TEACHING HUMAN NATURE IN PSYCHOLOGY COURSES

ALIZI ALIASDepartment of Psychology

International Islamic University Malaysia53100 Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia03-20565096

alizi@iiu.edu.my

Paper submitted as a chapter in a book tentatively entitled ‘Guide to teaching and studying psychology: A Islamic perspective’, 2008.

INTRODUCTION

Laypersons and students alike sometimes turn to psychology to get a straightforward simple answer about human nature and behaviour. The problem is psychology cannot agree on a lot of issues about concerning human nature. The debates on the issue are still ongoing and have led to various theoretical perspectives in modern psychology such as psychodynamic, behaviourism, humanistic, physiological, and cognitive perspectives. Using the issues of human nature outlined by Feldman (2007), this chapter explores how Islamic scholars have interpreted these issues in relation to the existence of the soul (nafs) which is absent in contemporary psychology. However, this But, before that, this chapter will first consider identify when do instructors of psychology courses should discuss issues oflecturers talk human nature while teaching psychological courses, why does and examine contemporary psychology’s varied has perspectives on human nature. different perspectives about human nature, and how does contemporary psychology views human nature?

WHEN DO WE TEACH ABOUT HUMAN NATURE IN PSYCHOLOGY?

Usually, the different theoretical perspectives about of human nature are taught in courses such as personality psychology, history and philosophy of psychology, and seminar in general psychology. At the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), they are also covered in courses such as Islam and psychology, and undergraduate seminar on the Islamic perspective of psychology. However, what many people do not realise is that these psychological theoretical perspectives are embedded not only in every sub-discipline textbooks of psychology, but also in published journal articles in psychology. Even though an author may not state clearly his/her philosophical belief about human nature, he/she may have provided a theoretical background and theoretical interpretation of the research results consistent to with a particular theory about human nature. The author’s philosophical idea about human nature can also be unconsciously promoted through his/her limited selection of references and his/her exposure to certain figures or literature throughout his/her academic and/or professional life. Therefore, it is important

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for all teachers of psychology to understand the extent to which modern theories about human nature are Islamic, and to examine Islam’s view on human nature.

As mentioned, current psychological perspectives on human nature include psychodynamic, behaviourism, humanistic, physiological, and cognitive perspectives. When raising discussing the issue of “which one is right?” Glassman (2000) had answered by saying “all of them and none of them” (p. 414). This chapter argues that “all of them are partly right, we need to synthesise all of them, and add some more (spiritual factor).” The human nature issues that are going to be discussed here are the ones raised by (based on Feldman (, 2007) and they include: (1) nature versuss. nurture, (2) conscious vs. ersus unconscious, (3) observable behaviour vs.ersus internal mental processes, (4) free-will vs.ersus determinism, and (5) individual differences vsversus. universal principle. It is important for Muslim researchers, teachers, and students to understand these issues and debates because they are mentioned directly or indirectly in various discipline of psychology and may affect how we perceived ourselves as `abid and khalifah of Allah in this world.

WHY DOES MODERN PSYCHOLOGY HAS HAVE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES?

First of all, we need to understand why psychology has different theoretical perspectives. Glassman (2000) argued that theory formation is influenced by the theorist’s own perceptual selection and interpretations of reality – the subjective assumptions which lead to the most logical choice of research method central to the approach – which may then lead to a biased view of human nature. Glassman also reasoned that scientific empirical evidence in psychology is as good as at disproving theories but cannot tell anything about the truth. Psychological approaches or paradigms are never replaced by a newer approach simply because the new approach is “more” popular. This is because it is not necessarily more accurate.

Glassman (2000) also argued that the limitations of scientific methods in studying human behaviour also lead to different approaches to psychology. The obsessions of finding the causal factors (as in natural science) from unobservable behaviour and mental processes and the excessive usage of experimental methods without realising that both the subjects and the experimenters are giving subjective “social” reactions to the experimental procedures lead to the differences in understanding human behaviour (Badri, 1979; Glassman, 2000). Glassman and Badri also mentioned that culture influences both the researchers’ conception about human behaviour and participants’ reactions to certain stimuli. This leads to various issues of bias and choice of paradigm in understanding human nature.

Since Muslims believe that Allah is all-knowing, perhaps we can use His words and His prophets’ wisdom to reduce these different conceptions about human nature. Although Islamic disciplines are full of different views in the forms of tafsir (exegesis) of Qur’anic verses, sharh (detailed explanation) of hadith, and fatwa (rulings) in Islamic

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shari`ah (law), Islamic scholars have a relatively unified framework of reference for relatively accurate understanding of religious issues based on agreed principles.

HOW DO CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES VIEW HUMAN NATURE?

The blind men and the elephant

As mentioned, before five of the dominant perspectives in psychology are biological, perspectives, psychodynamic, behavioural, humanistic, and cognitive perspectives (although some might want to add evolutionary and socio-cultural perspectives). The Rreaders are referred to Glassman (2000) for detailed descriptions of each perspective’s central ideas. When it comes to understanding the various perspectives, Tavris and Wade (2001) in their scientific review of Western psychological perspectives and Badri (1979) in his scientific and Islamic criticisms of Western psychology, likened it with to watching several blind persons trying to describe an elephant by touching different parts of its body. Everybody knows that the results of their descriptions are partially true about the description of the elephant. The problem occurs when each of them claims that the part of the elephant is the elephant itself! A secular person may not feel guilty describeing human nature in whatever way he/she wishes, but it is not correct for a Muslim to describe human nature against how Allah has explained it.

Some current introductory psychology textbooks (example, Huffman, 2006) argue that at present, one of the most widely accepted and unifying themes of modern psychology is the biopsychosocial model which believes that biological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors interact with one another to influence human behaviour. Can this be the solution to the phenomenon of the blind men and elephant described above? While this perspective has its strengths, it is still limited in providing a coherent understanding of man’s behaviour on three grounds. First, this perspective e most coherent effort only resulted in focusesing on only two or three aspects of human nature while ignoring the rest (e.g., biological and cognitive perspective in a synthesised discipline called ‘cognitive neuroscience’ (Glassman, 2000). Second, even if if they dothis perspective considers more than several different perspectivesaspects of human nature, these different aspects of human nature are usually practically combined with no proper theoretical justification (e.g., applying an eclectic approach using behaviour therapy and cognitive therapy at two different times depending on the nature of the cases). Third, even if they consider various aspects of human nature are considered, the spiritual aspect is still not consideredmissing. , in addition to the various perspectives are still not theoretically linked or coherently described..

Current efforts by Muslim scholars

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If modern psychologists can accept a loosely developed model called biopsychosocial approach, Muslim psychologists should be brave enough to provide an alternative. The challenge for them , however, is to be able to provide Islamic and scientific answers on toto the controversial issues and debates in psychology. Muslim scholars in social sciences and Islamic disciplines have tried to describe human nature from both the psychological and theological perspectives but these. The scholars have used different themes in describing human nature. Some of them wrote about Islamic criticisms on of modern psychological perspectives, some while of themothers have used Islamic concepts and have described them from modern psychological perspectives, and still others some of themhave used the Qur’an, Hadithhadith, and early Muslim contributions as a starting point to talk about human nature. This complete work is listed in the reference list of this chapter and should be utilised in the teaching of any course in psychology. Please note, however, that all the references listed vary in terms of details, quality, and relevance.

