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International Journal for the

Psychology of Religion
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The Psychological Aspects

of Islam: Basic Principles of
Islam and Their Psychological
Corollary
Gamal Abou El Azayem & Zari Hedayat-Diba

Version of record first published: 16 Nov 2009

To cite this article: Gamal Abou El Azayem & Zari Hedayat-Diba (1994): The
Psychological Aspects of Islam: Basic Principles of Islam and Their Psychological
Corollary, International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 4:1, 41-50

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 THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR THE PSYCHOLDGY OF RELIGION, 4(1), 41-50
Copyright O 1994, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc

PERSPECTIVE

The Psychological Aspects of Islam:

Basic Principles of Islam and Their
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Psychological Corollary

Gamal Abou El Azayem

Psychiatric Hospital and Research Center
Cairo, Egypt

Zari Hedayat-Diba
Los Angeles, California

The background and basic principles of Islam are delineated. The centrality
of the oneness of God and the five pillars of faith are discussed. Psychologi-
cal benefits resulting from ablution, praying, fasting, alms giving, and pil-
grimage to Mecca are noted. Islam provides clear guidance for all of life, and
its teachings have reference to care for the family, divorce and polygamy, con-
cern for the welfare of parents and the aged, and concern for learning and
work. Proscriptions against suicide, sexual perversions, crime, and racial dis-
crimination are also included. Muslims can enjoy healthy and balanced lives
by following these teachings.

Following Judaism and Christianity, Islam is the third monotheistic religion

revealed t o man. It originated in the heart of nomadic and tribal Arabian
society, which, before the rise of Islam, was polytheistic and worshipped lo-
cal pagan Gods. Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, was the recipient of the
divine communication that resulted in the Koranic scripture, which was re-

Requests for reprints should be sent to Gamal Abou El Azayem, Psychiatric Hospital and
Research Center, Nasr City, P. 0.Box 8180, Code 11371, Cairo, Egypt,
 42 EL AZAYEM AND HEDAYAT-DIBA

vealed to him through Archangel Gabriel in an episodic manner over a 23-

year period between 610 and 632 A.D.
As the last monotheistic religion, Islam insists on the faithful's submis-
sion to the oneness of God: "Say: He is God, the one and only" (112;l-4;
Youssef Ali, 1983),' is one of the many verses in the Koran emphasizing the
monotheistic character of Islam. Although the Prophet Muhammad is re-
garded as the last and the seal of the Prophets, Muslims are to recognize
and accept all the previous Prophets of God, as they are acknowledged in
the Koran. The Koran, the holy book of Islam, contains all the principles
of Islam for the community of believers to follow as their constitution for
worship as well as for guidance in their daily life.
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The Koran affirms the belief in the hereafter as well as in punishment

and reward mostly based on one's adherence to the five pillars of the faith;
namely:

1. the "Shahada": the belief that there is no god but God and that Mu-
hammad is his last Prophet
2. conducting the five daily prayers
3. paying alms to the needy
4. fasting during the month of Ramadan
5. a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in one's lifetime if possible.

This article highlights the psychological aspects of Islam as manifested

in some of the verses of the Koran and in the sayings of the Prophet Mu-
hammad as recorded in the "Hadith~."~

THE POSITION OF ISLAM CONCERNING GOD AND

OTHER RELIGIONS

The Glory and Greatness of God

Islam believes in the absolute oneness and power of God as well as in His
mercy and compassion.
The most fundamental doctrine of Islamic faith is the "Shahada": There
is no god but God, and Muhammad is His Apostle. By reading or reciting

'The Koran is composed of 113 chapters called suras, which are in turn composed of sev-
eral verses. When referring to sayings from the Koran, the chapter and verse number are indi-
cated respectively in parentheses. All Koran verses are quoted from the Youssef Ali (1983)
translation.
2Hadiths are collections of books that relate the traditions of Islam based on the actions
and sayings of Muhammad as recounted by his Companions. They comment on the contents
of the Koran as well as on social and religious life, and are the basis, second only to the Koran,
for the Islamic constitution or Shariah. The most famous collections of Hadith are those of
Bukhari (87 A.D.) and of Muslim (875 A.D.).
 PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF ISLAM 43

these words, Muslims testify to the oneness of the Creator and gratefully
surrender to His will. The word "Islam" means "submission" or "surren-
der" of the whole self to the one God, and to become a Muslim means to
embrace the Shahada with conviction and faith. There are other sacred
phrases that Muslims utter daily, either during prayers or during more secu-
lar activities, which, like the Shahada, punctuate the glory of God and pen-
etrate the faithful's consciousness. One such phrase is "Allahu Akbar,"
meaning "God is the Greatest." It is the opening phrase of the call to
prayer during which it is repeated several times in a slow and deliberate
manner. It is a source of inspiration as well as of motivation, calling people
to prayer and reminding them that God is greater than what any human can
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imagine Him to be. He is transcendent and intangible.

