment of the devil and the presence of the devil.
Asking for help to endure suffering and hardship
In this theme, the patient asked God for suffering and hardship, ease of work and security, companionship and help from God, and trusting in God's power, he asked for help from God.
Remembrance and prayer
In this theme, the patient was reminded to start his work with the name and remembrance of God and ask God for goodness in this world and the hereafter and divine mercy and ask him for guidance. Also, in the holy possibility, deal with the secret and need with God and remember God in all situations.
Repentance and conversion
With the help of these verses, the patient could express his regret to God and ask for forgiveness and non-punishment.
Asking for a good end
In this theme, there were verses that the patient could read and ask God to die with faith, to die with Islam, and to request a respite for compliance.
Remembering the resurrection
In this theme, there were verses where the patient prayd to be with the righteous on the Day of Judgment, not with the oppressors, and to be among the witnesses on the Day of Judgment. He also asked God that he would not be tormented on the Day of Judgment and enter heaven.
Getting rid of enviers and tempters
This theme included verses that the patient can use to pray to be safe from envious people, sore eyes and bad temptations.
Losing hope in God’s mercy
This group of verses helped patients to beware of despair in hardships and not to be far from God's mercy even though they are sinners.
Receiving a reward
In this theme, the patient was taught to ask God for compensation and reward, heavenly sustenance, and to keep the promise and attention of their hearts.
Giving thanks for God’s blessings
In this theme, verses of the Quran encourages the patient to thank God for his blessings and thank his parents.
Discussion
This study aimed to examine and introduce Quranic verses that the nurses can use and remind the patients to provide spiritual support and mental health to them in different stages of disease. There are many Quranic verses in the Holy Quran that can be used by nurses in different states and stages of illness to provide spiritual support and offer spiritual help to the patient. This support can play an important role in the patient’s recovery or in easing the transition from the disease to the next stage. The concept of patience was one of the recommendations of the Quran to Muslims. In Islamic culture, special importance is given to patients with problems and the effect of patience in solving the problem, so patience is the key to success and achieving the goal. Patience in illness could also be an effective factor during the treatment period and in achieving health. The nurse can urge the patient to be patient with the help of the verses that recommend patience, and thus the path of his illness becomes easier and he endures the hardships.
Another group of verses that could be used to support the nurse and the patient belongs to the category of situations in which a child is born and pregnancy and childbirth. A child is a divine gift that prophets and righteous people have always asked for from God. These verses could be used to pray for a child, but also for those who fear for the health of their children and for those who desire a righteous child.
The third group of verses were the verses of thanksgiving for God’s blessings, because God says in the Holy Quran that the most valuable people are those who give thanks for the blessings. The study of the verses of the Holy Quran showed that nurses can have a special impact on the treatment process and speed up recovery through spiritual support. This support is achieved by mentioning God and asking for His help.
Mentioning and praying to Almighty God can be comforting for the patient in various situations. In Islamic culture, besides mentioning God, all the hardships that a patient endures in a hospital bed could also be considered worship.
Remembrance of Allah could be used in various situations. To support the patient spiritually, the nurse advises the patient to begin the treatment process by mentioning the name of God, because in Islamic tradition, any work that begins without the name of God is considered imperfect [17]. Remembering God at the beginning of the work can give the patient spiritual and psychological peace.
In addition, the nurse could call the patient to God for help on the basis of the supplications of the Quran. In Islamic culture, it is not enough to provide only material means to achieve the desired result, we must also rely on God, without whom the work cannot be completed. In Islamic traditions, the one who trusts in God is honoured. It is also useful to ask God for help and to ask the believers to provide a helper. In the hadiths, believers are urged to ask God for help and even to ask him for material and spiritual mediators [28].
Asking God for help could also take the form of asking for security. The prayer of Hazrat Ibrahim on entering Mecca was also a reference to this matter. Another manifestation of God’s help was asking for an easy task. People have different abilities to endure problems, and God has taught us to ask Him not to grant us misfortunes and trials that we cannot bear.
Another manifestation of God’s help was asking for an easy task. People vary in their ability to endure problems, and God has taught us to ask him not to grant us misfortunes and trials that we cannot bear. The patient on the path of sickness may be disappointed and the devil may keep him from God’s mercy. In the state of illness, the best strength of heart for the patient may be hope in God’s mercy and his help. In Islamic culture, one of the greatest sins is despairing of God’s mercy [29]. By emphasizing these verses, the nurse can support the patient spiritually by reminding him of God’s mercy and giving him spiritual peace.
