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Why Cancer Patients Seek Islamic Healing

Article  in  Journal of Religion and Health · September 2015

DOI: 10.1007/s10943-015-0114-6

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J Relig Health
DOI 10.1007/s10943-015-0114-6

ORIGINAL PAPER

Why Cancer Patients Seek Islamic Healing

Norhasmilia Suhami1 • Mazanah Bt Muhamad1,2 •

Steven Eric Krauss3

 Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Abstract Islamic healing is frequently referred to as the treatment of choice by many

Muslim cancer patients in Malaysia. Despite its widespread use, there is limited infor-
mation relating to patients’ healing preferences. With rising cancer rates in the country, this
issue has become a concern to public health policy makers. The purpose of this study was
to understand why cancer patients seek Islamic healing. This qualitative study utilized in-
depth interviews with 18 cancer patients. The findings indicate three main reasons: (1)
recommendations from family, friends and doctors; (2) belief in Islamic healing and (3) the
perceived ineffectiveness and dissatisfaction with conventional treatments. Islamic healing
will likely continue to be popular complementary cancer treatment in Malaysia as it is
grounded in strong cultural and religious beliefs.
Keywords Islamic healing
Complementary treatment
Cancer
Cancer patients

Introduction

Incidence of cancer continues to increase worldwide, especially in developing nations. The

World Health Organization (WHO) reported that in 2005, seventy percent of deaths related
to cancer occurred in developing countries. By 2015, the number of deaths is expected to
rise to 9 million and continuously increase to 11.5 million by 2030 (WHO 2007). Over half

& Norhasmilia Suhami

norhasmilia@gmail.com
1
Professional Development and Continuing Education, Faculty of Educational Studies, Universiti
Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
2
Cancer Resource and Education Centre, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
3
Institute for Social Science Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia

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 J Relig Health

of the world’s cancer burden is carried by countries with limited resources and is set to rise
at least threefold by the year 2025 (Pal and Mittal 2004).
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) refers to health-care practices that are
not typically offered in conventional medical facilities. In less developed settings like
Malaysia, CAM is highly popular among cancer and other types of patients (Tasaki et al.
2002). Although overall there is still a dearth of evidence as to the effectiveness of
different forms of CAM, there remains a high level of interest in it (Vicker and Cassileth
2001). One of the forms of CAM that is used worldwide in varying forms is traditional
medicine. According to the World Health Organization, traditional medicine is defined as:
A sum total of the knowledge, skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs and
experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the
maintenance of health as well as prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of
physical and mental illness (Siti et al. 2009).
The 1978 Alma Ata declaration on primary health care acknowledged the potentially
positive role of traditional indigenous practitioners (Muller and Steyn 1999). According to
Tovey et al. (2005), 80 % of the world’s population utilizes traditional medicine, although
the conventional medicine is still on demand. Traditional medicine provides a broad
spectrum of views on health problems and emphasizes on the holistic, total and multiple
causalities of human existence, including both physical and spiritual (Haliza 1996;
Heggenhougen 1980).

Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Malaysia

Malaysia is a unique, multiethnic and multireligious country comprised of approximately

60 % Malays, 30 % Chinese, 10 % Indian and a small minority of other racial groups. In
Malaysia, cancer is one of the top five contributors to burden of communicable and no
communicable diseases (NCD) and has been given research priority in the health sector as
part of the country’s 10th development plan (WHO 2013). From data available in 2007,
there were 18,219 new cancer cases diagnosed in Malaysia with more reported cases
among females rather than males. The five most common cancers in Malaysia are breast,
colorectal, cervix, ovary and lung (National Cancer Registry Report 2007).
Lack of resources and trained personnel in cancer awareness, diagnosis and treatment in
Malaysia can be seen from the ratio of number of oncologists to patients. With only 35
oncologists in the entire country, the ratio is 1:650,000. In comparison, the same ratio in
England is 1:250,000. Within Malaysia, there are several conventional treatment options
available to combat cancer including surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormonal
therapy, immunotherapy and symptomatic and supportive therapy (Lim 2002). Neverthe-
less, access to treatment can be restrictive, often accompanied by long waiting times (Yip
2008).
The mainstream health-care delivery system in Malaysia is based on conventional
medicine, but there is a growing interest in traditional and complementary medicine
(TCM) as well, including ‘‘bomoh’’ (Malay traditional healers), as well as Chinese and
Indian indigenous medicine (Razali and Yassin 2008). Eighty percent of Malaysians
consult TCM practitioners at some point in their life for health-related issues (Razali and
Yassin 2008). ‘‘Bomoh’’ have become essential figures in Malay villages to the extent that
communities are said to feel incomplete without them (Osman 1972). Their services are
obtained not only in villages, but also in squatters’ quarters and even hotels (Tohar et al.
2011).