By repeating these phrases, Muslims feel protected by God. This psycho-
logical feeling of security fosters a feeling of empowerment in the face of
difficulties and enhances a degree of emotional maturity and independence
that binds the community together and facilitates peaceful coexistence
among fellow citizens.

Beliefs in all the Sacred Books of the Prophets

Muslims, like Jews and Christians before them, believe that Abraham was
the father of faith. Muslims also respect Jesus and the Old Testament
Prophets as the predecessors of Muhammad, whose sacred books contain
and answer all the queries of people about life.
It is believed that Abraham, in his life of doubt about worshipping God,
went through many emotional phases before he arrived at the conclusion
that "there is but the one Creator of this universe" (6; 74-80). When he re-
alized this, his doubts and hesitations vanished, and he felt peace, security,
and a deep sense of faith. Similar trends occurred with all the prophets who
finally came to believe in the oneness of the Creator and achieved what Is-
lam regards as the prime conviction of surrender and submission to God.
Islam emphasizes this concept for the welfare of mankind and asks its be-
lievers to adhere strongly to this common factor that brings together all
monotheistic religions, considering them as one. All believers should re-
spect each of the prophets and make no distinctions between one and the
other.
Historically, it has been believed that people have a psychological need
to worship a powerful deity. People have thus resorted to religion to make
sense of their lives. According to Islam, prophets were sent to enlighten the
people and provide them with laws that would provide guidance through
belief and faith and protect them from wrongdoings. Because the Koran
was revealed over many years, its laws dictating daily activities were estab-
lished only gradually and this gradual process has been considered, by
some, as the psychological secret behind its success. For example, the prohi-
 44 EL AZAYEM AND HEDAYAT-DIBA

bition of alcoholic drinks took 15 years to take its final shape as a taboo.
The adherence to these laws has protected the Muslim community from the
dangers associated with such activities as gambling and drinking.
The believers' respect for all the Prophets and their faithful obedience to
one God can serve as a catalyst to urge people of all nations to adopt the
psychological attitudes of love, mutual respect, cooperation, friendliness,
and other such constructive norms.

REWARD AND PUNISHMENT

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Islam has delineated very clear rules dictating behaviors and attitudes in all
aspects of religious and secular life. The Koran is the source of these laws,
guiding the Muslim toward the fulfillment of his or her faith and protecting
him or her from straying to the wrong path.
Psychologically speaking, the belief in reward and punishment constitutes the
safety valve for the taming of individual drives in the service of community wel-
fare. If these drives are not regulated and positively directed, the pleasure princi-
ple might dominate and lead to an anxious, overstimulated life with little
self-control. That is not to say that Islam forbids all pleasures, but it forbids ex-
travagance and excess. The Koran says: "Wear your beautiful apparel at every
time and place of prayer. Eat and drink, but waste not by excess, for God loveth
not the wasters" (7;32-36). One of the psychological functions of these laws is
that it helps the individual regulate his or her physical and emotionalneeds in the
service of spiritual fulfillment. This in turn promotes group cohesiveness. The
Koran says, "Thus have We made of you an Umma [community] justly bal-
anced" (2; 142-143). The concepts of balance and community are closely linked,
because a good Muslim is one who has succeeded through real faith to reconcile
his or her drives with community law and welfare.

THE PSYCHOLOGICALBENEFITS OF THE RITES OF

ISLAM

The rites of Islam, which consist of ablution, praying, fasting, alms giving, and
a pilgrimage to Mecca, are usually, but not necessarily, performed in group
meetings with the mosque as the center of these activities. Again, it can be ob-
served that these rites structure the daily life of Muslims in ways that bind them
together in communal recognition of and surrender to God.

Ablution
Ablution is a key vehicle to conducting the rites of Islam, and symbolizes a
state of purity. Unless one has performed the rite of ablution, one may not
touch the Koran or perform prayer. The Koran dictates:
 PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF ISLAM 45

0 ye who believe! When ye prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your
hands (and arms) to the elbows; rub your heads (with water); and wash your
feet to the ankles. If ye are in a state of ceremonial impurity, bathe your
whole body. But if ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from of-
fices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water,
then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and
hands. God doth not wish to place you in a difficulty, but make you clean,
and to complete His favour to you, that ye may be grateful. (5; 6)

This cleansing five times a day before daily prayers guarantees a refresh-
ing psychological effect on believers, helping them to momentarily put be-
hind mundane worries and become more concentrated in preparing for
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their act of worship.