In the next section, the paper will lookconsiders at how Islamic scholars have used the knowledge about religion to come up with a theory of human nature in line with the issues and debates in contemporary psychology.

WHAT ARE THE ISSUES AND DEBATES ABOUT HUMAN NATURE IN PSYCHOLOGY?

According to Feldman (2001), there are five issues that pertain to the study of human nature. These are the debates between (1) nature versus nurture, (2) conscious versus unconscious determinants of behaviour, (3) observable behaviour versus internal mental processes, (4) free-will versus determinism, and (5) individual differences versus universal principles. Islamic psychology should be able to tackle these issues in order to be a viable alternative perspective into modern psychology. Each of these issues and debates is next examined in light of the Islamic perspective about human nature.

First of all, Islam requires Muslims to believe that humans being areis created by Allah with dualistic nature (body and spirit; ) (Al-Qur’an, 23: 12-16). A similar account (but more detailed) has been reported in a hadith narrated by Bukhari (Vol. 9, Book 93, No. 546). When the spirit enters the body, it is known as ‘soul’. It gives life to the body and interacts with biological and environmental variables to produce various unique human behaviours and mental processes. For example, the story of Adam’s AS’ (PBUH) creation and his nature revealed a unique human biological make-up ((Al-Qur’an, 7:11), consciousness (Al-Qur’an, 7: 20; 20: 117,&120; ), cognitive ability (Al-Qur’an, 2: 32-33; 7: 20), development (Al-Qur’an, 7: 25), motivation and emotion (Al-Qur’an, 2: 35; 7:,19; 20:,120-121), social behaviour (Al-Qur’an, 2: 36; 7: 24; 20: 123), but most importantly, the soul gives human beings the ability to choose between good and bad (Al-Qur’an, 2: 36; 7: 22), and receive guidance and make repent (Al-Qur’an 2: 37; 7: 23; 20: 122).

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More behavioural and cognitive issues are revealed in the story of Adam’s AS’ (PBUH) two sons in terms of social behaviour (Al-Qur’an, 5: 27), personality differences (Al-Qur’an, 5: 28), abnormal behaviour (Al-Qur’an, 5: 29-30), sensation/perception (Al-Qur’an, 5: 30), and learning (Al-Qur’an, 5: 31). Thus, al-the Qur’an has toucheds briefly about on major psychological topics when it talks about the first human event i.e., the creation of man after the spirit enters the body and interacts with the environment. These psychological themes are described, explained, or illustrated further (briefly and in detailed) throughout the Qur’an.

What contemporary psychology fails to touch uponconsider is are the values of human behaviour and mental processes; that people are capable to of doing good and bad evil (Al-Qur’an, 91: 8-9), and that people need to be guided to differentiate between good and evil them (Al-Qur’an, 90: 10). Muslims believe thatAll these behaviours and mental processes are, Muslim believes , manifestations of the souls as the result of interaction between body and spirit and the extent to which human they receive guidance on how to perform his/hertheir role duties to Allah SWT as His servant (`abid, (Al-Qur’an, 51: 56) and his His vicegerent (role to his environment as khalifah) in this world (Al-Qur’an, 2: 30). Therefore, the issues and debates in contemporary psychology should be discussed in the light of the existence of the soul and how it provides a balanced view ofn those issues.

1. Nature (heredity) versus nurture (environment)

“How much of our behaviour is due to heredity (or “nature”) and how much is due to environment (“nurture”), and what is the interplay between the two forces?”

(Feldman, 2001, p. 18).

Feldman (2001) provides a brief view on of how each of the five psychological perspectives views this issue. In general, the biological and psychodynamic perspectives believe that nature (i.e., genetic, neuronal, hormonal, evolutionary, and instinctual unconscious factors) plays an important role in influencing much of our behaviour. The behavioural and humanistic perspectives, however, believe nurture (i.e., environmental and self factors) to have more influence on our behaviour. The cognitive perspective believes that both nature (brain) and nurture (learning and cognition) influence our behaviour. As can be seen, apart from the cognitive perspective, most the other psychological perspectives favour one issue over the other.

Islam believes in a balanced view of both nature and nurture in human behaviour where the concept of nature (fitrah) includes not only the biological and instinctual unconscious aspects of behaviour, but also the spiritual aspect. The Al-Qur’an mentioned (in general) that all things are created in [(biological] ) pairs (Qur’an, AQ: Al-Dzariyaat51: 49, Al-Ra`d13: 3, Yasin36: 36, Al-Zukhruf43: 12). It also specifically mentioned about the pair being male and female (AQ:Qur’an, Al-53Najm: 45-46, Al-Qiyamah75: 39, Al-Insan76: 2) where it needand that both [(chromosomes] ) are needed to develop an childoffspring. The importance of nature’s role is further emphasized when it is mentioned in the Qur’an says that Muslims are forbidden from marrying close kin

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(Al-Qur’an, 4: 23), suggesting that genetic factors may influence physical and psychological features of the offspring. Apart from thatIn addition, there are several hadiths that emphasized on the importance of choosing one’s spouse based on lineage (most of these hadiths are evaluated as da`if or weak, but strengthened one another to upgrade their status to hadith hasan which are acceptable). One sahih (sound) hadith, however, lists lineage as one of the factors for choosing a spouse in his hadith: “A woman is married for four reasons: her wealth, her lineage, her beauty, and her religion. You should marry more because of religion...” (narrated by Bukhari, Vol. 7, Book 62, No. 027). This shows the important influence of genetic and biological factors on behaviour and mental processes.

At the same time, Islam also believes on the importantemphasises the influence of environmental factors on behaviour especially education. This is supported by the famous hadith on fitrah “Every child is born with true faith (fitrah). It is his/her parents who convert him to Judaism, Christianity, or Magainism…” (narrated by Bukhari, Vol. 2, Book 23, No. 441). This hadith also emphasised emphasises the potential for all human beings to be good as Allah has instilled in them (human nature) their the importance of spiritual nature (fitrah) as potentials for all human being to be good as Allah has instil in human nature (Al-Qur’an, 30:30). Prophet Muhammad SAW (PBUH) also emphasised on choosing the right friends by saying: “The example of a good friend in comparison with a bad one, is like that of musk seller and the blacksmith’s bellows (or furnace); from the first, you would either buy musk or enjoy its good smell while the bellows would either burn your clothes or your house, or you get a bad nasty smell thereof” (narrated by Bukhari, Vol. 3, Book 34, No. 314). This shows that environmental factors (in this case the friends that we choose to be with us) can influence our behaviour and mental processes at ato a varying degree.

