Islamic Spiritual and Emotional Intelligence and I

Journal of Religion and Health (2022) 61:4783–4806
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01485-2
ORIGINAL PAPER
Islamic Spiritual and Emotional Intelligence and Its

Relationship to Eternal Happiness: A Conceptual Paper
Mastura Ab. Wahab1
Accepted: 17 December 2021 / Published online: 4 January 2022

© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
2022
Abstract
This paper discusses the relationship between spiritual and emotional intelligence
and eternal happiness, from an Islamic perspective. In Islam, achieving spiritual
intelligence first requires a close relationship with God—established, for example,
through consistent purification of the soul, repentance, acts of worship, performing
good deeds and avoiding evil. Through such action, the light of God—which comes
with Divine guidance and the knowledge of truth—touches the hearts of believ-
ers, causing them to experience pure contentedness. This study takes a qualitative
approach, using the NVivo text analysis tool to analyse texts from 43 references,
comprising 31 journal articles and 12 books or chapters. The three most frequently
used words were ‘Islamic’, ‘spiritual’ and ‘happiness’, while ‘intelligence’ was the
fourteenth most-used. This finding highlights the fear of God due to the love of God
as the highest obedience, as it is the purest and sincerest degree of worship (i.e. for
God’s sake completely). Spiritual intelligence trains the soul from its prone-to-evil
state to become more angelic or serene, thereby increasing emotional intelligence.
This will be reflected in a believer’s attitude, emotion and behaviours aligning with
the conduct commended in Islam, to whom God promises an afterlife of eternal hap-
piness in Heaven. This paper draws on the Qur’an and Sunnah as well as prominent
Islamic scholarship to support the Islamic concepts discussed, enriching our under-
standing and perspective on the Islamic concept of spiritual and emotional intelli-
gence and its role in attaining eternal happiness in Islam. This study also highlights
several key concepts pivotal to Islamic spiritual and emotional intelligence as pre-
requisites for obtaining eternal happiness, therefore advancing current knowledge on
the subject.
Keywords Islam · Spiritual intelligence · Emotional intelligence · Eternal happiness
* Mastura Ab. Wahab

mastura.ab.wahab@usm.my
1
School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia
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Vol.:(0123456789)
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.

4784 Journal of Religion and Health (2022) 61:4783–4806
Introduction
Happiness has become the centre of attention in many studies (Fariddanesh &
Rezaei, 2019; Ngamaba & Soni, 2018). It is the ultimate goal of people’s lives
in this world and hereafter. Religions especially associate the purpose and the
outcomes of their teachings with happiness that attracts followers to the reli-
gion (Rizvi & Hossain, 2017). However, most contemporary studies restrict the
explanations of happiness to the feeling experienced in this life (e.g. Habib et al.,
2018).
In Islam, eternal happiness refers to the happiness in this world and in the
afterlife, and especially the happiness in the hereafter, as it is eternal and infi-
nite (Al-Ghazzali et al., 2015; Nasr, 2014). This paper specifically focuses on
the Islamic perspective on happiness and discusses how Islamic spiritual intel-
ligence (or abbreviated as SQ) and emotional intelligence (or abbreviated as EQ)
are imperative for achieving eternal happiness. It is important to note that Islam
views life in this world as preparation for eternal life in the hereafter (Mat Akhir,
2008; Quasem, 1975). To reach this complete and eternal happiness, Muslims
must first be spiritually intelligent, in terms of understanding and practising the
Islamic teachings as revealed in the Qur’an and Sunnah (the Prophet’s practices).
Many prominent Islamic scholars, such as Ibn Rushd (Leaman, 1980) and
Al-Farabi (Sweeney, 2007), assert that although happiness (sa’ada) may not be
achieved in this life, real happiness depends on the believers’ spiritual state of
relationship with God, especially in terms of their virtue and morality in fol-
lowing God’s commandment to do good and prevent evil (amr bil ma’aruf wa
nahy anil mungkar). The spiritual agility and wisdom in understanding as well
as endorsing the teaching of Islam, as God revealed it to the Prophet Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam (SAW), indicate the spiritual insight of the believers who under-
stand Islam. Thus, spiritual intelligence in Islam literally refers to the ability to be
pious and obedient in following God’s commandment, doing good and avoiding
evil, as well as observing their performance of acts of worship (ibadah) and com-
prehending the internal/spiritual and external meanings of Islamic teachings. To
reach this level of understanding of the religion, apart from learning, reasoning,
observing, reading and some other ways of acquiring intellectual intelligence,
God endows the chosen believers, who follow all His orders and leave all His
prohibitions as well as establishing a closer connectedness with God, with the
essence of Islamic spiritual understanding (i.e. SQ) (Al-Ghazali, 1986; Ibn Arabi,
2000, 2004).
The stipulation of spiritual intelligence in Islam is more subtle and unique, as
the essence of spiritual understanding and awareness of Islam cannot be acquired
by just any Muslims. Instead, God bestows it directly upon their hearts (qalb),
based on their level of sincere devotion and obedience to God (Al-Suhrawardī,
1999; Nursi, 2001). Islam closely relates emotional intelligence (EQ) to spiritual
intelligence (SQ), in the sense that EQ can only be fully grasped if SQ is attained.
Without SQ, believers may not be able to manage their emotions well. To manage
emotions, an individual must have awareness regarding their importance and train
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Journal of Religion and Health (2022) 61:4783–4806 4785
the self to be in control of behaviours and emotions. SQ will influence believ-