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J Relig Health

In terms of cost, WHO estimates that Malaysia spent annually USD500 million for
complementary and alternative health care, as compared to about USD300 million for
modern medicine (WHO 2002). Malaysia’s National Health and Morbidity Survey II
(1996) reported that 2.3 % of the population visited TCM practitioners and 3.8 % visited
both conventional and TCM medical practitioners (Siti et al. 2009). Legislation to offer
TCM in Malaysian public hospitals was first introduced in 2001 (Jayaraj 2010).
One popular form of TCM in Malaysia, Islamic medicine, is classified as traditional and
typically includes Qur’anic healing and Prophetic medicine (Asman 2008). Islamic med-
icine promotes faith healing through prayer and the recitation of Qur’anic verses.
Recitation of Qur’anic verses has been shown to be effective in helping patients to
eliminate negative emotions (Carter and Rashidi 2004).
Islamic medicine is practiced in many countries including Indonesia, Lebanon, Iran,
South Africa, USA, the Netherlands, Pakistan and Malaysia. In Malaysia, those who
practice Islamic medicine are referred to as Islamic healers. Three types of Islamic healer
can be defined with three categories, (1) healers with an inherited gift (for example, as a
descendant of the Prophet Muhammad), (2) healers with a teacher (for example a member
of Sufi) and (3) healers who have taught themselves (Hoofer 2000).

Reasons for Choosing Islamic Healing

The following section will review past research on factors influencing patient’s treatment
decisions with a particular focus on Islamic medicine. In the process of making decisions about
treatment, patients often turn to CAM for a variety of reasons, such as when they perceive their
situation as hopeless; based on their values and personal belief systems; the information they
rely on and what they deem to be credible sources of information (Caspi et al. 2004).

Influence of Family and Loved Ones

Family and friends are a part of patients’ demographics where family influence on the
treatment decision-making process and revealed four interacting layers of their involvement:
family as support network, family as consultation support, family as medical interpreter and
family as cancer survivor or cancer victim (Zalilah et al. 2008). In majority Muslim societies,
families play an important role in health-care decisions and are often the main providers of
care for hospitalized family members. This may include traditional or natural remedies that
are viewed as complementary by conventional medicine (Silbermann and Hassan 2011). In
many cases, children as well as extended family and even close friends will refer to Islamic
healers to provide or supplement conventional treatment (Silbermann and Hassan 2011).
In the Malaysian context, patients often follow recommendations from husband fol-
lowed by family (Omar and Muhamad 2010). It has been documented that these efforts are
most effective when parents give their blessing to such recommendations (Muhamad et al.
2012). In contrast, recommendations by doctors tend to be less significant as compared to
those from family members (Begbie et al. 1996).

Religious Beliefs

Religion is an important contextual dimension to decision-making (Tovey and Broom

2007). According to Kleinman’s work on the ‘‘cultural construction of clinical reality,’’
religion can influence a patient’s health and health-seeking behaviors (Padela and Curlin

