Friday 25 April 2014

10. Music Therapy in Islam and Healing with Music

10. The Music Therapy
-
Sama’a / Qasaid Spiritual Therapy
- Classical and Song Therapy
- Nature's songs Therapy  

- Singing my blues away Therapy
- Poem healing Therapy

- Music Therapy Healing-(through Hadra) and Roses Healing power




Shaykh Hamza Yusuf on Music about Music Therapy  




Music Therapy Islam - Sufi Synergy Healing Through Music.


In Sufism sama'a (means literally "listening or hearing" but is understood as Spiritual Music) it denotes the tradition of listening in a spiritual fashion to music, chanting, singing songs and poems all in ritual forms. Thus i will call it spiritual music or music throughout this. But in Sufism the hearing is done with the "ear of the Heart". Thus "Sama'a-(spiritual music) is nourishment of the soul as food is nourishment for the body its known as food for lovers" The sufi understands that then you listen to Sama'a-music it opens the Heart and can lead ecstasy or joy which opens the soul to connect to Allah.

That why its is said "there are a hundred thousand joys, of which with the help of a single joy one can cut across a thousand years of the path of attaining gnosis-(Sainthood) in a way that cannot be achieved by any gnostic through any form of worship"
 
Sometimes the music could be non religious rhythmic sounds, words or poem that hit or effort the heart and soul in a profound way that the heart is suddenly opened this process is increased faster and more effetive when its rhythmic sounds of poetry sung in a musical style on the heart.

 
Now to begin, through the history of Islamic civilization it has been chiefly the Sufis which have been involved with music, used and defended it. The Sufis mention that mental and nervous disorders are cured by music. The great Islamic scientists and doctors Zakariya Razi (854-932), Farabi (870-950) and İbn Sina (980-1037) established scientific principles concerning musical treatment, especially of psychological disorders.


In his book, “Musiki-ul-kabir,” Farabi attempted to set forth the relationship between music and physics and astronomy. According to Farabi, the effects of the maqams of music on the soul were given classified that make your happy, sad, cry ...etc.


 The effects of the makams of Turkish music on the soul were classified as follows:
  1. Rast maqam: brings a person happiness and comfort.
  1. Rehavi maqam: brings a person the idea of eternity.
  1. Kuçek maqam: brings a person sadness and anguish.
  1. Büzürk maqam: brings a person fear.
  1. Isfahan maqam: brings a person the capacity of action, the sense of security.
  1. Neva makam: brings a person pleasure and contentment.
  1. Uşşak makam: brings a person the feeling of laughter.
  1. Zirgüle makam: brings a person sleep.
  1. Saba makam: brings a person bravery,  power.
  1. Buselik makam: brings a person strength.
  1. Hüseyni makam: brings a person serenity, ease.
  1. Hicaz makam: brings a person humility.
Farabi also outlined the effects of the maqams of Turkish music according to the times they were effective:
  1. Rehavi maqam: effective at pre-dawn.
  1. Hüseyni maqam: effective at dawn.
  1. Rast maqam: effective in early morning.
  1. Buselik maqam: effective in mid morning.
  1. Zirgüle maqam: effective toward noon.
  1. Uşşak maqam: effective at noon.
  1. Hicaz maqam: effective in the afternoon.
  1. Irak maqam: effective in late afternoon.
  1. Isfahan maqam: effective at dusk.
  1. Neva maqam: effective in the evening.
  1. Büzürk maqam: effective in late evening.
  1. Zirefkend maqam: effective during the time of sleep
    taken from
    Pinar Somakci

 A modern way understand Music Genre and Personality is to break it down, here is the connection they have found:

Blues fans have high self-esteem, are creative, outgoing, gentle and at ease
Jazz fans have high self-esteem, are creative, outgoing and at ease
Classical music fans have high self-esteem, are creative, introvert and at ease
Rap fans have high self-esteem and are outgoing
Opera fans have high self-esteem, are creative and gentle
Country and western fans are hardworking and outgoing
Reggae fans have high self-esteem, are creative, not hardworking, outgoing, gentle and at ease
Dance fans are creative and outgoing but not gentle
Indie fans have low self-esteem, are creative, not hard working, and not gentle
Bollywood fans are creative and outgoing
Rock/heavy metal fans have low self-esteem, are creative, not hard-working, not outgoing, gentle, and at ease
Chart pop fans have high self-esteem, are hardworking, outgoing and gentle, but are not creative and not at ease
Soul fans have high self-esteem, are creative, outgoing, gentle, and at ease
Taken from: 8 Surprising Ways Music Affects and Benefits our Brains

