The Ebers Papyrus notes that vessels run from the heart to all four limbs and every part of the body. The legitimacy of practising magic is rarely discussed, and if, only passing in Islamic law-books. [31] :96 Magic in Islam is understood differently from that of modern Christian Europe, often related to God for means of protection from the evil eye, demons, and evil jinn, and by that, generally accepted. [42] Myths were never regarded as historically accurate, rational or factual; their purpose was therapeutic. [18] While science has invalidated many myths, it has been much less successful in providing meaning and significance to chronic medical illness, meaningless suffering and to the complexities of life. The devastation caused by many chronic and disabling illnesses demand understanding and comprehension. Medical and scientific explanations, while emphasizing naturalistic causes, fail to provide personalistic explanations for illness. ‘Why me?' is never answered by science. a'aidhu-formula; 2. al-Fatiha; 3. a 'iidhu-formula; 4. al-Baqara 1-5; 5. a'aidhu- formula; 6. al-Baqara 102; 7. a 'aidhu; 8. al-Baqara 163-4; 9. a 'adhu; 10. al-Baqara 285-6; 11. a'aidhu; 12. al-Baqara 255; 13. a'aidhu; 14.Al-'Imran 18-9; 15. a'adhu; 16. al-A 'raf54, 56; 117-122; 17. 30x the Qur' ainic words: waalqd al-sahara sdjidina; 18. a'aidhu; 19. Yunus 81-2, repeated; 20. a'adhu; 21. Taha 69; 22. a'aidhu; 23. al- Mu'minuna 115-8; 24. a 'aidhu; 25. al-Safat 1-10; 26. a'acdhu; 27. al-Ahqaf29-32; 28. a 'aidhu; 29. al-Rahman 33-6; 30. a 'aidhu; 31. al- hashr 21-4; 32. a 'aidhu; 33. al-Jann 1-9; 34. a'adhu; 36. basmala; 37. al-Ikhlas; 38. basmala; 39. al-Falaq, repeated a number of times; 40. basmala; 41. an-Nas [27] My early years on the faculty were not without conflicts. Wanting to carve out a niche for myself, I decided to specialize in psychiatric epidemiology. Two and a half years, 36 letters and 3 PhD proposals later, I got an International Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust to train at the Institute of Psychiatry, London. Although I wanted to train in epidemiology, my pragmatic and wise supervisor, Professor Antony Mann, suggested that I also study anthropology. The Wellcome Trust needed to be convinced that I would return to India after training to study local issues related to mental illness. Reading anthropology would strengthen my case; hence, I reluctantly agreed.

ar-Rimiya or ash-Sha'badhah—such as "sleight of hand, jugglery", creates the illusion of super-natural effects. [20]According to contemporary Shia cleric Sayyid Abdul Husayn Dastghaib Shirazi, the ability "to perform extraordinary acts" (miracles) or Karamat happens because of the great "piety and abstinence" of the miracle worker and is not sinful (according to Dastghaib Shirazi), provided there can be no question that the performer of the miracle [20]

Some of "the more commonly used branches" of the art of magic listed by Dastghaib Shirazi and/or schools of the occult listed by the Ottoman-Turkic theologian Taşköprüzade: In a examination of hadith on magic and witchcraft, Irmeli Perho writes that "magic is seen as a power distinct from God, whereas in the Qurʾān magic is a power that is ultimately subject to God’s will". [38] Much of this knowledge about uncertainties of chronic illness and its course and outcome are available in the cultural commons and local collectives. However, medicine and psychiatry’s obsession with evidence makes their practitioners blind to wisdom about health, distress, illness and disease distilled over the years and freely available in the commons. If medicine and psychiatry can understand cultural idioms and metaphors, then they would not dismiss available cultural knowledge.a b c Travis Zadeh Commanding Demons and Jinn: The Sorcerer in Early Islamic Thought Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2014 p-154