Islam also requires us to believe that no matter how strong the biological and the environmental factors, it is the soul (self – as used by humanistic perspective but without the spiritual aspect) that is more powerful to in think thinking and reflecting on what is good and what is bad (under the guidance of the Al-Qur’an). For example, Prophet Noah (PBUHAS (a prophet) has had a son who did not follow in his footsteps of truth and virtue, and was drowned by the great flood (Al-Qur’an 11: 42-43). On the other hand, Prophet Abraham’s AS (a prophetPBUH) father, who has a father who prayed to the idols, was not influenced by him his teachings and remained a polytheist and able to think by himself about the truth and virtue (Al-Qur’an, 6: 74-76). These examples is shows that the soul can control the biological and genetic influence on behaviour. Another example is the ability of Asiah (the wife of the Pharaoh) to choose the truth and virtue despite living in anthe unIslamic environment of Pharaoh’s castle (Al-Qur’an, 66: 11). On the other hand, the wives of Noah AS (PBUH) and Lot AS (PBUH) were not able to choose the truth and virtue despite living in the blessed environment of the prophets’ homes (Al-Qur’an, 66: 10). ), similarly This showsing that the soul can also control the environmental influence on behaviour.

In addition to the influence of biological, environmental, and self factors to on

human behaviour, Islam requires Muslims to believe that Allah is the ‘ultimate’ factor

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that controls all the biological and environmental factors. “But ye shall not will except as Allah wills, the Cherisher of the Worlds” (Al-Qur’an, 81: 29). This requires an Islamic psychological perspective to include ‘soul’ (that professes iman or faith and accept divine guidance) as an important element because it is the ‘soul’ that believes in the supremacy of Allah. As can be seenThus, the spiritual nature (or the soul factor) plays a role despite having the biological and environmental factors to in influence influencing human beingbehaviour. In conclusionTo summarise, in the issue of the nature-nurture debate, not only does Islam provides a balanced view, about it, but also provides introduces the new element of the (soul as a factor) that moderates the issues of the nature and nurture debate. the two factors so that the issue can be understood in a more comprehensive manner.

2. Conscious versus unconscious determinants of behaviour

“How much of our behaviour is produced by forces of which we are fully aware, and how much is due to unconscious activity – mental processes that are not accessible to the

conscious mind?” (Feldman, 2001, p. 19).

According to Feldman (2001), generally, the biological and psychodynamic perspectives believe in unconscious determinants (i.e., unseen genetic, neuronal, hormonal, evolutionary factors, and instinctual unconscious factors) of behaviour. The behavioural and humanistic perspectives, however, believe more ion conscious determinants (i.e., observable environmental and self factors) as determinants of behaviour. The cognitive perspective believes in the factors which are considered as both conscious and unconscious (decision-making, problem solving, language, thinking, memory, intelligence, perception, etc.) as determinants of behaviour. As can be seenTherefore, apart from the cognitive perspective, most the other psychological perspectives tend to favour one issue over the other.

As mentioned before, Islam requires Muslims to believe in the dualistic nature of man (body and spirit). The conscious elements of human nature comes from the fact that our the body are is created from clay (Al-Qur’an, 18: 37; 22: 5; 30: 20; 35: 11; 40: 67; 38: 71; 6: 2, 7: 12, 23: 12; 32: 7; 37: 11; 38: 71, &76 ) whereas the unconscious elements of human nature originated originates from the spirit breathed unto it (Al-Qur’an, 32: 9; 15: 29; 38: 72), . This showsing that human behaviour and mental process are products of both conscious and unconscious factors.

Usually, we areMost of the time, we are aware of our own behaviour and the reasons behind it (Al-Qur’an 10: 41; 5: 105; 6: 60; 9:94&, 105); and as well as our mental processes and the reasons underlying them behind it ((Al-Qur’an, 34: 46; 2: 219&, 266; 6: 50; 3: 191). AndS sometimes, however, we think or do things perform behaviour or are having a thought thatwithout much awareness we are not aware of it or the or reason behind it (Al-Qur’an, 2: 80&, 169; 3: 66; 16: 74), which may include being including being influenced by the devil (shaytan) (Al-Qur’an, 114: 4-5; 7: 27; 35: 6; 17: 62; 2: 169; 5: 91; 7: 16-17) and or our own lust (hawa) (Al-Qur’an 4: 135; 37: 26; 7: 176; 18: 28; 20:

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16; 28:50). In fact, Islam even acknowledges the unconscious sexual motives (which would be of interest to psychodynamic perspective) as illustrated by the wife of Al-`Aziz who wanted to seduce Joseph (PBUH) but eventually the soul triumphed over the base sexual desires (Qur’an, 12: 23, 32; see also 24: 33). HoweverThus, despite our behaviour and mental processes may bebeing influenced by conscious or unconscious factors, at the endultimately, our behaviour and mental thoughts processes that we perform are based on conscious choice are guided by our the soul (Qur’an, 16: 93; 27: 84, &90; 29: 8-9, &55; 31: 15; 32: 13-15; 36: 54; 37: 39; 39: 7; 43: 72; 45: 28; 66: 7; 77: 43-44).

In most of the Qur’anic verses mentioned above, it is the iman or faith (which is aclosely related to the soul factor) that plays a stronger role – despite being unaware of some influences – that leading leads to the conscious behaviour and mental processes. IAnd in most of the Qur’anic verses too, it is mentioned that Allah has reminded and will always remind human beings to be in case we are unaware of the conscious and unconscious influences. There are several hadiths in the book of Sahih Muslim that encourage us to ask for Allah’s forgiveness for the sins that we have done, our sins which of which we made them consciously or unconsciously, and that Allah SWT knows better what is in our unconscious (e.g., Book 4, No. 0980, No. 1691, No. 1695, No. 6563). Eventually, At the end it is our the conscious effort of performing supplication (du`a’), our conscious effort to ask for forgiveness, and conscious effort to seek divine guidance (hidayah) is what matters. In a famous hadith, the Prophet SAW (PBUH) said: “There are three (persons) whose actions are not recorded: a sleeper till he awakes, a boy till he reaches puberty, and a lunatic till he comes to reason” (narrated by Abu Dawud, Book 3, No. 4389), implying that. This shows that Islam acknowledges the unconscious factors when assigning rewards and punishment to behaviours.

In the previous sections, it is was mentioned that Islam also emphasiseds on genetic and biological factors (which are in the realm of the unconscious) and also self and environmental factors (which are in the realm of consciousness). Therefore, it can be said that, not only Islam provides gives a balanced view about of all the factors that we are aware of (self, environmental factors, and some cognitive factors) and unaware of (unconscious motives, biological, and some cognitive factors) of, but and also provides introduces new the element of the (soul as a factorl ) that can moderate their these influences for better understanding. so that the issue can be understood in a more comprehensive manner

3. Observable behaviour versus internal mental processes

“Should psychology concentrate solely on behaviour that can be seen by outside observers? Or should it focus on unseen thinking processes?”