Another group of verses that could be used in the spiritual support of nurses and patients were the verses that prevent the temptation of the devil. Satan is the sworn enemy of man who has always accompanied him, and the more difficult the situation becomes, the more the temptation increases [30]. Temptation can manifest itself in various forms of despair, fear, non-acceptance of illness and moral confrontation. In this area, the Quran played a significant role in shaping spirituality and healthcare approaches within the Muslim community, providing guidance on various aspects of comprehensive health and acceptance of disease [31].
Spiritual support through the verses asking God to drive out Satan could prevent the situations mentioned. The presence of the devil at the bedside of patients who are in the last stage of their lives is also mentioned in the narrations, and asking God can prevent this situation. In the Holy Quran, Surah Foselat verse 36, it is also commanded to take refuge in God when you feel the temptation of Satan, for He is all-hearing and all-knowing. The spiritual support in the intellectual system of the Quran has results and consequences (Figure 1).
Figure 1. The results and consequences of the Quranic spiritual support of nurses from patients
One of the consequences of spiritual support is repentance and a return to God. In the Quranic system of thought, mentioning and communicating with God brings peace to the heart, and repentance and asking for God’s forgiveness is the best. The greatest frequency in the verses also referred to this category of verses, which showed the importance and effectiveness of repentance in the spiritual relationship that may occur in the form of spiritual support in the state of illness.
Repentance means regret and remorse, and a sinner returns to God through repentance, turns away from faults and sins, overcomes his selfishness and pays attention to moderation in affairs. In this case, he polishes his ego, takes effective steps for self-improvement with a higher spiritual capacity and firmer resolve, and heals himself [32].
In some mental illnesses, it is observed that the patient has strong feelings of guilt for his past actions and considers himself wrong, and sometimes he feels that he deserves to be punished [33]. There are even patients who have not really committed a mistake or an act that is not accepted by Sharia and customs, but they feel morbidly guilty. For example, a depressed person regularly looks back at his past and blames himself by interpreting the past events, or a compulsive and repetitive person apologizes in some way. There are other patients who feel very guilty because they have thoughts and feelings that are not accepted by the Shariah, and there is also another group of patients who have really committed acts that are against the Shariah and morals, and they regret what they have done, and they suffer from severe anxiety and worry [34]. In such cases, as part of providing spiritual support to the patient, the nurse can induce a sense of spiritual purification in the patient by encouraging him to turn to repentance and return to God and free him from anxiety, worry and guilt.
Another consequence of the nurse’s spiritual support for the patient based on the teachings of the Quran is the elimination of envious people and seducers. One of the places where Satan enters the human heart and causes despair is during illness [35]. In the culture of the Holy Quran, all matters are in the hands of God, and to get rid of all temptations and dangers, God is the last refuge. Whoever wants to be safe from evil and people must seek refuge in God to be safe from dangers.
A good end is also one of the consequences of the nurses’ spiritual support of the patients. The prayer of the righteous and faithful has always been to have a good end and to go to meet their God while having a complete and firm faith so that they may receive the eternal mercy of the Almighty [36]. With this support, the nurse encouraged the patient to ask God for a good end and to seek God’s mercy. And even if the patient is worried about the lack of obedience, he asks God for a respite to obey, and with the hope of the answer to prayer, he draws new hope for recovery. Arifin et al. also stated nurses play a crucial role in aiding patients to cultivate a constructive response towards their illness, facilitating the instigation of behavioral modifications, fostering adaptability, exhibiting patience, and nurturing the acceptance of the disease to achieve the most favorable health results [37].
Another result of the nurse’s spiritual support of the patient is the remembrance of the resurrection. The remembrance of the Day of Resurrection is one of the most important topics dealt with in the Holy Quran [38]. If the patient feels that he is in the last stage of his life, or even without the feeling that death is near, focuses only on the Hereafter and remembers the numerous rewards given to patients in Islam to endure the illness, he can endure the illness and possibly recover. This supplication can refer to various aspects of the Hereafter. A person who spends his life believing prays that God will make him sit with the righteous and be one of the witnesses on the Day of Judgment and refrain from sitting with the oppressors and the arrogant. Moreover, his trials shall be easy and he shall not experience hardship and humiliation, and finally he shall go to heaven [39].