Music therapists have said: "There's just something about music particularly live music, that excites and activates the body". Its known the soul can react and be healed through instrumental music as well as islamic Qasida as a form of Sufi Healing through Music it can even release trauma when listened to and focusing on the pain and the releasing ones pain also scientific the Quran was recited beautiful melodies to non Muslims and was found to Heal them 66% successfully over non quranic arabic that was used in the test to see which heals better.

Again its about Maqams Stations in Sound or Music that is the Key that helps to heal.

I realised how to use music Threapy as an application while doing dhikr after Fajr in the airport as it played and I was doing dhikr and how listening to it and doing Energy Healing I was able too boost my own energy and push that into the fuqara while they were practising and I was doing energy Healing on them thus a combination of energy gives more power to heal it what my new understanding is but now ive learnt the technique to use to heal which came to me through experiencing it and finally understanding it. Alhamdulillah.

A reply to a statement i read about Counfusing "Mordern Music-Sama'a and Spiritual Sama'a-Music" and how it leads to "Fath-Spiritual Opening.

Sama’a / Qasaid-poems as a Spiritual Therapy

Sama’a falls into that legal classification of acts which are technically called 'Mubah', which mean that they are Permitted by the Shariah, but have no religious value or significance. For a good purpose it is legally permissible, but if it is used for an undesirable or an evil purpose, then it becomes forbidden.  

There some confusion going that someone was asking how this can be true and linked it to music as a whole or modern music...."For in music there are a hundred thousand joys, of which with the help of a single joy one can cut across a thousand years of the path of attaining gnosis in a way that cannot be achieved by any gnostic through any form of worship"

The above is about "Spiritual Sama'a" not "Modern Music-Sama'a" which also called is Sama'a to Listen.

Sama’a, which in Arabic means “to listen”, is a word used to describe the Sufi practice that helps attain spiritual ecstasy through song, music and dance, while "dhikr" means "remembrance"

Everything or act that increases the friendship or love of Allah obviously becomes the object of a plenitude of spiritual recompense and this is why the Sufis' attach so much importance to it.  

Sama'a helps with the journey of man's spiritual ascent through mind and soul to Allah. Its a means of increasing the brightening light of the burning flame of the love of Allah and it has a tremendous spiritual effect on the listeners. Many a Sufi undergoes a state of unveiling of spiritual divine mysteries. When such states coming from the world of the unseen thus become overwhelming, the Sufis experience a particular kind of spiritual state of transformation which is called 'wajd' or spiritual ecstasy

Insan-Man, or rather man's spirit has a special connection and affinity with the celestial world of spirits. This connection and relationship is a mystery. It is the Sama'a which moves and activates this mystical element in man in such a way that it makes the listener totally unaware of his surroundings in this phenomenal world to some other reality. 

The man thus becomes completely unaware of this world, its surroundings and the effects of the corporeal universe. Sometimes the effect of Sama'a becomes so intense and severe that all the energy and strength of the listener's limbs becomes suspended and he loses his consciousness. One who remains intact and manages to stay on his original position even after passing through such a state of deep ecstasy reaches and attains to very high spiritual positions indeed.

There are many doors of "fath-Spiritual Opening":

There is a "fath-Spiritual Opening" in "Khidma-serving" that can't be attained in Dhikr.


There is a "fath-Spiritual Opening" in "Sama'a-Music" Songs and Sufic Qasida-Poem that can't be attained in Dhikr.

There is a "fath-Spiritual Opening" in "Dhikr" that can't be attained through other means.
As for "Khidma-serving" and "Sama'a-Music" they open doors within the soul that are only opened through there means and Dhikr cannot open them or can they be attained in another way.