ers’ ability to manage their anger and emotion, leading to an increase in their
EQ ability. For Muslims to have Islamic SQ bestowed upon them, they first must
establish a close connection with God by becoming pious and obedient servants
who can control their emotion and anger and exhibit the characteristics of moral
virtues.
Ibn Qayyim (Al-Jawziyyah, 1973), in his book Al-Fawa’id, states that to attain
the level of SQ in Islam, believers must first purify their soul, repent and train their
behaviours to be in accordance with God’s commandment and consistently on the
right path as good servants of God. Indirectly, this can soften the soul, and conse-
quently, they will become more patient, grateful, calm and content. In this regard,
Ibn Rajab indicates that good character (including having patience, kindness, hon-
esty, gratitude) is part of the fear of God (taqwa), and believers in Islamic spiritual-
ity are not complete without having the fear of God (taqwa), to reach the level con-
sidered SQ (At-Tirmidhi, 2007). The emotional quotient cannot be truly achieved if
believers do not truly submit to God and purify their souls, which can soften their
hearts and make the self tranquil and free from worry. This contributes to the believ-
ers’ ability to improve their EQ and is also the reason that God casts His light onto
their hearts.
The paper aims to conceptually discuss the importance of Islamic spiritual and
emotional intelligence (ISEI) in attaining eternal happiness, as mentioned in the
Qur’an (e.g. Qur’an: 16:97; 55:26–27; 20:131). The reason for undertaking this con-
ceptual approach is to provide an important foundation for future studies to embark
on intellectual discourse prior to conducting empirical research and further testing
the relationships between Islamic spiritual and emotional intelligence and eternal
happiness. Any empirical investigation that lacks an established conceptual basis
would result in premature findings, causing validity and reliability issues in the
study. According to Wacker (2004), without a conceptual understanding, empiri-
cal tests cannot have meaning. Studying Islamic concepts without referring to the
Islamic sources from the Qur’an and Sunnah and ignoring the original writings
from prominent Islamic scholars, such as Al-Ghazali, Al-Jawziyyah, Ibn ‘Arabi, Ibn
Rushd, Al-Suhrawardī, Al-Qusyairî or Ibn Sina, who had written voluminous books
on the subject, will not be complete and confidently accepted as credible and reli-
able by most knowledgeable and pious Muslim scholars. Furthermore, most con-
temporary studies on ISEI and eternal happiness seem restricted to only transient
happiness attained in this life; rarely do we find studies that intellectually and com-
prehensively discuss this issue. Prioritising this kind of contemporary study alone
would undermine the significant contributions of the original sources.
Therefore, this paper can strengthen the understanding and increase the level
of confidence among knowledgeable scholars by adding sources from prominent
Islamic scholars to support the paper. Many of the existing studies on happiness in
Islam, such as Quasem (1975), Al-Attas (1993), Nasr (2014) and Cornell (2014),
Rizvi and Hossain (2017), Ngamaba and Soni (2018) and Fariddanesh and Rezaei
(2019), do not explain happiness in relation to ISEI. Thus, this paper will illumi-
nate this issue, to shed further light on the association between SQ, EQ and hap-
piness. ISEI is as closely related to happiness as the real happiness in Islam is to
13
surrendering to God, (e.g. Qur’an, 2:86, 5:4, 10:62–64, 29:56, 20: 124), which is
also the outcome of SQ in Islam and guaranteed by God to attain happiness in the
hereafter (Siddiqi, 1993).
Methodology
Study Design
A qualitative research approach was used to examine the relationship between

Islamic spiritual and emotional intelligence and eternal happiness. Qualitative
research normally involves analysing text (e.g. articles, interview scripts, books or
chapters) and other non-numerical data (e.g. video and audio) using non-statistical
methods to understand the main themes of the study (Sinkovics et al., 2005; Chism
et al., 2008). Specifically, a content analysis technique was used to analyse the quali-
tative data of the study. Content analysis refers to a systematic, replicable technique
for condensing many words into fewer categories based on specific coding rules
(Mayring, 2014).
In this study, the content analysis was performed using computerised analysis of
NVivo automated text analysis software version 12. This can process and analyse
a larger amount of text using word frequency queries and provide useful results in
terms of word count, weighted percentage of use, word cloud and cluster analysis.
Conducting the content analysis first involves identifying the main themes of the
study. In this study, the themes were determined based on the research objectives,
so among the main themes were Islamic spiritual and emotional intelligence and
happiness. The second step is determining the inclusion and exclusion criteria or a
specific pre-determined timeframe, allowing a search for the most relevant articles
(Windle, 2010). These criteria can narrow the search regarding the topic of con-
cern and increase the reliability of the findings. The third step is running the content
analysis on the articles, books or chapters derived from the references of the study.
Using the sources from the references can increase the reliability and validity of the
study because they directly relate to the major themes. The next step is to upload
these sources to NVivo using the functions ‘file’ and ‘create’, converting them into
data for the study’s qualitative analysis.
Search Strategy
The keywords for the literature review search include ‘spiritual intelligence in
Islam’, ‘emotional intelligence in Islam’, ‘eternal happiness in Islam’, ‘love of God’,
‘piety (taqwa)’, ‘ladunni’, ‘Islamic spirituality’, ‘religiosity in Islam’ and ‘purifi-
cation of soul/heart’. Online database results via Google Scholar with unavailable
full text, such as some books and chapters, were summarised as a Word document
by either typing or the ‘copy–paste’ function. This allowed them to be uploaded
to NVivo as data. This study restricted the search to the articles, books or chap-
ters that were cited in the literature review. This can also verify that the content of
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the literature review is within the aim and scope of the study, which will become
obvious in the findings following the content analysis. If the keywords used for the
search do not reflect the study’s main themes, the articles, books or chapters derived
from the search and later uploaded to NVivo will yield unreliable and invalid results
because they can show irrelevant and unjustifiable connections with the themes and
objectives of the study.
Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria
Only the sources relevant to the major themes of the study were included in the
analysis. To narrow the search, only references from the literature review were used.
References not related to the major themes of the study, such as articles on method-
ology and other religious perspectives, were excluded.
Data Synthesis
According to Gaur and Kumar (2018), the most popular content analysis technique
is the manifest analysis (i.e. the direct text) versus the latent analysis (i.e. what is
indirectly intended behind the text). The former could better reduce the subjective
bias of the researcher in the results. The manifest technique is mostly applied with
computerised artificial intelligence systems such as NVivo software to automate the
word frequency and build the word cluster of the main themes of the data synthe-
sis from the references uploaded. This minimises the subjectivity of human error in
data synthesis. Thus, after screening for inclusion and exclusion criteria, 43 articles,
books or chapters were found relevant to the major themes, thus they were uploaded
as data for subsequent analysis. NVivo ran the analysis to find the match for the
most frequent themes and words and those that clustered together.
This study did not create any specific manual codes for the themes; instead, the
whole process was automatically done via computer-aided text analysis of NVivo.
The analysis only involved manual elimination of irrelevant words (i.e. not related
to the major themes), such as ‘it’, ‘at’, ‘and’, ‘or’, ‘also’, ‘according’, ‘even’, ‘how-
ever’, ‘ibid’, ‘ibn’, ‘people’, ‘state’ and ‘thus’, using the ‘stop word list’ function of
the software. The analysis was processed using the commands ‘word frequency’ and
‘run query’. The data were run using the command ‘50 most frequent’ with ‘mini-
mum length of 4’ to arrive at more meaningful results. Doing this can narrow the
results to a more manageable word frequency, thus increasing the reliability and
validity of the findings.
Findings
The results indicate that out of the list of 43 references, 31 were journal articles
(72.09%) and 12 were books or book chapters (27.90%). Specifically, the results
show that the Journal of Religion and Health (30.23%) published between 2016
and 2019 was the most frequently published journal in the discipline, followed by
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Table 1 Publications used for analysis and frequency

