ITKI 6206 Islamic psychology

This course is designed  to meet the needs of the students interested in the elaboration of  Islamic perspective  on psychology. Starting with the most fundamental premises and concepts  concerning the inner-self of a human being, it advances into discussing the past and present of Islamic psychology, its  principals, methodology and practical tools, focusing on their application in daily lives and contemporary issues.

As part of this course, students will be able to get acquainted with the basic principles and features of Islamic psychology, its history and current state. The foundations of Islamic psychology based on the principles of Islamic monotheism, knowledge from the Divine Revelation and integration with this knowledge of theories and practices of modern psychology and mental health sciences are consistently considered. Such Islamic concepts concerning the inner world of a person as the soul (nafs), ruh (spirit), heart (qalb, fuad), etc. are revealed.A brief review of the historical background of modern Islamic psychology is carried out, covering the psychological concepts of traditional Islamic scholars, and representatives of the Arab-Muslim philosophy (falsafa) and Sufism. Modern approaches of the authors of Islamic psychology are considered in the context of the development of the Islamic Ummah, Muslim thought and practice, the evolution of the Islamization of Knowledge movement and the concept of knowledge integration, as well as the solution of current challenges to the psychological state and mental health of Muslims. Also during the course, author's methods are presented, which demonstrate successful examples of the integration of knowledge from Islamic sources and modern psychotherapy techniques.