These are rules of the Shadhili way and is known to those who have studied them, remember Qasa'id-Poems are regarded as "Sama'a-Music" and are Sunnah. 

It is said that the very essence of Sufism is poetry and the Sufi's are never tired of speaking or writing at great length on the 'Ishq', or 'love of Allah'

Now that said its known that the soul when it hears or "listens-Sama'a" even if it be a normal song or word of poem, that word can trigger in his soul the start and put them into a "Hal-State" which can lead to a "Hadra-Presence" which can lead to a "fath-Spiritual Opening". And this is what is meant by the above statement "a single joy one can cut across a thousand years of the path of attaining gnosis". 

For this is what happened to Mawlana Rumi and he explains it in great detail about how he was given his "fath-Spiritual Opening" through this and latter made his Sufic school based on this. 


The Mathnawi of Maulana Rumi teaches in the sweetest strains that all nature abounds with love divine. The works of the celebrated Jami and the lyric odes of Hafiz are so full of ecstatic rapture that these works together with the moral lessons of Sa'di may be termed the scriptures of the Sufis in the Persian language. 

Here is some sample Qasida
Qasida Hamziyya of f Imam al-Busiri MP3

Another example that just came to mind one of the Saints was given his "fath-Spiritual Opening" while in the state of Janaba (i.e. after a sexual discharge) meaning he wasnt clean. For women they can attain it by simply pleasing their husbands as per hadith about pleasing ones husbands, for women their "Khidma-serving" is pleasing their husbands, which is also a form of "Dhikr" and after a short while women will be able to attain gnosis by the fact they have default -"Womb-Mercy" settings which Men need to learn thus women are more Open to sainthood then men are.

Everything is aligned accept the hearts they become crooked through time and by people and needed to be realigned and Harmonised this can happen through music therapy of dhikr - qasida - hadra which opens spiritual doors of the heart and normal music that can bring relief to a broken traumised heart or an emotional heart that needs some help there is mercy in music when used correctly and is classified is mubah in fiqh when used in moderation.

Classical and Song Therapy

"The idea that music has a therapeutic function is going through a rapid transformation based on research done in neuroscience. Scientists are attempting to clarify its neurobiological basis and finding that music has an influence on learning, animal behaviour, or brain functions in animals. It is believed that by knowing how music affects animals, this will provide an important insight into how music could also affect humans.

Based on a reliable experimental design, the preliminary results of our research have shown that music seems to have a direct and specific effect on cellular behavior which is made clear by cellular survival activation as well as the reproduction and neurogenesis mechanisms." Taken from Joshua Leeds-(a pioneer in the application of music for health, learning, and productivity–explains how sound can be a powerful ally. He explores the effects of tone, tempo, and pattern and how auditory dysfunction may result in difficulties with learning and social interactions. He offers innovative techniques designed to invigorate auditory skills and provide balanced sonic environments.)


Autism and Music Therapy

Music Therapy can help people with autism to improve skills in areas such as communication, social skills, sensory issues, behavior, cognition, perceptual/motor skills, and self-reliance or self-determination. The therapist finds music experiences that strike a chord with a particular person, making personal connections and building trust. 

People on the autism spectrum are often especially interested in and responsive to music. Because music is motivating and engaging, it may be used as a natural "reinforcer" for desired responses. Music therapy can also help those with sensory aversions to certain sounds to cope with sound sensitivities or individual differences in auditory processing.

Weekly music therapy sessions lasting just an hour can have a positive effect on behaviour in children with autism, reports a paper in Pertanika Journal this month. In a study of 41 children, improvements were seen particularly in inattentive behaviours over a ten month period. The researchers hope that their research will help children and young adults with autism to modify behaviour. 

Also  Music is  be used to treat Alzheimer's disease as Music affects the Right of the brain. Parts of the brain affected by music include: Cerebellum, Forebrain, Nucleus Accumbus and Ventral Tegmental and Medical Prefrontal Cortex. The impact of music on the brain is usually documented via MRI, which detects activity whenever music is played. Music has been known to have a very strong effect on emotions, although the overall effect still has not been fully understood. 

