Spiritual Care from a Muslim Perspective

Semester:

SP23

This course introduces students to practices of spiritual care from a Muslim Perspective. As we will survey spiritual care practices of different Muslim cultures, our focus will be the relevant application of these practices in North America with a special focus on contemporary issues. We will study meditative/ritualistic, medical, philosophical, counseling, and psychological practices that have relevance and meanings in personal journeys of Muslim spiritual experience in different settings such as hospital, prison, university, community, social, and professional settings. Through a combination of readings, class discussions, practical exercises and expert guest lecturers in each class, students will begin to develop their own approaches to spiritual care in different circumstances such as the issues involving spiritual crises, trauma, mental illness, marriage/divorce, refuge related mental and spiritual complications, substance abuse, and others. Different stake holders such as pastoral care/chaplaincy (minister) candidates, students in education, social work, counseling, psychology, and health sciences as well as medical school students will find much value and benefit in this course. Class format will include weekly expert guest speakers including medical doctors, counselors, social workers, psychologists, clergy, and chaplains, from different disciplines who provide service to Muslim clients, patients, students, or inmates followed by a class discussion.

Spiritual Cultivation in Islam Part I: The Classical Era

Semester:

SP23

This course, as part of the new HDS Initiative on Islamic Spiritual Life and Service, is intended for students preparing for vocation in a variety of settings in which they will provide Islamically-inspired service and support. In addition it will explore ways in which spiritual-ethical cultivation has been fostered holistically in the lived devotion of Muslim communities across time, place, and culture, including in various manifestations of the Islamic science of Sufism (taṣawwuf) and its traditional integration within educational and religious life and institutions, with attention to topics such as spiritual mentorship, spiritual training (tarbiya), spiritual companionship, oral tradition and transmission, devotional arts, and the creation of spaces for spiritual connection and service across religious, cultural, and social differences engage the students in experiential-learning exercises to deepen their understanding of relevant concepts and practices. The course will acquaint students with Islamic pedagogy and practice on spiritual cultivation, highlighting the foundational importance of spiritual-ethical virtues in Islamic piety and the lifelong quest for nearness to and knowledge of God.