Auriculotherapy (Ear Acupuncture) in the Holy Quran

Auriculotherapy (also auricular therapy, ear acupuncture, and auriculoacupuncture) is a health care procedure based on the idea that auricle is a microsystem reflecting the entire body. In this microsystem, a point is considered for each part of the body in the auricle. By manipulating any specific point in the auricle, the corresponding part of the body is stimulated. The physical, mental, or emotional health of individuals is affected by exclusive stimulation of the given points. This therapeutic approach can contribute to the treatment of various diseases. The Holy Quran is a comprehensive source of various sciences, where a great deal of knowledge can be obtained by contemplating its holy verses. The authors of this study put forward the view that this therapeutic approach is initially introduced in chapter 18 of the Holy Quran (verses 10-11 and 18), called “al-Kahf” or“The Cave”. In these verses, it read; “when the youths sought refuge in the cave, they said: 'Lord give us from your mercy and furnish us with rectitude in our affair” (10) “for many years we sealed up their hearing in the cave” (11) and “You might have thought them awake, though they were sleeping” (18). The phrase “sealed up their hearing” has been translated “we stamped their ears and they became anesthetized”. Accordingly, the authors of this study believe that the phrase “sealed up their hearing" in the second verse denotes what is now considered as the basis of the auricular therapy. Also, auriculotherapy can be regarded as one of the interpretations of these verses.