Music therapy 'helps treat' depression

 


Listen to This song it will make you sad or emtional  - Mad world



Just listen to the temp of the song Mad World and you'll soon realise it doesn't lift you up but makes you sad and that is the state of people being in depression.  Now the Next sound make end up making you cry its La Vie Avant La Guerre by Kenji Kawai, have a listen and make sure its quite when you listen maybe the evening to gets the effects and see how the sounds of the Piano hit the soul and make it vibrate in sadness.


 La Vie Avant La Guerre by Kenji Kawai


The  studies of music therapy for depression have been encouraging.Music therapy can be used to improve treatment of depression, at least in the short term”. A standard therapy used were patients are given 20 one-hour music therapy sessions. A review of five small randomized, controlled trials found that in four of the studies, depressive symptoms were reduced more in patients who participated in music therapy than in those who received standard treatment. 

After three months, patients who received music plus standard care experienced significantly greater improvement in depression and anxiety levels than those treated with standard care only. Music therapy partly is effective because active music-making within the therapeutic frame offers the patient opportunities for new aesthetic, physical and relational experiences. 

Some to pick up the soul now listen to this Classical piece from Four Seasons Vivaldi's  - Spring. How does that make you feel compared to listening to - Mad world.?



Music and insomnia

Can’t sleep? Stressed? Need to focus? Need to relax? Instead of popping a pill, people can now put on headphones and literally take a dose Music Medicine which they have called  brain music. 
 

Music does more than soothe the savage beast. It also provides relief for the irritated insomniac.That’s the conclusion of a just-published meta-analysis by Chinese researchers, who examined 10 studies conducted on three continents. Across the globe, they report, sweet sounds induce sound slumber.

“Music appears to be effective in treating acute and chronic sleep disorders,” writes the research team, led by Chun-Fang Wang of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at Pingjin Hospital in Tianjin. “It is low-cost and safe, and could be used to improve sleep quality in various populations with different ages and cultural backgrounds.” 
Listening to soothing music can help you focus your attention on the sounds you hear instead of the thoughts in your mind which keep you awake.


Just listen to this piece
"Sleep Music Delta Waves: Relaxing Music to Help you Sleep Youtube"





You may like instead to listen to listen  to the soothing voice of Enya and her songs, have a listen and see how that makes you feel and how it changes your mood again. I prefer her second song 02. Enya / Only Time.


 Enya Best her songs


 
Lets now listen to songs to pick you up and make you happy now you might like all of them but just listen to the temp and the fast best and how they change you mood. which is the aim and hope here so you realise that sounds do affect  the soul and given then motative too.


Vangelis - Chariots of Fire - feeling of motivating

"What A Wonderful World" -  Louis Armstrong


- Nature's songs Therapy  
There are many secrets hidden in the sounds of nature. one of the ways to heal the soul is  to listen to nature. When w hear nature, our hears have no fear. We listen for ever smaller and subtler sounds. Only Some people can sometimes be close to nature, spend a couple of hours in the forest or at the seaside. It`s safe to say that nature sounds have become rare birds, especially in big cities.But today we are  living In the cities, when just one car drives by our ears actually shut down. 

We need to listen to  Ocean, streams, rivers, waterfalls, and wind, birds singing and frogs are mentioned in the Quran as doing dhikr so is all of  creaturing doing Dhikr and this Dhikr is also a healing for our souls too. 

That is why the sounds of nature have a strong wholesome effect on our health, fight stress, normalize organ functions, and calm our nerves.If you listen to nautural sounds of nature for 10-15 minutes one hour before you go to bed, you will sleep soundly all night long. Nature sounds have a subconscious influence on your brain that`s why you will start to feel joy and happiness. Psychological research shows that nature sounds and calm music reduce the negative effects of depression by 20-25 %.

- Singing my blues away Therapy 

From BBC article Singing 'rewires' damaged brain. Teaching stroke patients to sing "rewires" their brains, helping them recover their speech, say scientists. By singing, patients use a different area of the brain from the area involved in speech. If a person's "speech centre" is damaged by a stroke, they can learn to use their "singing centre" instead.Researchers presented these findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in San Diego.

