Positive Islamic Psychology:: A Transcendent Model To Achieve Peace, Happiness and Success in The 21 Century

POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY:
A TRANSCENDENT MODEL TO ACHIEVE PEACE,

HAPPINESS AND SUCCESS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
A TRANSCENDENT MODEL TO ACHIEVE PEACE,

HAPPINESS AND SUCCESS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
By
Prof. Muhammad Al-Mahdi Jenkins (Late)
Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Azimullah
Khalifah Education Foundation &

Positive Islamic Psychology Centre 2021
Second Edition, 2021
© Khalifah Education Foundation &

Positive Islamic Psychology Centre
All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced,

stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise
without prior written permission from authors.
The book Positive Islamic Psychology: A Transcendent Model to Achieve

Peace, Happiness and Success in the 21st Century is jointly published by:
Khalifah Education Foundation (433502-X)

No. 427, Jalan 2, Taman Ampang Utama, 68000 Ampang, Selangor.
Tel: +603-4251 3368 Fax: +603-4256 5423 &
Positive Islamic Psychology Centre

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Official Website
www.islamicpsychology.net
ISBN No: 978-967-14074-0-0
1. Psychology
2. Islam and Science
Printed by
Firdaus Press Sdn. Bhd.
In the Name of God the Most Compassionate the Merciful
And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.
(Quran: 21: 107)
vi POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD xix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xxii
PREFACE xxv
INTRODUCTION 1
Historical Evolution of Positive Islamic Psychology 1
Refutation of Atheist/Materialist Theory 2
What is Wrong with Modern Psychology 4
Positive Psychology 6
Positive Transcendent Psychology (PTP) 8
Positive Islamic Psychology 10
An Insane 21st Century 10
Positive Islamic Psychology Overview 15
CHAPTER 1
Positive Islamic Psychology- 1st Principle: 17
Understanding the Creator and the Created Universe
The Roots of 21st Century Atheism 18
Everything that Exists is Either Contingent/Accident or
27
Necessary/Essential
The Logic of the Existence of God (Allah) 28
Proof of the Essentiality of an Active Cause for the
30
Universe
Proof of God Being Eternal 39
Proof of God’s Everlastingness 31
Qur’anic Revelation and Modern Scientific Discoveries
37
Prove that God Created the Universe
God is the Creator of this Fine-Tuned Universe 41
The Speed of the expansion of the Universe 41
Fine-Tuning from the Initial Big Bang towards Life on
42
Earth
The Fine-Tuning of Four Fundamental Forces 43
Fine-Tuning in the Formation of Carbon 44
Fine-Tuning in the Cosmological Constant of Space-
46
Time
Table Of Content vii
Fine-Tuning of Biological Information in Living Matter 47

Many Other Phenomena Point to God 49
The Mathematics of Probability Proves that God
49
Created the Universe
Mind Game on the Creation of the Universe 52
Modern Scientific Evidence and the Qur’anic Revelation
55
Prove
That God Created the Universe 55
We are a Creature of Nothingness 60
CHAPTER 2
Positive Islamic Psychology- 2nd Principle: The 64
Holistic Transcendent Nature of The Human Self
Understanding the Human Self 65
The Spirit (Ruh) 68
The Heart (Qalb) 82
Understanding Our Heart 83
The Mind (Aqal) 98
The Physical Body (Jasad) 110
The Combined Human Self (Nafs) 116
The Realm of Primordial Existence (Azali) Before the
119
Existence of Space and Time
The Human Self (Nafs) in This World 120
This Realm of Life after Death
CHAPTER 3
Positive Islamic Psychology- 3rd Principle: On Being
the Vicegerent of God in the Universe (On Being the 128
Khalifah of Allah)
Introduction 129
The Concept of Khalifah (Vicegerency) 130
Man is Given “Material Gifts” 134
Man is Given Natural Disposition (fitrah) 134
Man is Given God-Like Attributes 135
Man is Given Knowledge 136
Man is Given Free Will 136
viii POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY
The Roles of Khalifah of God 136

The First Responsibility of a Khalifah of God 140
The Second Responsibility of a Khalifah of God 143
Collective Duty 144
The Muslim Community is Therapeutic 144
The Brotherhood of Mankind 145
The Third Responsibility of Khalifah of God 148
Jihad 151
How to Make Jihad Successful 154
Commanding What is Right and Forbidding What is
155
Wrong
Eliminating Evil and Making Good Prevail 157
Applying Beautiful Words and Wisdom 158
Keeping our Heart (Qalb) Spotless 159
Using the Inner Speech to Repent (Taubah) 161
Internalizing the Role of Khalifah: Raising a Khalifah
162
from the Grassroots
The 3 Simple Khalifah Steps 165
Using Khalifah Model to Raise Children to Become
166
Resistant to Evil
Conclusion 170
CHAPTER 4
POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY – 4th Principle: On
Being The Vicegerent Of God In The Universe (On 172
Being The Khalifah Of Allah)
Introduction 173
Change Through Directed Positive Influence 176
Harnessing People’s Power 177
The Keys to Knowledge and Truth 179
Inner Speech 182
The Nature of Consciousness and Inner Speech 182
Nature of Animal and Human Learning 185
Types of Learning: Conditioning 186
Classical Conditioning 191
Operant Conditioning 193
Table Of Content ix
Reward and Punishment 196

Reinforcement and Learning 196
Types of Operant Conditioning 200
Environmental Conditions and Goal Setting 204
Shaping Process 207
The Importance of Laws of Learning 209
The limits of our Behaviour 211
Generalization 216
How Generalisation Occurs 217
Human Learning 218
Social Reinforcement 219
Anxiety 222
Negative Conditioning 223
Laws of Learning as a Foundation of Social Change 224
Fixed-Ratio Conditioning 225
The Effects of Variable-Ratio Conditioning and
226
Gambling
Fixed-Interval and Variable-Interval Schedules and
227
their effect on students’ behaviour
Schedule of Reinforcement Feedback 230
The Effect of Schedule of Reinforcement and Tantrum
232
Behaviour
The Effect of Negative Reinforcement on Response 234
Conditioning Process To increase Attention Span 235
The Influence of Inner Speech 240
Understanding the Concept of Fairness, Honesty and
241
Truth
The Influence of Laws of Learning on Human Life 244
Behaviour Modification 245
The Concept of Good and Evil 249
Modelling 250
The Effects of Conditioning in Our Lives 254
Effect of Conditioning 255
Nature of Force and Aggression 257
Nature of Guilt 258
Opportunity, Potential and Success in Life 263
x POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY
Differences in Inherent Human Potential, Tendencies

268
and Behaviour
Collective Human Consciousness 270
Characteristics and Factors of Mental Illness 274
Self-fulfillling Prophecy: The Pygmalion Effect 277
Criminality and Homosexuality 281
Classification of Mental Illness 283
Why Treatment of Mental Illness Fails 285
Understanding Phobias 287
Cognitive Dissonance 289
Spiritual/Mystical Knowledge 294
Conclusion 296
CHAPTER 5
299
Positive Islamic Psychology Model
Introduction 300
Inputs that Shape Human Perception 306
First Input: Physical Environment 306
Second Input: Interpersonal Communication / Social
308
Environment
Third Input: Inner Speech 309
Nature of Inner Speech 314
The Journey of Life Towards Perfection 322
Framework for Positive Islamic Psychology (PIP) Model 324
Positive Islamic Psychology: Model of Human
328
Consciousness
World Consciousness is the Sum Total of Individual
331
Consciousness
Application of Maqasid al-Shariah in Positive Islamic
333
Psychology Model
Universal Principles of Human Rights and
336
Responsibilities
A World that is Truly Good 345
Conclusion 346
Table Of Content xi
CHAPTER 6
Practical Application of Positive Islamic Psychology 347
I: Applying PIP in Our Daily Life to Achieve Peace,
Happiness and Success
Introduction to Practical Application of Positive Islamic
348
Psychology (PIP)
A. Practicing Basic Principles of Islam as a Way of
349
Life
The Pillars of Islam 349
1. Inner Dimension of the Belief in One God (Tauhid) 350
The One Who Created us: Knowing our Creator
from
350
Authentic sources gives life its true meaning and
happiness
Knowing God 350
God's Name 351
The Eternal Creator 351
Allah is not God of only Muslims 352
One God, One Religion 355
A Happy Ending 356
The Return 357
The Final Prophet: Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
His Legacy of Truth, Justice & Peace continues to 358
inspire to a better world The man & his message
Why no Prophets after Muhammad 358
The greatest Man 359
How he received Revelation 359
The Qur'an 360
Muhammad and other prophets 360
What Muhammad gave Humanity 361
Muhammad's Legacy 362
2. Prayers (Solat) 363
3. Fasting (Sawm) 366
4. Alms Giving (Zakat) 367
5. Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) 369
xii POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY
B. Practical Application of Contemplation and

Meditation to Achieve Peace, Happiness and 370
Success
i. Contemplation in Islam 374
ii. Meditation in Islam 378
C. Basic Techniques that We Can Practice: Calm
386
Breathing Focus Technique and Asma al-Husna
Dhikr Allah with Asma al-Husna 388
Some Hadith and Qur’anic verses related to the
389
significance of dhikr
Remembrance and Zikr of the Divine Names/
393
Attributes of Allah SWT
D. Practical Application of Inner Speech Dialogue
Technique(ISDT): Using Inner Speech Dialogue
403
Technique (ISDT) toachieve Peace, Happiness and
Success
Integration of ISDT Technique with Islamic Healing
Techniques, Energy Healing Modalities and Other 412
Complimentary Therapies
CHAPTER 7
Practical Application of Positive Islamic Psychology II:
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Positive Islamic 418
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (Pi-CBT)
Introduction 419
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) 420
Practical Application of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy 421
Group Counselling Approach in Pi-CBT 435
Support Groups in Pi-CBT 436
The Experience of Commonality/Universality 436
Practical Examples Combining CBT and Pi-CBT 440
Practical Example 1: Using CBT/Pi-CBT to
441
Overcome Depression
What Makes CBT Different From Other Therapies 446
What Can I Expect From My Treatment? 447
Cognitive Rehearsal, Role Play and “Alternative”
450
Therapy
Table Of Content xiii
Additional notes about CBT / Pi-CBT 451