The final result of spiritual support is manifested in the form of wages. Based on the teachings of the Quran, the nurse accompanies the patient to ask God for the attention of hearts and to ask him to grant him nourishment from the heavenly and spiritual food, which is the flow of God’s grace in the form of healing and recovery. He also asks God to fulfill His promise to help and assist believers in difficult times. Finally, if he has suffered loss due to an illness, he asks God to make up for this loss in this world and in the hereafter and to open his mercy to him.
Limitations
Although the author has reviewed the Holy Quran in its entirety, relevant verses may have been omitted. Furthermore, since the Holy Quran was primarily translated into Persian for this study, relevant quotations may have been misinterpreted through semantics and syntax in the translation of chapters and verses. It is important to note that this narrative review was intended mainly to provide an overview of a specific area of interest in spiritual support.
Conclusion
Many verses in the Holy Quran can be used for spiritual support by nurses and care providers in different stages of the disease and provide mental health to the patient.
Acknowledgments: Nothing declared by the authors.
Ethical Permissions: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interests: The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
Authors’ Contribution: Tavakol M (First Author), Introduction Writer/Methodologist/Main Researcher (50%); Tavakol N (Second Author), Main Researcher/Discussion Writer/Statistical Analyst (50%)
Funding/Support: The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.
The concept of human health has four basic dimensions, including mental health, physical health, social health and spiritual health [1]. The importance of spirituality in healthcare has increased in recent years. Researchers and clinicians now recognize spirituality as a patient need [2]. Spirituality, as one aspect of human existence, accompanies all aspects of health and illness and is a source of support and improvement for patients [3]. Spiritual health comprises two dimensions: Religious health and existential health. Religious health represents a person’s relationship with God or an unlimited power, while existential health represents a person’s relationship with others, the environment and their inner relationships [4]. Providing spiritual care to patients can lead to spiritual peace and give patients meaning and purpose [5].
Nurses, as primary caregivers, play a fundamental role in the spiritual health of patients by identifying all the patient’s needs, including spiritual needs [6], and should provide spiritual care and support to the patient [7]. Spiritual care includes interventions such as support in religious practices and activities that provide comfort and convenience to the patient, enhance self-confidence, spiritual health, a sense of wholeness and well-being, improve quality of life, decrease feelings of loneliness and reduce levels of anxiety and stress, and improve interpersonal communication [8]. Research on spiritual care by nurses shows that this skill is not yet developed among nurses and that it is necessary to implement educational programs to improve nurses’ skills in spiritual care [9, 10].
The way to improve nurses’ skills in the Iranian Islamic society environment is to familiarize nurses with reliable religious sources, such as the Holy Quran and the teachings of this heavenly miracle to provide spiritual support and care to patients. Muslims consider the Holy Quran to be their holy book, which contains behavioral and spiritual instructions for all aspects of Muslim life, and they incorporate the teachings of this holy book into their daily lives [11, 12]. Muslim patients believe in the healing power of the Holy Quran [13]. Healing and curing through the Holy Quran is a new type of treatment in which faith and remembrance of God have a powerful influence on the status of brain activities from tension to relaxation [14, 15].
Studies show that reading and memorizing the Holy Quran can have a positive effect on mental health and coping with everyday stress. It can reduce levels of anxiety, depression and sleep disorders and also improve physical health and social functioning [16-18]. Various studies have shown that prayer is a factor for human growth and excellence, to such an extent that we consider prayer therapy one of the new treatment techniques [19]. Research results on the positive effect of prayer on the treatment process of various patient groups, such as hemodialysis [20], cardiovascular [21], and cancer patients [22] are accessible.
Considering the proven effects of therapeutic prayer on patients’ recovery and the unique role of nurses in caring for and communicating with patients, there is a need for nurses to learn to take spiritual care of patients in accordance with the culture of society by utilizing the teachings of the Quran and Iranian Islamic culture to meet the spiritual needs of Muslim patients and promote patients’ mental health. Despite the fact that much attention has been paid to the category of spirituality in the field of health and treatment in recent years, no systematic study has been conducted in this area due to the important role of nurses, so a review of nurses’ spiritual support for patients based on the prayers of the Quran seems necessary. This study was conducted to review the verses of the Holy Quran and recognize supportive verses for nurses’ spiritual support and palliative care with their Muslim patients.
