An Islamic Conceptual Framework of a 
Well-balanced Personality

Nik Rosila Nik Yaakob

Abstract

The aim of this article is to highlight a conceptual framework 
of a well-balanced personality in the light of an Islamic 
point of view. The article begins with an explanation on the 
nature of human beings as the underlying concept on which 
the entire assumption of human personality is based. Further 
discussion will focus on the types of personality ‒ that is, nafs 
al-ammārah, nafs al-muţmainnah, and nafs al-lawwāmah. 
In this regard, the spiritual development process is about the 
continuous effort of the animal soul to subordinate itself to 
the power of the rational soul.1 Meanwhile, the educational 
process ‒ in particular, its methods and the curriculum content 
‒ is discussed as an element of intervention in developing 
good personality traits. The exposition of this article’s writing 
is derived from scholarly and original sources of knowledge 
‒ that is, the Holy Qur’ān and the tradition of the Prophet 
(ṢAAS), as well as the writings of Muslim scholars to 
verify and elucidate some of the relevant matters. 

________________________________________________________________________
Nik Rosila Nik Yaacob is senior lecturer at School of Educational Studies, University Sains 
Malaysia (USM). She earned her Bachelor Degree in Islamic Education, a Master degree 
in Education from University Malaya, Malaysia, and PhD from the International Institute 
of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), International Islamic University Malaysia 
in 2006. She has written several books, has published articles in national and international 
journals, and has presented many working papers in national and international seminars 
and conferences in the field of Islamic Psychology and Counseling, Islamic Education, 



The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 28:466

Introduction

Personality is an aspect that is born within every human. It is an over-
all picture of the individual, both internally and externally, in terms of its 
physical, emotional and psychological characteristics. Self-personality 
recognition is very important information for individuals in their pro-
cess of managing intrapersonal and interpersonal experiences. Personal-
ity recognition can also help individuals manage and adjust themselves 
in a different life situations. The understanding of the personality from 
the Western point of view and from the Muslim perspective will provide 
individuals different understandings. Compared with the West, Muslims 
maintain that the formation of the personality and its development is based 
on the internal aspects that directly affect the individual’s spiritual nature. 
In other words, the debate about the personality from the Islamic perspec-
tive  not only focuses on aspects of genetics, anatomy and biology; it also 
discusses how these three aspects are developed in parallel with the un-
foldment of the spiritual. Spiritual aspects of a person’s quality in terms 
of weaknesses and strengths ‒ as well as the elements which affect their 
strength and weaknesses ‒ will be the main focus in the Islamic world-
view. These aspects of genetics, anatomy and biology will make the hu-
man unique and allow for different potentials and for healthy personalities. 
This spiritual aspect has been forgotten or denied by the West. Therefore, 
I seek to explore the healthy personality from the Islamic perspective. 

The nature of personality and how it develops has been a main con-
cern in the study of psychology for more than a hundred years.2 From the 
point of view of modern psychology, personality is a unique collection 
of attitudes, emotions, habits, thoughts, impulses, and behaviors that de-
fine how a person typically behaves in various situations.3 For a wider 
standpoint, the discussion on personality also deals on individual dif-
ferences, the connection between mind and body, and the physiology of 
perception.4 Therefore, the concept of personality from the point of view 
of Western psychologists is based on their interest in research. Multiple 
schools of thought flourished in the early nineteenth century ‒ schools 
such as behaviorism, psychoanalytic, trait theory, and social learning 
‒ whereby ideas, theories, and patterns of human personalities were for-
mulated and studied by means of a material and mechanistic approaches.

Behaviorist theory, founded by B. F Skinner, maintained that human 
character and personality is the product of stimulus and response, which 
can be measured and analyzed empirically. Stimulus is referred to the 
changes that have some impact or effect on that organism such that be-



Yaakob: An Islamic Conceptual Framework 67

havior is modified in some detectable way. Whereas response is the move-
ment that results from the stimulus.5 This theory focuses more on external 
changes in human behavior. In contrast, Sigmund Freud, the founder of 
psychoanalytic theory, viewed personality as a result of internal changes 
in human beings. A psychoanalytic view of the human personality fo-
cuses on the conscious and unconscious mind, whereby a more general 
view is that human actions are to fulfill the biological needs of indi-
vidual.6 Another approach, the development of human personality from 
cognitive and structural psychology, deals largely with the human mind 
and thought, and how the mind and the body interact with each other.7 

Furthermore, type and trait theories are concerned with common char-
acteristics among individuals and characteristics that differentiate individ-
uals from each other. Traits are defined as relatively enduring patterns of 
behavior, which are relatively consistent in many situations.8 In this case, 
Gordon Allport and Raymond B. Cattell, who were among the pioneers of 
this theory, believed that the most important traits were: those motivational 
traits related to values (dynamic traits); ability traits related to effective-
ness such as intelligence and social skills; and finally, temperament traits 
that were largely inherited aspects of behavior. Cattell has devised the five-
factor model of personality traits, which has been used extensively by psy-
chologists and educators. The five-factor model of personality traits are: 
neuroticism, extroversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientious-
ness. These five traits are the basic units of personality and considered to 
be relatively stable across a person’s life span.9 From a different point of 
view, the social point of view, personality is learned behavior. According 
to Albert Bandura, the most important parts of human behavior are learned 
from other persons in society ‒ family, friends, and the broader culture. 
Bandura places particular emphasis on cognitions about the individual’s 
ability to handle the demands of life—that is, the individual’s self-efficacy, 
the capability of doing what is necessary to reach the goal.10 In this case, 
compared to a person with a poor sense of self-efficacy, an individual with 
a positive and functional self-efficacy may accept greater challenges, ex-
pend more effort, and may be more successful in reaching his or her goal. 

The models of personality proposed by the Western psychologists 
are still vague and incomprehensive because their assumptions of hu-
man personality are still segmented into different waves of ideas and 
theories. The following is Hans Eysenck’s comment on the personality: 

The concept of personality is widely recognized as being quite central 
in psychology, yet its definition is a very nebulous affair indeed. There 



The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 28:468

is some agreement that it refers to certain enduring dispositions in the 
constitution of the individual and that it is a basic reality underlying 
important individual differences in behavior, but precisely what its 
nature is, how it originated, and how it can be measured, are questions 
on which psychologists are in desperate disagreement.11 

In Islam, the human is a beauty and unique creation in nature  who 
is made up of the body, the soul, and the spirit. Thus, the whole under-
standing of human personality should integrate these three components 
altogether; otherwise, a comprehensive conception of human personality 
might not be achieved.12 Up to this point, the Western secular psycholo-
gists disregard the soul or the spirit as one of the entities in human nature. 
This is because the soul or the spirit is immaterial, and a discussion of it 
enters into the realm of spirituality and metaphysics, areas that are not 
approached by the Western  understanding of the concept of the human. 
Edward Titchener, the pioneer of structural psychology stressed that the 
concept of metaphysics from scientific point of view is rather a metaphys-
ics in which both matter and spirit disappear, in order to make way for 
the unitary conception of experience.13 Auguste Comte, a French philoso-
pher in the nineteenth century, who was also the founder of positivism, 
emphasized that the scientific study of the human should be free from 
theological, philosophical, or political assumptions and implications.14 