(Feldman, 2001, p. 19).

Feldman wrote that only the behavioural perspective focuses on observable behaviour while the others focus on internal mental processes, i.e., biological (neuronal and hormonal activities), psychodynamic (internal unconscious conflict), humanistic (internal self- actualisation), and cognitive (internal cognitive processes). As can be seenThus,

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none of the psychological perspectives has a balanced view when it comes to observable vs. internal issues.

Since As a human being is created from both observable element (clay) and unobservable element (spirit), it is expected that it would also give a balanced focus on observable behaviour and internal mental processes. Allah, SWT said in the Al-Qur’an (7: 33) that he forbids all shameful deeds either observable (zahir) or internal (batin). He also said that Wwhether human beings hide their words or publicise itthem, He has full knowledge of them (Al-Qur’an 67: 13). As early as Chapter 2 (al-Baqarah), the al-Qur’an has divided s human beings into three categories based on both their behaviour and mental processes. These y are: al-Muttaqin or the pious (Al-Qur’an, 2: 2-5) , who received divine guidance from Allah by behaviourally performing salat (prayers) and zakat zakat (alms-giving) and mentally cognitively accepting the Qur’an, the previous sacred revealed books, and the existence of the hereafter, ; al-Kuffar or the disbelievers (Al-Qur’an: 2: 6-7) who rejfect the divine guidance behaviourally and mentally, ; and finally al-Munafiqin or the hypocrites (Al-Qur’an 2: 8-20) who will do not receive divine guidance and because they only show acceptance to it to itonly behaviourally but not mentally. TAll these consistencies or inconsistencies between behaviours and mental processes depend on the soul factor.

Islam emphasises a harmony between observable behaviour (`amal) and internal mental processes (iman) and these two words can be repeatedly found in the Qur’an as in pairs. In addition to that, good deeds are evaluated based on the internal attention intention as mentioned in a famous hadith “The [r(rewards of] ) deeds depend on the intention...” (narrated by al-Bukhari, Vol. 1, Book.1, No.001). In another hadith, the importance of Alal-Islam (the observable behavioural component), Alal-Iman (the internal cognitive component), and al-Ihsan (the internal affective component) (narrated by Muslim, Book 1, No. 0001) is highlighted showing the balanced treatment that Islam gives to not only observable behaviour and internal mental processes, but also to the emotive-spiritual aspect. . At times, Islam seems to emphasise mental processes when reward is given to those who intent intend to do good deeds, but are not capable of doing it; at another time Islam seems to de-emphasise mental processes when sin is not given to those who intent intend to do a bad deed but choose not to do it (based on a hadith narrated by Muslim, Book 1, No. 0234). Internal mental processes is are also an important element as mentioned in a hadith “Verily, Allah does not look to your bodies nor to your faces but He looks to your hearts...” (narrated by Muslim, Book 32, No. 6220). All these mental processes do not only refer to simple and limited cognitive activities such as information processing but also deep spiritual understanding that can only be understood if we accept the existence of the soul factor.

In a more applied example such as punishment for a murder case (qisas), most Islamic scholars or `ulama had have divided murder cases into three: intentional, unintentional, and seems seemingly unintentional, operationalised by the contextual factors and the ‘murder’ weapon. This distinction shows that Islam considers both observable behaviour and internal mental processes when making judgement about people. This is further supported by two qawa`id fiqhiyyah or Islamic legal maxims;.

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The the first maxim emphasises observable phenomena “we make rulings based on the observables (zawahir), and Allah knows the secret (sara’ir) underneath it.”, while the second emphasises on internal mental processes “acts are judged by the intention (maqasid) behind it.” Contrarily (or rather complementarily as illustrated in the punishment for murder above), the second maxim emphasises internal mental process “acts are judged by the intention (maqasid) behind it.”

Therefore, it can be said that, , Islam provides a balanced focus between observable behaviour and internal mental processes, unlike contemporary psychological perspectives (except behaviourism) which gives too much focus on to internal mental processes (except behaviourism). These internal mental processes, as discussed before, includes biological activities, unconscious motives, cognitive processes and the conscious self. In Islam, it is the soul factor that provides the link between the behaviour and mental processes.

4. Free-will versus determinism

“How much is behaviour a matter of free will (choices made freely by an individual), and how much is subject to determinism, the notion that behaviour is largely produced by

factors beyond people’s wilful control?” (Feldman, 2001, p. 19).

According to Feldman, the humanistic and cognitive perspectives believe hold that behaviour is a matter of free-will (self-actualising, decision-making, problem solving, etc.) whereas the other perspectives believe inhold the behaviour being is subjected to biological (biological perspective), environmental (behavioural), and unconscious sexual and aggressive (psychodynamic) factors. As can be seenThus, none of the psychological perspective has a balanced view when it comes to the issue of freedom of choice and determination of behaviours.

Islam requires Muslims to believe that human beings’ behaviours are is determined by Allah’s will, but it depends on their own freedom of will (Qur’an, 18: 29; 25: 29; 74: 37; 76: 30, 74: 54-56; 81: 27-29). There are numerous Qur’anic verses that indicate a human being’s freedom of choice despite what has been ‘determined’ by Allah through his His knowledge, will, and power (Qur’an, 73: 19; 92: 5-10, 6: 148; 11: 101, 29: 40). At the same time, human beings are reminded that Allah too SWT has His own will too which is, unlike human beings’, are limitless and not bound by time and space, thus making the term ‘determinism’ somewhat a misnomer ( e.g., It is not right to say that Allah has ‘pre’-determined human beings’ behaviours ‘in advanced’ because that is indirectly claiming that Allah is bound by time and space [which He is not] and thus, rejecting Allah’s Godly attribute or worset making similar Allah’s attributes similar to with human attributes). In most of the Qur’anic verses above, it is clearly indicated that the soul factors (i.e., iman or faith) that influences human beings’ freedom of choice.

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There are several Qur’anic verses that give the ideasstate that ‘Allah knows what will happen’ (Qur’an, 10: 61, 6: 59), ‘anything that happens is based on the will of Allah’ (Qur’an, 2: 253), and ‘Allah had written all that will happen’ (Qur’an, 6: 38, 57: 22, 3: 154). The Prophet SAW (PBUH) said: “... The good deeds are made easy for the blessed, and bad deeds are made easy for the wretched.” Then he recited the verses: “AS As for him who gives (in charity) and is Allah-fearing and believes in the best reward from Allah… (Qur’an, 92: 5-10)” (narrated by Bukhari, Vol. 2, Book 23, No. 444)., suggesting that This shows that whatever behaviourss which have have been ‘determined’ are actually chosen by human beings out of their own free-will. Compare the deterministic perspective of Iblis when he blamed Allah for his wrong doings (Al-Qur’an 15:39). Compare the deterministic perspective of Iblis when he blamed Allah for his wrongdoings (Al-Qur’an, 15: 39) and Adam AS (PBUH) who accepted that his wrongdoing is based on his own free -choice without denying Allah’s will (Al-Qur’an, 7: 23). In other words, having a deterministic perspective in psychology is akin to Iblis’ perspective.

