Healing as a Speech Event
IN Sufism, there is a great emphasis on repetition of sacred sounds and the power of recitations. Many of Sufi practices in deed include various forms of chanting of Divine names or different Qur’anic verses, either individually or as a group in circles. Healing is not an exception to this phenomenon, meaning Sufis also utilize the power of sacred recitation to bring upon health and recovery to one’s heart, soul and even physical body.
The power of sounds and recitation has been vividly portrayed in different Holi scriptures. These Holi texts, for example, explain how the whole world came into being through the speech of God. In other word, God spoke the whole world into existence: “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). The act of creation was mainly a “speech event,” and not merely a physical action since God used His words to create the world. Not only the world was created through the spoken Divine speech, it is maintained and further expanded in the same manner: “God creates whatever He wills. To have anything done, He only says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is” (Qur’an 3:47). These verses, along with many more, provide Sufis with solid foundations to use the power of spoken words and recitation in their practices to obtain healing.
Qur’an, which literally means “recitation,” emphasizes the importance of spoken Divine words and its great capacity for healing. The sacred sound of recitations of the Qur’an softens the heart and prepares it for healing: “O people! There has come to you advice from your Lord, and healing for what is in the hearts, and guidance and mercy for the believers” (Qur’an 10:57). This healing is encapsulated in the form of Divine words: “We send down in the Quran healing and mercy for the believers” (Qur’an 17:82). The way to access this healing, that has been placed in God’s words, is through its recitation—another speech event that, again, must originate from the heart. According to the Qur’an, “Say, “For those who believe, it is guidance and healing” (41:44). To receive the healing power of the Words, believers are recommended to attend to the recitation of the Qur’an with rather loud and rhythmic tone: "The comparison between a silent reader and a reciter is like a bottle of perfume when it is closed and when it is opened” (Hadith). This saying of the prophet Mohammad emphasizes the significance of recitations of Divine words and the power of its sounds to bring upon healing and mercy to believers.
It is through sacred sounds of recitation that one can receive healing. Holi scriptures are Divine medicine for believers, and similar to any other kind of medicine, they must be taken to bring upon healing. A person cannot expect to get well from an illness if he-she keeps the prescribed medicine in a bag next to him-her. It is only after he-she actually takes the medicine that recovery can take place. Similarly, believers must take the Divine medicine (His words) to receive the healing that has been provided for them, and the way to take God’s medicine is through recitations of His Holi words. The beautiful sound of the recitation will release the healing power of God’s words into one’s mind, soul and body.
Dhikr (the remembrance of God) is another Sufi practice that use sound power to bring upon healing. Through Dhikr, the healing Divine power can be accessed through the heart and further released by the tongue, in the form of sacred sounds. This Dhikr must be in accordance with the Divine speech in order to produce healing. If the Dhikr is coming out of one’s mind/personal psyche, its sound does not carry a strong transmission. It is simply recycling words from the world of seen to the same world of the seen. On the other hand, once the Dhikr originates from the Divine through the heart, its sound carries profound spiritual power, coming from the unseen world to the seen world. This sacred power is therefore transmitted to one’s self or others through a “speech event,” as a sacred recitation.
In this sense, the human being becomes a mean of transmitting divine healing to this physical world, through sacred recitations that is in accordance with God’s speech. It is in this state where people become “Kahlifa” or deputy of God on earth: “I[God] become his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks” (Sahih al-Bukhari). As deputies of God, Sufis use the same sound power (that God used to create the world) to receive healing (Qur’an 2:30). After all, this is the way in which God makes changes or brings upon new creations in the world, and He allows His deputies to operate in the same way. This is the main reason why Sufis insist on utilizing the repetition of Holi words and Dhikr in their healing practice.
Sacred sounds and recitation of Holi words have a great place in Sufi practices, and Sufis heavily rely on Qur’anic recitations and Dhikr to receive healing in different area of their lives. Recitations of Holi words, once originates from the Divine through the heart, convey the healing power of God into this world. In that sense, the words of a Sufi is in alignment with the words of God and thus carries profound spiritual power—a power that purifies the heart, cleanse the soul and heals bodies. It is through the Divine speech that this world (and everything in it) has been created, maintained and is further expanded, and it is through the same sound power that healing is achieved.