Potential Problems with CBT/Pi-CBT 451
Depression and Drug Therapy 452
A Cumulative Effect 453
Why do People Say Antidepressants Don't Work? 454
Conclusion 457
Practical Example 2: Using CBT/Pi-CBT to
458
Overcome Panic and Anxiety
Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety 458
Stress 460
The Impact of Stressful Situations 461
Selye Three Phases General Adaptation Syndrome
462
(GAS)
Causes of Anxiety 463
Types of Anxiety Disorders 463
CBT/Pi-CBT Treatment for Anxiety 468
CBT/Pi-CBT Treatment Techniques for Anxiety 469
Rationalizing Responses (Example of Homework/ 472
Examples of Thought Distortions and Possible 472
Anxiety and Drug Therapy 472
Antidepressants and Anxiety Disorders 473
Why are Antidepressants Used to Treat Anxiety
473
Disorders?
Why do Antidepressants Fail? 474
Summary of CBT and Pi-CBT Combined Approach 475
Substantial Free Resources on CBT/Pi-CBT 477
Information Sheets and Worksheets CBT 478
Conclusion 482
CHAPTER 8:
Practical Application of Positive Islamic Psychology
III: Manual for Parents for Shaping Excellent 483
Character for Children
Introduction 484
The Procedure For Shaping Character 485
xiv POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY
The Role of Inner Speech: The Story of Yusuf 488

Laws of Learning 489
Shaping Process: Practical Example 491
Applying Shaping Process 492
Reward 493
The Story of Omar and His Little Sister 494
Children Need Attention 495
The Story of Ahmad at the Canteen 496
Punishment 498
Punishment versus Firmness 501
The Story of Grandfather and His Grandson 503
Islamic Character: Man as Khalifah (Allah’s
504
Representative)
The Concept of Khalifah 504
Conclusion 509
CHAPTER 9:
IV: Handbook for Positive Change: The Khalifah Circle 513
Approach to Help Create a Just, Peaceful and Happy
World
Introduction 514
The Positive Jihad 514
What is Khalifah Circle? 515
Simple Step-By-Step Guide to Setting Up Khalifah
517
Circles
How to do Positive Jihad Through Khalifah Circles 521
Using Positive Islamic Psychology (PIP) to Create a
Just, Peaceful and Happy World Creating a Just World 522
in the 21st Century
Primary Programs: Practical Action Plans and Activities
to Create and Promote a Just Global Society in the 526
21st Century
Other Projects and Programs of Khalifah Circles 528
Secondary Program: Examples of other Programs and
528
Projects for Khalifah Circles
Table Of Content xv
Spreading the Message of Islam Through the Khalifah

529
Cirlcle Approach
Who Can Participate in This Positive Jihad 530
Cooperation, Synergy and Working Together for a Just
533
World
Discussion approach to Developing Action Projects 534
How to Achieve Our Goals as Khalifah on Earth 535
What to do in a Khalifah Circle Meeting 537
Ensuring Success of Khalifah Circle Programs and
538
Projects
Future Programs to Promote Positive Islamic
539
Psychology to the World
Self Development and Continuing Education For
540
Members of Khalifah Circles
Conclusion 540
CHAPTER 10:
V: Integrating Permaculture with Positive Islamic 542
Psychology – The Khalifah Circle Way
Introduction 543
Permaculture 544
Permaculture in Islamic Civilization 544
Three core tenets of permaculture 545
Design Principles of permaculture 546
Zones in Permaculture 548
People and permaculture 549
Using Modern Technology in Permaculture 550
Implementing Permaculture through a Khalifah Circle 551
Conclusion 552
Resources 553
EPILOGUE 556
ONLINE CERTIFICATION LIFE COACH TRAINING
559
PROGRAM
BIBLIOGRAPHY 567
xvi POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY
THE IMPORTANCE OF PROMOTING POSITIVE

ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY (PIP)
HANDBOOK TO ACHIEVE PEACE, HAPPINESS
AND SUCCESS FOR THE MUSLIM UMMAH AND
ALL HUMANITY.
1. This is the first Positive Islamic Psychology

handbook published in the world. In shaa Allah, it
can generate great interest for further research and
development by Muslim scholars and psychologists.
2. Prof. Muhammad Al-Mahdi Jenkins’ deep research

in Positive Psychology had enabled him to develop
the first framework of integrative transcendent
model for Positive Islamic Psychology.
3. This book is the result of 40 years of research done

by the late Prof. Dr. Muhammad Al-Mahdi Jenkins.
He was a renowned psychologist. Through his
research and understanding of the beauty of Islamic
philosophy, worldview and teachings, he converted
to Islam. He then dedicated his life to Islamic
Da’wah by setting up the Khalifah Institute and the
Khalifah Education Foundation, until his demise in
2006.
4. By integrating modern psychology with traditional

Islamic scholarship and works of great Muslim
scholars, namely Imam Ghazali, Ibn Qayyum, Ibn
Sina and others in the past, the late Prof. Jenkins
was able to develop an integrative transcendent
model of modern Positive Islamic Psychology. This
integrative scientific model of psychology is the
first in the world. It can be the framework for the
development of a thriving and flourishing society in
the 21st century.
POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY xvii
5. Through his research, the late Prof. Jenkins

realized that Islam has the most complete Positive
Psychology that can transform the ummah. This
Positive Islamic Psychology (PIP) handbook, if spread
worldwide, can transform the Muslim ummah to
become global achievers in the 21st century, by the
Grace of Allah Ta’ala. Positive Islamic Psychology
can be the basis for global peace by making the
ummah to become the best of humanity that can
strive for global peace, happiness and success for
all of humanity in the 21st century, in shaa Allah.
6. Please view our websites:
a. www.Islamicpsychology.net.
b. www.pipdakwa.blogspot.com
7. YouTube Channels:
a. Islamic Psychology PIP
b. Islamic Motivation PIP
c. Islamic Coaching PIP
d. Islamic Mentoring PIP
e. Islamic Counseling PIP
f. Ruqyah IIH
Foreword
I have been a friend and an admirer of the late Professor

Muhammad Al-Mahdi Jenkins. I am greatly impressed with
his knowledge and his indefatigable devotion in Islamizing
and adapting psychology. His sincere objective was to
restructure psychology so it can be of real benefit in bringing
up a new generation of Muslim children who can combine a
dedicated belief in Allah with modern education and a self-
confident worldview based on their conviction that they are the
vicegerents of God on Earth (Khalifatullahi fil Ard). Professor
Al-Mahdi believed that the major cause for the dispirited
condition of Muslim is their collective feeling of inferiority and
their educational system that reinforces this disheartened
pessimistic attitude. School education in Muslim countries
brings up children who passively accept and memorize rather
than comprehend and evaluate.
Many Muslim psychologists speak and write on the

Islamization of their discipline. They devote their time
to theoretically discuss abstract issues unrelated to the
practical problems of their countries. They eventually
publish these pedantic discourses in refereed journals that
are only read by other professional psychologists. Few have
ever paid attention on how their Islamized psychology could
be formulated in concrete down-to-Earth applications that
benefit the Muslim Ummah. As opposed to this passive
approach, Professor Al-Mahdi stood out as a distinguished
pioneer. He devoted all his life on the development of what he
befittingly named, “the Khalifah Model of holistic research”.
He expounded the practical applications of this model in
the field of Islamic positive psychology. Al-Mahdi brilliantly
implemented the Qur’anic Verses that elevated man to the
status of the Vicegerent of Allah on Earth in order to impassion
Muslim children with a new spirit of self-confidence. This was
crowned with a new curriculum that exemplified these values
as well as teaching methods which reward the children for
Foreword xix
doing what is correct rather than the usually followed way of

punishing them when they wrongly perform.
As he was diligently working, joining days with nights to

achieve this noble goal, Al-Mahdi was actually wrestling with
the excruciating pain of cancer. Few of those around him knew
of his predicament. I was one of them. We had long meetings
discussing his version of Islamic positive psychology. Most of
the time we found ourselves in full agreement but we often
differed as I can see now that our differences were largely due
to cultural aspects. He was a highly optimistic American who
reverted to Islam. He expected things to be done as if he were
in the West. I knew more about the cultural obstacles that his
project might face. He often returned to me after realizing the
existence of these cultural hindrances.
Allah Ta’ala rewarded this great pioneer by seeing his

project successfully materialized before his death. He then
started to record his blessed endeavour in the detailed volume
that I am writing this forward to. It is a voluminous handbook
that details the road map for educators and psychologists
who wish to follow the blessed example of being the Khalifah
of Allah. The volume, a detailed theoretical and practical
guide to Positive Islamic Psychology (PIP), was co-authored
by his friend Dr. Abdul Aziz Azimullah. In fact, Professor
Muhammad Al-Mahdi died before finishing the book. It was
Dr. Azimullah, the Director of Positive Islamic Psychology
Centre who completed his writing. It took 601 pages to

finish the theoretical and practical applications of Islamic
Positive Psychology together with a manual for parents

and a handbook for positive changes. I wish to strongly
recommend the book to all practicing Muslim psychologists.
It offers detailed theoretical and practical applications in
cognitive and behavioural Islamic positive psychology.
xx POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY
If there is any criticism that I wish to mention, it would

be my desire to see more references to the life or Sirah and to
the noble character or Shama’il of our Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH). Practical Islamic positive psychology cannot be
achieved without detailed examples from the blessed life of
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), emulating these chapters. I
also suggest that a summary portraying the most important
aspects of Islamic Positive Psychology without the material
that psychologist can find in Western textbooks should be
published for those who may not have the time to read the
whole volume.
Malik Badri
Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Ahfad University,
Sudan. Holder of the Chair of Ibn Khaldun, International
Islamic University Malaysia.
Acknowledgements
All praise and gratitude belong to Allah, the Almighty

alone, the One and only Lord, and All-Merciful. Blessings and
peace be upon Prophet Muhammad, the last of His Messengers
and Prophets, his family, his companions and all those who
follow in his footsteps until the day of judgement.
To my late Mother Madam Waznah and My Late father
Azimullah who brought me up with great difficulties yet

showered us with love, patience, wisdom, morals and Islamic
values. May Allah bless them and grant them the best of
Jannah.
To my dearest beloved wife, Fatimabibi, with whom

we build a strong family on the foundation of love, patience
and mutual understanding. This work would not have
been possible without her untiring patience, support and
encouragement.
To my beloved sister Fatimah who sacrificed her personal

life to sustain our family after the passing of our father. She
gave us the valuable gifts of fortitude in life and willingness
to serve and make sacrifice for others.
To my beloved children; Safiyyah, Aisha, Syazana,
Mohammad, Azizi, Anis, and my grandchildren;

Sumayyah, Johann, Rauf, Sophie, Sakeenah, Sarah and
Naim, we hope that this book will be your handbook as a
practical guide in your life in achieving happiness, peace and
success in this world and the hereafter. May I leave this book
as a legacy for all of you to strive and continue the Jihad of
Positive Islamic Psychology for all time to come.
To all my brothers, Ekram, Rasheed, Ahmad and Aslam

and all other family members, may we be blessed with the
goodness of this world and the hereafter.
xxii POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY
To my friend, mentor and co-author; the late Professor

Muhammad Al-Mahdi Jenkins, who dedicated his whole life
to Islam after his reversion. He founded the Khalifah Institute,
Khalifah Model School, the Khalifah Method, as well as its
official site, Islamic-world.net. This book is based on his
extensive research and writing to strive and create a truly
comprehensive Islamic world.
To my co-trustees of Khalifah Institute; Professor Dr.