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2012). In the context of American Muslim, a God-centered Islamic framework leads them
to believe that illness is caused by God or by part of God’s will which leads them back to
Islam in a way to find healing (Padela and Curlin 2012).
Islamic practice is guided by Quran and ‘‘sunnah’’ (recorded and authenticated saying and
traditions of the Prophet Muhammad). In the healing context, it is stated in the Quran (26: 80) that
‘‘And when I am ill, it is (Allah) who cures me.’’ Further, in the Hadith (saying of Muhammad)
narrated by the Prophet Muhammad’s wife Aisha, the Prophet is reported to have said,
Whenever Allah’s Apostle paid a visit to a patient or a patient was brought to him, he
used to invoke Allah saying, ‘‘Take away the disease, O the Lord of the people! Cure
him as you are the one who cures. There is no cure but yours, a cure that leaves no
disease’’ (Kasule 1997).
In Islamic tradition, healing through rukyah means charm, spell or incantation which
contains verses of Quran or hadith for seeking a cure for any illness (Yucel 2007). This is
one of the efforts to cleanse the soul with the belief that each disease created by Allah and
only Allah have a cure (Tohar et al. 2011). According to Montazeri et al. (2007), prayer
and spiritual healing was the most common method used by cancer patients in Iran.

Perceived Ineffectiveness of Conventional Cancer Treatments

The ineffectiveness of modern medicine often compels many cancer patients turn to tra-
ditional healing. Often, this comes in the form of a patient’s previous experience with
treatment such as when: prescription medicine did not bring relief (AlRawi et al. 2012;
Hoofer 2000), there was no improvement after treatment (Salan and Maretzki 1983), the
patient had a previous bad experience in a hospital (Taib et al. 2007), or the patient
suffered negative side effects from a treatment (Moodley et al. 2008; Pal 2002) where leads
them to try complementary treatment.

The Current Study

The scant literature on past research from multiple national and culture contexts provides a
glimpse of reasons patients choose alternative/complementary medicine, with a focus on
Islamic healers. To date, however, few studies have specifically addressed the motives of
cancer patients behind their treatment decisions. In the Malaysia context, many people rely
on Islamic medicine either in conjunction with conventional treatments or on its own. This
lack of understanding of what informs patient decisions about treatment in Malaysia can be
a major barrier to providing better information to patients and consequently, better treat-
ment. Appropriate information could help save lives. Hence, it is important to know why
such individuals seek complementary mode of treatment in the form of Islamic healers.

Methodology

Data Collection

This study sought to find why cancer patients seek Islamic healing. Since we were inter-
ested to access patients’ perspectives, a qualitative research approach was deemed the most

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suitable design and data collection method (Merriam 2009; Corbin and Strauss 2007).
Purposive sampling technique was used in obtaining informants. We sought women Malay
Muslim cancer survivors who had accessed both conventional medical system and Islamic
healers in the course of their diagnosis and treatment, and Malay or English speaking.
In order to ensure informant eligibility of the informants, the researcher called and
checked with the potential informants. The researcher identified cancer patients by referrals
from support group members, friends, record from Kan Helpline and recommendation by
Islamic healers. We developed the interview guide for in-depth interviews based on the
previous literature and researchers’ personal experience.
We interviewed a total of 18 Malay Muslim cancer patients including two pilot inter-
views. Five of the 15 are from Kuala Lumpur (the capital city which is centrally located) and
surroundings. The rest are from Northeast, Northwest, Southern Peninsular Malaysia. We
divided into four different zones because we believe the differences in how people perceived
by the treatment. We want to sample with these differences to expand the generalization.
The interviews were conducted at a place of the patients’ choice. Four chose their home and
another five informants’ office. Three interviews were done at Islamic healing center, two at cancer
support groups and one at a restaurant. All interviews were tape-recorded and later transcribed
verbatim. All the interviews were conducted in Malay and translated to English by bilingual
graduate students. All translated interview transcripts were double-checked by the local researcher.

Data Analysis

Constant comparative method was used to analyze the data (Merriam 2009; Corbin and
Strauss 2007; Patton 2002). All of the open codes were first examined to find whether
individual codes could be combined into higher conceptual categories. Once these cate-
gories were developed, they were examined for their properties and dimensions (Rausch
and Hamilton 2006). Three categories emerged from the data that address research
questions why cancer patients seek Islamic healing.
Through the process of constant comparison (Glaser and Strauss 1967), the categories
were then analyzed to investigate their relationships to each other across the interviews.
Throughout the process, the research team informally debriefed after each interview and
discussed and compared respondents’ perspectives. The concurrent analysis process allows
for theoretical sampling to take place (adjusting who we want to interview according to our
emerging findings) and allows for conducting internal validity checks.