Name of journal/publication F %
Journal of Religion and Health 13 30.23

Journal of Law and Religion 2 4.65
Studia Islamica 2 4.65
Al-Itqan: Journal of Islamic Sciences and Comparative Studies 1 2.33
Arabica 1 2.33
Creative Education 1 2.33
Indian Journal of Psychiatry 1 2.33
International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 1 2.33
International Journal of Ethics and Systems 1 2.33
Islamiyyat: International Journal of Islamic Studies 1 2.33
Islamic Studies 1 2.33
Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research 1 2.33
Journal of Spirituality and Mental Health 1 2.33
Journal of New Eastern Studies 1 2.33
Sage Open 1 2.33
Studies in Comparative Religion 1 2.33
The Review of Metaphysics 1 2.33
American University of Beirut* 1 2.33
Anqa Publishing* 1 2.33
Brigham Young University Press* 1 2.33
Bibliotheca Arabica* 1 2.33
Dar Ihya al-Kutub al- ‘Arabiyya* 1 2.33
Kaynak* 1 2.33
Pearson Publication* 1 2.33
Routledge* 1 2.33
Penerbit USM* 1 2.33
State University of New York Press* 1 2.33
The Islamic Texts Society* 1 2.33
Walter de Gruyter* 1 2.33
Total 43 100
*Book, F = frequency
the Journal of Law and Religion (4.65%) and Studia Islamica (4.65%). 21 other
references each contributed once to the remainder of the data. Table 1 displays the
results.
The results of the NVivo automated text analysis show that the most frequently
found words were ‘Islamic’ (i.e. f = 1391, % = 0.39), ‘spiritual’ (i.e. f = 1262,
% = 0.36) and ‘happiness’ (i.e. f = 1091, % = 0.31), while the word ‘intelligence’ (i.e.
f = 619, % = 0.17) was the fourteenth on the list. Table 2 displays the result.
The output from the horizontal dendrogram of the cluster analysis shows the
word ‘spiritual’ clustered together with ‘intelligence’ next to ‘soul’ and ‘heart’,
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Table 2 Frequency of words Words F Weighted %
Islamic 1391 0.39

Happiness 1262 0.36
Spiritual 1091 0.31
Life 1064 0.30
Religious 963 0.27
Love 874 0.25
Knowledge 857 0.24
Islam 787 0.22
Muslim 746 0.21
Religion 716 0.18
Soul 643 0.18
World 641 0.18
Human 638 0.18
Intelligence 619 0.17
Self 618 0.17
Health 574 0.16
Divine 538 0.15
Journal 518 0.15
Truth 515 0.15
Allah 513 0.14
Spirituality 502 0.14
Heart 479 0.14
Philosophy 436 0.12
Existence 433 0.12
Prophet 432 0.12
Qur’an 424 0.12
Light 422 0.12
Good 396 0.11
Religiosity 361 0.10
Meaning 346 0.10
Psychology 336 0.09
F = frequency
with the word ‘happiness’ found in the same cluster as ‘Allah’ and ‘spirituality’.
Figure 1 displays the result of the cluster analysis.
The word cloud of the text analysis also demonstrates that ‘happiness’ is
closely clustered with the main themes of the study, such as ‘Islamic’, ‘spirit-
ual’, ‘religious’, ‘knowledge’, ‘Islam’, ‘Muslim’, ‘religious’, ‘life’, ‘love’, ‘intel-
ligence’, ‘divine’, ‘soul’ and so forth. Figure 2 displays the results of the word
cloud.
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Fig. 1 Horizontal dendrogram of the cluster analysis
Eternal Happiness in Islam
Al-Ghazzali (2015) and Al-Farabi (1968) assert that eternal happiness is only
attainable in the next world. Believers on whom God bestows ‘ilmu ladunni’
(i.e. direct knowledge of God) will attain eternal bliss but experience the ulti-
mate happiness in the henceforth (e.g. Qur’an, 8:67). Nasr (2014) indicates that
Islam is more concerned about achieving enduring happiness than the transient
form of happiness as the most secularist and materialistic society enjoys it. Many
verses in the Qur’an refer to happiness by using different terms, such as radiyya-
tan (content) (Q.10:58), mardiyattan (contented) (Q.89:27–30), farah (rejoice)
(Q.30:4), hasana (good) (Q.2:201), sa ‘id (happy) (Q.11:105), sakina (tranquil-
lity) (Q.48:4), naja (salvation) (Q.40:41), falah (success) (Q.7:8, 23:102), fawz
(felicity/victory) (Q.33:71) and rida (contentment) (Q.5:119, 9:100, 13:28, 58:22,
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Fig. 2 Word cloud of the text analysis
98:8). God mentions specifically in the Qur’an (Q.11:105, 11:108) that eternal
happiness is attained in the afterlife when residing in Heaven. God also states in
the Qur’an (Q.13:26) that true happiness will be experienced in the next world.
Cornell (2014) states that worldly happiness is just a taste of the great happiness
of the eternal life. Ibn Rushd (d. 1198) indicates that Islam is for man’s eternal
happiness in the life after death (Leaman, 1980). In relation to this, Ibn Rushd
asserts that the Islamic law (Shar’iah) that ruled the life of man, as God revealed
it in the Quran and Sunnah, is for mankind’s happiness (Leaman, 1980). This
indirectly indicates that Islam is the guarantor of eternal happiness in the immor-
tal life (i.e. in the hereafter).
Al-Ghazali (Ahmed, 2019) indicates that as man was created with a dual nature
of the body (jasad) and spirit (ruh), man could achieve the taste of great happiness
in this world if he purified his soul from worldliness, towards pure devotion to God.
Nasr (2014) states that the source of joy and contentment is to first and foremost sur-
render to the Will of God and to observe His commandment. For Ibn Arabi (1972),
the ultimate happiness in the Islamic sense is to be in close juxtaposition with the
Divine. Thus, spiritually, to be in this state is to believe in the Oneness of God and
to have knowledge of God, as this will bring man closer to Him. Al-Ghazali (Abra-
hamov, 1993; Al-Ghazzali et al., 2015) also indicates that true happiness is to have
knowledge of God, as this can give man the fear of God (taqwa), to make him repent
of sins (tawbat), to purify his soul, be devoted to God and surrender to God’s Will
in all sorts of senses. Ibn Arabi (Chittick, 1989) emphasises that central to attaining
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real happiness is to have the love of God (Ibn ‘Arabi, 1999), also the essence of spir-
itual intelligence in Islam.
Yahya Ibn ‘Adi (d. 964) and Miskawayah (d. 1030) indicate that happiness is
realisable by having good moral virtues (Sweeney, 2007). Similar to Aristotle, Ibn
‘Adi and Al-Farabi state that happiness is the end of virtue and the attainment of the
supreme goal of ethics (Omar, 2003), in which happiness relates to the completion
of every virtue. Thus, virtue in Islam entails actions due to the fear of God, caus-
ing believers to obey all God’s orders, in terms of ‘amr bil ma’aruf wa nahy ‘anil
mungkar’, including performing acts of worship, repentance, moral virtue and good
conduct, which can enhance believers’ spiritual strength and bring them closer to
God (i.e. worshipping God sincerely for the sake of God). This coincides with the
purpose of man’s creation, as God says in the Qur’an (51:56), ‘I have only created
Jinns and men, that they may serve Me’.
Islamic Spiritual Intelligence
In Islam, spiritual intelligence, also known as spiritual quotient, is not a straight-