Alini, Brother Karim Omar and the members of the Board of
Directors of Khalifah Educational Foundation/ ExcelUmmah;
Datuk Zohir, Datin Rosnani, Professor Nurhani, Ustadh
Hasrizal, Md. Qayyum, Dr. Zaleha, Farahyayla, Mursyidi,
Dr. Zaiton, Datin Shomiriza, Kapt Siti, Abdul Azim and
Wan Rodiah. Thank you for your continuous kind support,
encouragement and hard work which have enabled Khalifah
Institute to be of service to the local community and the
Muslim world. Our sincere gratitude also goes to the Board of
Directors and staff of Khalifah Model School (KMS). May our
work and struggle be accepted by Allah the Almighty as our
Jihad to positively transform the Ummah.
To my late teachers, Ustadh Pak Maan, Ustadh Haji

Daud Ali, Ustadh Haji Taha Suhaimi, Ustadh Syed Abdilah
Al-Jufri, Moulavi M. H. Babu Sahib and my other teachers
both in the public schools and madrasah who nurtured,
supported and encouraged me to seek knowledge and taught
me the truth and the beautiful path of Islam.
To all our research assistants who put hearts and

souls in doing research for this book, we would specifically
acknowledge the contribution and the hard work of the
following: sisters Amirah, Novi, Runa and Salma, brothers;
Abdul Razak Ricardo, Umar, Qamarul, Abdul Mutallib,

Alfi, Haris, Irham, Ghani, Bambang, Md Kalim Uddin,
Ustadh Awwaluddin, Dr. Tajul Islam, Dr. Maulana Shah and
Dr. Ibrahim Ilyasu. May Allah reward them all abundantly
Acknowledgements xxiii
and guide them towards practical implementation of Positive

Islamic Psychology.
To all my friends and office staff especially brothers Rosli,

Anwar, Hairi, Pak Saad and sisters Hannah, Rosnah, Mas,
Asmah, and others who have contributed positively towards
the publication of this book. Your enthusiasm, advice and
support in compiling this book have not failed to be heart-
warming and intellectually beneficial to all of us.
To Professor Dr Malik Badri, the world renowned and

respected Islamic psychologist. Professor Badri was a close
friend to the late Professor Al-Mahdi Jenkins. Thank you for
your inspiring foreword of this book. May Allah bless and
reward you for your lifelong service to Islam and humanity.
May we all implement the principles of Positive Islamic

Psychology to achieve peace, happiness and success in this
21st century. May Allah bless us all in this world and the
hereafter.
Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Azimullah,

Founder & Director,
Positive Islamic Psychology Centre (PIPC).
Board Member,
Khalifah Education Foundation (KEF)
Preface
All praise be to God, the Lord of the universe, May He add

His compassion and ever lasting peace and mercies on the
soul of his exalted and beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH),
his companions, and all those who uphold his message and
sunnah till the Day of Judgment.
In essence, psychology is the study of the human self

which includes the soul/spirit, and its transcendent nature.
However, modern psychology has removed all connections
with the metaphysical concept of the human self due to its
empirical nature and its formulation on the scientific method
of experimentation.
Moreover, modern empirical psychology considers man

as an integral part of the vast machine of the universe to
the utter disregard of his higher values and ideals. In line
with this approach, man is seen as a machine with a body
and a brain, but not with a soul/spirit, or a mind, or a
heart. This approach, however, is faulty as it is concerned
only with the physical observable facts which are seen as
an objective scientific conclusion while taking ethics and
values for granted by considering them subjective and not
quantifiable. In fact, even from scientific point of view, it
is erroneous to base modern psychology on mere physical
observable facts without reference to values. This is because
human behaviours are not lifeless entities but living realities.
They take on meaning to the extent until they can be placed
in cultural, social and religious settings which can provide
a sound basis for their correct interpretation. In response to
the failure of modern psychology in solving the psychological
problems of modern society, a new field of psychology, called
the Positive Psychology was introduced in the year 2000.
Positive Psychology is the scientific study of ordinary

human strengths and virtues by revisiting the average person
with an interest in finding out what works, what is right,
Preface xxv
and what is improving. The field was basically introduced

to complement traditional psychology and stresses on the
importance of applying scientific method to examine and
assess the success and failure of human nature and behaviour.
Furthermore, Positive Psychology focuses on analysing the
whole scope of human potentials and experiences from
loss, suffering, illness, and distress through connection,
fulfillment, health, and well-being (Seligman, 2000; Sheldon,
2001; Harvey, 2001).
It would be fair to say that the invention of positive

psychology approach represents a new revolution intended to
drive professional psychologists to examine their works and
help them to understand not only how to alleviate distress
and dysfunction but also to promote well-being and optimal
functioning. However, critical examination of the concept of
Positive Psychology reveals that its fundamentals premised
are atheistic and secular ideologies.
This book Positive Islamic Psychology: A Transcendent

Model to Achieve Peace, Happiness and Success in the 21st
Century represents a breath-taking attempt to approach
psychology from an Islamic perspective in the light of the
traditional Islamic and contemporary knowledge. The book
is co-authored by the late Professor Muhammad Al-Mahdi
Jenkins, a Muslim revert who dedicated his whole life towards
the development of the Khalifah Method and the initial
research on Positive Islamic Psychology. Prof Jenkins was a
world renowned Clinical Child Psychologist and one of the
founders of the HeadStart Program under the US Presidential
Initiative to help underprivileged children to achieve excellence
in education. He was also the protégé of the late Professor B.
F. Skinner, the father of modern behavioural psychology.
Dr Abdul Aziz Azimullah, is an Educationist and Human

Resource Development Consultant. He is also a practicing
Naturopath and Nutritionist. He is one of the Trustees of
xxvi POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY
the Khalifah Institute set-up by the late Professor Al-Mahdi

Jenkins.
Both authors believe that psychology is one of the fields

of human sciences that could be “Islamized” by integrating
inputs from secular and Islamic perspectives. This can be
done by adopting a framework for examining the nature of
the human self, in its inherent potentials and its observable
traits, in the light of the teachings of the Quran and the
Prophetic tradition (Sunnah). It also reviews the rich heritage
and understanding of Muslim scholars who excelled in both
worldly and spiritual knowledge.
In this work, the authors have rejected behaviourist

schools of psychology that reduce all human intellectual and
complex activities to a strictly experimental science. They also
rejected the materialistic and atheistic approach that turned
psychology into a material science which is based on the
assumption that human beings, like matter can be controlled
like a machine. Consequently, they made a comprehensive
research on Positive Islamic Psychology framing their
approach on four Principles:
• 1st Principle: Understanding The Creator and the

Created Universe
• 2nd Principle : The Holistic Transcendent Nature of

the Human Self
• 3rd Principle : On Being the Vicegerent of God in

this Universe
• 4th Principle: Holistic Principles of Behaviour and

Human Learning
Preface xxvii
This formed the basis of the book; Positive Islamic

Psychology: A Transcendent Model to Achieve Peace, Happiness
and Success in the 21st Century. Essentially, the book aims
to elucidate the key concepts of Positive Islamic Psychology
while addressing the contemporary 21stcentury problems of
all humanity. Indeed, there are many scientific discoveries
today that provide a great understanding of the nature of the
human self as well as the underlying principles of human
behaviour. The authors endeavour to match the underlying
principles of Islam in the context of modern psychological
research, application, modalities and therapies. They also use
findings by prominent traditional Muslim scholars of the past
centuries whose research findings are scientifically acceptable
and relevant to the problems of contemporary humanity.
Similarly, the book adopts a holistic approach in

examining human nature, believing that human being is not
just a physical being but a holistic multidimensional creature
that has aspects of the spirit, heart/emotion, mind/brain,
and lastly the physical body. This concept is comprehensively
elucidated in a way that will be acceptable and compatible
to contemporary transcendent psychology. Moreover, the
transcendent human nature is painstakingly addressed based
on Islamic principles and the modern scientific findings such
as quantum theory as well as recent findings in cosmology
and theoretical physics. The book proposes that psychologists
throughout the world should begin their research in Positive
Transcendent Psychology regardless of their race, religion
or socioeconomic background. Similarly, it proposes that
Positive Islamic Psychology is the way forward specifically for
Muslims and generally for all humanity throughout the world.
The book consists of introduction and ten chapters:
Introduction contains a background about the field of

modern psychology and its historical evolution. It also involves
comprehensive critique of modern psychology and how Positive
Psychology was introduced to address the failure of modern
psychology in solving the psychological problems of modern society.
xxviii POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY
Chapter 1 discusses the 1st principle of Positive Islamic

Psychology: understanding the Creator and the created
universe. This chapter is dedicated to refute the premise of
scientific atheism upon which the principles of most branches
of scientific fields are based. This is done by exploring the
origin of the universe and proving scientifically and religiously
that God is the Creator of the universe.
Chapter 2 elaborates on the 2nd principle: the holistic

transcendent nature of the human self. The chapter uses the
transcendent principle that God is the Creator of the universe
to demonstrate the true nature of the human self. It also
comprehensively criticizes and refutes the atheistic belief that
human beings are merely physical beings made up of cells,
organs, molecules, elements, atoms and subatomic particles.
Chapter 3 provides a comprehensive explanation on