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Islam also does not deny the influence of worldly factors – though not to the extent of total determinism – in influencing human behaviours and mental processes without neglecting the soul factor. Allah SWT said in the Qur’an “... except that who is forced [environmental factors], and whose heart is at rest with faith [soul factors]...” (Qur’an, 16: 106; see also 2: 173). Allah SWT also said “And there is no sin on you if you make a mistake, except in regard to what your hearts deliberately intend [unconscious factor]. And Allah is Most Forgiving and Most Merciful [soul factor]” (Qur’an, 33: 5). Similarly, tThe Prophet SAW (PBUH) said: “There are three (persons) whose actions are not recorded: a ssleeper till he awakes [(unconscious factors], ), a boy till he reaches puberty [(biological factors], ), and a lunatic till he comes to reason [(cognitive factors]” )” (narrated by Abu Dawud, Book 3, No. 4389). In another hadith, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) SAW said: “Verily, Allah will forgive people’s behaviourss which are unintentional [(unconscious factors], ), out of forgetfulness [(cognitive factors], ), and out of being forced [(environmental factors] ) (narrated by Ibn Majah, No. 2045).

Islam’s acknowledgment of the influences of various variables that have been touched upon by contemporary perspectives can be seen it its emphasis on multiple factors in childhood education. It first starts with imanic or faith education (for examples):

(1) starting his life with the phrase ‘There is no God but Allah”, (2) explaining the halal (permissible) and haram (impermissible) in Islam, (3) asking the children to perform ritualistic `ibadah when they reach the age of seven, (4) and educating the children to love the prophet, his family, read the Qur’an. This ‘soul’ element is absent in contemporary perspective in psychology. In addition to that, the second most important aspect in childhood education is the akhlaq or morality (for examples): (1) avoiding extravagance, (2) avoiding erotic music/songs, (3) avoiding cross-gender behaviours, and (4) avoiding free-mixing between genders. This is also absent in contemporary

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perspectives in psychology which focus more on description and explanation of facts and phenomena rather than on the values.

Islam does not neglect other factors that have been the focus of contemporary perspective in psychology. In terms of biological and physical aspects, Islam emphasised on providing children with nafqah sothat they have proper meals and shelters, teaching them adabs on eating, drinking, and sleeping, prevention from contagious and infectious diseases, avoiding harms to others and oneself, encouraging physical exercises and sports, practising zuhud, and building physical strengths. Most of the `ibadah practices in Islam have some positive biological/physical consequences such as taking wudu’ (ablution), performing physical movements in salat (prayer), performing sawm (fasting), and performing hajj (pilgrimage). And most of the things prohibited in Islam have some negative biological/physical consequences such as cigarettes/drugs, zina or fornication, and any other unnatural sexual activities. All these would interest psychologists who subscribe to biological perspective. However, Islamic psychology would also be interested to study the soul factor involved in those processes.

In terms of cognitive aspects, Islam emphasizes on the importance of learning and acquiring knowledge (Al-Qur’an: 96:1-5; 39:9; 20:114; 58:11; Fatir:27-28, Al-Ankabut:43, Al-Kahfi:66, ), thinking (2: 219&266; 6:50; 7:183; 30:8; 3:191; 7:176; 16:44; 59:21; 10:24; 13:3; 16:11&69; 30:21; 39:42; 45:13), and intellectuality (Al-Naml:64, Al-Anbiya’:24, Al-Baqarah:111, Al-Jathiyah:24&32, Al-Isra’:36, Al-A`raf:179, Al-Najm:23&28, Al-Nisa’:157-158). All these verses talk about the concept of problem solving, decision-making, information-processing, and intelligence which are of interest to psychologists who subscribe to cognitive perspective. However, all these verses too talk about the relationship between cognitive processes with spiritual factors such iman, tawhid, and hidayah which can only be understood psychology if we accept the role of soul.

In terms of humanistic/self aspects, Islam acknowledged the influence of self (as in lust) on human behaviour (Al-Qur’an 45:23). Because of that, Islam emphasizes on the importance of educators in ensuring that negative attributes that lead to problems in self-esteem and self-actualisation will not developed among children such as shy, coward, lack of confidence, jealousy, and anger. However, all these can be prevented in an effective manner if the foundation of iman and religiosity is strong.

In terms of environmental and socio-cultural factors, Islam acknowledge their influence to human behaviour as mentioned in the hadith about fitrah and parenting, and the hadith about the influence of friends/companions on oneself that had been mentioned before. However, in Islam it is the person with a good soul who takes control when interacting with other people and the environment rather than being totally influenced by them. The foundation of social behaviour in Islam are taqwa (piety) (Al-Qur’an: 5:2), ukhuwwah (brotherhood) (Al-Qur’an 49:10; 28:35; 3:103), mahabbah (love) (Al-Qur’an 9:24), ithar (prioritising others over oneself) (Al-Qur’an: 59:9), `iffah (forgiving) (Al-Qur’an 2:237; 3:34; 41:34; 25: 63), and shaja`ah (braveness) (Al-Qur’an 33:39). All those Qur’anic verses will link the issues with the concept of iman, tawhid, and hidayah

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which can only be explained in contemporary psychology if we accept the existence of soul factors. There are numerous hadiths that touched upon the above-mentioned issues and will not be covered in this chapter. In fact, they numerous other Qur’anic verses and hadiths emphasise and outline the adabs to parents, close kins, neighbours, friends, the elders, and others which in Islam are considered as spiritual topics (akhlaq or tasawwuf), thus confirming the importance of soul as a factor in psychology.

In terms of unconscious sexual motives, like psychodynamic perspective, even Islam acknowledges its influence on healthy adult development and emphasizes sexual education to children. Various adabs are outlined in order to prevent sexual motives becoming the influential factors in shaping children, teenagers, and adults’ behaviours such as the adab of asking permission to enter a room (Al-Qur’an 24: 58-59), the adab of looking at people of the opposite sex (Al-Qur’an 4: 22-23; 24:30-31). At the same time, Islam acknowledges the unconscious sexual motives as illustrated by a women who wanted to seduce Joseph AS (Al-Qur’an: 12:23&32), but the end it is the soul that play an important factor from fulfilling the sexual desires as illustrated by Joseph AS (Al-Qur’an 12:23; see also 24:33). Islam gives guidance on the permissible way of fulfilling it i.e. through marriage (Al-Qur’an: 30:21; 16:72; 2:223), but only a good soul would be able to love Allah and His messenger more than the wives (and other worldly matters) (Al-Qur’an: 9:24) and marriage is just a tool to increase iman and `amal (Al-Qur’an 25: 74)

In conclusionsum, it can be said that human beings have freedom of will, but their will depends on the will of Allah who has the knowledge of all our wills and deeds, has written all His knowledge in the Lawh al-Mahfuz (the Preserved Tablet) (Lawh al-Mahfuz), and has the power to allow human beings to perform their deeds. The sSoul factor such as iman plays a very important factor role in influencing human behaviours and mental processes. At the same time human behaviours are, to some an extent, influenced by various worldly factors such as biological/physical activities, cognitive factors, their own selves, environmental stimuli, and unconscious motives. In addition, fact, even those these factors can still still be moderated by the soul. factors.