Participants & Methods
This qualitative research was conducted in a qualitative paradigm using the summative content analysis method in 2023. In this type of analysis, the focus is on discovering the basic meanings of the word or its themes. Summative content analysis is a qualitative approach to analysing textual data [23], and in order to find the concepts related to spiritual support and care in the Quran, we used this method. The searched words in the Quran included Quranic prayers, hopeful verses and directive verses that included moral concepts and lifestyle instructions. The main source for the study was the Holy Quran [24]. Also, the interpretations of the selected verses in the authentic books of interpretation, mainly Shia, as well as in some narrative books were examined and the meanings of the keywords were looked up in authentic Quranic dictionaries. First, appropriate Quranic keywords such as illness, death, repentance, patience, and forgiveness were selected in consultation with Quranic experts, 1252 verses were reviewed and selected. In this way, the data that provided primary information about spiritual support according to the treatment process and the conditions in which the patient's condition, and considered the nurse’s responsibility in caring for and supporting the patient was selected. Finally, 89 verses were selected. The data were analyzed using the Elo & Kyngas method. An inductive approach was utilized to directly identify codes and categories from Quran verses. Each unit of analysis was a Full verse [25]. Subsequently, an expert thoroughly examined all sacred verses to acquire a comprehensive understanding of the data, while also jotting down reflective notes in the form of intermittent memos. Descriptive codes were then developed to depict the data, along with in-vivo codes that mirror the language of the verses. To facilitate real-time reflexivity in the data analysis process, an iterative procedure of coding and memo writing was executed [26, 27]. The codes were later reviewed by the research team to identify similar ones that could be categorized to offer condensed and meaningful representations of the observed patterns. Ultimately, these similar categories were amalgamated into themes.
Findings
All verses of the Holy Quran were examined according to the research objectives. In the first phase, a total of 1252 blessed verses were selected, and then by adjusting the content of the blessed verses to the research objectives and examining them more closely, 89 blessed verses that had the theme of prayer and supplication were selected and listed (Table 1).
Table 1. Initial codes (holy verses), subthemes and themes
The verses examined were assigned to the 12 themes of asking for children and heirs, patience, Satan’s temptation, asking for help to endure suffering and hardship, remembrance and prayer, repentance and conversion, asking for a good end, remembering the resurrection, getting rid of enviers and tempters, losing hope in God’s mercy, receiving a reward and giving thanks for God’s blessings.
Asking for children and heirs
This theme included verses that were useful for conceiving a child, praying for a healthy and virtuous child, vowing to have a child in the womb, and asking for a good child and family, and the nurse can teach these verses to the patient.
Patience
In this theme, there were verses that invite the patient to be patient and steadfast in the hardships caused by the disease.
Satan’s temptation
This group of verses informed the patient not to be tempted by the devil during illness. The patient prayed that God protects him from the harassment of the devil and the presence of the devil.
Asking for help to endure suffering and hardship
In this theme, the patient asked God for suffering and hardship, ease of work and security, companionship and help from God, and trusting in God's power, he asked for help from God.
Remembrance and prayer
In this theme, the patient was reminded to start his work with the name and remembrance of God and ask God for goodness in this world and the hereafter and divine mercy and ask him for guidance. Also, in the holy possibility, deal with the secret and need with God and remember God in all situations.
Repentance and conversion
With the help of these verses, the patient could express his regret to God and ask for forgiveness and non-punishment.
Asking for a good end
In this theme, there were verses that the patient could read and ask God to die with faith, to die with Islam, and to request a respite for compliance.
Remembering the resurrection
In this theme, there were verses where the patient prayd to be with the righteous on the Day of Judgment, not with the oppressors, and to be among the witnesses on the Day of Judgment. He also asked God that he would not be tormented on the Day of Judgment and enter heaven.
Getting rid of enviers and tempters
This theme included verses that the patient can use to pray to be safe from envious people, sore eyes and bad temptations.
Losing hope in God’s mercy
This group of verses helped patients to beware of despair in hardships and not to be far from God's mercy even though they are sinners.
Receiving a reward
In this theme, the patient was taught to ask God for compensation and reward, heavenly sustenance, and to keep the promise and attention of their hearts.