3rd principle of Positive Islamic Psychology: on being the
Vicegerent of God in this universe. It argues that the collapse
of moral, spiritual, societal values in modern societies are
clear testimonies that our 21st century civilization is moving
towards self-destruction. Consequently, humanity in the
21st century found itself in the state of emotional, mental
and spiritual chaos as a result of the promotion of the secular
materialistic way of life. The only way to address this problem
is by revisiting the essence of our creation as being the
vicegerents of God or Khalifah of Allah on Earth.
Chapter 4 mentions the 4th principle: holistic principles

of behaviour and human learning. This chapter is dedicated
to the application of holistic principle of behaviour and laws
of learning to transform the contemporary society.
Chapter 5 provides the Positive Islamic Psychology

model on how human perception should be shaped placing a
special emphasis on three inputs; physical, social and inner
speech. Similarly, it provides a comprehensive framework of
the Positive Islamic Psychology model for achieving peace,
happiness and success.
Preface xxix
Chapter 6 offers the practical applications of Positive

Islamic Psychology. In doing that, it makes a special reference
to how Positive Islamic Psychology can be applied to our daily
lives using four basic techniques: i.e. the principles of Islam
as a way of life, practicing contemplation and meditation,
using Asma al-Husna technique and Inner Speech Dialogue
Technique (ISDT).
Chapter 7 discusses the practical application of Positive

Islamic Psychology making a special reference to Cognitive
Behaviour Therapy and Positive Islamic Cognitive Behaviour
Therapy (Pi-CBT). It also provides practical examples on how
to overcome anxiety and depression.
Chapter 8 offers the practical applications of Positive

Islamic Psychology by providing manual for parents in
shaping excellent characters for their children. The chapter
also places emphasison the role of inner speech in shaping
excellent characters.
Chapter 9 presents a comprehensive handbook for

positive change through the Khalifah Circle. It offers step-by-
step guide to create a just world and practical action plans to
create a just society.
Chapter 10 presents one of the practical application of

PIP by using the Khalifah Circle in promoting Permaculture
as the future holistic way of life for all of humanity in the 21st
century.
Epilogue highlights concluding remarks for promoting

Positive Islamic Psychology in the 21st century.
Online Certification Providing training programs to

certify PIP Life Coaches throughout the world.
INTRODUCTION
HISTORICAL EVALUATION OF POSITIVE ISLAMIC

PSYCHOLOGY
2 POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY INTRODUCTION
Refutation of Atheist/Materialist Theory
The Greeks defined psychology as the study of the psyche.

The word ‘psyche’ in Latin refers to the soul or spirit. In
essence, the early definition of psychology is the study of the
human self including the soul/spirit, i.e. the transcendent
nature of the human self. Modern psychology has removed
all connections with the metaphysical concept of the human
self, i.e. the soul/spirit or the transcendent self. Moreover,
modern psychology is empirical in the sense that it is based
on the scientific method of experimentation using animals
as models in the laboratories to extrapolate the behaviour of
human beings.
J B. Watson, the father of modern psychology defined

psychology as the science of the behaviours of living things.
However, he refused to accept the existence of mind and that
of consciousness, e.g. thinking, feeling and willingness in the
name of scientific objectivity. Similarly, W. Woodworth defined
psychology as the science of the activities of an individual
in relation to the environment. He explains the activities of
an individual in purely mechanistic terms of stimulus and
response (the S-R formula). As an empirical psychologist, he
considered man as a “cog-in machine” , not a transcendent
creature of dignity. His philosophy of psychology was based
on atheistic secular materialism. The personality emerging
from human interactions could be measured by quantitative
tests devised by psychologists for the purpose.
Modern empirical psychology considers man as an

integral part of the vast machine of the universe to the utter
disregard of higher values and ideals he lives by. Man is seen
as having a body and a brain, but not a soul/ spirit, a mind,
or a heart. Empirical psychology uses the terms ‘behaviour
and personality’ for what we call ‘conduct and character’.
There is no consideration of ethics and has nothing to do
with the question of values which they consider subjective
and not quantifiable. Empirical psychology is concerned only
INTRODUCTION 3
with the physical observable facts which they then conclude

as an objective scientific conclusion. Modern psychology
as a science cannot be based on mere physical observable
facts without reference to values. Human behaviours are not
lifeless entities but living realities. They take on meaning to
the extent they can be placed in cultural, social and religious
settings which can provide a sound basis for their correct
interpretation.
Humanistic psychology was introduced in America in the

1960s after the failure of behavioural psychology to provide
answers to the spiritual emptiness, meaninglessness in life
and the sense of worthlessness. This is despite the increasing
materialistic prosperity and wealth of the American people
and the Western world. This school of psychology has a
less mystical inclination; it has a more positive approach
concerning how religion shapes and determines the human
psyche. Moreover, its theory of personality is much more
deterministic than the psychoanalytical theory advanced
by Freud. As a result, it received the support of celebrated
psychologists such as Gordon Allport, Abraham Maslow and
Carl Rogers.
According to humanistic psychologists, the Freudian

and behaviouristic theories are faulty as they simplify man’s
personality, his potentials and the way he directs himself
and actualises his visions. Furthermore, they strongly
focus on the self as a unifying factor which accounts for the
individual’s subjective experiences which determines much
of his observable behaviour. Today, psychology is generally
seen as a scientific discipline that focuses on the study
of consciousness, behaviour and the mind as emergent
operations of human beings. In other words, psychology
is the study of the mind, occurring partly via the study of
behaviour.
From a scientific perspective, psychology aims to provide

immediate goal of comprehending individuals and groups by
establishing the general principles and researching specific

cases, and for many, it ultimately aims to benefit the society.
The study of psychology involves exploring such concepts as
perception, cognition, attention, emotion, phenomenology,
motivation, brain functioning, personality, behaviour,
and interpersonal relationships. Similarly, psychology
incorporates research from the social and natural sciences,
and from the humanities, such as philosophy.
What is Wrong with Modern Psychology?
The fundamental assumptions of the Western psychology

is that human nature is intrinsically negative-oriented and
in need of control. Historical records have shown that early
schools of psychology tended to focus on the field of cognitive
psychology before the dominance of behaviourism. At that
time, psychologists attended to the question of learning
through concentrating on studying the consciousness of
people, how they feel, what their thoughts contain, as well as
the way their mind was structured.
However, with the introduction of the theory of

behaviourism, learning approach became possible through
“stimuli and observable responses that became the basis of
psychology. Moreover, feelings, the components of the mind,
and the process of thinking were considered questions that
could not be observed directly” (Badri, 2000). The most
negative aspect of modern psychology is that it was founded
on materialistic philosophical speculations and atheistic
theories that reject the concept of transcendent human
nature and the existence of the transcendent Creator.
Modern psychological thoughts have been greatly

influenced by a number of theories from outside the field of
psychology. Darwin’s theory of evolution, for example, has a
deep influence in the thinking of psychologists especially in
the early 20th century. According to this theory, the evolution
INTRODUCTION 5
of the structure of organic bodies happens in much the same

way as that of human behaviour. In other words, human
behaviour is synonymous to a continuum of animal behaviour.
Darwin’s theory also interprets the origin of human race to
be the product of random process of biological evolution,
something that fundamentally contradicts the belief that all
human beings are descendants of the first homo sapiens that
is completely different from the apes or other primates.
Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory considers

“religions as dangerous and religious metaphysics as
superfluous”. Elsewhere, he contended that religion is nothing
but an illusion and “universal neuroses”, and something
that obstructs an individual from exercising his intelligence
freely and hence must be rejected. He even went so far as
to compare religious rituals and dogmas with the patient’s
neurotic symptoms, saying that “religious phenomena are to
be understood only on the model of the neurotic symptoms of
the individual, which are so familiar to us, as a return of long
forgotten important happenings of the primeval history of
the human family”. Moreover, Freud openly ridiculed religion
and considered sex to be the main motivator of all human
behaviour (Ellenberger, 1970).
For Stafford-Clark (1969), the concept of God is nothing

but a false illusion created by man to justify his weaknesses.
Religion is probably a tool that can be used temporarily to
enforce law and order in the society until man becomes
advanced enough in wisdom and knowledge. It must be
remembered that the direction of modern applied psychology
is shaped by these assumptions.
The general conception of the Western psychology

regarding human behaviour is narrow and too restricted to
assess human’s psycho-spiritual transcendent aspects. Many
Western psychologists hold the belief that ‘behaviouristic
Stimulus-Response psychology” is generally too limited to
give explanation about human behaviour. It should be noted
that the universal influence of Freud’s theory goes beyond

the psychological and psychoanalytical disciplines and
transcends to the social sciences, philosophy, religion, art,
and literature (Badri, 2000).
Positive Psychology
In response to the failure of modern psychology in solving

the psychological problems of modern society, a new field of
psychology, called the Positive Psychology was introduced
in the year 2000. Positive Psychology is another branch
of psychology that deals with positive human functioning
introduced recently into academia with the aim of achieving
“a scientific understanding and effective interventions to build
thriving individuals, families, and communities” (Seligman,
2003).
Moreover, Positive Psychology seeks “to find and

nurture genius and talent”, and “to make normal life more
fulfillling”, and not simply to treat mental illnesses. The
field was basically introduced to complement traditional
psychology and stressed on the importance of applying the
scientific method to examine and assess the success and
failure of human nature and behaviour. Researches in the
field involved analysing things like states of pleasure or flow,
values, strengths, virtues, talents, as well as the ways that
they could be promoted by social systems and institutions.
According to Sheldon (2001), Positive Psychology is the

scientific study of “ordinary human strengths and virtues”
by revisiting “the average person” with an interest in finding
out “what works, what is right, and what is improving”. Gable
(2005) further explains by saying that “it is the study of the
conditions and processes that contribute to the flourishing or
optimal functioning of people, groups, and institutions”.
INTRODUCTION 7
These definitions are more or less consistent in the

sense that they share the same core themes and stress on the
understanding of human capabilities in a positive way. Yet
there still exists variations in its emphasis and interpretation.
For instance, one may misunderstand them as suggesting
that Positive Psychology focuses only on positive experiences.
Seligman (2000), however, strongly rejects this noting that
“the aim of Positive Psychology is to begin to catalyse a change
in the focus of psychology from preoccupation only with
repairing the worst things in life and to also building positive
qualities”. Hence, the perspective of Positive Psychology on
the discipline of psychology is that the scientific research
and interest should be focused on analysing the whole scope
of human potentials and experiences from “loss, suffering,
illness, and distress through connection, fulfillment, health,
and well-being” (Seligman, 2003).
Some critics argue that Positive Psychology focuses

only on positive aspects thereby neglecting the negative
side of human experience. However, this is simply not the
case because positive psychologists emphasize on how to
integrate both positive and negative experiences within the
framework of psychology. Moreover, it is more concerned with
adapting an approach which is more holistic in promoting
and equalizing both positive and negative experiences to
succeed in transforming the entire discipline of psychology.
As Harvey (2001) observes, “there is a need therefore to show
how positive psychological approaches can speak not only to
fulfillment and happiness but also to trauma and suffering”.
In the light of the foregoing, it appears that a newly

invented approach of Positive Psychology represents a new
revolution intended to push professional psychologists to
examine their works and transform them in a manner that
helps knowing not only on how to alleviate distress and
dysfunction, but also to know how to promote well-being and
optimal functioning.
Indeed, it was for this reason that Martin Seligman (2003)

pioneered the discipline of Positive Psychology to overthrow
the doctrine of “rotten-to-the-core human nature” that
prevails in the Western academia. This view was originated
from the secular-orientated “doctrine of original sin” dragged
into the 20th century psychology by Freud. For him, “all of
civilization is just an elaborate defence against basic conflicts
over infantile sexuality and aggression” (Seligman, 2003).
Elsewhere, Seligman notes that these doctrines of Freud have
dominated modern psychology to a larger extent.
However, if we go deep into the field of Positive