In spite of a materialistic approach that is concerned on the physical 
aspect of the human being (as devised by former scientists such as B. F 
Skinner, Edward Thorndike, and J. B Watson), modern psychologists how-
ever believed that spirituality is vital in developing human character. As 
a result, new ideas and theories such as transcendental, existential, and 
humanistic approaches were developed.15 The existential approach was 
devised by a number of European philosophers such as Soren Kierkeg-
aard, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Friedrich Nietzsche as an effort to help people 
resolve the dilemmas of contemporary life ‒ quandries such as isolation, 
alienation, and meaninglessness.16 Viktor Frankl, one or the pioneers of 
the existential approach, has developed a new approach entitled “logo-
therapy,” which means “therapy through meaning.” The central themes 
are: the will to meaning; the freedom to find meaning in all that we think; 
and the integration of the mind, body, and spirit.17 The humanistic ap-
proach is similar because it emphasizes the individual, personal choice, 
and free will in shaping personality. Abraham Maslow, a pioneer of the 
humanistic approach assumes that every individual have a built-in drive 
toward fulfilling his own natural potentials. The attainment of this poten-
tial is referred to as self-actualization. In order to achieve this higher level 



Yaakob: An Islamic Conceptual Framework 69

of human needs, the individual also needs to fulfill other needs ‒ for ex-
ample, biological needs, psychological needs, and social needs.18 Yet, this 
inclusion of the spiritual aspect in psychological theories is not enough 
for the Muslims expectations and needs. This is because the concept of 
spirituality from the Westerner’s point of view is based on human experi-
ence or on phenomena that can be described and assessed empirically.19 

The Muslims believe that spirituality is an element of religion, and reli-
gion is based upon knowledge contained in the Qur’ān, which is the general 
guide for the human existence. As such, it is the only divine guidance on the 
spiritual that is superior to all others and total; and because of its totality, it em-
braces the psychic and even the corporeal aspects of the individual.20 In other 
words, the excellence of humans and their well-being, either as individuals 
or collectively, are realized by means of divine knowledge and ethical values. 

The Nature of the Human

The human is constituted of two elements; the body and the soul.21 Al-
Ghazālī describes human nature as an integration of spiritual and bodily 
forces. The body and the soul are very closely interrelated ‒ which means that 
without the soul, the body alone cannot be a human. Likewise, without the 
body, one cannot be a human. Nevertheless, the real essence that causes the 
physical body to function is the soul and not the body. In this case, the body 
is not more than just a container that provides a very appropriate space for 
the soul to dwell while it is in its worldly form.22 In Alchemy of Happiness, 
Al-Ghazālī elaborates on the relationship between the body and the soul:

The body may be compared to a steed and the soul is a rider, the body 
was created for the soul, the soul for the body. If a man knows not 
his own soul, which is the nearest thing to him, what is the use of his 
claiming to know others? It is as a beggar who has not the wherewithal 
for a meal should claim to be able to feed a town.23 

As the soul is the main entity in forming one’s personality, it is im-
portant to understanding the nature of the soul. The real essence of the 
soul and how it exists in the human body is mysterious and cannot be 
grasped by means of human intelligence alone. In the case of life after 
death, although the body has perished, the soul still survives and re-
turns to its creator.24 Therefore, the discussion on the soul should be il-
luminated by religion (dīn) and directed by the knowledge of God. 

The term rūh (literally “spirit,” “soul,” or “breath of life”) is used in 
the Qur’ān to refer to numerous metaphysical phenomena such as angels, 



The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 28:470

revelation, or divine inspiration.25 The rūh has been discussed by many 
Muslim scholars such as al-Ghazālī and Ibn SÊnā as divine in its nature. 
Al-Ghazālī’s description of the soul is based on the Qur’ān and Hadith. 
The soul according to al-Ghazālī is a substance (jawhar), not an accident 
(‘ard), and it exists by itself. It is immortal, conscious of itself; it is not 
measured in terms of extent in space and time; and is the locus of the 
intelligible. There are four terms used in relation to the soul, depending 
on its states (ahwāl ‒ that is, the heart (qalb), the soul or self (nafs), the 
spirit (rūh), and the intellect (‘aql).26 When it is involved with intellection 
and apprehension, it is called “intellect”; when it governs the body, it is 
called “a soul”; when it is engaged in receiving illumination, it is called 
“a heart”; and when it reverts to its own world, it is called “spirit.”27 Ibn 
SÊnā designates soul and spirit as two levels of an entity, which he de-
fines as soul. The soul is pure at the transcendental level. However, at 
the phenomenal level, it enters the body and animates it. In this case, the 
first level of the soul belongs to metaphysics, whereas the other level is 
known in the realm of natural sciences.28 Like al-Ghazālī, Ibn Sinā also 
believes the soul is nonmaterial, a spiritual substance capable of existing 
independently of the body.29 Ahmad bin Muhammad Miskawayh describes 
the essence of the soul as a motion.30 The motion is of two kinds: one 
toward intellect, and another toward matter. The first motion brings the 
individual nearer to the source of the intellect, and hence, it illuminates 
and in turn illuminates the matter. This implies a transcendental aspect 
of the human self, which is rūh, and a sensible self, which is the nafs. It 
is clear that the rūh is the universal spirit, which is present in all mani-
festation, and one of its manifestations is the individual soul of a human. 

According to Muslim scholars, when the soul or the spirit (rūh) was 
first created in the spiritual world, it had already acknowledged God as the 
creator. The conversation between spirit and God is revealed in Qur’ān 
(7:172), God asked the spirit, “Am I not your Lord (who cherishes and 
sustains you)?” The spirits answer, “Yes! We do testify.”.This conver-
sation has significant implications on the nature of the human. Firstly, 
from the very beginning, the human is endowed with the knowledge of 
God, and the human has consciously and wholeheartedly acknowledged 
God as his or her creator. Secondly, man has consciously and willingly 
sealed a covenant with God before he entered this earth and promised 
to obey, submit, and follow all of God’s commands. Fourthly, the hu-
man has agreed to submit and accept Islam or al-din as his or her way of 
life. Finally, as a result of his or her royalty, the human will experience 
peacefulness, tranquility, and happiness in this world and in the hereafter. 