To Prof. Noraini: Sorry, section 5 is not complete. Please proceed to the next section. I have to go back because somebody is going to visit our house tonight. I will only have tonight and tomorrow to finish it because I have final exam and APC class on Sunday. Sorry again It really takes a lot of time because I want to make sure that the referencing for the Qur’anic verses and Hadiths are correct and the coverage is comprehensive. Five to 10 paragraphs more insya-Allah. 5. Individual differences (idiographic) versus universal principles (nomothetic)

“How much of our behaviour is a consequence of our unique and special qualities and how much reflects the culture and society in which we live? How much of our behaviour

is universally human?” (Feldman, 2001, p. 19).

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Feldman stated that the idiographic approach is subscribed to by the humanistic (uniqueness of self) and cognitive (uniqueness of each individual’s cognition) perspectives whereas the nomothetic approach is subscribed to by the biological (universality of genes and physiology) and psychodynamic (universality of unconscious sexual and aggressive motives) perspectives. The behavioural perspective, on the other hand, subscribes to both idiographic (people’s unique experience) and nomothetic (people’s shared experience). Thus, apart from behaviourism, the other psychological perspectives favour one approach over the other.

Islam believes in not judging by rare cases (nawadir) and the law should be applicable to all [insert dalil about insignificance of rare cases]. Islam also believes that each of us has different capabilities and should be rewarded or punished individually [insert dalil about special rules for special cases]. From a broader perspective, each of us comes from a single soul (Adam) but each of us is created differently by Allah. [insert dalil about universality of human attributes, and uniqueness of human characteristics].

PERSPECTIVEISSUES

Biological Psychodynamic Cognitive Behavioural Humanistic Islam

Nature vs. Nurture

Nature Nature Both Nurture Nurture

Conscious vs. unconscious

Unconscious Unconscious Both Conscious Conscious

Observable vs. internal

Internal Internal Internal Observable Internal

Free-will vs. determinism

Determinism Determinism Free-will Determinism Free-will

Individual vs. universal

Universal Universal Individual Both Individual

Islam reminds us of the similarity that each person has to the rest of human being. But, Islam also highlights exceptions to show the uniqueness of each individual. This uniqueness usually stems from the iman (spiritual cognition) and `amal (spiritual behaviour) of the individuals. The Qur’an in one of its most famous chapters mentions that all human beings (nomothetic perspective) are in loss except (idiographic perspective) those who have faith and do righteous deeds, and recommend to others the Truth, and one another to patience (Qur’an, 103: 1-3). There are many verses in the Qur’an that show human beings’ inability to accept the truth, the difficulties in performing certain desirable behaviours, or the tendency to be led astray, except for those who possess certain spiritual quality such as khushu` or humility (Qur’an, 2: 45), acceptance of the divine guidance (Qur’an, 2: 143), understanding (Qur’an, 2: 269; 3: 7), repentance (Qur’an, 3: 89; 4: 146; 19: 60; 24: 5; 25: 70), patience (Qur’an, 11: 11; 28: 40), have knowledge (Qur’an, 29: 43), have faith and perform good deeds (Qur’an, 38: 24), piety (Qur’an, 43: 67), and devotion to salat (Qur’an, 70: 22). Therefore, even though all human beings generally behave in the same way, each individual may differ based on the influence of cognitive (e.g., understanding), unconscious (e.g., khushu`), or self (e.g., repentence) or behavioural (e.g., devotion to salat) factors. The distinction

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between contemporary psychology and Islam is that, these factors are primarily spiritual which further shows the importance of the soul in studying psychology.

From the nomothetic perspective, the Qur’an mentions several negative attributes

which are generalised to all human beings (which would be of interest to the psychodynamic perspective) such as being aggressive (Qur’an, 2: 30), ungrateful (Qur’an, 2: 243; 10: 60; 11: 9; 12: 38; 17: 67; 22: 66; 27: 73), weak in controlling sexual desire (Qur’an, 4: 28), unjust and ignorant (Qur’an, 16: 38; 33: 72; 34: 28; 45: 26), selfish (Qur’an, 10: 12), rebellious (Qur’an, 10: 23; 16: 4), disagreeable and arrogant (Qur’an, 11: 118; 17: 83; 18: 54; 36: 77), inclined to evil (Qur’an, 12: 53), hasty (Qur’an, 17: 11; 21: 37), and miserly (Qur’an, 17: 100). However, if one reads the above Qur’anic verses closely, one will see that the soul factor (iman) is more powerful than the natural ‘unconscious’ instinct. The Qur’an also mentions several positive attributes which are generalised to all human beings (which would be of interest to the humanistic perspective) such as having a religious inclination (Qur’an, 7: 87; 7: 172; 30: 30), and being self-actualising (Qur’an, 39: 53; 13: 11; 17: 17). While these attributes are considered to be in the realm of the unconscious they are positive, which is contrary to the assumptions of the psychodynamic perspective.

It is generally accepted that Islamic laws and rulings should be applied to all human beings (Qur’an, 7: 3; 24: 1) with the assumption that all human beings have been awarded the same `aql or ability to think and the freedom to choose. Complementary to Islam’s acknowledgement of the concept of universality of human behaviour, the Qur’an also recognises individual differences and does not burden any individual beyond his/her capacity (Qur’an, 2: 286; 23: 62). The Qur’an also acknowledges the subjectivity and different levels of contributions made by different individuals (Qur’an, 99: 7-8). In fact, Islam acknowledges the inability of certain individuals to follow some of Allah commands such as those who are weak (Qur’an, 4:98), under compulsion (Qur’an, 6: 119; 16: 106), or make unintentional mistakes (Qur’an, 33: 5). Furthermore, some Islamic legal maxims consider individual differences in terms of difficulty (e.g., ‘Any difficulty will open the door to facility’), harm (e.g., ‘Harm should be abolished’ AND ‘Harm will lead to permissibility of the prohibited’) and culture (e.g., ‘Culture is considered when making judgements and rulings’). Therefore, even if the majority of human behaviours can be influenced by various worldly factors, the soul still plays an important role in making each individual a unique person.

To summarise, Islam provides a balanced focus between universal principles of human behaviour (with its universal natural laws and shari`ah laws) and individual differences (with its exceptional rules). The universal laws may include biological law, unconscious instinctual law, socio-cultural law, and the law of perception and cognition. However, these laws do not influence human beings totally depending on the soul factor particularly iman. The Qur’an mentions some distinct characteristics of human beings who possess iman and at the same time highlights similarities among those who possess iman in terms of positive behaviour and mental processes (cf. Qur’an, 2: 132-135; 8: 2-4; 9: 111-112; 23: 1-10; 25: 63-77). It is the soul that makes human beings similar to some people and at the same time different from some others. The table below, taken from

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Feldman, shows how the Islamic perspective of human nature compares with contemporary psychological perspectives.