Psychology, its fundamental premise is still based on atheistic
and secular ideology. There are some attempts by positive
psychologists to bring in positive aspects of spirituality and
religion. If this ongoing development becomes successful, it
will bring us to a more holistic branch of psychology that
includes the transcendent nature of human beings, i.e. the
development of Positive Transcendent Psychology.
Positive Transcendent Psychology (PTP)
In philosophy, transcendence is something beyond the

common thought or experience; mystical, spiritual, or
supernatural. Positive Transcendent Psychology therefore is
the study of the highest potential of a human being, in order
to recognize, understand, and realize his full potential, i.e. his
spiritual, emotional, mental and physical aspects or domains.
The integration of his transcendent nature will enable him
to realize his true nature beyond the physical realm. The
central focus of Positive Transcendent Psychology is on how
to develop human’s transcendent nature and spirituality to
fulfilll his life as a transcendent human being.
INTRODUCTION 9
Positive Transcendent Psychology intends to describe

and integrate the spiritual experience within modern
psychological theory and to formulate new theories to cover
such experience. Given the fact that Western psychology has
tended to ignore the transcendent spiritual dimension of the
human psyche, developing Positive Transcendent Psychology
as a new branch of psychology is extremely difficult. If
psychology involves studying the behavioural aspects of
human beings, then analysing the holistic nature of a human
being that includes his transcendent nature will develop a
more complete, holistic and accurate branch of psychology
in the future. The contemporary 21st century humanity
will have to face two opposing realities; firstly, to deny the
transcendent nature of life and fully embrace atheistic secular
materialism, secondly, to ignore materialistic tendencies of
modern capitalists and seek happiness elsewhere.
For the last one hundred years, our human identity

has been based on atheistic secular materialism. This
resulted in an insecure and disorientated human nature
based on hedonistic desire and ego. Despite the development
of numerous psychotherapy techniques, modern human
beings are still losing the sense of happiness, peace of mind
and purpose of life. The rate of neurosis and psychological
problems is exponentially growing throughout the modern
world today. All modern branches of psychology have to date
failed to serve the holistic needs of contemporary humanity.
Even though modern world is predominantly secular

and materialistic, there is still an avenue for contemporary
humanity to realize their true transcendent nature. Modern
man can either deny the fundamental nature of life altogether
or confront this mystery by lifting the veil that separates
his physical reality in relation to his transcendent spiritual
nature. Modern man is psychologically tired. This explains
why many people are now relentlessly trying to find a deeper
meaning to life in more than just “wine, woman and song”.
Positive Islamic Psychology (PIP)
Based on this spiritual emptiness, Positive Islamic Psychology

was introduced to heal psychological and spiritual disease
of modern man. This formed the basis of Positive Islamic
Psychology. The aim of Positive Islamic Psychology therefore
is to help human beings realize their full potentials. By
having an open minded attitude, a human being can discover
the transcendent key that can answer his sacred call and
discover the eternal nature of his existence.
Moreover, understanding the transcendent nature of

the human self will lead him to understand the transcendent
nature of the Creator of the universe. We have to acknowledge
that we have to return to religious ideas since the transcendent
nature is embedded in all religions. It is possible in the future
that we can agree on the nature of Transcendence vis-a-vis
all major religions.
If we are discussing the nature of transcendence

based on all religions now, we will unfortunately get into
the polemics of which religion is true and have the correct
teachings of the nature of Transcendence. For Muslims, it is
better to elucidate Positive Transcendent Psychology from an
Islamic perspective specifically for Muslims and generally for
all humanity. Using this approach, we can then find common
ground between Muslims and other religions to achieve
universal peace, happiness and success in the 21st century.
An Insane 21st Century
It will be fair to say that the 21st century is paradoxical. There

are thousands of the super-rich living in extravagance in
contrast to the billions of human beings living in extreme
poverty and deprivation. Whatever the humans collectively do
today will shape the future of human civilization for the next
millennium. The world today is a very unjust world where the
INTRODUCTION 11
rich live in luxury and the poor die of disease and hunger just
like our ancestors before the industrial revolution.
The promise and hope that the industrial, scientific and

information revolution will save all of humanity remained
a distant dream. The 21st century scientific technological
improvement does give us the ability to alleviate poverty,
disease and other untold human miseries. However, the
decline in moral and spiritual values has resulted in a
dysfunctional 21st century human civilization centred on
greed and the fulfilllment of baser physical desires.
Our experiences in the 20th century point to an insane

world that is self-destructive. The 20th century civilization is
based on secular materialistic ideas that have brought about
destructions, havoc and confusion in the human mind. Every
day, our sacred moral, humanistic, social and environmental
values and norms are being rapidly destroyed. If we are to
continue the insane pattern of the 20th century, it is possible
that our human civilization could be self-destructive and
be doomed for failure within the next century. Consider
the following staggering facts and their unmistakable
consequences in the contemporary world:
Today, illegal trades on drugs are estimated to be

worth of USD 400 billion – about equal to the value
of the world’s pharmaceutical industry. More than
45 million Americans are regular drug users, and
one in every eight Americans is a drug addict. Drug
addiction is growing exponentially worldwide.
The negative effect of alcoholism across the

globe is equally alarming. According to the WHO
statistics, alcohol is responsible for causing almost
2.5 million of deaths per annum which is almost
4% of all deaths worldwide. Moreover, more than
60 different diseases or injuries are attributed to
excessive alcohol consumption. In America, the
estimated annual cost of alcohol abuse exceeds

USD166 billion. Globally, the cost of abuse across
the globe is six times as much, i.e. USD 996 billion.
Today, more than 800 million people in the world

are starving. More than 1.3 billion people live on
less than USD1.00 per day. Sadly, only 1% of the
world’s super-rich people control more than 50% of
the total wealth and revenues of the world.
The world’s oil and mineral reserves might be

exhausted by 2050, only 35 years away. Our energy
hungry civilization will collapse if there are no
alternative energy resources.
More than 100 million people worldwide are

diagnosed with HIV-positive, and the numbers are
growing every year.
More people die each year from suicide than in all

the world’s armed conflicts.
America spends more than USD10 billion on

pornographic materials every year, more than its
foreign aid programs to the whole world.
The prostitution and sex trade are worth more than

USD 550 billion annually worldwide. More than 50
million women and children are enslaved in this
disgusting trade. Young children are routinely sold
for prostitution in Latin America, South East Asia,
South Asia and Sub-Sahara Africa.
In 2003, America spends USD 396 billion on its

military alone. Worldwide, the military expenditure
exceeds USD1000 billion annually, more than
enough to feed the world’s poor for the next 10
years.The final cost of the US war in Iraq will be
more than USD 3 trillion.
INTRODUCTION 13
There are more than 27 million slaves and many

million more in child labour worldwide. In India
alone, there are more than 44 million child labourers
that are deprived of education and their basic rights.
82% of the world’s smokers live in poorly developed

countries. Multinational cigarette companies use
devious advertising and promotional campaigns
that relate smoking to prestige and social status.
They target the youth in poor countries by selling
cigarettes in small packs as well as single sticks.
Once hooked on cigarettes, they will be smokers for
life. The health cost of smoking will bankrupt most
countries in the world in the near future.
In many countries, bribery payments make up to

more than 20% of the average GDP of the country.
In many developed and developing countries, more

than 30% of the children are born to unmarried
single women, many of whom are still school-going
teenagers.
The continuous environmental destruction of planet

Earth is unsustainable. The doomsday clock at the
University of Chicago now stands at 3 minutes to
midnight, i.e. we are close to an environmental
doomsday within 15 years. Climate change,
global warming and environmental pollution, if
not rectified within the next 15 years, may cause
massive catastrophes in the 21st century. Most
probably more than 3 billion human beings will die
in this runaway environmental disaster that can
happen within the next 100 years.
And there are many more shocking facts of gross

moral, social, and environmental destruction going
on every day. The world is going insane!
The challenges to achieve a just, peaceful and viable 21st

century are daunting and multifaceted. For one, humanity is
at the crossroads either towards total destruction or the dawn
of a new sacred civilization. Having said that, it is essential
to set a blueprint for a unique and fulfillling civilization that
encompasses justice, peace and happiness for all creatures
on Earth. This is particularly true because if we fail to act and
change the current downward trend of moral, civilizational
and ecological degradation, then, the 21st century will be
the century of intolerable poverty, mass starvation, global
violence and hatred.
We will enter a new dark age that would most probably

wipe out most of humanity before the end of the 21stcentury
If we are to create a new, magnificent and sacred civilization,
we must then be aware of the global issues confronting us in
the 21st century.
In this challenging 21st century, Islam and other world

religions have a vital role to play in transforming humanity.
All religions in the world working together can help make the
21stcentury a better world for all. Muslims empowering in the
right direction can play a leading role in the transformation of
the 21st century’s civilization. Core intrinsic values of Islam
as well as in other religions will enable human beings to have
hope for the future. By emphasizing the core values of justice,
love, happiness, and peace, human beings can be given a
new sacred mission to make this world a better world for all.
We have to change the perception of the 21st century

humanity so that we can change our behaviour to save the
future of humanity. To do this, we need to develop the Positive
Transcendent Psychology to transform 21st century humanity
towards fulfillment, peace, happiness, and success.
INTRODUCTION 15
Positive Islamic Psychology (PIP) Overview
We propose that psychologists throughout the world