Yaakob: An Islamic Conceptual Framework 71

When the human disobeyed God, transgressed the divine rules, and 
digressed from Islam, the human had indeed violated the covenant, and 
this will affect his or her soul and body. Believing in God means to submit 
oneself wholeheartedly and willingly to Islam because Islam is the only 
religion acceptable to God. The religion of Islam encompasses all dimen-
sions of human life ‒ including faith, worship, ethics and morality, educa-
tion, social interaction, cultural, political and economic interaction, crimes 
and punishment, family matters, and the inner realm of sincerity and purity 
of intention.31 This is a real submission. Other religions have evolved their 
own forms of submission, which are based upon their cultural traditions 
or a mixture of traditions based upon revelation.32 For example, in Hindu-
ism, the philosophical aspect, which is the important aspect of the Hindu 
metaphysics, has been transformed into art at the expense of the rational 
and intellectual elements. It can be seen in the Hindu’s religious litera-
ture, for example, the Mahabharata and Bharatayuddha. In these two ep-
ics, romantic and mythological aspects of Hindu literature are emphasized 
rather than the philosophy and the metaphysical aspect of the religion. The 
emphasis on the aesthetic aspect in Hinduism is because the religion is 
imposed on the community by the authority of the ruling group.33 There-
fore, the concept of submission is corrupted by these material elements.

The human’s constitution consists of several basic elements. which will 
determine the individual’s nature and from which precedes all bodily acts 
and mental qualities. Every element has an effect on the constitution. There 
are four elements which exist in the human soul—namely, desire (shahwah), 
bestiality (anger), diabolicalness, and lordliness (rahbāniyyah).34 These 
four elements also exist in every human. This nature is not the same as the 
original nature. This is because the original nature refers to the condition of 
the soul at the time of its creation, while the person’s nature is its condition 
after birth. All the four elements in man’s constitution are not developed 
simultaneously. They develop one by one at different stages of growth.35 

The first element that exists is animality, which is desire (shahwah). 
The desire is purposely developed to seek the means by which the body 
as the vehicle of the soul will remain in healthy condition and the human 
species will be preserved. This element is responsible for animal qualities 
such as eating, sleeping, and copulating.36 The second element is bestial-
ity, which develops anger. The main aim of anger is to ward off all that 
is harmful to the body. With this element, the human possesses the quali-
ties and acts of the ferocious animals ‒ qualities such as envy, violence, 
and having disagreements. If a human is unable to control his or her de-
sire and anger properly, it will cause moral destruction. For some people, 



The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 28:472

who have been chosen by God, these elements are moderate.37 The third 
element is the diabolic. It appears when the child reaches the age of dis-
crimination (tamyīz) or seven years old. This element consists in making 
use of discrimination to search out the ways of wickedness and to sat-
isfy anger and desire through guile and deception. As a result, certain acts 
and qualities manifest in the individual such as enmity, guiding people to 
evil, and ostentation. It is repressed in those who were created with only 
a moderate degree of desire and anger. Due to this, the Prophet said that 
the devil in him submitted to him.38 Besides the diabolic elements in the 
human’s constitution, there is also the existence of a devil who is outside 
the human, but who leads him or her to evil by exciting desire and anger 
and by giving the human evil suggestions. The last element is the lordly 
(rabbāniyyah) element. This element is the source of the qualities of love, 
of praise, of sovereignty, and of the knowledge of various sciences. It is 
present in the soul from the time of its creation. Then, by virtue of its be-
ing a divine entity, this element now becomes manifested. In tandem with 
reason (‘aql), the element of rabbāniyyah also appears when a child is at 
the age of discrimination. Reason is identical with the lordly element.39 

There are four faculties in the human soul ‒ namely, the faculty of 
desire, the faculty of anger, the faculty of knowledge or reason, and the fac-
ulty of justice ‒ and these faculties correspond to the elements mentioned 
above.40 The faculties of desire and anger are referred to as passion (hawā’) 
and inclined to the evil. Apparently, these two faculties are naturally rebel-
lious, purely irrational, and always exceed the proper limits. It is reason 
that knows the proper limits and the consequences of evil when it exceeds 
the limits. Therefore, the function of reason is to order passion to remain 
within the limit of reason, and finally will help the soul to be in peace 
and tranquillity. However, the reason has no power prevent passion from 
exceeding its limits, because reason develops later than passion. Hence, it 
needs another faculty, which is the faculty of justice to control the desire 
and anger from exceeding their limits.41 The faculty of justice is powerful 
and capable in controlling the passion and enforcing it to submit to rea-
son. The faculty of justice and reason only appears in man, not in animals. 
Therefore, the lower animals are always guided by their passion. The fac-
ulty of justice is the source of virtues and the cornerstone of moral develop-
ment. Since the faculty of justice and reason appeared when human beings 
are at the age of maturity, children are not morally responsible to God.42

It is clear that the soul is not emotions or merely experience ‒ indeed, 
its existence surpasses  the human mind and is originally pure and divine. 
Thus, the nature of human beings is indeed free from any impurities as 



Yaakob: An Islamic Conceptual Framework 73

stated in the famous hadith: “Every new born is born in a state of fiţrah 
(natural disposition) then his parents make him a Jew, a Christian or a Ma-
gian.”43 This means, the result of a bad character occurs when the soul is 
connected with physical body and involved in this material world. Indeed, 
the nature of the human is not only to study the heredity and biology of 
human beings as understood by the Western psychologist,44 but encom-
passes on how human anatomy develops in tandem with the spiritual soul. 

Personality Development

Personality Types 

I shall now focus on the personality types and how it develops in the hu-
man soul. There are two peculiar powers in human body that struggles 
with each other to control and dominate the human soul. The first pow-
er is naturally evil that produces blameworthy qualities and vices such 
as anger, gluttony, envy, rancor, excess in sexual desire, love of wealth, 
miserliness, desire for excessiveness in speech, love of influence, os-
tentation, pride, and conceit. The second power is naturally good and 
always inclined to goodness.45 With this power, good character and vir-
tues exist ‒ namely, wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice.46 There-
fore, there are three types of personality that exist in the human soul ‒ 
namely, nafs al-ammārah, nafs al-muţmainnah, and nafs al-lawwāmah. 

The personality of al-ammārah (instigating soul) is developed 
when the evil has successfully conquered the human soul. This state is 
the negative psychic source in the human ‒ the seat of egoistic, selfish 
desires, and always incited by evil.47 If these forces are instigated by 
evil, rebelling against reason, and gaining complete ascendancy over 
it, the divine element will become weaker until it is almost completely 
smothered. The main effect of nafs al-ammārah is to paralyze the cog-
nitive process.48 All the faculties in human soul will then be subservi-
ent to evil, and even reason becomes a slave of passion, lust, and anger. 
This negative motive can only be weakened by the training of the self.49 

The second personality is al-nafs al-lawwāmah (the admonishing 
soul); this means that the soul censures itself.50 This personality exists in 
the human when the divine element is constantly struggling with the hu-
man evil to subdue it. If the human soul is illuminated by proper knowl-
edge, moral excellence, and strong will, it is possible for the human to 
suppress the evil and enforce it to submit to the angelic power. In this 



The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 28:474

case, the individual occupies the position midway between the levels of 
the angel and the animal, and his distinguishing quality is knowledge. He 
can attain to the level of angel with the help of knowledge or fall down 
to the level of animals by letting his anger and lust dominate him.51 Sig-
mund Freud, the author of psychoanalytic theory, discussed a similar pat-
tern of conflict in the human mind. He maintained that the human person-
ality resulted from the constant conflict between id, ego, and superego. 
The id is prone to achieve satisfaction, and in the unconscious state, the 
ego is responsible for controlling the desire of the id and for adjusting it 
to the world of reality; and finally, the superego is the moral agency of 
personality, which strives for perfection.52 Nevertheless, the personality as 
described by Freud, is basically derived from the unconscious situation 
in human soul and also the influence of the individual’s evil tendencies. 