forward subject. To understand it fully requires first understanding the essence of
the creation of man, which consists of body/outward (jasad) and spirit/inward (ruh)
(Mat Akhir, 2008; Al-Ghazali, 1993). Second is to understand the role of the heart
(qalb), which becomes the central point that connects man in a spiritual sense with
God. And third is to know the real purpose of man’s creation as the Qur’an states it,
which is only to worship God.
Particularly, the Islamic perspective on SQ emphasises the importance of the
heart (qalb), in order to develop a spiritual closeness with God (Hermansen, 1988).
In pursuit of the SQ in Islam, most of the Islamic literature accentuates man’s rela-
tionship with God (Hanefar et al., 2016). Ahmad and Khan (2016) refer to spiritual-
ity as the feeling of connectedness with a higher power or God; thus, spirituality in
Islam is similar to religiosity (Achour et al., 2016). Zainuddin (2017) also indicates
that Islamic spirituality refers to Muslims’ connectedness with the Supreme Being
(Allah). The Qur’an (e.g. 2:57 and 97) states that the heart (qalb) is the point that
connects man to God. It is the place of faith that connects them spiritually. Sarif
and Ismail (2012) indicate that establishing the connectedness with God can occur
through total submission and pure devotion to God, by following all His command-
ments to do good and prevent evil. In most literature related to Islamic SQ, the heart
(qalb) receives the most mention (e.g. Shaari & Matore, 2019), due to the impor-
tance of the heart (qalb) as the key that connects man to God through a spiritual
means. Some scholars even consider the heart (qalb) the intelligence, due to its cen-
tral role in SQ (Abdullah, 2012).
Man’s Relationship with God as the Essence of Islamic Spiritual Intelligence
In general, SQ has no definite definition. Most researchers base their definition of

SQ on their perspectives related to their research interest. In general, most con-
ventional scholars interpret SQ as ‘(a) the capacity for transcendence; (b) the
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ability to enter into heightened spiritual states of consciousness; (c) the ability
to invest everyday activities, events, and relationships with a sense of the sacred;
(d) the ability to utilize spiritual resources to solve problems in living; and (e) the
capacity to engage in virtuous behaviour’ (Emmons, 2000, p. 10). Islam views
SQ through the lens of the relationship between man and God (Anwar et al.,
2020; Hanefar et al., 2016). As man was created with a dual nature, thus, as a
physical being with the ability of mental and intellectual intelligence, man as a
spiritual being also has the potential for spiritual intelligence.
Socrates agrees that man possesses an immortal soul that will survive after the
physical body dies (Chaffee, 2011). The condition of the immortal soul’s afterlife
depends on the level of man’s relationship with God. In other words, SQ in Islam
refers to the highest level of intelligence an individual attains due to his love of
God, which leads him/her to actualise his/her needs for establishing a nearness
to God. The fear of God (taqwa) can ignite this need, which may rise to the feel-
ing of gratitude and contentedness to God and the love of God, the highest sta-
tion in Sufism, as it is the purest and most sincere obedience to God. It is also
the complete Tawhidic obedience (in contrast to shirk or associating God with
others). Regarding the fear of God (taqwa), in the Qur’an (e.g. 3:190–194), God
mentions that those with high intellect and correct understandings (known as ulul
al-bab) are those with the fear of God (taqwa). This signifies the role of taqwa,
and the Qur’an also exhorts believers to guard themselves against evil, sins, wrath
and punishments of God (Siddiqi, 1993). Most prominent Islamic scholars indi-
cate that there are several levels of the fear of God, such as the fear of God’s
punishment and wrath (khawf) (Al-Qusyairî, 1988; Quraish, 2005), knowledge
of the consequences for disobedience to God (Nursi, 2011), God’s blessing and
mercy (Al-Jawziyya, 2004) and the love of God (mahabbah) (Ibn ‘Arabi, 1999;
Al-Ghazali, 1993).
The fear of God’s wrath and punishment (khawf) is the initial stage of obedience
to God (servitude). At this stage, believers submit to God due to their fear of His
anger and wrath, which could lead to punishment, unhappiness, pain and hellfire.
Repentance and other performance of acts of worship, as well as purifications of the
soul, can strengthen faith and taqwa (Al-Qusyairî, 1988; Isgandarova, 2019). This
also causes mercy, blessings and forgiveness from God, which come with God’s
guidance for the faithful servants. At this level, the believers are certain that they are
responsible for their own actions, and disobedience to God will cause the wrath of
God and loss of blessings and mercy, which can lead to unhappiness, worries, mis-
ery, discontent and depression in this life, and severe punishment in the hereafter if
the sinner does not repent.
The highest obedience in the fear of God is when the believers obey God due
to the love of God (Ibn ‘Arabi, 1999). This is the highest level of the fear of God,
as obedience signifies the sincerest love of God (i.e. truly obey God because of
God). This is the complete belief of Tawhid Rububiyyah and Uluhiyyah, which
makes no association of God with others. The believers who reach this obedi-
ence are truly the servants of God, the lovers of God, and they will receive the
highest significant rank in the hereafter. In this world, they may receive spiritual
blessings and gifts from God, such as ladunni (knowledge directly from God).
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However, to reach this level of obedience, believers may have to experience

