Great advances to puzzle out the causes of
illness and improve the quality of lifeand
achieve higher levels of wellness within
the physical, mental, social, and spiritual
dimensions are rapidly taking place in the
field of scientific and medical research.
Furthermore, scholars in spirituality
studies have contributed to the wealth of
both qualitative and quantitative data that
exist (1). All these have enriched
therapeutic and preventive measures in
combating illnesses. However, despite the
advanced knowledge and technology
which are disseminated through the mass
media today, statistical data show that
mankind still suffers from an endless
series of physical, psychological and
social diseases, particularly behaviourrelated disorders (2). Examples are
hypertension, smoking, sexually
transmitteddiseases, violence and drug
use. Traffic accidents associated with
alcoholism, drug addiction, anxiety,
depression, suicide, divorce, rape,
illegitimacy, homosexuality, lesbianism,
broken homes, murder, crime and the like.
All these problems are related to
disturbances and failure in behavioural
aspects of events in social life.
In this respect a number of questions will
be raised. For example, although people
may be well acquainted with the
preventive methods and treatments that are
available today they may be unable to
keep to the advice givenby concerned
physicians. This indicates that certain
ideas and attitudes may have already been
formed which influence and determine
people's behaviour in health and sickness.
These ideas and attitudes will obviously
be more positive, and will have a greater
impact on human behaviour, if they are
spiritually bound and religiously based;
ideas and attitudes within a religious
context will have a more dynamic and
broader impact on the promotion of health
and the prevention of behaviour related
diseases. Yet most psychologists have
little if any training onspiritual and
religious issues. Perhaps psychologists and
other health care professionalscould
potentially use spiritual and religious
principles to better serve their clients (3).
This calls for a concept of health within its
wider physical, social and psychological
aspects, as well as within its spiritual
dimensions. Therefore, Spiritual care is
inseparable from physical, social and
psychological care because together they
form the whole. Promoting spiritual wellbeing supports clients in their journey to
find meaning and hope in life and peace in
death (4).
The role of religion
Recently many studies show increased
interest in examining the role that religion
might play in preventive holistic health
care. Since the dawn of history, religion
has been well recognised for its preventive
role. Its preventive determinants were tied
to faith in the Almighty Creator (2). It was
explained by the prophets that the
preventive measures are orders from the
Almighty who has created the human

being and knows what benefits or harms
him. This faith, which had a very powerful
effect in the past, should be increasingly
reinforced now that we have realised the
great dangers to which humanity might
have been exposed, had it not adhered to
the religious orders with absolute faith.
This absolute faith was very central in the
role of prevention.
Alcoholism for example, was partly
responsible for the deterioration which
befell prehistoric civilisations. Islam faced
that grave evil and succeeded step by step
in overcoming its dangerous effects. It
linked faith in God with the orders to
abstain and succeeded in persuading the
believers to give up the long standing
habit and compelling dependence of
alcohol. The true Islamic communities up
till now are relatively free from the evils
of alcoholic addiction. This is from the
effect of the deep faith that true Muslims
keep as regards the Quranic orders. This
was also applied to other physical,
psychological and social evils.