All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear brother in Islam, we are pleased by receiving your question, for it reflects your conviction of the fact that Islam offers workable solutions to the world’s complicated problems. May Allah guide the perplexed people to the light of Islam!

As for your question, a Muslim should never surrender to depression, despair, or evil thoughts. A Muslim should resort to Allah and seek His help against these evils. At the same time, medical treatment should not be ignored.

Responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:

It is most likely that you are suffering from a serious form of depression; it is important that you seek immediate medical help. Get in touch with your family doctor and he will refer you to a specialist in this field.

Islam teaches us never to despair of Allah’s mercy. So do not ever lose hope, but do what is necessary in order to take care of your health. This involves consulting doctors, obtaining treatment and taking medication. Since Allah has ordered us to take care of our health, it is our religious duty to seek medical attention in order to save ourselves from self-destruction. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Verily your body has rights; your soul has rights and your Lord has rights… so give each one his/her due.”

Depression is a very serious condition and unless treated correctly it could be fatal, so do not wait to obtain proper treatment: While doing so, you should also be consistent in resorting to spiritual healing. Here are a few things you may practice on a consistent basis:

1) Be diligent in performing your salah; Salah, when done consciously and with full awareness, will prove to be a true source of spiritual healing and it is the best way to obtain relief from stress.

2) Before retiring to bed every day, read surat Al-Fatihah and the last three surahs of the Qur’an and blow into your hands and wipe over your whole body, preferably three times. You may also repeat the same at other times of the day or night as you wish.

3) Try to read at least ten verses of the Qur’an every day.

4) Listen to the Qur’an as much as possible; try to play a recording of the Qur’an at all times.

5) Keep yourself busy doing something beneficial, for a mind that is not occupied with good things will most likely be occupied with idle matters; remember if you do not keep yourself busy with good works, Satan will make sure to keep you busy with his negative and destructive work.

6) Say the following supplications (du`a's) while believing in their efficacy, and expecting cure and relief from Allah:

Allahummarahmataka arju fala takilnee ila nafsee tarfata `ayn; wa aslih lee sha'nee kullahu, la ilaha illa anata(O Allah! I implore Your grace and mercy; so do not leave me to my own devices even for a single instant!)

La ilaha illa Allah al-`azeem al-haleem, la ilaha illa Allah rabbu al-`arshi al-`azeem, la ilaha illa Allahu rabbu al-ssamawati wa al-ardhi wa rabbu al-`arshi al-kareem(There is no god but Allah, the Great, the Clement; there is no god but Allah, Lord of the Mighty Throne; there is no god but Allah, Lord of the heavens and the earth, and Lord of the Mighty Throne.)

Allahummainnee `abduka, ibnu `abdik, ibn amatik, nasiyatee bi yadika, qadin fiyya hukmuka, `adlun fiyya qada'uka; as'aluka bi kull ismin huwa laka sammayta bihi nafsaka aw anzaltahu fee kitabika aw `allamtahu ahadan min khalqika aw ista`tharta bihi fee `ilmi al-ghaybi `indaka an taj`ala al-Qur'ana rabee`a qalbee wa noora basaree wa jila`a huznee wa dhahaba hammee(O Allah! I am Your servant; son of Your servant, son of Your maid-servant; my forelock is under Your firm grip; Your decree is firmly established in my case; Your rule is just in my case. I ask You, invoking every single name You possess, with which You have called Yourself, or You have revealed in Your scripture, or instructed any of Your creation or You have kept hidden in the realm of the unseen with You, to make the Qur’an the spring of my heart, the light of my eyes, and an alleviator of my grief and a dispeller of my worries!)

May Allah grant you a complete recovery and healing, for He is indeed the Healer and the Curer-ameen.

Excerpted, with slight modifications, from: www.muslims.ca