Ethical Considerations

Formal ethical approval was obtained from the Medical Research Ethics Committee of the
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia. Informed consent was
explained to each participant and signed, and written consent forms were obtained. All
informants’ names reported are pseudonyms.

Finding

Data were obtained from 18 women Malay Muslim cancer patients (Table 1) aged
29–62 years old. Their respective cancer survival longevity ranged from 1 to 15 years.
Their level of education varied from high school to Doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.). Most of

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Table 1 Participants profile and motives seek Islamic healing

No. Name Age Occupation Education Type of Motives seek Islamic healing
cancer

1 Mak 55 Retired Diploma Breast Recommendation from friend

Uda
2 Liya 29 Admin officer Diploma Defuse Recommendation from family,
large B belief in Islamic healing and
cell dissatisfaction with conventional
lymphoma treatment
3 Rahayu 35 Teacher Bachelor Ovary Recommendation from friend and
belief in Islamic healing
4 Aisyah 44 Government Bachelor Thyroid Belief in Islamic healing
staff
5 Rin 33 Administrative SPM Stomach Recommendation from doctor,
dissatisfaction with conventional
treatment and belief in Islamic
healing
6 Yusra 44 Home maker Bachelor Uterus Recommendation from family,
belief in Islamic healing
7 Yana 52 Retired SPM Breast Recommendation from friends
8 Rahmah 55 Administrative Secondary Breast Recommendation from family and
school belief in Islamic healing
9 Rosmah 57 Matron Degree Breast Recommendation from friend
10 Ani 51 Nurse Secondary Breast Dissatisfaction with conventional
school and belief in Islamic healing
11 Nisa 59 Retired Diploma Breast Belief in Islamic healing
teacher
12 Rozana 45 Administrative Secondary Breast Recommendation from family
school
13 Hanim 54 Lecturer Ph.D. Breast Recommendation from friend
14 Zahra 53 Teacher Diploma Breast Recommendation from family and
belief in Islamic healing
15 Zakiah 58 Home maker Secondary Breast Recommendation from friend and
school belief in Islamic healing
16 Aina 52 Teacher Diploma Ovary Recommendation from family,
belief in Islamic healing and
dissatisfaction with conventional
treatment
17 Zaidah 58 Retired nurse Diploma Lung Recommendation from family and
belief in Islamic healing
18 Mariam 62 Retired nurse SPM Breast Recommendation from family and
belief in Islamic healing

All the names are pseudonyms

the women were employed. The analysis can be viewed from three strands: (1) recom-
mendation from family, friends and doctors, (2) belief in Islamic healing and (3) dissat-
isfaction with conventional treatment.

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Recommendation from Family, Friends and Doctors

Informants reported one of the main reasons behind their seeking Islamic medicine was
from recommendations by family, friends and doctors. These people were significant in the
patients’ lives, relying heavily on their advice and opinions. In Liya’s case, she expressed
her desire to survive for the sake of her loved ones, especially her mother. Her mother
recommended that she seek treatment from a healer. She explained, ‘‘My mother recom-
mended and found a healer for me, at the same time I also wanted it. My mother said that I
should use healing water to terminate the cancer cells.’’ For Rozana, recommendation and
full support from her husband influence her to seek Islamic healing. For Rahmah, her
sibling and her sister-in-law recommended that she seek an Islamic healer. For Zahra, her
husband heard about a good Islamic healer from his friend in addition to his own positive
experience with Islamic healing for a past ailment.
In addition to family, friends proved to be influential in our informants’ decision-
making. Rosmah really wanted to seek Islamic healer but not sure which healer to refer.
She commented, my friend, a staff nurse suggested me to seek Islamic healer, where her
friend‘s cancer becomes better (the cancer lump shrank). So, I decided to seek the same
healer too. Hanim’s friend brought her to meet her healer. She said, ‘‘In fact, the first time
I was diagnosed, before I did my surgery, my friend suggested (that I see a healer) and took
me to see one Ustaz (Islamic religious teacher) in Shah Alam (a place near her house).’’
Two cases were recommended by doctors. Rin received Islamic healing during her
treatment in the hospital. While undergoing chemotherapy, she shared with her doctor that
she was also receiving complementary treatment from an Islamic healer. Her doctor
advised her to continue seeing the healer and just follow up with the hospital. She
explained, ‘‘My surgeon advised me to continue with the Islamic healer but to make sure I
also continued going to the hospital as the doctor wanted to follow up.’’ In Liya’s case, her
doctors played an important role in her decision. She added, ‘‘The doctors recommended
me to seek a ‘‘shaman’’ or someone because my case was unique, where I keeps bleeding
and the doctor did not know the cause of it.’’ Liyana believed this was the effect of black
magic. Thus, she called for Islamic healing.