Praying
Muslims are required to perform prayers five times daily: dawn, noon, mid-
afternoon, sunset, and evening. These can be performed either alone or in a
group and can take place anywhere: in the office, at home, in the street, in
the shop, or in the mosque. In addition, the Friday prayers, which are pre-
ceded by Koranic recitation and funeral prayers, are also mandatory. These
are performed in a group, and usually in a mosque. The group prayers help
create a sense of familiarity, friendliness, selflessness, and equality among
them all. The recitation of the Koran during prayer, either silently or aloud,
represents a continuous chain of teaching, listening, and memorizing Ko-
ranic sayings, and a reminder that the Muslim's daily life and faith are con-
tinuously intertwined. Praying can thus be viewed as a preventive and
inexpensive psychological guard against anxiety and depression.

Fasting
Fasting is another rite that helps regulate excesses and potentiates the be-
liever's will power. Muslims are required to fast during the month of Rama-
dan (the ninth month in the Islamic calendar during which the first verses
of the Koran were revealed to Muhammad) from dawn to sunset. During
daylight, they are to abstain from food, drink, sex, and smoking. The sick
and the elderly, as well as pregnant or nursing women, are exempted from
fasting. Children are encouraged to prescribe to this rite from the age of 7.
This generates maturity and promotes spiritual discipline early. Fasting also
fosters compassion for the hungry and enhances a sense of gratitude for
God's gifts of life.

Alms Giving
Being charitable and sharing one's wealth with the less fortunate is a Muslim
virtue often emphasized in the Koran, and alms giving is the institutionalized
 46 EL AZAYEM AND HEDAYAT-DIBA

form of this charitable characteristic. Although in some countries it is manda-

tory as a form of tax to the poor, alms giving is generally a voluntary activity,
representing the believer's cooperative participation in helping the poor with a
certain percentage of his or her income. This participation leads to a sense of
compassion that alleviates hatred, enmity, and loneliness in the community. It
promotes an emotional attitude of generosity and gratitude that is believed to
be preventive against depression, guilt feelings, and crime.

Pilgrimage
Muslims are called upon to perform pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their
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lifetime. On this occasion, Muslims from all parts of the world, all walks of life,
and all socioeconomic backgrounds, congregate in the holy city of Mecca, with-
out discrimination among them. They perform the rite of pilgrimage in groups,
during which they ask God to forgive their sins and grant them His blessings.
This gathering of about two million people every year is a unique and awesome
opportunity for all Muslims to unite in testimony of their faith.
It should be noted that Islam insists on a sense of "determinationyywhen
Muslims conduct their worship and their daily activities. The Koran empha-
sizes the mental qualities of determination and intention: "If you are deter-
mined on something, go ahead and depend on God's support. God likes
the determined" (2; 159). This helps Muslims concentrate on the work at
hand, thus saving time and energy as well as avoiding hesitation and ambiv-
alence. Determination has become a requirement of daily life if one wants
to ascend to higher degrees of achievement, self-control, and confidence. In
this sense, for the Muslim, mental health does not mean absence of psycho-
logical anomalies, but rather reaching higher standards of mental abilities
in coordinating worship with the obligations of daily life and daily work.
The pillars of Islam have paved the way for Muslims to live a responsible com-
munal life and have provided them with external structures that help regulate their
emotional states, thus protecting them from undue anxiety or other ailments.

PSYCHOLOGICALASPECTS IN ISLAMIC DAILY LIFE

As previously mentioned, Islam provides clear guidance in all aspects of

life. The Koran says: "Now the Islamic call has finally been set clear. It is
for your everlasting benefit that you have been endowed with Islam to be
adopted as a model of lifeyy(5; 3).

Care for the Family

Care for the family occupies a prominent position in Islam. The Koran de-
votes a whole chapter (Sura 4) on the correct upbringing of children, the
 PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF ISLAM 47

proper treatment of orphans, just financial observations of their rights, giv-

ing careful consideration to family relationships and to neighbors, fair dis-
tribution of legacy to all heirs, and the imposition of an Islamic penalty on
those who commit crimes of a sexual nature. Islam imposes certain restric-
tions on marriage, such as prohibiting interfamily marriages to avoid weak
or abnormal descendants.
Islam recommends an early religious upbringing, encouraging parents to
teach their children the rites of prayer as early as the age of 7. It also rec-
ommends early learning of the Koran, because religious education is be-
lieved to promote healthy psychological maturation, which would protect
children against deviation from cultural norms and also create a healthy
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family atmosphere. This learning of the Koran is initiated through memori-

zation and recitation. Because the Koran was first revealed verbally, and its
verses memorized by Muhammad and his followers, recitation and memori-
zation have become a traditional form of learning that takes precedence
over reading and writing.