The third personality is al-nafs al muţmainnah (the tranquil soul).53 
Muţmainnah or tuma’ninah describes the calm, restful condition of the 
heart ‒ that is, peacefulness, satisfaction, joy, happiness, and freedom from 
any worry resulting from doubt.54 The soul is tranquil when it has success-
fully suppressed evil to submit to the faculty of reason, which is good, and 
finally acknowledged the divineness of God. The individual with this per-
sonality is always yearning for goodness and seeks the true knowledge.55 
Al-Ghazālī emphasized that the yearning for it is not a superimposed 
task on the self, but it originates in the human from the divine element 
(rabbāniyyah), which enables the human soul to partake in things divine. 
When the human achieves the life of reason, the individual begins to see his 
or her ideal self vividly; consequently the human gives him- or herself over 
to God.56 The three personalities discussed above are shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1:
Three types of human personalities, when the soul is integrated with a physical body.57 



Yaakob: An Islamic Conceptual Framework 75

Figure 1 shows the state of human personality in the situation in which 
the evil power is dominating the soul. As an impulsive soul is controlling the 
human body, the faculty of reason becomes weaker and enslaved to passion 
and lust. Similarly, the Western conception of human personality, espoused 
by psychoanalytic theory, has resulted from the constant conflict between 
id, ego, and superego. However, the conclusion to the conflict between 
these three entities is due to the evil agitation in which the individual’s sex-
ual desires are evil or that the individual is necessarily fraught with the evil 
consequences. In contrast, the Islamic approach is aimed at regulating hu-
man sexuality in a most humane manner and finally achieves tranquility and 
closeness to God.58 As the sexual instinct is the strongest of all the passions, 
it should be controlled in the most humane manner. The humane manner is 
referred to the concept of the mean (wasaţ) ‒ the equilibrium or the mid-
way between the two opposite character traits, each of which is extreme.59 
The concept of the mean in reflexes is expressed in the Qur’ānic verse:

Those who, when they spend, are not extravagant and not niggardly, but 
hold a just (balance) between those (extremes).60

Human sexual desire should be controlled under the faculty of rea-
son, which is the seat of goodness, and this will direct and stabilize the 
passion to attain a proper condition. This is because an excess in sexu-
al desire will lead to various kinds of vices. On the other hand, lack of 
sexual desire will also lead to unsatisfactoriness. Al-Ghazālī emphasized:

Sexual desire is a praiseworthy thing when it stands in a state of 
equilibrium, obedient to the law of intellect and the Law in all it’s of 
movements. Whenever it becomes excessive, it should be broken with 
hunger and marriage.61 

Educational Process
Though the human is born with the state of fiţrah, which is a natural in-
clination in the human to agree to the existence of God; however, as the 
nature of the human is created to be receptive to both good and bad, the 
individual in some instances is gifted with a perfect innate disposition, 
possessing sound intellect and good character traits such as those of the 
prophets, the saints and the pious.62 Those who are born with the opposite 
characteristic can achieve goodness through education, habituation, and 
association with noble persons.63 Al-Miskawayh held that every human 
character is subject to change.64 However, the admonitions and education 



The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 28:476

produces different results in different people; some are responsive to disci-
pline and acquire virtue rapidly, while others are also responsive but slowly 
gets accustomed to discipline and the acquisition of virtue. In relation to 
attaining a well-balanced personality, individuals should work hard to har-
monize the entities in the soul and perform all the requirements ordered by 
God. According to Al-Ghazālī, closeness to God is equivalent to normal-
ity, whereas distance from God is equivalent to an abnormal personality.65

Since the nature of human beings is dual ‒ comprised of the soul 
and the physical entities ‒ the way to achieve a well-balanced personal-
ity is through educational processes. In this sense, education is regarded 
as an intervention process. This is because education, or ta’dīb, from 
the Islamic terminology is to bring out the inner faculty and latent char-
acter traits by actualizing the good natural disposition (fitrah), which is 
inherently divine.66 Education also means to instill the quality of good-
ness that the human seeks through righteous practice and self-discipline. 
There are three elements, which are inherent in this concept of educa-
tion ‒ that is, the recipient (the human), the content, and the method.67 
The human is defined as a rational animal. Rationality refers to the rea-
son by which the activity of clarification, discrimination, and judgment 
occurs. The innate faculty that is responsible for articulating the linguis-
tic symbols into meaningful patterns is reason or al-‘aql. ‘Aql is a spiri-
tual substance by which the rational soul (al-nafs al-nāţiqah) recognizes 
and distinguishes the truth from the false and the good from the bad.68

The second element inherent in the concept of education is the content, 
and this refers to knowledge. Because of knowledge, teaching and learning 
becomes meaningful and reasonable. In a modern society, the concept of 
knowledge has been influenced by the idea of secularism. Secularism is re-
ferred to the deliverance of the human from religions and from metaphysi-
cal control over his reason and his language.69 This secular idea is reflected 
in every facet of the human life ‒ education, politic, economic, philosophy, 
and social. The modern conception of knowledge is something that can be 
proven by human reason and known through scientific and empirical inves-
tigation.70 Therefore, knowledge is something that can be experienced by 
the human and can be grasped by human reason. If this is the case, according 
to the modern point of view, the invisible things like soul, God, values, and 
religion are not considered as knowledge. This is in contrast to the Islamic 
perspective, in which the visible and invisible aspect of human life, refers 
to this world and the world after life and both are considered sources of 
knowledge. The meaning of knowledge from Syed Muhammad Naquib al-
Attas’s point of view is “the arrival in the soul of the meaning of a thing.”71 



Yaakob: An Islamic Conceptual Framework 77

In this context, the “meaning of a thing” is the right meaning of it obtained 
from the Holy Qur’ān. The knowledge of everything, tangible or intangible, 
is explained in the Qur’ān and also in the traditions of the Prophet (pbuh). 
Hence, the concept of knowledge from the point of view of Al-Attas is:

recognition of the proper places of things in the order of creation, such 
that it leads to the recognition of the proper place of God in the order of 
being and existence.72 

Recognition of the proper places of things and of God does not nec-
essarily imply concomitant actions on the part of the human to behave 
in accordance with what has been recognized.73 Thus, recognition must 
be followed by acknowledgement. If not, recognition is in vain. Anoth-
er key concept, which is related closely to the concept of knowledge, is 
the term adāb. Adāb is the knowledge that preserves the human from 
errors of judgment. The meaning of adāb as pointed out by al-Attas is: 

