Are There Specific Foods and Prayers to Improve Mental Health and Make the Brain Healthier?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

Are there any foods mentioned in the Quran and Sunna to address brain chemical imbalances? I have severe mental health problems. Also, are there any prayers to recite for brain and mental health issues?

Answer

I pray Allah heals you and all your loved ones who suffer from these difficulties.

I don’t know of any specific food in the Quran and Sunna that is suitable for your condition. You should be certain that “Allah has not manifested an illness without manifesting for it a cure.” [Bukhari] Every illness can be treated eventually, but not every patient may be cured. This is down to the plan Allah has for His servants.

Treatment comes from following the means Allah has provided us. That is also from the Sunna. You should, therefore, go and seek treatment for your mental health problems with doctors and therapists. People who have training in the fields of healing on various levels; people who have a peer review system and oversight to ensure their practice is acceptable.

Following these means, even if it costs a bit of money, is what is likely to bring about a cure.

As for the du’a you want: one of the best du’as you can make is the one that comes from the bottom of your heart, in your own words, in a state where you feel deeply in need of the help of Allah Most High. This, coupled with the last moments of the night, saying “Alhamdulillah” and the blessings on the blessed Prophet, Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) at the beginning and the end of the supplication, all add to the likelihood of what you ask being granted.

Ask in order to express your human need, take the means to get a cure, and leave the results to Allah. It may be that He wants you to struggle for a while to raise your rank, and then heal you in a way that will leave you grateful for His gifts.

May Allah facilitate what is best for you with you having clarity and certainty of its benefit to you.

[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began studying Arabic Grammar and Morphology whilst studying for a degree in English and History. After graduating, He traveled to Damascus and studied Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, and Logic with Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Arjan al-Binsawi, Shaykh Husayn Darwish, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, the late Shaykh Rashad Shams, and others. He then moved to Amman to continue his studies in those fields, as well as in Tafsir, Quranic Sciences, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Prophetic Biography, Prophetic Perfections and Traits, Rhetoric, Arabic Literature, and Tajwid. His teachers include Shaykh Ali Hani, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Dr Salah Abu al-Hajj, Dr Mansur Abu Zina, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Ahmad Jammal, and others.