varieties and numbers of trials (Al-Ghazali, 1986).
Ladunni Intelligence is SQ in Islam
Some Muslim scholars indicate that the use of ‘spiritual’ intelligence in Islam
is open to various interpretations that may be misleading (Enha, 2013). As the
West uses and understands it, SQ belongs to physical or mental/intellectual intel-
ligence as it relates to intellect (aql), awareness, feeling or reasoning, as well as
spirit (ruh) and consciousness. However, those spirits that belong to non-Mus-
lims or sinners will not reach the level of correct and pure spiritual understand-
ing, as sin clouds their hearts because they disbelieve in the Oneness of God (the
essence of Islamic SQ). Thus, they do not possess the fear of God (taqwa), an
essential element of SQ in Islam.
Tasmara (2001) indicates that Islamic SQ should be called ladunni intel-
ligence as ‘ladunni’ carries the more correct and truthful knowledge of God.
Those who receive ladunni have hearts (qalb) that are clean and clear from sins
(as they are continuously repenting and purifying their soul), and their obedi-
ence to God reaches the level of the love of God (i.e. the purest and sincerest
obedience, completely without shirk). Thus, their hearts can receive the light of
God, which comes with truthful knowledge (Briki, & Amara, 2018), the knowl-
edge that God bestows upon the hearts of the truthful chosen believers. God says
in the Qur’an (e.g. 2: 115 and 202, 18: 65–66, 7: 17, 50: 16) that ladunni is
the knowledge that comes directly from God through truthful hunches. Prophet
Muhammad S.A.W also used to say, ‘Beware of instinct (firasa) of the Muslim
for he sees with the light of Allah’ (Tirmidhi-Sahih). Regarding ladunni, the
Prophet SAW says, ‘Knowledge is two-fold—there is an inner knowledge within
the heart and it is the beneficial knowledge’. And this inner knowledge is ‘one of
the secrets of God, which He casts into the heart of His beloved and with which
He has acquainted no angel nor human being’. Thus, SQ in Islam is more accu-
rately called ladunni, the more correct interpretation of spiritual intelligence
that Islam propagates.
Ibn Arabi (1972) indicates that in reality, man cannot understand the truth of
spiritual knowledge; only those gifted with ladunni intelligence could have the
access to understand it. Therefore, to be known logically as a spiritually intel-
ligent person, it is not enough to just possess an ordinary understanding and
awareness of the consciousness of self-worth or nature. It requires a special abil-
ity to understand the spiritually true prophecy/knowledge that can bring man
closer to God in obedience. It is the spiritual knowledge of God bestowed by
God as a gift for man’s pure devotion and sincere obedience. This connotation
of SQ in Islam is also consistent with Baharuddin and Ismail (2013), Muham-
mad (2004) and Hanefar et al. (2016) who regard SQ as an ability to achieve
excellence in a relationship with God, other human beings and nature, achiev-
able through true faith and sincere devotion.
13
Ladunni Intelligence, Love of God and Happiness
Ladunni intelligence (e.g. Qur’an, 2:269) refers to a special ability that God bestows
on His beloved and sincere believers, the understanding of spiritual knowledge of
God. Spirituality normally involves more subtle, deeper feeling and connectedness
that cause lightness, pure contentedness and rejuvenation of the soul, to experience
eternal bliss due to feeling a close connectedness with God. This also aligns with
the definition of real happiness, as Al-Farabi (1968) and Ibn Rushd (Leaman, 1980)
indicate. Individuals who receive eternal bliss and will experience ultimate happi-
ness in the hereafter are those who have good virtue and moral ethics (Al-Ghazali,
1993; Omar, 2003).
In Islam, for individuals to have good virtues and complete moral ethics, they
must obey and worship God to the sincerest and purest degree. In Sufism, this
refers to the highest level of obedience, the love of God (Al-Jawziyya, 2004). When
a believer reaches this level, the obedience and submission are purely for the sake
of God, not because of their desires to receive the rewards, avoid punishments or
just be grateful. It is only for God’s sake completely, consistent with the purpose of
man’s creation, which is merely to worship God (Qur’an, 51:56).
Al-Qurtubi (1996) also states that those who obey God will find peace and tran-
quillity in their hearts. Some Muslim scholars associate the love of God with Islamic
SQ (Tasmara, 2001) as it is considered the highest and sincerest obedience of God,
which is also the reason God casts His Divine light onto the hearts of the sincer-
est servants, known as ladunni (Al-Ghazali, 1986). Al-Ghazali regards this light as
a faculty of knowledge superior to reason and the key to most knowledge (Zamir,
2010). The heart that is pure and clean of evil will be able to receive this light (also
known in Sufism as mukasyafah or ‘the unveiling’) (Al-Ghazali, 2007).
Al-Ghazali (1993) indicates that believers with this light cast into their hearts will
reach the level of understanding of the knowledge of God (maqam ma’rifah). Love
of God also is the domain of ‘ladunni ‘ilm’, as Al-Ghazali states in his risalah al-
ladiniyyah (Al-Ghazali, 1986). Junaid al-Baghdadi (1988) indicates that although
God bestows ladunni intelligence on chosen believers whose hearts are pure and
purified, true and sincere in obedience and devotion to the extent of establishing
close connectedness with God and experiencing the love of God, most people who
follow and practise the same path can also obtain this intelligence.
Heart (Qalb)
In Islam, the seat of knowledge in man is in a spiritual substance (e.g. Qur’an, 2:57
and 97). Many terms in the Qur’an refer to this substance—heart (qalb), soul (nafs),
intellect (aql) or spirit (ruh). The differences in the terms are due to their accidental
states in the verses of the Qur’an. Heart (qalb) is used when referring to receiving
intuitive illumination while intellect (aql) in Arabic and Islamic terms refers to both
reason and intellect (Nasr, 1979).
In Sufism, the heart (qalb) is used under the concept of soul and aligns with spirit
(ruh) and conscience (sir) (Nizamie et al., 2013; Mitha, 2019). Al-Ghazali (1979)
divides the heart into two types: physical heart and spiritual or inner heart. The
13
spiritual heart normally refers to ‘qalb’, also the core of the self (nafs) (Ashy, 1999).
Al-Ghazali (Al-Ghazzali et al., 2015) states that the heart (qalb) is the point of
union between body and spirit (ruh) and the place of faith and revelations from God;
thus, it is the place that links man with God in a spiritual sense. Al-Farabi (1998)
considers the spiritual heart (qalb) immortal; it will live even when the body has
died. According to Ashy (1999), at the centre of the heart (qalb) is the place called
‘fuaad’ where belief, fixed knowledge, sight and hearing (e.g. Qur’an, 16:78), vision
and metaphysics (e.g. Qur’an, 53:12) and deep love (e.g. Qur’an, 14:37) originate.
Al-Ghazali (Mat Akhir, 2008) also indicates that the spiritual heart (qalb) is the
place for knowledge (‘ilm) as it also connects to the cognitive faculty. However,
to receive the maximum knowledge and understanding, the heart (qalb) should be
clean and clear from evil and sins, thus, enabling the heart (qalb) to receive right
knowledge (‘ilm) (Al-Ghazali, 1986). Purification and refinement of the soul can
cause the heart (qalb) to become clean and pure, allowing it to receive the Divine
light that comes with truthful spiritual knowledge (Ibn ’Arabi, 1946; Al-Ghazali,
1993). This also increases believers’ position in the relationship with God, which
indirectly augments the level of nearness to God. God says in the Qur’an (91:9–10),
‘He has succeeded who purifies the soul, and he has failed who corrupts the soul’.
The increase in the fear of God (taqwa), faith (iman) and obedience to God, also
enhances believers’ SQ. Thus, Islam (i.e. religiosity) causes Islamic spirituality to
occur and develop, leading to SQ if consciously performed sincerely and devotedly
over the course of time.
Fear of God (taqwa)
Syaikh As-Syakandari (Waly, 1994) asserts that believers fear God (taqwa) because
God teaches those who fear God (taqwa) something that they do not know (e.g.
Qur’an, 2:282). Many verses in the Qur’an urge man to have the fear of God (e.g.
Qur’an, 3:175, 2:40, 16:51). In Arabic, taqwa comes from the root word q-w-y,
which means to protect, preserve or avoid (Ibn Manzur, 2003). Islamic scholars offer
different interpretations of the fear of God (Bahmani et al., 2018). For example, Al-
Jawziyya (2004) relates the fear of God (taqwa) to the fear of God’s punishment and
wrath (khawf), fear of God due to having true knowledge (khashya) and fear of God
because of experiential knowledge (hayba) (i.e. only those who know God will have
this fear).
Hatim Al-Asamm (d. 852) regards khawf as the ornament of worship, indicating
the crucial role of having the fear of God’s punishment and wrath for believers to
worship God, while Nursi (2011) used firar to indicate the fear of God due to natural
consequences. This all happens when believers have the fear of God’s punishment
and wrath (khawf). They will avoid transgressing against God’s commandment and
will strive to do good deeds and obey God to obtain God’s compassion, forgiveness
13
and mercy. The fear of God (taqwa) refers to man’s obedience to God by obeying
His commandment, ‘amr bil ma’aruf wa nahy ‘anil mungkar’, in an effort to avoid
God’s punishment (Ibn Manzur, 2003). Nursi (2011) indicates that taqwa causes
believers to purify their hearts/souls from evil, thus leading the heart to receive the