Table 1: Comparison between contemporary psychological perspectives and the Islam perspective regarding issues relating to human nature

PERSPECTIVEISSUES

Biological P/dynamic Cognitive Behavioural Humanistic Islam

Nature vs. Nurture

Nature Nature Both Nurture Nurture Both

Conscious vs. unconscious

Unconscious Unconscious Both Conscious Conscious Both

Observable vs. internal

Internal Internal Internal Observable Internal Both

Free-will vs. determinism

Determinism Determinism Free-will Determinism Free-will Both

Individual vs. universal

Universal Universal Individual Both Individual Both

Source: Feldman (2001), p. 19.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH AND TEACHING IN PSYCHOLOGY?

On the basis of the Qur’an and hadith, the nature of man is complex, encompassing many different aspects of the physical and the inner self. These sources also emphasize the socio-cultural factors in shaping man’s nature. However, at present, Muslims have yet to develop a coherent framework or approach that can incorporate all these different aspects of man as an alternative to the biopsychosocial model. There has been an attempt in the West to synthesise at least two psychological perspectives to form a new sub-discipline or area of research in psychology such as biological and cognitive perspectives (in the form of cognitive neuroscience), biology and behaviourism (in the form of socio-biology), and behaviourism and cognitive perspectives (in the form of social cognition). It is difficult and rare to find any integration between psychodynamic and humanistic perspectives with other more ‘scientific’ perspectives like the biological, cognitive, and behavioural perspectives.

The alternative Islamic framework must incorporate the spiritual side of man because this is what distinguishes the Islamic perspective of human nature from contemporary perspectives in psychology. By acknowledging this spiritual presence, man concedes to be a transcendent being, created by God (and thus accountable to Him). Based on the framework, Muslim psychologists can develop an Islamic theory (or theories) of human nature which can be used as a guide for research, to be empirically tested and eventually accepted as an alternative psychological perspective by the scientific community.

This Islamic psychological perspective should provide a better unified and integrated model of psychology because it considers the biological, psychological, socio-

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cultural, and spiritual factors in describing and explaining human behaviour and mental processes. As mentioned, although the Qur’an touches on all these perspectives, their relationship with one another is not obvious due to the organisation of the Qur’an itself. What can be discerned is that these perspectives are united by the concept of the soul (most notably, the concept of iman), which forms the umbrella under which all the different perspectives are subsumed. Using this alternative framework, Muslim researchers and students must conduct research to obtain scientific evidence and then interpret the research findings based on the general understanding of human nature as stipulated in the Qur’an and hadith. Existing research from modern psychology can always be used to support the Islamic framework. The challenge is to further refine the theories developed under this Islamic framework to make it more testable.

As suggested by Badri (1979), the Qur’an and hadith should be used to guide us to the laws of human nature. These laws can be used as the backbone to build a theory (or theories) about human nature based on the writings of early Muslim scholars and contemporary research findings. When teaching any topics in psychology we need to understand the underlying philosophy of human nature of the Western theories and its applications. We can also (re)interpret any research result in the light of how Islam views human nature. Finally, applications of psychological principles should also consider our understanding of the Islamic view of human nature. This needs constant effort from teachers and students alike in using Islamic perspective as the theoretical framework to guide research on human behaviour and mental processes, and/or using it to explain and make sense of research results reported by both Islamic and secular researchers.

CHALLENGES FOR MUSLIMS TO ACCEPT THE SOUL AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLE

Even if Muslim psychologists accept the existence of the soul in psychology, there are still challenges that they will encounter. The first is whether iman is a continuous variable (increases and decreases) or a discrete variable (either/or). Sometimes the Qur’an uses the word ‘iman’ (belief) to mean ‘acceptance of Islam as a religion, including the unseen’ as opposite to ‘kufr’ (disbelief) which is ‘total rejection of the truth’ (Qur’an, 2: 255). As early as surah al-Baqarah, the Qur’an has already differentiated the behaviours of al-muttaqin (the pious), kuffar (the rejector), and munafiqin (the hypocrites) based on their acceptance and rejection of the truth (Qur’an, 2: 1-20; see also 6: 20; 16: 106-107). A classic definition of ‘iman’ involves acceptance of the religion not only with the heart, but also acceptance with the tongue and behaviour. Classic Islamic literature has also listed behaviours and mental processes that can nullify the iman/shahadah which means that iman can be interpreted as a discrete variable. At the same time the Qur’an also highlights that a person who already possesses iman (al-mu’min) may realise that his iman may increase and decrease (Qur’an, 8: 2; 3: 173; 48: 4) without reaching the kufr level. Abu Darda’ (RA), a companion of the prophet said: “One of the indicators of a person’s understanding is when he/she knows whether his/her iman increases or decreases.” Behaviours that lead to the increase of iman are, in general, `amal (good deeds), dhikr (rememberance), and tafakkur (contemplation), just like any ma`siyah (bad deeds) will lead to decrease of iman. Therefore, psychologists need to differentiate

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between iman as the opposite of kufr (discrete variable); and iman as the level differentiating between a good mu’min and a bad mu’min (continuous variable). As mentioned, even the iman of a good mu’min may fluctuate from time to time depending on his `amal (behaviour). Psychology teachers and students have to be able to differentiate between these two different conceptualisations of the soul when reading and interpreting psychology literature, and when studying psychological variables.

This bring us to the second challenge regarding the direction of relation between the soul and behaviour (also mental processes); is the soul the only determinant of behaviour and mental processes, or can behaviour and mental processes also influence the soul, or is there a bi-directional relationship between them? Reading the Qur’an carefully one will notice that the term `amal salih (good deeds or behaviours) is paired with the term iman more than 70 times indicating their close relationship. As discussed in various Qur’anic verses, iman plays an important role in influencing behaviours and mental processes. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “Iman is not just about hope and observable decoration, but it is what grows inside the heart (mental processes) and made evidence by the (observable) behaviour” (narrated by Ibn Najjar and Dailami). On the other hand, behaviours and mental processes can also influence iman, as mentioned by the Prophet (PBUH), “Purity is part of iman” (narrated by Muslim Vol. 2, No. 0432) and his companion by the name of `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud “The slave continues to lie (an observable behaviour) and a black spot grows in his heart (a soul factor) until all his heart becomes black. Then he is written, in Allah’s sight, among the liars” (narrated by Malik, Book 56, No. 018). The Qur’an also mentions that although the hypocrites behave observably like the believers (including declaring their iman or faith), because their mental processes (Qur’an, 2: 8-9) are contradictory to their observable behaviours, their heart is full of disease and because of that Allah increases their disease (Qur’an, 2:10) indicating the influence of the behaviours on the development of the soul. Psychology teachers and students have to be able to differentiate between the soul as an independent or predictor variable and the soul as a dependent or criterion variable when reading and interpreting psychology literature, and when studying psychological variables. There are also other challenges that will need to be dealt with such as the measurement of the construct ‘soul’ or iman, its validation, and others.