Physical Effects of Singing
It's amazing to see stroke survivors who've lost the ability to speak suddenly produce accurate words when singing familiar songs. This phenomenon was first reported by Swedish physician Olaf Dalin in 1736.  As I have mentioned at the beginning; Music therapists have said: "There's just something about music particularly live music, that excites and activates the body" this because singing familiar songs is psychologically and emotionally uplifting to the soul and the brain and this overwhelming uplifting feelings. The Physical Effects of singing has a positive psychological effects that the act of singing releases endorphins, the brain's "feel good" chemicals which accelerates the natural healing process of the brain and the body as a whole.

Thus singings gives an overall "lifted" feeling with is associated with stress reduction. And is an aerobic execrise, meaning it gets more oxygen into the blood for better circulation, which tends to promote a good mood. And singing necessitates deep breathing, another anxiety reducer. 

Deep breathing is a key to meditation and other relaxation techniques, and you can't sing well without itm that is why Doctors at London’s Royal Brompton Hospital started a singing program after reasoning that the kind of breathing used by singers might also help with lung patients that have lung disease. The weekly group is led by a professional musician and is offered to people with respiratory problems including asthma, emphysema, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder, or COPD.

Sounds That Heal
Sound therapist make music in a variety of ways to promote healing. Here are some common techniques.


Classical Music. Classical music has been show to increase the rate of development of synaptic connections in young children's minds. It also helps fuel creativity and enhance joy in adults. Classical music can even help address physical ailments like high blood pressure and muscle tension.

Humming. Humming not only lifts your spirits, it clears your head. According to a study conducted by Swedish researcher, and published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, humming may actually help keep your sinuses clear and healthy.


Sufi  Chanting and of Hayy, Hu, Allah. Chanting, the first step to meditation, is also a means of maintaining health and well-being. Research shows that chanting can stabilize heart rate, lower blood pressure, improve circulation, produce endorphins and aid the process of metabolism. Chanting can also help the mind focus, which alleviates stress levels. For example, repeating the name "Allah" considered one of the most important sufi meditation, is said to foster a deep mental clarity and promote a sense of connectedness with a higher power. 


Poem healing Therapy

Listen to presences inside poems.
Let them take you where they will.
Follow those private hints,
And never leave the premises by Mawlana Rumi


The best of those who have expressed there love and grief have been the Sufi Masters, their poems were later sung and are still sung to today. But Poems can be used as a means of grieving process.

Writing poetry has been shown to boost levels of immunoglobulin. Another study found that writing poetry helped 8 per cent of patients to come off their antidepressants. Poetry therapy has been used for healing since Roman times. The first poetry therapist on record was the Roman physician Soranus, who prescribed tragedy for his manic patients and comedy for those with depression in the first century AD.

Poems are a means of
grieving process and can be used in releasing trauma, someone said poems are like children. We create them and they feel very personal to us, but then they travel outward, interact with others, and take on a life of their own.  There is even a book  called Poetic Medicine: The Healing Art of Poem-Making. 

Its a way to express in words our pain and frustrations were at times dont have the means to physically to change something its at times our last scream or ecape its a means to be be free to find healing or closure to a traumaic event in our lives, its a spiritual resources of our hearts and souls taking and healing through creative. 

We  can use the language of poetry to provide the many levels of feeling and its hope is to examine and inner pain and learn to and move forward. Poetry provides unique opportunities for self-discovery and for healing and self-integration. And thus it is  called Therapeutic Poetry, Poetic words are the means to release our trauma.  


Reading a poem can give us comfort or spark a new insight in a time of trouble. But what about writing a poem? It’s worth paying attention to the healing that results from the act of writing poetry. Sometimes you will find comfort that others find solace in your words the only question that remains do you find solace them our words?.

Creative projects  as writing Poems can help a grieving person find a way to express grief and to help lift a grieving person’s spirits; this can help bring the inner chaotic emotions deep inside to the surface by discovering original ways of expressing intense, difficult emotions.   This is why turning to other means of expressing the grief can help bring that grief to life, its the ability to create beauty or find hope in loss and tragedy.

Many of the classic books on grief have been written by authors as a way of coping with their own grief as well as singers, songwriters, composers and musicians create their music often as an expression of their grief or a tribute to a person who has died.With poetry very complex feelings can be distilled into a few lines of pure emotion. Poets throughout the ages have expressed their grief in verse.

