Muslim Physicians’ Contributions to Studying the Relationships between Mental Illness and Human Social Behavior: A Historical-Analytical Study in the Context of Arab-Islamic Heritage of Medicine

Abstract

Abstract:

This study sheds light on the effect of mental illness on human social behavior from the perspective of the Arab-Islamic civilization physicians. The study begins with a glimpse of Muslim physicians’ contributions to psychiatry, deepens in analyzing the stance of Arab-Islamic society towards mental patients and how their social behavior was impacted by the culture of the popular environment, and then moves to exploring the views of Muslim physicians about the relationship between mental illness and social and family relations. It was concluded that mental illnesses can lead to patient's isolation from their external environment, difficulty in social communication, and a general disorder in social and personal behavior, including marital (sexual) behavior. The study concludes with psychological/mental advice by Muslim physicians for a healthy social life

Keywords: Arab-Islamic civilization, mental illness, social behavior, melancholia.