CONCLUSION

Muslim psychologists need to be aware of the various psychological perspectives and the underlying theories in contemporary psychology textbooks. We need to know how these theories perceive human nature, and how similar to or different from the Islamic view on human nature they are. While Islam has given its view on the various issues regarding human nature, it is up to us as teachers and students to critically think and carry out empirical research to ensure that the Islamic psychological perspective is viable. Finally, teachers should portray Islamically-oriented psychology as a balanced alternative philosophical view of human nature as mentioned in the Qur’an “In order that you may not transgress (due) balance. So, establish weight with justice and fall not short in the balance” (55: 8-9) and “Thus We made of you a nation justly balanced, that you might be

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witnesses over all human being” (2: 143). At the same time, Muslim psychologists need to be aware of the challenges they will face in conceptualising and operationalising the soul as a variable and identifying its relationship with behaviour and other factors such as biology, environment, the unconscious, self, and cognition. Through the hard work of Muslim psychologists (behaviour), and the right Islamic mindset (mental processes), guided by their iman (soul), it is hoped that a general Islamic framework (which allows several sub-theories) will one day be a viable option in contemporary psychology textbooks and journals.

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FURTHER READINGS

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`Izzuddin, T. M. (1993). Al-Afaq allati yaftihuha al-Qur’an al-Karim li al-bahth al-nafsiyy. In IIIT, Abhath nadwah`ilm al-nafs 25-52). Herndon, VI: International Institute of Islamic Thought.

Abu-Hatab, F. (1978). The Islamic orientation of psychology. Paper presented at Symposium on Psychology and Islam (Vol. 1). Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Riyadh

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Abu-Hatab, F. (1993). Nahw wihat Islamiyyah li `ilm al-nafs. In IIIT, Abhath nadwah `ilm al-nafs (pp. 129-254). Herndon, VI: International Institute of Islamic Thought.

Achoui, M. (2000). Al-insan al-kamil fi al-fikr al-sufi: Dirasah naqdiyyah. Al-Tajdid: Journal of ISTAC, 7, 11-52.

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Al-Haj, F. M. A. (1993). Abu Hamid al-Ghazali wa ishamatuh al-nafsiyyah. In IIIT, Abhath nadwah `ilm al-nafs (pp. 101-128). Herndon, VI: International Institute of Islamic Thought.

Al-Mutayli, A. (1993). Al-`ilaj al-nafs lada ibn al-qayyim. In IIIT, Abhath nadwah `ilm al-nafs (pp. 5-24). Herndon, VI: International Institute of Islamic Thought.

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Al-Najati, M. U. (1993). Al-dirasat al-nafsaniyyah `inda al-`ulama’ al-muslimin. Beirut, Lubnan Dar al-Shuruq.

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Al-Sharqawi, H. M. (1984). Nahw `ilm nafs Islamiyy. Alexandria, Egypt: Mu’assasah Shabab al-Jami`ah.

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Al-Subayh, A. N. (1999). Tamhid fi al-ta’sil: Ru’yah fi al-ta’sil al-Islamiyy li `ilm al-nafs (Chapter 3). Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Dar al-Ishbilia.

Al-Tayyib, M. A. Z. (1993). Al-ara’ al-nafsiyyah `inda al-Mawardi. In IIIT, Abhath nadwah `ilm al-nafs (pp. 295-318). Herndon, VI: International Institute of Islamic Thought.

Al-`Uthman, A. K. (1981). Al-dirasat al-nafsiyyah `inda al-muslimin wa al-Ghazali bi wajh khas. Cairo, Egypt: Maktabah Wahbah.

Al-Zahrani, M. S. (2001). Al-tawjih wa al-irshad al-nafsiyy min al-Qur’an al-karim wa al-sunnah al-nabawiyyah (Chapter 10-11). Makkah, Saudi Arabia: Bahadur Press.

Badri, M. (1987). `Ilm al-nafs al-hadith min manzur al-Islamiyy. Paper presented at International Conference IV on “Qadaya al-Manhajiyyah fi `Ulum al-Sulukiyyah” organised by International Institute of Islamic Thought at University of Khartoum, Sudan.

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH AND TEACHING IN PSYCHOLOGY?

On the basis of the Qur’an and Hadith, the nature of man is complex, encompassing many different aspects of the physical and the inner self. These sources also emphasized on the socio-cultural factors in shaping man’s nature. However, at present, Muslims have yet to develop a coherent framework or approach that can incorporate all these different aspects of man as an alternative to the biopsychosocial model. This alternative framework must incorporate the spiritual side of man because this is what distinguishes the Islamic perspective of human nature from the contemporary perspectives. By acknowledging this spiritual presence, man concedes to be a transcendent being, created by God (and thus accountable to Him. Based on the framework, Muslim psychologists can develop an Islamic theory (or theories) of human nature which can be used as a guide future to research to be empirically tested and eventually accepted as an alternative psychological perspective by the scientific community.

This Islamic psychological perspective should provide a better unified and integrated model of psychology because it considers the biological, psychological, socio-cultural, and spiritual factors in describing and explaining human behaviour and mental processes. Using this framework, Muslim researchers (students alike) must conduct research to obtain scientific evidence and then interpret the research findings based on the general understanding of human nature as stipulated in the Qur’an and Hadith. The existing research from modern psychology can always be used to support the Islamic framework. The challenge is to further refine the theories developed under this Islamic framework to make it more testable.

As suggested by Badri (1979), the Qur’an and Hadith should be used to guide us to the laws of human nature. These laws can be used as the backbone to build a theory (or theories) about human nature based on the writings of early Muslim scholars and contemporary research findings. When teaching any subjects in psychology we need to understand the underlying philosophy of human nature of the western theories and its applications. We can also (re)interpret any research result in the light of how Islam views human nature. Finally, applications of psychological principles should also consider our understanding of the Islamic view of human nature. This needs constant effort from teachers and students alike in using Islamic perspective as the theoretical framework to guide research on human behaviour and mental processes, and/or using it to explain and make sense of research results found by both Islamic and secular researchers.

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CONCLUSION

Muslim psychologists need to be aware of the various psychological perspectives and the underlying theories in contemporary psychology textbooks. We need to know how these theories perceive human nature, and how similar or different they are with the Islamic view on human nature. While Islam has given its view on the various issues regarding human nature, it is up to us as teachers and students to critically think and carry out empirical research to ensure that the Islamic psychological perspective is viable. At the end, teachers should portray Islamically-oriented psychology as a balanced alternative philosophical view of human nature as mentioned in the Qur’an (55: 8-9), “In order that you may not transgress (due) balance. So, establish weight with justice and fall not short in the balance” and in the Qur’an (2: 143), “Thus We made of you a nation justly balanced, that you might be witnesses over all human being.”

REFERENCES

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