Islamic and Isolation Tank: Difference between pages

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Like most modern religions, moderate '''Islam''' tends to permit (tolerate might be a better word) [[Tattoo|tattoos]] and [[Body piercing|body piercings]], while stricter interpretations of the faith tend to ban it. It should be noted that there are of course many Muslim regions where tattooing is culturally accepted.
An isolation tank (also commonly known as a sensory deprivation tank) is (ideally) a lightless, soundproof tank in which subjects float in salty water (denser than the human body) at skin temperature. It was devised by John C. Lilly in 1954 in order to test the effects of sensory deprivation. Such tanks are now also used for meditation, prayer, relaxation, and in alternative medicine.


Shari'ah (Islamic law) warns against Muslah (disfiguring) of the body, as well as "unnecessary interference, alteration, and mutilation of Allah's creation." Now, ''this'' doesn't strictly speaking ban tattoos, but under most interpretations it does. Sheik Yusuf Al-Qaradawi writes,
The isolation tank is also called float tank, floating tank, floater tank, floatation tank, Samadhi tank, sensory deprivation tank, REST tank (Restricted Environmental Stimuli Therapy), and John Lilly tank.


: ''Islam denounces excesses in beautifying oneself when it alters the physical features that Allah created him with. The Glorious Qur'an considers such alterations as inspired by Satan, who "...will command them (his devotees) to change what Allah has created..."'' (An-Nisa': 119)
In the original tanks, people were required to wear complicated head-masks in order to breathe underwater; in newer tanks, Epsom salt (1.30 grams per cubic centimeter) is added so that the subject floats with his or her face above the water. However, since the ears are submerged when the subject is in a relaxed position, hearing is greatly reduced, particularly when ear-plugs are also used. When the arms float to the side, skin sensation is greatly reduced because the air and water are the same temperature as the skin, and the feeling of a body boundary fades. The sense of smell is also greatly reduced, especially if the water has not been treated with chlorine.


The prophet is said however to have specifically banned many cultural practices of the time. In Sahih Bukhari Abu Huraira writes that Muhammad forbade tattooing, and Abdullah continues,
A therapeutic session in a flotation tank typically lasts an hour. For the first forty minutes it is reportedly common to experience itching in various parts of the body (a phenomenon also reported to be common during the early stages of meditation). The last 20 minutes often end with a transition from beta or alpha brainwaves to theta, which typically occur briefly before sleep and again at waking. In a float tank the theta state can last for several minutes without the subject losing consciousness. Many use the extended theta state as a tool for enhanced creativity and problem-solving or for superlearning. Spas sometimes provide commercial float tanks for use in relaxation.


: ''Allah has cursed those women who practice tattooing and those who get themselves tattooed, and those who remove their face hairs, and those who create a space between their teeth artificially to look beautiful, and such women as change the features created by Allah.''
Shorter sessions may be relaxing and other benefits are claimed by Lilly but have not been confirmed by other scientists. Common reactions to extended sensory deprivation are hallucinations, out-of-body experiences, anxiety, and depression, and some researchers believe this to be evidence of a deep human need for almost constant input of stimuli (the opposite of Lilly's conclusion).


That said, in many Arabic areas that are devoutly Muslim, tattooing is quite common. In addition, tattooed people are welcome to convert to Islam (their tattoo sins are forgiven in the process).
More extreme uses of the tank involve the subject taking varying doses of hallucinogens, such as LSD, and spending prolonged periods in the tank (up to tens of hours) at a time, an approach pioneered by Lilly himself – though he claims to have tried LSD in the tank only after 1964, when the drug was still legal, a decade after his first experiments with the tank itself.
 
Body piercing is less ''clearly'' banned, although many Muslims believe that the bans on unnecessary interference and mutilation of the body clearly bans most elective mods in the process. After all, the Koran (An-Nisa': 119) specifically warns that Satan will try and trick humans into body modification:
 
: ''"And I will surely lead them astray, and arouse desires in them, and command them and they will cut the cattle's ears, and I will surely command them and they will change Allah's creation." Whoever chooses the Devil for a friend instead of Allah is assuredly a loser, and his loss is manifest.''
 
Women are permitted to get ear piercings, and under certain circumstances (when the cultural norms of the area permit it without behaving strangely), other piercings may be permitted. However, just because a woman can do it doesn't mean a man can do it. The Prophet was quite clear that different rules apply across genders ("Allah has cursed men who copy women as well as women who copy men"), and similar edicts applied to borrowing customs (including piercing) from other cultures. So in terms of a short answer, body piercing isn't allowed either, but it's definitely a more grey area if you live in a region where it's "normal."
 
Cultural [[Circumcision|circumcisions]] are also permitted, although [[FGM|FGM]] (often linked as a Muslim practice) is generally considered banned under Shari'ah as well and is more a remnant of the cultural practices of the region than the faith.


== See Also ==
== See Also ==
* [[Christianity]]
* [[Coma Suspension]] (for a similar experience)
* [[Judaism]]

Latest revision as of 06:06, 17 September 2023

An isolation tank (also commonly known as a sensory deprivation tank) is (ideally) a lightless, soundproof tank in which subjects float in salty water (denser than the human body) at skin temperature. It was devised by John C. Lilly in 1954 in order to test the effects of sensory deprivation. Such tanks are now also used for meditation, prayer, relaxation, and in alternative medicine.

The isolation tank is also called float tank, floating tank, floater tank, floatation tank, Samadhi tank, sensory deprivation tank, REST tank (Restricted Environmental Stimuli Therapy), and John Lilly tank.

In the original tanks, people were required to wear complicated head-masks in order to breathe underwater; in newer tanks, Epsom salt (1.30 grams per cubic centimeter) is added so that the subject floats with his or her face above the water. However, since the ears are submerged when the subject is in a relaxed position, hearing is greatly reduced, particularly when ear-plugs are also used. When the arms float to the side, skin sensation is greatly reduced because the air and water are the same temperature as the skin, and the feeling of a body boundary fades. The sense of smell is also greatly reduced, especially if the water has not been treated with chlorine.

A therapeutic session in a flotation tank typically lasts an hour. For the first forty minutes it is reportedly common to experience itching in various parts of the body (a phenomenon also reported to be common during the early stages of meditation). The last 20 minutes often end with a transition from beta or alpha brainwaves to theta, which typically occur briefly before sleep and again at waking. In a float tank the theta state can last for several minutes without the subject losing consciousness. Many use the extended theta state as a tool for enhanced creativity and problem-solving or for superlearning. Spas sometimes provide commercial float tanks for use in relaxation.

Shorter sessions may be relaxing and other benefits are claimed by Lilly but have not been confirmed by other scientists. Common reactions to extended sensory deprivation are hallucinations, out-of-body experiences, anxiety, and depression, and some researchers believe this to be evidence of a deep human need for almost constant input of stimuli (the opposite of Lilly's conclusion).

More extreme uses of the tank involve the subject taking varying doses of hallucinogens, such as LSD, and spending prolonged periods in the tank (up to tens of hours) at a time, an approach pioneered by Lilly himself – though he claims to have tried LSD in the tank only after 1964, when the drug was still legal, a decade after his first experiments with the tank itself.

See Also

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