Divine light.
Muslim (Birr, 321 and Birr, 332) and Tirmidhi (Birr, 18)3 assert that taqwa has
a close connection with the heart. The Qur’an (e.g. Qur’an, 2:97, 57:22) states that
the heart (qalb) is the place of faith and revelation from God. Tasmara (2001) indi-
cates that the fear of God (taqwa) influences SQ among others and regards the heart
as the centre of SQ. In the Qur’an (3: 190–191, 2: 269, 13:19–22), God says about
the quality of those who have taqwa (ulu al-bab) that they have pure and uncon-
taminated intellect, regarding the sovereignty of God, and sharp and accurate eyes
of the heart (basirah/ayn al-qalb) and see with their hearts (Al-Baghawi, 1993; Al-
Ghazali, 1993). This demonstrates the critical element of the fear of God (taqwa) in
enhancing SQ.
Islamic Emotional Intelligence
Scientifically, the brain controls emotion in the limbic system (Rajagopalan et al.,
2017), which affects the physiological states of the physical body. In addition, indi-
viduals’ temperament and moods influence it, which may result from the influence
of stimuli in the environment. According to Bergh (2011), emotions may arise either
from their subjective feelings that cause the physiological changes in the emotion or
from the physiological changes in the body that lead to the subjective feeling that
the self experiences. It also can be due to the simultaneous occurrence of physi-
ological changes and subjective feeling and/or complex interaction between cogni-
tive factors, environments and the nervous system. This shows that emotions depend
on the subjective interpretation of the conditions/situations that send a signal to the
nervous system to react.
Islam also explains that emotions are based on the conditions of the self (nafs) (in
terms of physiological states). Particularly, the ability to control and overcome des-
picable traits and manners is fundamental in Islamic teaching (Miskawayh, 1966). It
is an indication of good faith (iman) and the sign of believers having piety and the
fear of God (taqwa). According to the Qur’an, man has at least three stages of self
(nafs) that determine his or her ability to have an EQ: nafs al-ammarah (inclined
to evil soul) (e.g. Qur’an, 12:53), nafs al-lawammah (self-reproaching evil) (e.g.
Qur’an, 75:2) and nafs al-mutma’innah (soul at rest) (e.g. Qur’an, 89:27–28).
1
Kitab al- Birr wa’s-Salat-i-wa’l-Adab (The book of virtue, good manners and joining of the ties of
relationship).
2
Kitab-ul-Qadr (The Book of Destiny).
3
Riyadhus-Shalihin, Hadith No. 236.
13
Nafs al‑ammarah (Inclined to Evil Soul)
Egoistic and selfish needs drive the lowest level of self (nafs) (Yasien, 1998). At-
Tustari (d.896/818 CE) described nafs al-ammarah as acting in accordance with his
natural inclination and following his wild desires and self-centred power (Bowering,
1980). This type of self will direct its owner in wrong directions (Mat Akhir, 2008).
The emotions that the self experiences belong to nafs al-ammarah, and normally
earthly desires and uncontrollable passions dominate them. At this stage, man is not
exerting effort to control his soul; instead, he lets it run wild and follow his desire
and temperament (Rothman & Coyle, 2018). This will bring destruction and chaos
to the self spiritually, emotionally and physically. As a result, he will display vicious
characters and exhibit negative and narcissistic kinds of emotion, unable to harmo-
nise his emotion with others’ and experiencing no happiness, only anger, conflict
and discontent. At this stage, their relationship with God is at the lowest, with little
or no fear of God (taqwa). Thus, devils have great potential to seize control of the
desires and overcome the intellect and their emotions, to fulfil selfish needs includ-
ing hurting and lacking concern for others’ emotions.
The self that belongs to nafs al-ammarah tends to become rude, disrespect-
ful, unsympathetic and only concerned about fulfilling its own self-gratifications.
Only those who succeed in weakening the evil temptations and making their ani-
mal desires submissive to the Divine Will can really have EQ. Generally, at nafs
al-ammarah, man possesses an inability to control his/her emotions and behaviours,
with a low EQ. If the self is conscious of the evil (as it is against the nature of man)
and resists, this self falls under the category of nafs al-lawammah (self-reproaching
evil). Yasien (1998) states that the self (nafs) is not emotionally and biologically
inherently evil; however, it must be controlled to be in accordance with God’s com-
mandment. Miskawyah (1966) indicates that if man repents and purifies his/her soul
from evil, then it will affect positively his/her virtues and character, increasing his/
her ability to manage the emotions.
Nafs al‑lawammah (Self‑Reproaching Evil)
This is the stage of the self (nafs) that is conscious of the truth (e.g. Qur’an, 75:2)
but still struggling to balance the negative tendency of the nafs al-ammarah and the
consciousness of the truth. In contrast to nafs al-ammarah, this self does not totally
submit to carnal desires and selfish needs (Yasien, 1998). At the lawammah stage,
believers can experience some EQ as they are aware of their emotions and can bal-
ance between good and evil, anger and lust (Al-Ghazali, 1993). However, the soul
at this stage is always struggling to maintain the balance; thus, it is still too unstable
to be considered as possessing EQ. Although at nafs al-lawammah level, the soul
is still unable to achieve complete peace and tranquillity, it always needs perfection
and is in a state of always criticising itself (Ibn Kathir, 1999). The self at this level
can enhance its condition to a higher level if it is continuously striving to improve
and repent of evil.
13
Nafs al‑mutma’innah (Soul at Rest)
It is the self (nafs) that achieves a full balance of control, rest and satisfaction
(e.g. Qur’an, 89:27). Having attained peace and tranquillity, the soul that reaches
the level of SQ falls under the category of nafs al-mutma’innah. This self (nafs)
accepts all that comes from God, matured by the trials of life (Al-‘Akiti, 1997).
At this level, the self (nafs) achieves real faith in God (Qutb, 1967), in complete
control of its emotions and behaviours (in terms of praiseworthy quality and man-
ners). For example, believers who could sacrifice their time, wealth and effort to
help others in need exhibit EQ; they understand the feelings of the poor and suf-
ferers and can manage greed and selfishness.
The self of al-mutmai’nnah normally exhibits this kind of self. Good virtues,
such as sincerity (ikhlas), kindness/benevolence (ihsan) and justice (‘adl), are the
outcomes of Islamic EQ. Those who possess them can manage their soul of al-
ammarah (inclined to evil), to become more al-mutmai’nnah (at rest). For exam-
ple, sincerity (ikhlas) in Islam denotes an action, intention or feeling performed
only for God’s sake, as the Qur’an indicates (e.g. 112:1–4). A believer who can
practise this virtue has EQ and could defeat and manage his own selfish desires
or lust.
Ibn Rushd (Leaman, 1980) indicates that man attains happiness when he follows
the Islamic teachings. In other words, this implies that Muslims can reach the level
of nafs al-mutma’innah and achieve happiness by obedience to God and adherence
to the Islamic teaching. To soften the hearts to receive the guidance and glad tid-
ings, repentance and the purification of hearts/souls are essential. Purifying the soul
could prepare the heart (qalb) to receive the Divine light. God says in the Qur’an
(26:88–89) that ‘The day when there will not benefit (anyone) wealth or children,
but only one who comes to Allah with a sound heart’. The purified soul softens the
heart to receive God’s guidance and to obey God sincerely, to the extent that he or
she will experience the love of God if continuously and perpetually performed (Ibn
‘Arabi, 1999; Al-Jawziyya, 2004). Believers who worship God due to their love of
God will attain contentment and tranquillity (Amin et al., 2018).
SQ also nurtures the quality of good virtues and morality in the believers, in
terms of patience (sabr), gratitude (syukr), justice (adl), trustworthiness (amanah)
and kindness (ihsan). As a result, the soul becomes tranquil, and the emotion also
becomes well-regulated, leading to an increased EQ. This is because when souls
turn to God, they feel His blessing and grace and receive His Divine light, which
shines throughout their hearts. Among the signs that the soul has enhanced its EQ is
a high level of good virtues in character traits, intentions, behaviours and emotional
states (Huda et al., 2019).
Al-Ghazali (1993) also states that good characters (including emotion) are the
manifestation of having SQ. In other words, EQ can be the outcome of SQ; to be
spiritually intelligent, believers must surrender to God’s commandments by doing
good and leaving wrongdoings, including managing their vices/worldly desire and
evil characters. At this stage, the soul (i.e. nafs al-lawammah) is softened and can
differentiate between good and evil. With continuous and persistent purification of
the hearts/soul from evil and sincere devotion to God, the soul can reach the stage of
13
nafs al-mutmainnah and receive the Divine light that comes with truthful knowledge
from God. The soul that belongs to nafs al-mutma’innah will experience peace and
tranquillity as God stated in the Qur’an (e.g. 89:27–30): ‘O soul in (complete) rest
and satisfaction! Come back to your Lord, well pleased and well-pleasing unto Him!
Enter thou, then among My devotees! Yes, enter thou My Heaven!’.
Islamic Spiritual and Emotional Intelligence and the Attainment of Eternal

