Qur’anic approach to cognitive and behavioral change: Psychological perspective

Pages: 257-261
Mustafa Nadeem Kirmani (Department of Psychology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh)

Quran is the message from Allah that was revealed on Prophet Mohammed (P.B.U.H) in a span of 23 years. Quran and Prophet Mohammed’s actions (Sunnah) are the core of Islam. The purpose of Qur’anic message is to guide human kind in all spheres of their life and thereby improve human condition and quality of life. Guidance in a broader sense means changes in people’s beliefs and subsequently their actions. Reverting to Islam is also guidance and doing any action which brings either one’s own or others’ welfare in a just way is also guidance. Human beliefs , thoughts and attitudes often refer to as cognitions and overt actions are known as behaviors. Quran aims to bring positive changes in one’s beliefs and actions which will ultimately lead to positive changes at an individual and at social level. Allah in Quran clearly states that Prophet Mohammed is the role model for all of us in all spheres of life. Allah wants human beings to become responsible and pro active beings for their own behaviors. Negative psychological states like blaming others, fault finding tendencies and defensive strategies to ward off undesirable behaviors are strongly condemned in Quran. It aims to make people aware about their own behaviors, feel and take responsibilities of what they do. Quran advocates the principle of self-responsibility and inspires people to be proactive and responsible agents to bring positive change. This paper will attempt to integrate Quran and behavioral and cognitive approach in a scientific way to bring changes in human thoughts and behaviors.