Giving thanks for God’s blessings
In this theme, verses of the Quran encourages the patient to thank God for his blessings and thank his parents.
Discussion
This study aimed to examine and introduce Quranic verses that the nurses can use and remind the patients to provide spiritual support and mental health to them in different stages of disease. There are many Quranic verses in the Holy Quran that can be used by nurses in different states and stages of illness to provide spiritual support and offer spiritual help to the patient. This support can play an important role in the patient’s recovery or in easing the transition from the disease to the next stage. The concept of patience was one of the recommendations of the Quran to Muslims. In Islamic culture, special importance is given to patients with problems and the effect of patience in solving the problem, so patience is the key to success and achieving the goal. Patience in illness could also be an effective factor during the treatment period and in achieving health. The nurse can urge the patient to be patient with the help of the verses that recommend patience, and thus the path of his illness becomes easier and he endures the hardships.
Another group of verses that could be used to support the nurse and the patient belongs to the category of situations in which a child is born and pregnancy and childbirth. A child is a divine gift that prophets and righteous people have always asked for from God. These verses could be used to pray for a child, but also for those who fear for the health of their children and for those who desire a righteous child.
The third group of verses were the verses of thanksgiving for God’s blessings, because God says in the Holy Quran that the most valuable people are those who give thanks for the blessings. The study of the verses of the Holy Quran showed that nurses can have a special impact on the treatment process and speed up recovery through spiritual support. This support is achieved by mentioning God and asking for His help.
Mentioning and praying to Almighty God can be comforting for the patient in various situations. In Islamic culture, besides mentioning God, all the hardships that a patient endures in a hospital bed could also be considered worship.
Remembrance of Allah could be used in various situations. To support the patient spiritually, the nurse advises the patient to begin the treatment process by mentioning the name of God, because in Islamic tradition, any work that begins without the name of God is considered imperfect [17]. Remembering God at the beginning of the work can give the patient spiritual and psychological peace.
In addition, the nurse could call the patient to God for help on the basis of the supplications of the Quran. In Islamic culture, it is not enough to provide only material means to achieve the desired result, we must also rely on God, without whom the work cannot be completed. In Islamic traditions, the one who trusts in God is honoured. It is also useful to ask God for help and to ask the believers to provide a helper. In the hadiths, believers are urged to ask God for help and even to ask him for material and spiritual mediators [28].
Asking God for help could also take the form of asking for security. The prayer of Hazrat Ibrahim on entering Mecca was also a reference to this matter. Another manifestation of God’s help was asking for an easy task. People have different abilities to endure problems, and God has taught us to ask Him not to grant us misfortunes and trials that we cannot bear.
Another manifestation of God’s help was asking for an easy task. People vary in their ability to endure problems, and God has taught us to ask him not to grant us misfortunes and trials that we cannot bear. The patient on the path of sickness may be disappointed and the devil may keep him from God’s mercy. In the state of illness, the best strength of heart for the patient may be hope in God’s mercy and his help. In Islamic culture, one of the greatest sins is despairing of God’s mercy [29]. By emphasizing these verses, the nurse can support the patient spiritually by reminding him of God’s mercy and giving him spiritual peace.
Another group of verses that could be used in the spiritual support of nurses and patients were the verses that prevent the temptation of the devil. Satan is the sworn enemy of man who has always accompanied him, and the more difficult the situation becomes, the more the temptation increases [30]. Temptation can manifest itself in various forms of despair, fear, non-acceptance of illness and moral confrontation. In this area, the Quran played a significant role in shaping spirituality and healthcare approaches within the Muslim community, providing guidance on various aspects of comprehensive health and acceptance of disease [31].
Spiritual support through the verses asking God to drive out Satan could prevent the situations mentioned. The presence of the devil at the bedside of patients who are in the last stage of their lives is also mentioned in the narrations, and asking God can prevent this situation. In the Holy Quran, Surah Foselat verse 36, it is also commanded to take refuge in God when you feel the temptation of Satan, for He is all-hearing and all-knowing. The spiritual support in the intellectual system of the Quran has results and consequences (Figure 1).
Figure 1. The results and consequences of the Quranic spiritual support of nurses from patients
One of the consequences of spiritual support is repentance and a return to God. In the Quranic system of thought, mentioning and communicating with God brings peace to the heart, and repentance and asking for God’s forgiveness is the best. The greatest frequency in the verses also referred to this category of verses, which showed the importance and effectiveness of repentance in the spiritual relationship that may occur in the form of spiritual support in the state of illness.
