Holy Healing
Jan-e-Alam Khaki and Nooruddin Punjwani
The intersection of healing and holiness has become even more crucial than before, as medical, and spiritual pursuits are touching new horizons of discovery. As medicine advances and spiritual traditions continue to shape how people understand suffering, the two are increasingly meeting in meaningful ways. While modern medical science has made extraordinary progress, pain and suffering remain deeply human experiences that cannot always be fully controlled. When medicine reaches its limits—especially in cases of chronic illness—many people turn toward spiritual and religious practices for comfort, strength, and hope.
Across cultures in both the East and the West, people have always searched for peace, meaning, and fulfillment through spiritual paths. These pursuits often aim to help individuals cope with life’s hardships, including illness and emotional distress. Today, alongside traditional medical treatments, new and creative approaches are being explored to address suffering more fully. This growing interest is reflected in conferences and discussions held at universities and hospitals, where doctors, spiritual leaders, ethicists, caregivers, and scholars come together to share insights. Their common goal is to better understand how physical healing and inner well-being can support one another.
In April 2019, we, the writers, have had the opportunity to attend one such conference at the Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, organized by the Institute for Spirituality and Health. The theme, “Medicine and Faithful Responses to Suffering,” brought together voices from different faith traditions to explore how spiritual beliefs and practices can help people living with pain. Having strong interest in both disciplines, we, the authors, made a presentation focused on how Islamic traditions have understood and responded to suffering across history and cultures. We drew on the Qur’an, the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, and later Muslim writings, as well as everyday practices found across Muslim communities. As well, our presentation shed light on the responses of vernacular traditions across many Muslim societies and how they have assumed a significant role over the centuries in relieving pain and suffering.
According to religious traditions, solace and inner peace with or without pain or suffering is to be sought through various spiritual practices, for example, the Zikr (remembrance), constant prayers (formal and informal), recitation of the Qur’an, using talismans, visiting holy places, such as the darbars and dargahs, dotted all over Muslim lands, even using rivers or streams considered to be healing places. Interestingly, these practices, with specific variations, as well are prevalent in worldwide faith traditions.
At the heart of these practices is a person’s sensitiveness to, and awareness of the sacred, experienced through rituals, prayer, or being present in places considered holy. Our presentation highlighted the role of shrines dedicated to the Awliyāʾ Allāh, often described as the “friends of God.” Over time, these shrines have become places where people seek relief from pain, ease from difficulties, blessings for family, and strength to face challenges. Many visitors believe they receive barakah, or divine blessing, through their presence in such places believed to be holy.
The Qur’an speaks of trying humans with suffering and misfortune, with glad tidings for those steadfast who say, ‘Lo! We are Allah’s and Lo! unto him we are returning’ (2:155-6). In case of diseases, believers are encouraged to seek a cure with the use of intellect but submit to Allah’s will once all available remedies have been exhausted. In the process, a believer seeks spiritual bliss and divine grace. Dargahs and Darbars in vernacular traditions have evolved into spaces for seeking bliss and grace, encompassing a spectrum of rituals, including Zikr, Prayers, Tilawat, Qawwalis, and others. Undeniably, they are rooted in the belief in Allah’s final authority over one’s pain and suffering, as well as belief in the intercession of Awlia-Allah to receive inner strength and bliss, regardless of the grumbling of critics or fundamentalists frowning upon these.
At the conference, many presenters shared stories and research showing how spiritual care can ease suffering, even when physical pain remains. They emphasized that healing does not always mean curing an illness; it can also mean restoring dignity, hope, and inner peace. By drawing on both medical knowledge and spiritual wisdom, caregivers can offer more compassionate and greater support to those who suffer.
Conferences and institutions that bring medicine and spirituality together offer a hopeful path forward. They create spaces where science and faith can work side by side, each contributing its strengths to the care of the whole person. In a world where suffering remains unavoidable, such collaboration reminds us that healing is not only about the body, but also about the heart, mind, and spirit.
About the Authors
Dr Jan-e-Alam Khaki is an Associate Professor with interests in education, spirituality, and philosophy.
Dr. Nooruddin Punjwani is a medical doctor currently pursuing an MSc in Philosophy, Science, and Religion at the University of Edinburgh, focusing on Islamic philosophy.