should begin their research in Positive Transcendent
Psychology regardless of their race, religion or socioeconomic
background. We are proposing Positive Islamic Psychology as
the way forward specifically for Muslims and for all humanity
throughout the world. We suggest that non-Muslims can
also take what they consider as good from Positive Islamic
Psychology and apply it in their own societies. We all have
to work together to save humanity from an impending global
catastrophe. We have to change direction so that humanity
can live in a peaceful, happy and successful global society for
all creatures on this good Earth.
Muslims constitute 1.7 billion out of 7 billion human

beings on the planet. Many Muslim societies around the
globe are facing numerous economic, educational, societal
and moral problems. For this reason, we are introducing the
Positive Islamic Psychology model to specifically transform
the Muslim Ummah to achieve peace, happiness and success
in the 21st century. Similarly, we would like to encourage
other psychologists, both Muslims and non-Muslims to study
our model and develop new psychological modalities and
therapies for humanity.
The aim of this book therefore is to elucidate the key

concepts of Positive Islamic Psychology in addressing the
contemporary 21st century problems of all humanity. Indeed,
there are many scientific discoveries today that can give us
a great understanding of the nature of the human self as
well as the underlying principles of human behaviour. Our
endeavour is to match the underlying principles of Islam in
the context of modern psychological research, application,
modalities and therapies. Similarly, we use findings by
prominent traditional Muslim scholars of the past which we
find scientifically acceptable and relevant to the problems of
contemporary humanity.
By the same token, we intend to adopt a holistic approach,

believing that human being is not just a physical being but
a holistic multidimensional being that has aspects of spirit,
heart/emotion, mind/brain and lastly the physical body. We
will try to elucidate these ideas in a way that will be acceptable
and compatible to contemporary transcendent psychology.
We will elucidate the transcendent human nature based on
Islamic principles and the use of modern scientific findings
such as the quantum theory, as well as recent findings in
cosmology and theoretical physics.
By applying the above concepts, we believe that we can

create a new world that is peaceful, full of happiness and
success. We therefore have to redefine the concept of peace,
happiness and success from the current secular materialist
definitions to authentic peace, happiness and success that is
naturally holistic and transcendent.
The premise of Positive Islamic Psychology is based on

the following four basic principles:
1st principle: Understanding the Creator and the

Created Universe.
2nd principle: The Holistic Transcendent Nature of

the Human Self.
3rd principle: On Being the Vicegerent of God in this

Universe.
4th principle: Holistic Principles of Behaviour and

Human Learning.
Using the above principles, we will explore the premises

of Positive Islamic Psychology and jointly develop a viable
framework to achieve peace, happiness and success in the
21st century.
CHAPTER ONE
POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY – 1ST PRINCIPLE:

UNDERSTANDING THE CREATOR AND THE CREATED
UNIVERSE
18 POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY Chapter 1
The Roots of 21st Century Atheism
For the past one hundred years, most branches of the scientific
endeavour have based their principles on the premise of the
scientific atheism. The notion that in order to be scientific
we have to be atheistic is false. The notion of the Creator, i.e.
God creating this universe is getting more and more realistic
and scientific. For us to believe in the transcendent human
persona, we have to believe in a transcendent Creator. Today,
the belief in the existence of a Creator is something that has
been scientifically proven.
In Islam, the first principle of belief (tawhid) is to believe

in the transcendent Creator, i.e. God, we use the proper name,
“Allah”. The concept of tawhid is beautifully illustrated in the
Qur’an:
And they were commanded not, but that they should worship
God, and worship none but Him Alone, and perform prayer and
observe alms giving: and that is the right religion.
(Al-Qur’an, 98: 5)
When ancient men looked at the night sky with the

beauty and grandeur of the stars, they realized that there
must be a supernatural being or God Who creates this
universe. Throughout the history of humanity, there had
been wise men who were given inspiration to understand the
nature of the Divine. Traditionally, humanity lived within the
understanding of the existence of God as a Creator of the
universe. They had the inner realization of the Divine reality
and an inner understanding of the spiritual realm through
direct knowledge and experience.
Modern secularized men have lost touch with their inner

selves. As a result, they only use one dimension of intelligence
based on I.Q. This brute mono-dimensional intelligence
gives rise to arrogance and atheism. Intrinsically,
God has given men the ability beyond the five senses to realize
1st Principle: Understanding The Creator And The Created Universe 19
emotional and spiritual realities which ultimately lead to the

understanding of the reality of God. However, secularism
and atheism have cut off their inner intuitive capability. As a
result, modern men can only see the physical reality as the
only reality in which they live and die.
The origin of the modern scientific atheism stretches all

the way back to the late 17th century. Atheism was based
on Cartesian, Newtonian and Kantian philosophy. Cartesian
philosophy wrenched us from our familiar social and religious
way of life. Similarly, Newtonian physics put human beings
as mechanical beings without a purpose. This has affected
our attitude towards nature and the material world. We are
out to conquer nature and use it for our material benefits.
Immanuel Kant wrote his book, the Critique of Pure

Reason which later influenced the majority of the philosophers
of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as Derrida, Laplace,
Lyotard, Foucault, Rorty, Jean-Luc Marion, David Hume
and A.J.Ayer. The secular materialistic atheism that Kant
expounded in his book still dominates disciplines such as
philosophy and psychology and affects the perception of
modern man towards life. Bertrand Russell, the 20th century
atheist mathematician, and philosopher, summarizes the
despair of modern humanity in his own way observing that:
Man is the product of causes which had no prevision of the end

they were achieving; that his origin, his growth, his hopes and
fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental
collections of atoms; that no fire, no heroism, no intensity of
thought and feeling, can preserve the individual life beyond the
grave; that all the labours of the ages, all the devotion, all the
inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are
destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system, and
that the whole temple of the Man’s achievement must inevitably
be buried beneath the debris of a universe in ruins.
Modern scientists like Richard Dawkins, the author

of The God Delusion still believes and promotes scientific
atheism based on Kantian logic and philosophy. The basis

of Kantian ideology is that all of our knowledge is based
on the experiences of our five senses. Anything beyond our
five senses cannot be verified and as such is of no rational
value. For Immanuel Kant and his followers, metaphysical
questions, such as the existence of God, were outside the
scope of human reason. In their views, reason could not be
applied to matters outside of one’s experience through the
senses. In Kantian epistemology, reason could never lead one
to the knowledge of God, and theological inquiry could not be
made by means of rational analysis. This is due to God is not
subject to the senses, Kantian philosophers dismissed any
attempt to discuss about God, or any ideas of the realm of the
transcendent, metaphysical or spiritual.
Traditionally, humanity perceives life as a reality focused

on the understanding of a Divine Creator. Human life in
this world is a holistic continuum in which we identify our
relationship with all creations and with the Divine Creator.
Religious precepts provide various approaches to the power
of reason to know the divine reality as part of the continuing
history of mankind.
Intrinsically, human beings are given the freedom of

choice, moral and ethical precepts in their religious system.
Within the Islamic system, an infinite God cannot be placed
within a system or a box by the finite human mind. The
doctrine of divine unity in Islam, Tawhid, is fundamental to
all believing Muslims. This first requirement of belief is to
believe and realize the Oneness of God and all the essential
attributes of Godhood. God is not an object to be placed in
a class or a category within the confine of the human mind.
God transcends all categories of thought, including Kant’s
categories of the mind. John Cottingham described the
limits of empirical and positivistic reasoning concerning a
transcendent reality:
When we reflect further on the kinds of philosophical project

found in Hume or Kant, it becomes clear that they do not, and
indeed could not with any plausibility propose to eliminate
the very possibility of a domain of reality lying beyond the
phenomenal world. It would be outrageous arrogance to suppose
that the limits of our puny human scientific or even conceptual
resources must necessarily determine the actual limits of reality.
Kantian ideas promoted by positivist philosophers still

influence modern psychology. These promoters of Kantian
philosophy based the argument on the old model of science
that is proven false. They based their theory of knowledge
on Euclidean geometry and Newtonian view of the universe.
Today’s science has been modified by Einstein’s theory
of relativity, non-Euclidean geometry, quantum physics,
string theory and algorithmic information theory. These
new scientific discoveries enable us to discuss the nature of
Godhood within the rational scientific paradigm. Prominent
physicist Dr. John Polkinghorne said:
No one has seen a quark, and we believe that no one ever will.
They are so tightly bound to each other inside the protons and
neutrons that nothing can make them break out on their own.
Why, then, do I believe in these invisible quarks? In summary, it is
because quarks make sense of a lot of direct physical evidence…
I wish to engage in a similar strategy with regard to the unseen
reality of God. His existence makes sense of many aspects of
our knowledge and experience: the order and fruitfulness of the
physical world; the multi-layered character of reality; the almost
universal human experience of worship and hope… I think that
very similar thought processes are involved in both cases. I do
not believe that I shift in some strange intellectual way when I
move from science to religion… In their search for truth, science
and faith are intellectual cousins under the skin.
The study of quantum physics, black holes, particle

astrophysics, cosmology, and information theory allows us
to know quite a bit about things that are beyond our senses.
Similarly, there is merit in rational metaphysical inquiry
concerning the knowledge of God, even though that knowledge
will always be incomplete and distorted purely on the basis

of a human’s rationale . Although we cannot know everything
about God through human rational inquiry and may not be
able to achieve a genuine understanding of God’s essence, we
can know something about God sufficient for us to believe in
Him.
Although modern scientific reasoning indicates that we

can discuss the concept of God in rational terms, we need to
acknowledge our limitations. A finite created human being
will not fully comprehend an Infinite Being. God is the Infinite,
the Necessary Being, the Initiator of all existence. Any attempt
to grasp such a Being will be incomplete. As finite beings
with a finite language, our attempts to discuss the infinite
will always be inadequate. One cannot use words concerning
God, as one would use words to describe anything else. Our
language is limited to descriptions of components of the
universe or to the universe itself. God is beyond all categories
of objects of our thoughts, and beyond the comprehension of
the human mind. We encounter real limits in our reasoning
and in our knowledge.
Our language and finite minds can be used as a stepping-

stone towards the reflection of the nature of the infinite God
which can then expand our awareness of the true reality. We
can gain some valid insights by reflecting upon the nature of
Godhood. At the very least, this reflection can show us that all
of our concepts about God are just rudimentary. Just because
we cannot know all of God does not mean that we cannot
experience God. Our sense of awe and our understanding of
reality may be enhanced as we catch even a tiny glimpse of
the magnitude of God.
We can have a better insight on understanding God

through our innate transcendent capability. We must expand
our ways of knowing to include the intuitive, metaphysical,
spiritual and mystical ways of knowing. By combining rational
scientific mode of thinking with the transcendent mode, we

