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Be, and It Is-Neonatal Encephalopathy, Intractable Seizures

 Question:

A relative of mine has been married for roughly seven years. She gave birth to three children, all of whom perished shortly after birth. Fourthly, she bore a son who was so severely frail that he resembled a mere rack of bones; he survived only after immense struggle. Subsequently, she became the mother of another boy, who was likewise born extremely delicate. Eighteen days after birth, the infant’s respiration became obstructed and irregular. Witnessing his distress, he was rushed to the hospital; after emergency intervention, he was discharged home.

Within three to four days, recurrent convulsive seizures struck him with alarming intensity, recurring roughly twenty to twenty-two times an hour. He was re-hospitalized, placed on continuous oxygen therapy, and kept under clinical observation for a month and a half. Following intensive care, the frequency of the seizures abated for nearly two months, but violent somatic jerks then began accompanying the fits, jolting his entire body two to three times daily. Gradually, the jerks subsided, leaving his entire physical frame paralyzed and unresponsive.

When motor movement returned, such intense irritability and fury overtook him that he would bite his fingers with his teeth until they bled. He is currently nearly five years old, yet he can neither stand, walk, nor articulate speech. Hearing others speak, he only emits a guttural humming sound (ghoan). Everyone who beholds him is moved to tears, while his grief-stricken mother is withering away in sorrow.

Answer:

Procure a piece of Peony root (‘Ūd-e-Ṣalīb) of sound quality that is free from woodworm or decay, and shape it into a smooth amulet tablet. Using indelible, lustrous black ink, inscribe the penultimate verse of Surah Ya-Sin—containing the divine decree Kun fa-yakūn—upon this tablet. Suspend this inscribed tablet around the child's neck with a cord in a manner that it remains concealed beneath his clothing. Leave it around his neck for three consecutive months, ensuring it is not removed even during bathing.

Concurrently, when the child falls into deep slumber at night, stand beside his head and recite the opening verse of Surah Maryam (Kāf-Hā-Yā-‘Ayn-Ṣād) once, keeping an equal, rhythmic pause between each letter. Maintain this recitation for three months as well. The cord used to suspend the amulet around his neck must be dark blue in color.

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