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Question:
Nine years ago, while fully conscious in our family
sitting room, I beheld with open eyes a white phantom thrashing its limbs upon
my parents' bed. Ever since that moment, paralyzing fear has settled into my
heart. When left alone, terror seizes me that the walls will crack open, an
entity will emerge, and choke my throat. I cannot remain alone in the house; if
my family sleeps while I am awake, obsessive thoughts of corpses invade my
cranium. Darkness terrifies me, and sudden panic during prayer compels me to
break my prayers. Driven by this dread, I cannot sustain reading or study.
Deliver me permanently from this terror.
Answer:
Refrain from remaining in isolation for two months;
dwell in bright illumination rather than dimness or darkness. In your diet,
increase wholesome sweet foods while minimizing culinary salt.
At night before retiring to sleep, recline flat on
your back, rest both hands over your chest, and recite the Kalimah
ash-Shahādah three times; thereafter, turn onto whichever side you prefer
and sleep.
Upon rising in the morning prior to breakfast, sit
outdoors facing north with your mouth closed, and draw eleven slow, deep
breaths through your nostrils, exhaling each slowly through your mouth. The
duration of this therapeutic regimen is forty consecutive days.