can then experience the Divine. This holistic experience
will enable us to understand God rationally as well as
metaphysically. Reason and faith are complementary ways
of knowing. Reason without experiencing the Divine leads to
atheism. Transcendent experiences without reason can be a
fantasy. Reason and transcendent religious experiences need
to remain coupled. One’s heart and mind must each be fully
engaged in the knowing process because there are ways of
knowing beyond the five senses.
For most of our history as homo sapiens, we had wise

men who have always had answers to the nature of our origin
and the origin of our universe. This traditional perspective of
God creating the world and human beings as God’s servants
to realize the grandeur of the divine creation is reflected in
the Qur’an. God says:
Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the Earth, and the
alternation of night and day, there are indeed Signs for men of
understanding. Men who celebrate the praises of God, standing,
sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the
wonders of creation in the heavens and the Earth, with the
thought: “Our Lord! not for naught Has You created (all) this!
Glory to You! Give us salvation from the penalty of the Fire.
(Al-Qur’an, 3:190-191)
Our ancestors looked at the stars, the sun, the moon,

the regularity of the seasons to understand and comprehend
the reality and the beauty of this universe. Traditional
humanity realizes that God creates the world. The regularity
of His Sustenance for the purpose of our existence proves His
Benevolence.
It is ironic that the very regularity and comprehensibility

of the universe, and the successes in understanding this,
gave rise to doubts about the existence of God who is the
Creator of our existence and the entire seen and unseen
universes. Atheistic philosophers and scientists in the 20th
century believed in a steady state universe that existed for all

of eternity. This was the mindset of many atheistic scientists
even up to today. Their view is that we do not need a Creator
for a universe that has existed all of eternity. This notion of
the “steady state” universe is proven to be false. When Albert
Einstein formulated his General Theory of Relativity, the
equations indicated that the universe should be expanding.
This implies that it had an origin at a finite time in the past.
Einstein was afraid to upset the dominant scientific view of
the “steady state” universe held by the scientific community
in the middle of the 20th century.
Einstein introduced something called a “cosmological

constant” in his theory to counteract the expansion. This
“fudge factor” restored the universe to the “steady state” it
supposedly had since immemorial time . All was well and good
until Hubble began doing measurements of the light from
distant galaxies with a powerful new telescope atop Mountain
Wilson in California. He noticed that the farther they were,
the faster they seemed to be moving. Hubble’s startling
conclusion was that the galaxies must have all started from
the same point at a finite time in the past.
At first, this challenge to the “steady state” universe was

greeted with derision and scorn. The idea was jokingly referred
to as the “Big Bang” as if to suggest that such an affront to
“common sense” did not deserve a serious name. The evidence
for an “origin” of the universe however became sufficiently
persuasive even within Einstein’s lifetime. He admitted in the
last edition of his book, “The Meaning of Relativity”, that he
would have never introduced the “cosmological constant” if
Hubble’s expansion had been discovered at the time of the
creation of his theory. In the Qur’an, God revealed to us 1,400
years ago about the nature of the expanding universe:
And it is We Who have constructed the universe with might, and

verily, it is We Who are steadily expanding it.
(Al-Qur’an, 51:47)
Today, there are many areas of contemporary sciences

that point to the existence of God. These include the
contemporary quantum physics, algorithmic information
theory, discovery of human genome, and many other areas
of science that supports the idea of the belief in God. For
example, the sequencing of the human genome points to a
Creator. Francis Collins, the leader of the Human Genome
Project, is not being hyperbolic when he calls the genetic code
the “language of God”. If He is the Creator of this universe,
His comprehensibility should not be a mystery.
Today, we see the merging of science and faith to address

basic metaphysical questions. There is an innate yearning
in our mind on the nature of our existence. Why is there
something rather than nothing? Why does this particular kind
of universe exist? Why does something have the particular
members and order that it has? Why does the universe have
an order that makes it intelligible? Einstein marvelled at the
intelligibility of the universe. He knew that science could not
even begin if the world was not intelligible. As he noted, “let us
concede that behind any major scientific work is a conviction
akin to religious belief, that the world is intelligible”. If one
stops and thinks about it, the intelligibility of the universe
is rather astonishing. After all, it could simply be a chaos
and not a rational, inherently mathematical universe with
substantial beauty.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics, which is accepted

as one of the basic laws of physics, holds that under normal
conditions, if all the systems left on their own will tend to
become disordered, dispersed, and corrupted in direct
relations to the amount of time that passes. This famous law
of physics is also known as the “Law of Entropy”. Entropy
is the range of the disorder involved in a system in physics.
A system’s entropy is increased as it moves towards a more
disordered, dispersed, and unplanned state from an ordered,
organized, and planned one. The higher the system’s disorder,
the higher the entropy. The Law of Entropy holds that
the entire universe unavoidably precedes towards a more

disordered, unplanned, and disorganized state.
If that is the reality, the universe could not be dissipating

from infinity or it would have run down by now to a state of
non-existence. If God created the universe then the universe
had a beginning that had to be highly ordered. Scientifically,
we know now that our universe has been expanding since
its initial singularity of the Big Bang. Such an expanding
universe cannot have an infinite past.
From the Islamic theological perspective, God created

many universes.
The seven heavens and the Earth and whatever is in them exalt
Him. And there is not a thing except that it exalts [God] by His
praise, but you do not understand their [way of] exalting. Indeed,
He is ever Forbearing and Forgiving.
(Al-Qur’an,17:44
Recent scientific works by physicists and cosmologists

indicate that we may live in a “multiverse cosmos”. Cosmologists
Arvind Borde, Alan Guth, and Alexandermultiverse cosmos
that must have a beginning. These tuning, and beauty of
the universe. These discoveries give corroborative evidence
for the inherent intelligibility of the physical world and are
consistent with a rational argument for God’s existence.
The existence of God explains why there is something

rather than nothing. It explains the intelligibility and order
in the universe; the continuing existence of the universe; the
beginning of the universe and the inherent mathematical
nature of the universe. It explains the existence of the laws
of nature, the existence of information, the existence of free
will and the ability to recognize good and evil. It explains the
fine-tunning in the astrophysics of the universe that allows
conscious life; and it explains why thoughts have the capacity
to produce true beliefs. Let us move forward to some detailed
evidences that can strengthen our belief in God.
Everything that Exists is Either Contingent/

Accident or Necessary/Essential
When we consider the basic fact of existence, we can

understand that whatever exists, including the universe as a
whole, either has its existence in, through, and from itself or
its existence is dependent on the existence of something else.
In other words, everything that exists is either contingent/
accident or necessary/essential. A contingent/accident thing
depends on something else for its existence.
For a long time, believers in God have used the

“watchmaker argument”. If I show you my watch and ask you
who created this watch? Did this watch come into existence
by random chance or this watch was made by a watchmaker?
Rationally, we would say that this watch was made by a
watchmaker. Rationally by extension, if we were asked who
created the universe, we would then acknowledge that God
created the universe. This is the gist of watchmaker argument.
Atheistic philosophers like Bertrand Russell refute the idea
that God is the “watchmaker” that created the universe.
His argument was that if the universe was created by

God, then who created God and so on. Here we have an infinite
regression. We can never get to the end since it just goes on
forever. If you want to postulate that God makes the universe,
you have to postulate a “God Maker”. If you postulate a “God
Maker”, then you have to postulate “the maker of the God
Maker” and it goes on in an infinite regression. Unfortunately,
Bertrand Russell did not study the knowledge of At-Tawhid
which is the knowledge of the Oneness of God that logically
explains Russell’s dilemma some one thousand years ago.
Let us review the logical arguments by Muslim

theologians more than one thousand years ago beginning with
the great Muslim scholar Imam Abu Hanifa. Let us extract
these arguments from my late teacher, Moulavi M.H. Babu
Sahib in his book, “Know Islam”, that provides the proofs of
the existence of God. Traditional Muslim scholars have been

using the science of logic syllogism for more than a thousand
years. It is surprising that modern atheistic philosophers
cannot even debate their rationales based on the science of
logic.
The Logic of the Existence of God (Allah)
The basic logic to prove the essential attributes of Allah. The

proof of essentiality of Allah’s existence:
Claim: Allah is an Essential Being, i.e. His Existence is

essential.
Proof: It is because Allah is the One whom the universe

essentially needs (minor), and all those whom the universe
essentially need are Essential Beings (major), therefore, Allah
is an Essential Being. (Conclusion)
Minor premise proved:
The universe is an accident (minor).
All accidents essentially need an Initiator (major).

Therefore, the universe essentially needs an Initiator
(conclusion).
Major premise proved:
If they are not Essential Beings, then they must

be accidents (minor). And all accidents need an
Initiator (major). Therefore, they need an Initiator
(conclusion).
Then this initiator needs another initiator until

there is no end.
This results in an unending chain (tasalsul) and is

therefore, absurd, or returns to the first initiator with or
without intermediaries e.g. A created B,B created A, or A

created B, B created C, and C created A
This results in a Rotation (ad-dawr) and is therefore,

absurd.
Therefore, the statement which led to this result, i.e.