"A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom."
– Robert Frost, poet

"One of the best-kept secrets in this technically oriented culture is that simply speaking truth heals." - Rachel Remen, MD

"To write poetry is to be alive."- Rainer Maria Rilke, poet

"Medicines and surgery may cure, but only reading and writing poetry can heal." – J. Arroyo, author

"When a poem doesn't work, the first question to ask yourself is, 'Am I telling the truth?'"
- Wendy Cope

"Poetry brings unconscious forces into consciousness to make them understandable…it provides an outlet for emotions." – Owen Heninger



Springs Gift - Poem about Prophet Muhammad ﷺ - Shaykh Hamza Yusuf 


Giving Sadaqah will help with Duas being answered, Sins be erased and sicknesses are sometimes due to sins; Showing gratitude is sunnah and Allah loves those slaves who shows gratitude; gratitude earns more (ziyada) favours from Allah, Allah promises increased favours for those who are grateful and (hates misers see hadith below) "And when your Lord proclaimed: "If you are thankful, I will give you more"(14:7) and "We shall reward those who are thankful" (3:45)  Allah informs us that one of Satans primary objectives is to prevent humans from being grateful. So show you  support be Thankful for these Duas and Khidma and take more rewards from Allah by Helping and Support “The Sufi Healing Project” through Uns Foundation and take the barakah of this site and all the people who read its duas too through Sadaqah Jariyah.

Giving a small amount of sadaqah monthly is continuous giving which is most beloved deed before Allah. Everyday 70 problems come our way and Sadaqah is a shield to protect yourself and your family. The most beloved deed before Allah is that which is continuous, even if it is little. The constant giving of a little is said to please Allah more than the occasional gift of a lot. So if it’s in your means to donate a small amount of £2-£3 or more a month and Support “The Sufi Healing Project” through Uns Foundation.
Know about the shield of giving: "Give Sadaqah without delay, for it stands in the way of problems/calamities."(Tirmidhi) it says 70 problems that is one is shielded from 70 problems with just a small amount of sadaqah.
Saqaqah washes your sins away: "Sadaqah extinguishes sin as water extinguishes fire." (Tirmidhi) "Sadaqah appeases-(To satisfy or relieve) the Lord’s anger and averts an evil death." (Tirmidhi)
The Shade of Sadaqah: “The believer’s shade on the Day of Resurrection will be his Sadaqah.” (Tirmidhi)  "The generous man is near Allah, near paradise, near men and far from hell, but the miserly man is far from Allah, far from paradise, far from men and near hell. Indeed, an ignorant man who is generous is dearer to Allah than a worshipper who is miserly."(Tirmidhi)
For more information about Sufi Synergy Healing
or to sign up and learn more about these methods or course contact:

Uns Foundation UK- Uns means-'Spiritual Love'
and its through Spiritual Love we are helping to heal broken souls and hearts

Contact/text/Whatsapp:
07960-85-85-42 UK (non-UK):+447960-85-85-42
islam2jannat@yahoo.co.uk
Muhammad Sajad Ali
Sufi Webmaster of Deenislam.co.uk / Instructor, Herbalist and Healing Therapist







Singing 'rewires' damaged brain
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8526699.stm
8 Surprising Ways Music Affects and Benefits our Brains
http://blog.bufferapp.com/music-and-the-brain

The Power of Sound: – How to Be Healthy and Productive Using Music and Sound
By Joshua Leeds - Second Edition published September, 2010 by Healing Arts Press
http://thepowerofsound.net/the-power-of-sound-2nd-edition-092010/ Music therapy in Islamioc Culture by Pinar Somakci
http://www.turkishmusicportal.org/article.php?id=12&lang2=en 
http://autism.about.com/od/autismtherapy101/a/musictherapy.htm
http://www.psmag.com/navigation/health-and-behavior/across-cultures-music-therapy-promotes-sleep-54975/ 
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/singing-therapy-people-breathing-difficulties-article-1.1390262
http://www.connect.legacy.com/inspire/1984035:Page:6731 

1 comment:

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