Belief in Islamic Healing

Qur’anic verses were the most frequently mentioned mode of Islamic healing by the
informant. In this process, the healer plays a moderating role by ‘‘channeling’’ the healing
through the Quranic reading to the patient. The informants shared the belief that ultimately
the success of the treatment was the result of God’s (Allah’s) decree, rather than the
Qur’anic verses themselves. This belief was evident in the informants’ description of their
confidence in healing by way of the Quran. Zahra commented, ‘‘Because I’m confident
that he (the healer) uses verses from the Quran, meaning that we put trust to Allah.’’
Rahayu finds that Islamic healer brings her closer to Quran in terms of reciting and
practicing the Quran daily. She believed Quran verses as a mode of healing.
Some respondents expressed the belief that Allah heals diseases through Islamic healers.
In reference to the healers, Ani who said, ‘‘I’m confident with Allah, the healer is just a
moderator. We do not (place) our belief in him because he also tried to help us.’’ Her belief
ultimately relies on Allah with the healer as a medium. Rin explained, ‘‘I only believed
that Allah healed me. The healer just helped me. If Allah gives permission for the healer to
heal me, I will recover but without His permission, it wouldn’t happen.’’ ‘‘I’m very

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confident because we seek everything from Allah. That’s why I went to see an Islamic
healer’’ said Nisa.

Dissatisfaction with Conventional Treatment

Evidence from our study shows several issues related to conventional medicine that
influenced the informants’ decision to pursue Islamic healing as a complementary treat-
ment. Several of the informants mentioned that they did not want to limit themselves to
only one option. Rin suffered from gastritis since her childhood which became more
chronic in her twenties. After several visits to the hospital, she complained that her
problems with pain and discomfort from the gastritis were not resolved.
For 2–3 years, she kept going to the hospital, but nothing more was detected. The doctor
checked using various scopes and even a CT scan but did not detect anything. Becoming
frustrated, she went to an Islamic healing center after watching a healing program on
television. The healer diagnosed her with an affliction caused by the Jinn.1 After her third
visit to the Islamic healer, she was diagnosed with colon cancer. According to the healer,
the disease had progressed to stage 1 or 2 in severity. Following the diagnosis, she went to
the hospital where her doctor confirmed her cancer.
Ani’s case was quite similar to Rin’s in that her condition was unchanged after taking
conventional medicine. Her dissatisfaction with the medicine and its results motivated her
try Islamic healing. She explained,
I first went for medical treatment but the medicine did not result in the desired effect,
meaning that I had to try something else. If I was prescribed the medicine and it had
worked, maybe I would not have gone for Islamic healing.
Aina, another informant, said she was informed by her doctor that they had already
done their part and could not do anymore for her but they never confirmed she was free
from cancer. She was not fully healed when she watched a television program on Islamic
healing. According to the healer, cancer cell can be healed. She also read the healer’s book
where it was reported that many patients become better after seeing him and practice
Islamic healing. Then, she decided to seek the Islamic healer.

Discussion

Findings from this study are discussed according to the motives identified: (1) recom-
mendation from family, friends and doctors; (2) belief in Islamic healing and (3) inef-
fectiveness or dissatisfaction with conventional treatment. The Malay community is
embedded in ‘‘collectivist’’ culture where identity is created by the group, the ‘‘we’’ to
which the persons belong and not by their individual as the ‘‘I’’ in the social context (Majid
2008; Abdullah 1996). Accordingly, Malays tend to rely on word of mouth or verbal
communication from community members rather than factual evidence discovered on their
own (Tohar et al. 2011).
Our findings indicate that information and recommendations from family members
especially the elder ones like parent is often obeyed and not be questioned (Abdullah

1
According to Islamic belief, Jinn are malevolent spiritual beings that cause harm to people who encounter
them. They are mentioned in the Qur’an and other Islamic texts and inhabit an unseen world in dimensions
beyond the visible universe of humans (Jinn Definition 2014).