Happiness
Happiness is the substance of the heart (qalb) (Briki & Amara, 2018), yet it affects
the whole physical body (mentally, emotionally and health-wise) and the soul/spirit.
The Qur’an (e.g. 89:27) explains that tranquillity belongs to the highest level of nafs
al-mutmainnah. The soul of the believers who reach the nafs al-mutmainnah attain
virtues of a higher order, such as patience (sabr), gratitude (syukr), fear (khawf),
trust (amanah) and sincerity (ikhlas). These virtues can lead to the attainment of
happiness in worldly life and henceforth (Al-Ghazali, 1993, 1995).
Al-Attas (1993) indicates that happiness in this world and hereafter relates closely
to faith (iman) and fear of God/piety (taqwa). Believers who have iman and taqwa
will persevere in doing good deeds and avoiding disobedience to God and/or com-
mitting acts that He forbids. The Qur’an (e.g. 13:28) states that the hearts of those
with faith were made tranquil. This soul/heart that belongs to the nafs al-mutmain-
nah is calm, restful, free from worry and experiences inward peace, satisfaction, joy
and happiness, which come from the soul submissive to God (Al-Attas, 1993).
In Islam, the best form of happiness is in the hereafter; God says in the Qur’an
(e.g. 11:108) that those who have attained happiness are eternally in Heaven. The
Qur’an also mentions how to obtain happiness in Heaven, by practising virtues (e.g.
Qur’an, 10:9–10, 2:25). Al-Ghazali associates practising virtues to seek eternal hap-
piness among others with having spiritual knowledge of God (Al-Ghazzali et al.,
2015). Practising virtue can be understood as following God’s orders and submit-
ting to or worshipping God. Believers can obtain knowledge of God by knowing
His names (asma ul-husna) and attributes (dhzat), worshipping Him sincerely and
accepting His sovereignty and Oneness (Tawhid). With this, the souls of the believ-
ers will be at peace in complete surrender to God. Thus, their hearts (qalb) become
purified, bound by God-consciousness and the love of God, more than their worldly
and animalistic desires. At this stage, the soul could defeat the wild desires to do evil
and/or to return to the lowest stage of human creation (i.e. nafs al-ammarah). Con-
sequently, personality traits show more virtues and behaviours in accordance with
Islamic manners.
By following the teaching of Islam, the spirit of believers becomes more content
and light as the evil and wrongdoings are purified, resulting in believers’ soul expe-
riencing surreal felicity. The Qur’an (e.g. 5:54) states that being happy in this world
can be realised through the love of God (i.e. worshipping God sincerely, just for the
sake of Him alone). Ibn Arabi (1972) also emphasises the love of God for believers
to obtain real happiness, either in this life or the afterlife.
13
According to Ibn Sina (2005), the happiness obtained when the soul reaches the
state of ‘tajarrud’ (close juxtaposition) with God is attainable first through purify-
ing the soul/heart. Ibn Sina (2005) also states that to reach ultimate happiness in the
afterlife is achieved by following Islamic teachings and removing all the bodily dis-
positions (such as sins, evil, animalistic desire) through soul/heart purifications and
practising moral and positive dispositions.
Al-Suhrawardī associates the light of God with happiness (Al-Suhrawardī, 1999).
The believers onto whose hearts God chose to cast His light become happy and
reach the state of ecstasy (wajd). The real servant (‘abid) who worships and obeys
God will feel content spiritually and willing to sacrifice wealth, life, energy or time
for the sake of Islam. Their characters and attributes also reflect this; they become
more in control of their emotions and have improved behaviours. Many companions
of the Prophet SAW showed this, such as Abu Bakar as-Siddiq and Umar ibn Al-
Khattab. Nursi (2001) regarded faith (imān) as a precursor of happiness in this life
and in the hereafter (sadet-i dârayn). Nursi (1999) viewed happiness in this world in
terms of inner peace, acquired by submitting totally to God.
Discussion
The findings support that Islamic spiritual and emotional intelligence are related to
eternal happiness (i.e. happiness in Islam is synonymous with eternal happiness),
thus answering the aim of the study. Therefore, we can summarise that Islamic spir-
itual and emotional intelligence can be achieved through a spiritual relationship
with God by purifying the soul and heart from sin and evil influences. In Islam,
Divine knowledge is considered important for achieving spiritual intelligence. This
is consistent with studies by Al-Ghazzali et al. (2015) and Tasmara (2001), which
report that Islamic spiritual intelligence is attained when believers understand the
knowledge of God. The findings also suggest that happiness is present in spiritual-
ity towards Allah (God) and the love of God, which—according to the Qur’an (e.g.
16:97; 55:26–27; 20:131)—can be the precursor to attaining eternal happiness.
Implications, Limitation and Recommendations
This study can guide a believer in achieving tranquillity in life and eternal happiness
in the afterlife. The paper conceptually discusses the importance of spiritual and
emotional intelligence relating to happiness, from an Islamic perspective. Therefore,
believers can practise the purification of the soul, repentance, performance of acts of
worship (obligatory or optional), continuously doing good deeds and avoiding evil,
to increase the level of relationship with God and reach happiness, or at least experi-
ence some tranquillity in life.
This paper has some limitations that must be acknowledged. Although happiness
exists and hearts can feel it, the intensity of happiness felt in this life is different
and mostly subjective. Eternal happiness in the afterlife is also difficult to measure
in this life, as no one has ever experienced it. However, God promises it, as clearly
13
stated in the Qur’an and other Abrahamic holy books. Rejecting eternal happiness
after life merely because it cannot be felt ‘now and here’ is equivalent to disbeliev-
ing in God by rejecting His words. It is like disbelieving in the creation of the first
human being in this world (who has no father or mother) or rejecting the unseen,
untouched air—it nevertheless exists. The mere mention in the holy book provides
evidence, positive hope, conviction and motivation for believers to keep consistently
performing good deeds and avoiding evil, which also may increase goodness, bless-
ing and mercy from God, and thus happiness to mankind.
Future research perhaps should try to discuss the elements of eternal happiness
as found in the holy books and compare them with happiness in this life. Per-
haps future study could experiment to learn whether practising purification of the
soul, repentance from sins, performing the acts of worship and other good deeds
and avoiding evil can bring believers spiritually closer to God, or whether it can
lead to a feeling of perceived eternal happiness or at least a feeling of subjective
inner peace. Particularly, future study must explore the possibility of practising
moral virtues by following God’s commandments as a way of life with the sincer-
est obedience, for the soul to experience salvation and inner peace and leave this
world with happiness.
Conclusion
In Islam, SQ is closely related to the purity of the soul/heart that establishes spiritual
connectedness with God. To have a purified soul starts with the fear of God, which
causes believers to accept the sovereignty and the Oneness of God (Tawhid). Soul
purification can occur through submitting to God’s Will by doing good and leav-
ing evil, performing acts of worship, practising good moral virtues and worshipping
God sincerely and continuously. This also will cause believers’ hearts to receive the
Divine light by lifting the veils that cover their hearts (kasyaf), bringing believers
close to God. The purification of the soul and the obedience to God’s orders indi-
cate the surrender of the soul to God, which may mean that their nafs rise from
nafs al-ammarah to nafs al-lawammah into nafs al-mutmai’nnah. At lawammah, the
soul can differentiate between good and evil, control emotion and anger and bal-
ance it with good and praiseworthy attributes. However, only the soul that reaches
the mut’mainnah level can have perfect control of its emotions and other character
traits, moral virtues and behaviours. Thus, at nafs al-mutmainnah level, believers
can experience perfect EQ, where they can manage and monitor their behaviours
(including emotion), to be in a balanced state to experience peace and happiness.
Islamic SQ has a close link with the religiosity and the experience of Islamic spir-
ituality, influenced by the teaching of Islam and based on the belief in the Oneness
of God (Tawhid). Without it, all spirituality the person may experience is just super-
ficial and does not reach the eternal happiness an immortal soul seeks. In Islam, God
endows the souls of the chosen believers, onto whose hearts God casts His light,
with the perfect SQ, enabling them to understand the knowledge of God. Ladunni
intelligence is considered a more accurate version of spiritual intelligence in Islam.
13
It cannot be simply attained; only believers who reach the level of highest sincer-
ity and obedience to God and experience the love of God may be able to receive it.
Many Qur’anic verses indicate that the sincerest servants who worship God for His
sake alone will experience pure peace and tranquillity, securing eternal happiness in
the hereafter.
Acknowledgements Funding was provided by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) under the Bridging
Grant Scheme No. 304/PMGT/6316199.
Declarations
Conflict of interest The author declares that she has no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed
by the author.
Informed Consent Because this article does not contain any studies with human participants, informed
consent is not relevant.
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Journal of Religion and Health (2022) 61:4783–4806