Recognition and acknowledgement of the reality that knowledge and 
being are ordered hierarchically according to their various grades and 
degrees of rank and of one’s proper place in relation to that reality and to 
one’s physical, intellectual and spiritual capacities and potentials.74

This concept of adāb inculcates a sense of order and discipline in 
our mind. The inculcation of adāb should be the primary concern among 
the Muslims in this world because it is about the growth of spiritual 
and external aspects of the human. Al-Attas further explained that adāb 
is originally a means of being invited to a banquet.75 The idea of a ban-
quet implies that the host is a man of honor and prestige, and the people 
who are present are those who deserve the honor of the invitation. The 
people are expected to behave in a very appropriate manner in regard to 
their conduct, speech, and etiquette as they mingle with various noble 
and gracious people. In virtue of this, adāb also means to discipline the 
mind and the soul; to acquire good qualities and attributes of the mind 
and soul; to perform the correct against the wrong; and to a person’s act-
ing in order to preserve oneself from disgrace. This inculcation will be 
naturally reflected in every aspect of our life, personal as well as social.76 

The knowledge is of two kinds; fard ‘ayn and fard kifāyah. The 
former is referred to the knowledge of the oneness of God (tawhīd), 
which also encompasses the fundamental principles in religion. This 
knowledge is obligatory to every individual. The latter is the knowl-
edge that is obligatory to some Muslims only. It can be divided into 
religious (shar’iyyah) and nonreligious (ghayr shar’iyyah). The reli-



The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 28:478

sess a good character trait. When knowledge is transferred to a human, 
not only does the mindset change, but also the behavior and character is 
affected. The thinking ability will respond to an affective domain and the 
way of doing things.81 This process entails spiritual struggle (mujāhadah) 
and discipline (riyādah), leading toward purification of the soul and refine-
ment of character (tahdhīb al-akhlāq).82 Self-discipline means training to 
inculcate good traits in the soul through simple and continuous practice 
and, finally, with intense struggle until good action is manifested.83 Both 
autocratic and democratic methods can be applied in educational training. 
The autocratic method is usually applied when the child is of a tender age 
and does not show his rebellious character. On the other hand, the demo-
cratic way is appropriate when the child has reached the age of maturity 
and is aware that he or she frequently disobeys or humiliates other people.84 

Instruction (ta’līm) is another method in the educational process. 
The word ta’līm is derived from the Arabic word ‘allama, which means 
to teach, to instruct someone with knowledge, and to make the person 
possess that knowledge. Ta’līm is particularly applied to that which is re-
peated often so that an impression is produced thereby upon the minds 
of the learners (muta’allīm or murīd).85 With this definition, at least three 

gious sciences are derived from the prophets (pbuh), while the non-
religious are acquired through reasoning and experimentation.77 

With regard to the process of acquiring knowledge, Alparslan Açik-
genç categorized it into two aspects ‒ one is external; the other is internal.78 
The internal is the operations of our faculties that we employ while acquir-
ing knowledge. As such, the analysis of this process is the theory of knowl-
edge investigated in the branch of philosophy known as epistemology. The 
external process of acquiring knowledge is on the other hand what we call 
“learning.” In this external process, there are many external factors—such 
as instructor, teaching methods, and other didactic means utilized in teach-
ing and learning. As an external process, learning can be in two ways. One 
is natural learning; this is attaining knowledge mainly by the use of our 
faculties for learning, including our senses.79 The most effective method 
in this kind of learning is trial and error; and as such, it is self-learning. 
The other kind of learning is the systematic acquisition of knowledge. It is 
this second kind of learning that we should consider as actual education.80 

The educational process is related to disciplining the physical and spir-
itual aspects of an individual, and this involves the acquisition of knowl-
edge and the transformation of the person’s personality in order to pos-



Yaakob: An Islamic Conceptual Framework 79

elements form the process of ta’līm: knowledge (‘ilm), learners (murīd), 
and eachers (murshid).86 The method of instruction is philosophically re-
flected from the confrontation between reason (‘aql) and passion (nafs 
ammārah). In this situation, reason will be instructed by the heart (qalb) 
to become close to goodness. Reason might be blamed if it ignores such 
advice and will be praised if it follows the instruction of the heart (qalb). 
Significantly, reward, motivation, praise, and also punishment are among 
the main approachs in the learning process. A child who manifests good 
traits or actions should be admired and rewarded with something that gives 
him or her joy and should be praised in front of others. On the other hand, 
if once a while he does something bad, it is best to pretend not to no-
tice and not to bring it to the attention of others, particularly if the child 
diligently endeavors to hide his or her action ‒ for the exposure of such 
deeds may cause the child to become emboldened, until the child no lon-
ger cares when the deeds are made public.87 In the second stage, if the 
child repeats his or her wrongdoing or bad behavior, the child should be 
privately approached and made to feel that it was a very serious thing and 
to advise the child not to repeat such a mistake. In this case, the father 
as well as the mother should use the method of threatening to tell others 
about the child’s misdeed or disgrace him or her in front of other people.88 

Physical punishment will be imposed as soon as the child reaches sev-
en years of age, for example in a child leaving his or her daily prayers. 
In this case, the child will be beaten mildly in order to accustom him to 
his or her religious duty.89 Al-Ghazālī also mentioned that nobody should 
intercede in the disciplinary process. The child was advised not to cry out 
or sob as a mark of courage and maturity because crying is the practice 
of slaves and women.90 However, severe punishment in an instructional 
process will harm children because it is categorized among the bad hab-
its. Ibn Khaldūn, in his book Muqaddimah, gives an example of slaves 
and servants who are brought up with injustice; they will feel oppressed, 
lack energy, be prone to tell lies, and become insincere and lazy, which 
finally becomes part of their character. Therefore, he insists that teachers 
must not be too severe toward their pupils, nor a father toward his son.91 

Another method in educating children is through habituation (al-
i’tiyād). The process of habituation takes place through self-discipline 
(riyādah), by which the actions are initially enforced until they ultimately 
become part of the child’s nature.92 In the modern day, the role of teacher 
and parent is crucially important in the educational process, particularly at 
the early and elementary stage of education. As these two stages are dealt 



The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 28:480

with, life structures and the worldview of the individual are possible by 
means of the method of habituation.93 Teachers can incorporate habituation 
in the learning process by preparing varieties of teaching aides to assist the 
student remember and get accustomed to the knowledge taught. As a facili-
tator, a teacher should also encourage and stimulate the student to practice 
exercises regularly so that he or she can achieve the goal of the lesson.94 

According to Al-Ghazālī, every bodily act produces an effect that 
forms a direct bearing on the quality of the soul. When the act is repeated 
and performed deliberately, its effect on the soul becomes established. The 
body and the soul interact with each other. In other words, as the bodily 
action influences the soul, similarly the soul will influence the physical 
performance. As a result, when the quality of the soul is established, rel-
evant bodily action necessarily proceeds from it. Furthermore, the level of 
willingness in the execution of act depends on the strength or weakness of 
the soul.95 In this sense, the child’s pure heart is compared to a precious 
uncut jewel devoid of any carving; this jewel can be cut into any shape, and 
likewise, the child will incline to anything that is imposed upon him or her. 
Thus, if the child is habituated to and instructed in goodness, then this will 
be the child’s practice when the child grows up; the child will attain felicity 
in this world and in the hereafter. Similarly, should the child be habituated 
to evil, and neglected as though it were animal, the child will face misery.96 