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1996). Friends were also essential in motivating our informants to seek Islamic healers.
Further as Malays Muslims observed Islamic tradition where they believed healing, as an
act of the Divine, is more effective when accompanied by the blessing and support of one’s
parents or spouse (Abdullah 1996; Quran 17: 23; Quran 4: 34).
Thus, when our informants were provided a recommendation by their parents or loved
ones, they acted on it. The influence of culture helps to explain why cancer patients went to
Islamic healers upon suggestion by loved ones. This finding supported earlier studies in
Pakistan, where it was reported that 83.7 % of cancer patients were influenced by their
family members to use CAM/TM (Tovey et al. 2005).
Our findings further revealed that doctors have little issue with their patients seeking
Islamic healing during their conventional treatment regimen as long as they follow up and
do not desist with the latter. This is in line with a previous study of addressing Malaysia’s
cancer burden through collaboration between traditional healers and Western medicine
conducted in Malaysia where some cancer doctors were reported having no problem when
their patients seek Islamic healers, as long as those healers focused on the patient’s faith,
used verses of the Quran and ‘‘blessed’’ water for patients to drink (Merriam and Muhamad
2012).
The previous finding, therefore, was qualified in a manner not found in the current
study, that being that the doctors were conditionally supportive of Islamic healing as long
as the patients did not resort to healers that were not religiously orthodox in their methods.
Majority of our informants believed in the potential of Islamic healing which use Quran as
a main method and viewed their healers are moderators. Their perspective reflects con-
sistency with orthodox Muslim theological perspectives that purport that healing is from
God through His creation and that at the end of the day Allah heals by His permission
(Rahman et al. 2008).
This finding is consistent with a study on American Muslims who reported that they
believed that God heals indirectly through the actions of healers that use religious sources
such as the Quran and supplications from Muhammad (Padela and Curlin 2012). The
Quran contains verses that are beneficial as a means of healing (Elkadi 1993). Patients’
belief in the Quran for healing has been identified in other countries as well (Werner 1993).
Some of these healing verses include, for example, ‘‘And when I am ill, it is (Allah) who
cures me’’ (Quran 26: 80). In a Hadith (saying of Prophet Muhammad) narrated by his wife
Aisha, the Prophet is reported to have said,
Whenever Allah’s Apostle paid a visit to a patient or a patient was brought to him, he
used to invoke Allah saying, ‘‘Take away the disease, O the Lord of the people! Cure
him as you are the one who cures. There is no cure but yours, a cure that leaves no
disease’’ (Kasule 1997).
The patients in our study reported having reservations with conventional medicine,
especially when they perceived their doctors as being limited in their ability to diagnose
and treat the disease The studies on American Muslims (AlRawi et al. 2012) and
Indonesian (Salan and Maretzki 1983) reported that patients turned to traditional healing
when they felt that their prescription medicines were not effective. Informants in this
narrated similar rationale; for example, Liya reported that the doctor was unable to stop her
bleeding with conventional medicine, yet when she turned to drinking ‘‘blessed’’ water
given by her healer, the bleeding ceased within 3 days. Thus, in many of our patient’s
cases where the condition is unchanged despite undergoing of conventional treatment, they
turned to Islamic healing as a second alternative in order to ‘‘try something different’’ (Lua
2011).

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Conclusion

The study illustrates that religious belief and culture influence decision-making by cancer
patients in finding their healing preference. A cancer patient’s main concern is to heal and
survive from the disease. They will try whatever means available to fight the cancer, as
quoted by one informant, ‘‘I feel that you should… if you have the capacity to try any-
thing… just try. If not doing nothing at this stage…, you can die…anyway, you will die.
Might as well did fighting rather than die waiting.’’ The findings suggest that Islamic
healing is likely to stay among Malay Muslims cancer patients in the country.

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