Islamic Spiritual and Emotional Intelligence and Its

Accepted: 17 December 2021 / Published online: 4 January 2022

Keywords Islam · Spiritual intelligence · Emotional intelligence · Eternal happiness

* Mastura Ab. Wahab

Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.

the self to be in control of behaviours and emotions. SQ will influence believ-

A qualitative research approach was used to examine the relationship between

Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

Table 1 Publications used for analysis and frequency

Journal of Religion and Health 13 30.23

Table 2 Frequency of words Words F Weighted %

Islamic 1391 0.39

Fig. 1 Horizontal dendrogram of the cluster analysis

Eternal Happiness in Islam

Fig. 2 Word cloud of the text analysis

Islamic Spiritual Intelligence

In Islam, spiritual intelligence, also known as spiritual quotient, is not a straight-

Man’s Relationship with God as the Essence of Islamic Spiritual Intelligence

In general, SQ has no definite definition. Most researchers base their definition of

However, to reach this level of obedience, believers may have to experience

Ladunni Intelligence is SQ in Islam

Ladunni Intelligence, Love of God and Happiness

Fear of God (taqwa)

Islamic Emotional Intelligence

Nafs al‑ammarah (Inclined to Evil Soul)

Nafs al‑lawammah (Self‑Reproaching Evil)

Nafs al‑mutma’innah (Soul at Rest)

Islamic Spiritual and Emotional Intelligence and the Attainment of Eternal

Implications, Limitation and Recommendations

You might also like

Table 1 Publications used for analysis and frequency

Table 2 Frequency of words Words F Weighted %

Fig. 1 Horizontal dendrogram of the cluster analysis

Fig. 2 Word cloud of the text analysis