Since the faculty of desire first appears during the childhood period, 
habituation at this stage is aimed at preserving the balance and moderat-
ing between the excess and deficiency of the particular faculty. Thus, the 
child especially at this age should be supervised carefully. The first trait 
to be controlled is the greed for food.97 In this case, habituation should 
begin with the cultivation of good manners in eating. The child should 
be trained to pick up food with the right hand and to begin with the name 
of Allah; to eat the food which is nearest to him, and to not start eating 
before others. The child should neither stare at the food, nor at another 
person eating. He should be trained not to bolt the food, but to chew it 
properly and should not eat one mouthful after another without pause. He 
should eat plain and dry bread sometimes, so that he does not think that the 
presence of other kinds of food is inevitable.98 Similarly, the child should 
be trained by means of rough bedding, clothing, and food to endure dif-
ficulties and to be tough.. He should neither be accustomed to luxury and 
comfort, nor to make friends with those who are accustomed to such a 
life. In his social conduct, the child should be habituated to the virtue of 
humility, hospitality, and politeness. Therefore, the parents should prevent 
the child from boasting to his friends about his parent’s possessions.99



Yaakob: An Islamic Conceptual Framework 81

When a child approaches seven years old, when his faculty of discern-
ment is emerging, he should start with his formal education in school. The 
teacher is given full authority to supervise the child in terms of child’s ac-
tion and conduct, as well as to teach the child knowledge. In this regard, 
the teacher will be more concerned with the child’s cognitive development 
through instruction and the transmission of knowledge, while the parents 
will get involved in the practical application of education. The parents will 
take a responsibility to ensure their child will consistently perform prayer 
and fasting in the month of Ramadan.100 According to al-Ghazālī, learning 
is a process of recollecting one’s own identity. He refers to the soul in the 
situation when it was struggling to get rid of an evil domination, which is 
deviant from the truth. When the faculty of reason is successful in subju-
gating the soul and bringing it back to the truth, it is actually the process of 
recollecting the soul’s identity, which is innately pure and sacred.101 There-
fore, the acquisition of knowledge indeed begins with inner purification, 
whereby the child needs to be taught to purify the soul from vices and 
blameworthy qualities, which are doomed to create evil tendencies. Today’s 
educational system, especially the determination of the curriculum, focus-
es more on the cognitive aspects of the learner and to the preparation of the 
capable human as a resource for industries. The purpose of the  acquisition 
of knowledge is for the student to perform well in examinations and to have 
a good job in the future.102 This situation has caused a deficiency in inner 
purification and emotional stability, which is the main aim in education.103 

Socialization is the foundation for the acquisition of good character 
during childhood. This process should take place through the child’s ob-
servation and companionship with the righteous. It is due to the fact that 
a child’s nature can take from another nature both its good and evil quali-
ties, meaning that both traits could be acquired from people with whom 
the child associates. At this stage, parental authority is important in de-
termining the peer group for their child to mingle with. A child should 
be prevented from playmates or peers who could influence the child in 
ways contrary to what has been taught by his parents; from those who talk 
nonsense, and who curse and insult others; and from mixing with children 
who are accustomed to a luxurious and comfortable life.104 As the process 
of learning during the childhood period is developed through perception 
and imagination, a child inclines to imitate what the child perceives.105 In 
this case, it is important for an elementary school teacher to attempt to 
better him- or herself since children learn attentively from what they see 
and hear.. Furthermore, the child should be kept away from writers or po-
ets who have claimed that poetry is part of an elegant and sophisticated 



The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 28:482

culture.106 Similarly, the child should not listen to any amusements that 
could stimulate the child’s desires ‒ that is, poems dealing with lovers and 
passion ‒ because it would implant the seeds of corruption in the child’s 
heart.107 On the contrary, the melodious recital of the Qur’ān, which con-
tains beautiful words and wisdom is a sure way to strengthen the soul, 
in particular for those who have suffered from psychological illnesses.108 

Conclusion
The above discussion shows that healthy and balanced individuals are indi-
viduals who have knowledge and understand the spiritual condition that un-
derlies their personality. The ability to recognize themselves, to distinguish 
internal and external requirements, and to identify the elements to enhance 
their spiritual aspects allows individuals to achieve higher levels of spiritual 
achievement, which are closer to Allah (SWT). Thus, the way to the quest 
for knowledge should start from early childhood right up to the old age (life-
long learning). An aspect of lifelong learning has been propagated by Islam 
since its birth when the first verses of the revelation urged all people to seek 
knowledge. As the educational focus in this article is mainly for the children 
and adolescents, it is not a discussion of lifelong learning. However, each in-
dividual, young or old, has the same personality development as discussed, 
including the internal self-conflicts and spiritual strengths and weaknesses. 

The First World Conference on Islamic Education in Mecca in 1977, 
implied that the purpose of education is to produce an individual with a 
total and well-balanced personality through the training of his or her 
spirit, intellect, rational self, feelings, and bodily senses.109 The forego-
ing discussion has been offered as a humble attempt to clarify the con-
cept of well-balanced personality from an Islamic perspective. No doubt, 
education at every level should be strengthening. Despite focusing on 
content and method, the correct understanding on the concept of knowl-
edge should be emphasized among young children. Seyyed Hossien Nasr 
suggested that the young Muslims learn more about their own intellec-
tual traditions ‒ embracing all the different Islamic disciplines from juris-
prudence and its principles to theology, philosophy, and the spiritual sci-
ences of Sufism, as well as the basic disciplines of Qur’ānic commentary 
and Hadith.110 In the light of this knowledge, the human can attain per-
fection in his or her individual self and manifest a well-balanced growth. 

 



Yaakob: An Islamic Conceptual Framework 83

Endnotes

1.  Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, Prolegomena of the Metaphysics of 
Islam: An Exposition of the Fundamental Elements of the Worldview of 
Islam (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: ISTAC, 1995), 92‒93. 

2. Hans J. Eysenck, Fact and Fiction in Psychology (Middlesex, UK: Pen-
guin Books,1954), 51. See also Robert Thomson, History of Psychology 
(Middlesex, UK: Penguin Books, 1972), 13 and Ellen Pastorino and Su-
sann Doyle-Portillo, What is Psychology? (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/
Thomson Learning, 2006), 616. 

3.  Pastorino and Doyle-Portillo, What is Psychology?, 616. 
4.  Melvin H. Marx and William A. Hillix, System and Theories in Psycho-

logy, 3rd ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill), 26‒29. 
5.  Benjamin B. Lahey, Psychology: An Introduction, 7th ed. (New York, 

McGraw Hill, 2001), 200‒201; Marx and Hillix, System and Theories 
in Psychology, 265. 