Divorce and Polygamy

In the case of misunderstanding between a married couple, the Koran rec-
ommends that elderly people of the family intervene and mediate a recon-
ciliation between the couple so that the unity of the family and its
psychological stability may be preserved. In this context, the Koran says:
"If you fear that the married couple may break apart, summon a wise rela-
tive of hers and a wise relative of his to stage a reconciliation, and God will
guide their steps"(4; 35). Islam has assigned certain responsibilities to each
member of the family. Muhammad is reported to have said that Muslims
are all supervisors and responsible for those they supervise. However, this is
not to say that divorce is not allowed or does not occur in Islamic countries.
Divorce is allowed under certain conditions, but is viewed as distasteful,
and care should be taken to prevent it. Therefore, it is a rare occurrence.
Polygamy is permitted in Muslim countries. The Koran recommends one
wife, stating that it is almost impossible for the husband to establish justice
among several wives. However, polygamy is allowed in cases of chronic or
incurable diseases and infertility. Polygamy in Islam is viewed as protecting
the family from deviation to illegal sexual intercourse and from contracting
sexually transmitted diseases-although some Muslims may misuse these
guidelines for their own pleasure and benefits.

Care for Parents and for the Aged

Children are taught to respect their parents and treat them kindly. This is an
Islamic duty. Further, Islam gives care to the aged and states certain obliga-
 48 EL AZAYEM AND HEDAYAT-DIBA

tions to be observed by children toward their elderly parents. The Koran

says:
Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to
parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to
them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of hon-
our. (17; 23)

Care for Learning

The first sura revealed to the prophet calls for the acquisition of learning
through reading. There are many verses that emphasize the importance of
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learning and contemplation of the manifestations of nature that surround

man. The Koran says:
Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of
night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding. Men who cel-
ebrate the praises of God, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides and
contemplate the wonders of creation in the heavens and the earth. (3; 190-
191)

Further, the Koran guides the believer inward and encourages the believer to
know himself or herself: "the globe contains many manifestations of God's
greatness. Can't you see this within yourself?" (20; 51). Therefore, learning
is praised through various means and includes psychological mindfulness,
an attitude especially adopted by Sufis or Islamic mystics, who are contin-
ually striving for knowledge through meditation and contemplation, and
who impart their own knowledge and wisdom through passionate poetry
and other writings. Sufism represents the inner dimension of Islam.

Care for Work

Islam urges people to work and has provided specific rules of ethics to be
observed, with honesty being the most important one. Islam also urges be-
lievers to have patience and perseverance because these attitudes promote
success and increase productiveness. Work and faith are not separated. As
with all aspects of Islamic life, work is mediated through faith. As the Ko-
ran says: "Followers of David consider work as a manifestation of wor-
ship" (34; 13); and "Nobody is better spoken than a good doer" (41; 33).

PREVENTION AGAINST PSYCHOLOGICAL ILLNESS

Depression and Suicide

Islam's principles of forbearance, perseverance, and forgiveness are believed
to enhance willpower and self-confidence and to support feelings of hope
 PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF ISLAM 49

and optimism, all of which either protect against or alleviate symptoms of

depression. Statistical data show that suicide is rare in Islamic society, as
the faith incriminates this attitude. The Koran says: "Do not kill (or de-
stroy) yourselves: for verily God hath been to you most Merciful!" (41; 35).
Suicide would represent one's lack of faith and lack of gratitude for God's
gift of life.

Sexual Perversions
In Islam, sex is regarded as the physical and emotional expression of love
between husband and wife and should not occur outside the marriage con-
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tract. Adultery is forbidden and considered a form of perversion. The Ko-

ran refers to the sexual relation between husband and wife saying: "They
are protection for you and you are protection for them" (2; 187), and re-
fers to adultery saying: "Nor come nigh to adultery: for it is a shameful
(deed) and an evil, opening the road to other evils" (16; 7). As a result of
these sexual ethics, venereal diseases, including AIDS, are rare in Islamic
communities.

Crime
Islam always preaches forgiveness and mercy, encouraging the pardoning of
one's enemies. The Koran prohibits murder and imposes strict punishment
for it, even if the crime occurred by mistake. The Koran says: "Nor take
life which God has made sacred-except for just cause. And if anyone is
slain wrongfully, we have given his heir authority to demand a ransom or to
forgive; but let him not exceed bounds in the matter of taking life; for he is
helped by the law" (17; 33). As a result, street crimes are practically nonex-
istent in Muslim countries.

Racial Discrimination
Islam calls for equality and forbids discrimination based on color, race,
sex, or religion. All people are to be accepted as equal; for all are equal be-
fore God.

CONCLUSION

This article describes some basic principles of Islam and their psychological
influence on the development of Muslims. It is believed that by following
Islamic principles, Muslims can achieve and enjoy the four ingredients of a
healthy and balanced life, namely, physical, social, mental, and spiritual
health.
 50 EL AZAYEM AND HEDAYAT-DIBA

REFERENCES

Youssef Ali, A. (1983). The Holy Qur'an: Translation and commentary. Brentwood, Mary-
land: Amana.
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