Repentance means regret and remorse, and a sinner returns to God through repentance, turns away from faults and sins, overcomes his selfishness and pays attention to moderation in affairs. In this case, he polishes his ego, takes effective steps for self-improvement with a higher spiritual capacity and firmer resolve, and heals himself [32].
In some mental illnesses, it is observed that the patient has strong feelings of guilt for his past actions and considers himself wrong, and sometimes he feels that he deserves to be punished [33]. There are even patients who have not really committed a mistake or an act that is not accepted by Sharia and customs, but they feel morbidly guilty. For example, a depressed person regularly looks back at his past and blames himself by interpreting the past events, or a compulsive and repetitive person apologizes in some way. There are other patients who feel very guilty because they have thoughts and feelings that are not accepted by the Shariah, and there is also another group of patients who have really committed acts that are against the Shariah and morals, and they regret what they have done, and they suffer from severe anxiety and worry [34]. In such cases, as part of providing spiritual support to the patient, the nurse can induce a sense of spiritual purification in the patient by encouraging him to turn to repentance and return to God and free him from anxiety, worry and guilt.
Another consequence of the nurse’s spiritual support for the patient based on the teachings of the Quran is the elimination of envious people and seducers. One of the places where Satan enters the human heart and causes despair is during illness [35]. In the culture of the Holy Quran, all matters are in the hands of God, and to get rid of all temptations and dangers, God is the last refuge. Whoever wants to be safe from evil and people must seek refuge in God to be safe from dangers.
A good end is also one of the consequences of the nurses’ spiritual support of the patients. The prayer of the righteous and faithful has always been to have a good end and to go to meet their God while having a complete and firm faith so that they may receive the eternal mercy of the Almighty [36]. With this support, the nurse encouraged the patient to ask God for a good end and to seek God’s mercy. And even if the patient is worried about the lack of obedience, he asks God for a respite to obey, and with the hope of the answer to prayer, he draws new hope for recovery. Arifin et al. also stated nurses play a crucial role in aiding patients to cultivate a constructive response towards their illness, facilitating the instigation of behavioral modifications, fostering adaptability, exhibiting patience, and nurturing the acceptance of the disease to achieve the most favorable health results [37].
Another result of the nurse’s spiritual support of the patient is the remembrance of the resurrection. The remembrance of the Day of Resurrection is one of the most important topics dealt with in the Holy Quran [38]. If the patient feels that he is in the last stage of his life, or even without the feeling that death is near, focuses only on the Hereafter and remembers the numerous rewards given to patients in Islam to endure the illness, he can endure the illness and possibly recover. This supplication can refer to various aspects of the Hereafter. A person who spends his life believing prays that God will make him sit with the righteous and be one of the witnesses on the Day of Judgment and refrain from sitting with the oppressors and the arrogant. Moreover, his trials shall be easy and he shall not experience hardship and humiliation, and finally he shall go to heaven [39].
The final result of spiritual support is manifested in the form of wages. Based on the teachings of the Quran, the nurse accompanies the patient to ask God for the attention of hearts and to ask him to grant him nourishment from the heavenly and spiritual food, which is the flow of God’s grace in the form of healing and recovery. He also asks God to fulfill His promise to help and assist believers in difficult times. Finally, if he has suffered loss due to an illness, he asks God to make up for this loss in this world and in the hereafter and to open his mercy to him.
Limitations
Although the author has reviewed the Holy Quran in its entirety, relevant verses may have been omitted. Furthermore, since the Holy Quran was primarily translated into Persian for this study, relevant quotations may have been misinterpreted through semantics and syntax in the translation of chapters and verses. It is important to note that this narrative review was intended mainly to provide an overview of a specific area of interest in spiritual support.
Conclusion
Many verses in the Holy Quran can be used for spiritual support by nurses and care providers in different stages of the disease and provide mental health to the patient.
Acknowledgments: Nothing declared by the authors.
Ethical Permissions: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interests: The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
Authors’ Contribution: Tavakol M (First Author), Introduction Writer/Methodologist/Main Researcher (50%); Tavakol N (Second Author), Main Researcher/Discussion Writer/Statistical Analyst (50%)
Funding/Support: The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.
Keywords:
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