6.  Marx and Hillix, System and Theories in Psychology, 203‒205; Calvin 
S. Hall, A Primer of Freudian Psychology (London: New American, 
1954), 22‒27.

7.  Marx and Hillix, System and Theories in Psychology, 265; Lahey, Psy-
chology, 236‒39; Pastorino and Doyle-Portillo, What is Psychology?, 
250‒52.

8.  Arthur S. Reber and Emily Reber, The Penguin Dictionary of Psychol-
ogy, 3rd ed. (London: Penguin Books, 2001), 758.

9.  Pastorino and Doyle-Portillo, What is Psychology?, 629; Lahey, Psy-
chology, 460‒62; Thomson, History of Psychology, 383.

10.  Lahey, Psychology, 474; David G. Myers, Social Psychology, 8th ed. 
(New York: MacGraw Hill, 2005), 130.

11.  Eysenck, Fact and Fiction in Psychology, 52.
12.  Al-Attas, Prolegomena of the Metaphysics of Islam, 143; Wan Mohd 

Nor, The Educational Philosophy and Practice of Syed Muhammad Na-
quib Al-Attas: An Exposition of the Original Concept of Islamization 
(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: ISTAC, 1998), 49; R. L Sevensky, “The Re-
ligious Foundations of Health Care: A Conceptual Approach,” Journal 
of Medical Ethics (1983): 165‒67,  http://jme.bmj.com/subscription. 

13.  Marx and Hillix, System and Theories in Psychology, 77‒78; Thomson, 
History of Psychology, 146‒47.

14.  Pietro Corsi, “History of Science, History of Philosophy and History 
of Theology,” in History of Science and Medicine, ed. P. Corsi and P. 
Weindling (London: Butterworth Scientific, 1983), 56.

http://jme.bmj.com/subscription


The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 28:484

15.  A. E. Ivey, M. B. Ivey and L. Simek-Morgan, Counseling and Psy-
chotherapy: A Multicultural Perspective, 3rd ed. (London: Allyn and 
Bacon,  1993), 132; L. Dossey, Healing Words: the Power of Prayer 
and the Practice of Medicine (New York: Harper Collins Publisher, 
1997), 78.

16.  Gerald Corey, Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy, 
7th ed. (Belmont, CA: Thomson/Brooks/Cole, 2005), 136; J. K. Feible-
man, Understanding Philosophy:A Popular History of Ideas (London: 
Souvenir Press,1999, 200‒202.

17.  Corey, Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy, 136‒40.
18.  Lahey, Psychology, 478‒80; Pastorino and Doyle-Portillo, What is psy-

chology?, 639‒42.
19.  Herbert Benson, Timeless Healing: The Power and Biology of Belief 

(London: Simon and Schuster Ltd, 1996), 20‒24; W. R Miller and C. 
E Thoresen, “Spirituality, Religion and Health: An Emerging Research 
Field,” American Psychologist 58 (2003): 24‒25.

20.  Seyyed Hosein Nasr, A Young Muslim’s Guide to the Modern World 
(Cambridge: UK: The Islamic Texts Society, 1993), 242; Al-Attas, Pro-
legomena of the Metaphysics of Islam, 61. 

21.  Abu Hamid Al-Ghazālī, Ihya’ ‘ulumuddin, vol. 3 (Beirut, Lebanon: 
Darul Hikmah, 1998), 4. Al-Attas, Prolegomena of the Metaphysics of 
Islam, 14.

22.  Al-Ghazālī, Ihyā’‘ulumuddin, 4‒8.
23.  Abu Hamid Al-Ghazālī, Alchemy of Happiness, trans. Claud Field, 

www.sacred-texts.com/isl/tah/index.htm, 1909, 11. 
24.  Al-Attas, Prolegomena of the Metaphysics of Islam, 173.
25.  Absar Ahmad, “Qur’anic Concept of Human Psyche,” in Islamization 

of Knowledge, vol. 2, ed. Zafar Afaq Ansari (Islamabad, Pakistan: Isla-
mic Research Institute Press, 1981), 25.

26.  Al-Ghazāli, Ihyā’‘ulumuddin, 4; Al-Attas, Prolegomena of the Meta-
physics of Islam, 146.

27.  Al-Attas, Prolegomena of the Metaphysics of Islam, 145‒47.
28.  Naumana Amjad, “Psyche in Islamic Gnostic and Philosophical Tradi-

tion,” in Islamization of Knowledge, vol. 2, ed. Zafar Afaq Ansari (Isla-
mabad, Pakistan: Islamic Research Institute Press, 1981), 39‒45. 

29.  Muhammad Abul Quasem, The Ethics of al-Ghazālī: A Composite 
Ethics in Islam (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Central Printing, 1975), 44; 
Naumana, “Psyche in Islamic Gnostic and Philosophical Tradition,” 
39‒42. 

30.  Ahmad bin Muhammad Miskawahy, The Refinement of Character: A 
Translation from Arabic Tahdhīb al-Akhlāq, trans. C. K Zurayk, (Bei-
rut, Lebanon: American University of Beirut), 5‒7.



Yaakob: An Islamic Conceptual Framework 85

31.  Al-Attas, Prolegomena of the Metaphysics of Islam, 3‒5.
32.  Ibid., 51.
33.  Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, Preliminary Statement on the Gen-

eral Theory of the Islamization of the Malay-Indonesian Archipelago 
(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka,1969), 2.

34.  Al- Ghazālī, Ihyā ‘ulumuddin, 9‒11; Abul Quasem, The Ethics of al-
Ghazālī, 48‒50.

35.  Abul Quasem, The Ethics of al-Ghazālī, 49‒51.
36.  Al- Ghazālī, Ihyā ‘ulumuddin, 61; Al-Attas, Prolegomena of the Meta-

physics of Islam, 148‒49.
37.  Abul Quasem, The Ethics of al-Ghazālī , p. 49. Al-Ghazali, Ihyā , p. 61. 
38.  Al- Ghazālī, Ihyā’‘ulumuddin, 57.
39.  Abul Quasem, The Ethics of al-Ghazālī, 50; Yasien Mohamed, Hu-

man Nature in Islam (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: A. S. Nordeen, 1998), 
110‒11.

40.  Al-Attas, Prolegomena of the Metaphysics of Islam, 152‒54; Abul 
Quasem, The Ethics of al-Ghazālī, 49‒50.

41.  Al-Ghazālī, Ihyā’‘ulumuddin, 50‒51; Mohamed, Human Nature in Is-
lam, 103‒104.

42.  Al-Ghazālī, Ihyā’‘ulumuddin, 50; Abul Quasem, The Ethics of al-
Ghazālī, 80.

43.  Cited in Al-Ghazālī, Ihyā’‘ulumuddin,74.
44.  Pastorino and Doyle-Portillo, What is Psychology?, 616,
45.  Abul Quasem, The Ethics of al-Ghazālī, 106‒108.
46.  Al- Ghazālī, Ihyā’ ‘ulumuddin, 50; Abul Quasem, The Ethics of al- 

Ghazālī, 80.
47.  Qur’‒n (12:53); Al-Attas, Prolegomena of the Metaphysics of Islam, 

147.  
48.  Manzurul Haq, “Heart”: The Locus of Human Psyche,  in Islamization 

of Knowledge-II, vol. 2, ed. Zafar Afaq Ansari (Islamabad, Pakistan: 
Islamic Research Institute Press, 1981), 64.

49.  Abul Quasem, The Ethics of al-Ghazālī, 49.
50.  Qur’an (75:2); Al- Ghazālī, Ihyā’‘ulumuddin, 5. 
51. Al-Attas, Prolegomena of the Metaphysics of Islam, 147; Syed Azhar, 

Muslim Tradition in Psychotherapy and Modern Trends (Lahore, Paki-
stan: Seraj Munir, 1989), 120.

52.  Hall, A Primer of Freudian Psychology , 22‒26; Pastorino and Doyle-
Portillo, What is Psychology?, 621‒22. 

53.  Qur’ān (89:27).



The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 28:486

54.  Qur’ān (7:172); Al-Attas, Prolegomena of the Metaphysics of Islam, 
146‒47.

55.  Al-Attas, Prolegomena of the Metaphysics of Islam, 147.
56.  Syed Azhar Ali Rizvi, Muslim Tradition in Psychotherapy and Modern 

Trends (Lahore, Pakistan: Seraj Munir, 1989), 51. 
57.   Ibid., 50‒51.
58.  Malik Badri, “Counseling and Psychotherapy from an Islamic Perspec-

tive,” Al-Shajarah, 1, no. 1 and  2 (1996): 171‒73.
59.  Al-Attas, Prolegomena Prolegomena of the Metaphysics of Islam, 93.
60.  Qur’an (25:67).
61.  Al- Ghazālī, Disciplining the Soul, Refining the Character, and Curing 

the Sickness of the Heart: Breaking the Two Desires, books 22 and 23 
of The Revival of the Religious Sciences, trans. T. J. Winter (Cambridge, 
UK: The Islamic Texts Society, 1995), 169‒70. 

62.  Al-Ghazālī, Ihyā’‘ulumuddin, p. 60. Ahmad bin Muhammad Misk-
awayh, The Refinement of Character, trans. C. K Zurayk, (Beirut, Leba-
non: American University of Beirut, 1968), p. 51.

63.  Al- Ghazālī, Ihyā’ ‘ulumuddin, 58; Abul Quasem, The Ethics of Al-
Ghazali, 90.

64.  Miskawayh, The Refinement of Character, 31.
65.  Ali Rizvi, Muslim Tradition in Psychotherapy and Modern Trends, 44.
66.  Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas, Islam and Secularism, (Kuala 

Lumpur, Malaysia: Art Printing Works, 1978), 144‒45.
67.  Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas, The Concept of Education in Islam: 

A Framework for an Islamic Philosophy of Education (Kuala Lumpur, 
Malaysia: ISTAC, 1991), 13. 

68.  Ibid., 14.
69.  Al-Attas, Islam and Secularism, 15. 
70.  James K. Feibleman, Understanding Philosophy:A Popular History of 

Ideas (London, Souvenir Press, 1999), 105‒110.
71.  Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas,  The Concept of Education in Is-

lam, 19. (italics in text quoted).
72  Ibid.
73.  Ibid.
74.  Ibid., 20.
75.  Al-Attas, Islam and Secularism, 142.
76. Abdullah Nasih ‘Ulwān, Ţarbiyyah al-aulād fi Islam, vol. 1 (Beirut, Leb-

anon: Dar al-Salam, 1995), 145; Mohd Nor, The Educational Philoso-
phy and Practice of Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas, 162.



Yaakob: An Islamic Conceptual Framework 87

77.  Al-Ghazālī, Mizan al-‘amal (Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Hikmah, 1986), 
104; Al-Attas, Islam and Secularism, 138; Mohd Nor, The Educational 
Philosophy and Practice of Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas, 114.

78.  Alparslan Açikgenç, “Turkish Experience in Islamic Education: Past, 
Present and Future” (paper presented at The Seventh World Confer-
ence on Muslim Education, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia, December 
21‒23, 2009), 4‒8. 

79.  Al-Attas Prolegomena of the Metaphysics of Islam, 149‒56. Açikgenç, 
“Turkish Experience in Islamic Education,” 6.

80.  Açikgenç, “Turkish Experience in Islamic Education,” 6.
81.  Sidek Baba, “Reevaluation of the Integration of Knowledge” (paper 

presented at The Seventh World Conference on Muslim Education, 
Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia, December 21‒23, 2009), 2 

82.  Al- Ghazālī, Ihyā’, 62.
83.  Miskawayh, The Refinement of Character, 29. 
84. ‘ Ulwān, Ţarbiyyah al-awlād, 145‒47.
85.  E. W. Lane, Arabic-English lexicon, vol. 2 (Cambridge, UK: The Is-

lamic Text Society, 1984), 2139. 
86.  Al-Ghazālī, Mizān al-‘amal, (Beirut, Lebanon: Darul Hikmah, 1986), 

108‒112. 
87.  Ibid., 77. 
88.  Ibid., 79.
89.  Al-Ghazālī, Ihyā’, 67.
90.  Al-Ghazālī, Disciplining the Soul, 79.
91.  Ibn Khaldun, The Muqaddimah, vol. 3, trans. F. Rosenthal (New York: 

The Bollingen Foundation Inc, 1958), 305.
92.  Al-Ghazālī, Ihyā’, 59.
93.  Açikgenç, “Turkish Experience in Islamic Education,” 7.
94.  Ibn Khaldun, The Muqaddimah, 307; Ahmad Al-Beely, “The Concept 

of Islamic Curriculum,” in Curriculum and Teacher Education, ed. Mu-
hammad Hamid Al-Afendi and Nabi Ahmed Baloch (Kuala Lumpur, 
Malaysia: Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka, 1990), 40. 

95.  Al-Ghazālī, Ihyā’, 49.
96.  Al-Ghazālī, Mizan al-‘āmal, 75.
97.  Miskawahy, The Refinement of Character, 69; Al-Ghazālī, Ihyā’, 72.
98.  Al-Ghazālī, Disciplining the Soul, 75‒78. 
99.  Ibid., 76‒78. 
100.  Ibid., 80.



Yaakob: An Islamic Conceptual Framework 88

101.  Al-Ghazālī, Ihyā’, 7.
102.  Ahmad Al-Beely, “The Concept of Islamic Curriculum” in Curriculum 

and Teacher Education, ed. Muhammad Hamid Al-Afendi and Nabi 
Ahmed Baloch (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka, 
1990), 34‒40; Wan Mohd Nor, Knowledge Culture: An Explanation 
(Singapore: Pustaka National PTE LTD, 2003), 91.

103. Hadi Sharifi, “The Islamic as Opposed to a Modern Philosophy of Edu-
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