“they need an initiator” (conclusion) is absurd. Again, the
statement which led to that statement, i.e. “they are not
Essential Beings”, too, is absurd. When the absurdity of the
statement “they are not Essential Beings” is established,
its opposite statement, i.e. “they are Essential Beings” is
established.
The reason for the absurdity of Rotation is that it

necessitates that a thing becomes precedent to itself while
the thing itself is the subsequent.
The reason for the absurdity of the Unending Chain

(Perpetual Succession) is evident from the Proof of Congruence:
let us imagine two lines of events: one starting from infinity
and ending at the First World War and the other also starting
from infinity but ending at the present time. As illustrated
below:
From infinity to First World War
From infinity to present Time
If the two lines end together, then, every one of the

two lines has limitation. This is against the purpose of
the argument. If the two lines do not end at all, then, they
necessitate in two unequal things becoming equal. This is
absurd. If the first line alone ends without the second, Then,
the first one has a limitations, therefore, the second one,
too, must have limitations because it is longer than the first
one by only a particular limited measure. It is a known fact
(axiomatic knowledge) that anything which exceeds another
thing which has limitations, by any measure, will necessarily

become limited.
Proof of the Essentiality of an Active Cause for

the Universe
The universe is made up of unequal parts which share an

attribute equally among themselves. All those which are
made up of unequal parts sharing equal attributes among
themselves should have that attribute. Therefore, the universe
should have that attribute (which is shared by all its unequal
parts equally among themselves). That attribute is that of
being caused by a Cause. Therefore, it is established that
the Universe should have the attribute of being caused by a
Cause, i.e. created by God.
Proof of God Being Eternal
Indeed, God is Eternal. If he is not Eternal, then He must

be an accident because there is no middle ground. This is
true because if He were an accident, He will certainly need
an Initiator. If He needs an Initiator, certainly, that Initiator
needs another Initiator because of the likeness between them.
This results in either the Rotation or the Unending Chain
which both have already been proven to be absurd.
In this case, anything resulting in this absurdity (His

need for an Initiator) is absurd. Similarly, that which resulted
in His being as an accident is absurd. Therefore, that which
resulted in it, i.e. His not being Eternal, is absurd. If it is
absurd to assume that God is not eternal, then, His Eternity
is established. That is the aim of this argument.
Proof of God’s Everlastingness
It means that non-existence will never occur to Him whether

in the past, present or future. If His non-existence is possible,
then Him being eternal is absurd. How can it be possible
whereas His being as eternal has already been established
as His essential attribute? And for all those whose eternity
is established, the occurrence of non-existence to them is
absurd (Moulavi M.H. Babu Sahib, 1974).
The above 1,000 year-old Islamic theological argument

can be the basis for us to understand the difference between
an essential/necessary being verses contingent/accidental
being. God as the necessary being has His existence in,
through, and from Himself and does not depend on anything
else or any other being for His existence. As a necessary being,
God cannot be anything except for what He is in His essence
and attributes. When we describe the universe, its existence
is contingent because it has a beginning. This universe is a
contingent thing that is created. Its existence can be taken
away and as such, it is not completely independent.
The continuing existence of this universe requires

a Creator for its existence. Without this Creator, the
universe could not have existed and there will be absolute
nothingness. God has a necessary existence as a prerequisite
for the existence of the universe. As a cause of its continuing
existence, God would not be simply a cause that began or
wound up a universe and then left it to run on its own, but a
cause that intimately and constantly preserves the universe.
The important premise in the argument is that the

universe is radically contingent and unnecessary. It is because
the other universes are possible, our universe is not necessary
in and through itself. If it is unnecessary, it is contingent.
If it is contingent, at every moment it has the potential for
annihilation. If it has the potential for annihilation, it needs
a sustaining cause to exist. When something radically
contingent ceases to be, it does not become something else

but is replaced by sheer nothingness.
Logically, we consider this universe to be made of

energy, matter and information. We consider the physical
matter in this universe, i.e. our world, the sun, our galaxy,
the universe, etc. to be solid matter. However, modern
physics tells us that within the atomic structure of atoms
of every matter that existed is 99.99999% empty space: the
distance between an electron and its protons, nucleus being
as great, proportionally, as the distance between the Earth
and the Sun. The nature of the atom’s electrons, protons, and
neutrons now are thought to be energy rather than matter.
Astrophysicist Michael Scott of Edinburgh University argues
that: “the advancement of quantum physics has produced a
description of reality which allows the existence of parallel
universes. Composed of real substances, they would not
interact with matter from our own universe”. Professor Fred
Alan Wolf seems to concur with these findings in his book,
“Mind and the New Physics”, in which he states:
As fantastic as it sounds, the new physics called quantum

mechanics posits that there exists, side by side with this world,
another world, a parallel universe, a duplicate copy that is
somehow slightly different yet the same. And not just two parallel
worlds, but three, four or even more…
If the universe is contingent, we do not have an

explanation in terms of non-contingent natural laws from
which the universe’s existence follows. We do not have an
explanation to why the universe exists. This indicates the
requirement of a personal explanation based on the intentions
of a sustaining necessary cause of its existence. We know of
no natural explanation for the existence of the universe in
terms of non-contingent laws or principles that would cause
its existence. If no laws or principles can offer a natural
explanation, a personal explanation is required. A personal
explanation addresses the requirement of an intentional act
of a sustaining necessary cause of the universe’s continuing

existence.
The universe cannot explain its own existence because it

is merely a possible universe. As such, the explanation for its
existence must come from outside of the universe. This is due
to the universe being the totality of all physical realities, the
explanation must reside in a non-physical reality. One could
argue that the universe came into existence without any
cause and for insufficient reasons. However, to set forth that
proposition, one would have to deny the scientific method
and the latest scientific findings in cosmology. There is then
no reason to believe that our cognitive thoughts give us any
ability to invent a super computer, fly to the moon, or use the
Nano technology. Given the success of science in practice,
the burden of proof appears to be on anyone claiming that
there is insufficient reasons for the universe to be a created
thing. Professor Reichenbach argued:
Defenders of the cosmological argument suggest two possible

kinds of explanation. Natural explanation is provided in terms
precedent events, causal laws, or necessary conditions that
invoke natural existents. Personal explanation is given ‘in terms
of the intentional action of a rational agent’. We have seen that one
cannot provide a natural causal explanation for the initial event,
for there are no precedent events or natural existents to which
the laws of physics apply. The line of scientific explanation runs
out at the initial singularity before the Big Bang, and perhaps
even before we arrive at the singularity at 10-35 seconds. If no
scientific explanation in terms of physical laws can provide a
causal account of the origin of the universe, the explanation must
be personal, i.e. in terms of the intentional action of a rational,
Supernatural Being, i.e. God.
The position of the atheists that deny God as a Creator

of the universe or multiple universes is scientifically false.
Scientific atheism postulates that the existence of scientific
laws is absolute and does not need any cause for the universe
to exist. In reality, the laws of physics are merely contingent
components of the universe. They neither explain their own

existence, nor do they explain why a physical world exists
at all. They are mere equations and do not explain their
mathematical characteristics. They do not explain why the
world is intelligible to us, and the fine-tuning of the universe
which allows the development of conscious life. They also
appear to not exist prior to Planck time an extremely small
fraction of the first second of the initial event of the universe.
Hence, they appear to be finite, consequently contingent, and
not necessary.
We can then conclude that this universe and all that is

in existence including human beings are created by God. God
has a necessary existence as a prerequisite for the existence
of the universe. As a cause of its continuing existence, God
would not be simply a cause that began or wound up a
universe and then left it to run on its own, but a cause that
intimately and constantly preserves the universe. For more
than 1,000 years, Muslim scholars and theologians have
been propounding the above belief system for all Muslims as
believers in one God.
The 20th century atheist, philosophers and

mathematicians, Bertrand Russell failed in his watchmaker
argument. Professor Richard Dawkins, a die-hard atheist who
wrote the book The God Delusion, used the “Ultimate Boeing
747 aircraft gambit” instead of the “watch maker” argument
Nevertheless, Dawkins’ argument seems to attack religion
using ridicule, mockery, and vitriolic statements to persuade
his readers; and he provides very little substantive, logical
analysis for his position. The analysis that he does provide
lacks rigorous critical thinking and commits elementary
errors in logic.
Dawkins’ principle argument assumes that if God exists,

He would have to be so complex that His Existence would
be astronomically improbable. In the book’s chapter, “Why Is
There Almost Certainly No God”, he argues that the existence
of a God/Creator who created this universe is “as unlikely

as a typhoon blowing through a junkyard and constructing
a Boeing 747 aircraft”. His basic point is that if God creates
the universe, it would have been extremely complex for Him
to make something so complex. Dawkins assumes that
complexity is inversely related to probability, God’s existence
is extremely improbable.
Dawkins’ Boeing 747 aircraft analogy only applies

to Dawkins’ definition of complexity if God is made up of
material parts. In his definition, Dawkins makes the following
unwarranted assumptions: (a) God is made of many parts;
(b) these parts were unlikely (improbable) to be assembled to
form a precise sequence or in his words, a “heterogeneous”
or “many-parted structure”. Dawkins is assuming that God is
a “many parted-structure”. He is assuming that God is made
up of matter and that God’s structure is improbable. Based
on the above argument, Dawkins concludes that God does not
exist. This is a good example of the logical fallacy known as
circulus in probando or the circular reasoning. It is surprising
that a 20th century prominent scholar can make a basic error
in logic. More than 1,000 years ago, Muslim theologians have
shown that Dawkins’ arguments are flawed because the logic
causes a rotation (al-Dawran) or circular reasoning.
The Dawkins’ Ultimate Boeing 747 aircraft gambit

analogy and conclusion has failed because by definition, God
is spiritual, beyond space, time and matter, and does not
have material parts to be arranged like the parts of a Boeing
747. Dawkins conceives God as something that cannot
exist. To reach his desired conclusion, Dawkins began with
materialism in order to arrive at materialism. He tried to
define God under a materialist definition of complexity that
includes improbability in order to arrive at his conclusion.
Under the Islamic classical concept of God as a necessary

being, God’s essential nature is beyond the grasp of the finite
human mind. We can only understand God through His actions
and necessary attributes of being the Ultimate Creator, All-

Powerful, All-Knowledgeable, etc. In reality, this universe/
multi-universe’s existence points to God as a necessary
Creator of all universes. In other words, the probability of
the non-existence of God is equal to zero. It is surprising
that Dawkins is not aware of the logical problems in his
assumption, definition and analogy of the Boeing 747 gambit.
If Dawkins proposes that God’s existence is improbable, he
owes us an argument for the conclusion that there is no
necessary being with the attributes of God. Neither he nor
anyone else has provided even a decent argument along the
above logic. Dawkins does not even seem to be aware that he
needs to provide a logical premise to prove the non-existence
of God.
Our ability to disprove an existential proposition of the

existence of God has limitations. Human knowledge from
the physical science cannot completely explain the nature
of God as the Creator. Our current atheistic tendency is a
result of dogmatic materialism based on inadequate scientific
knowledge of the nature of our physical existence and the
nature of our consciousness. No one has been able to structure
a logically valid argument that God does not exist.
Science gives us wonderful knowledge, but it has its

limits. It cannot provide the answer to the question of the
existence of the universe because an examination of the
components or members of the universe cannot explain the
existence and the order of an intelligible universe. When
one engages in science, he or she engages in looking at the
relationship among the members of the universe. This is not
sufficient to address the question of why the universe exists at
all, why it is intelligible, or why it has the particular collection
of members that comprise the whole of the universe.
It is sheer arrogance of the atheists to deny the existence

of God. Let us take another analogy, for example, the complex
iconic NASA space shuttle, “Endeavour”. Let us assume that
it came into being suddenly from the raw materials of the

Earth that somehow became the lightweight composite body,
the semiconductor chips for the control systems, etc., without
any organization like NASA and its thousands of engineers,
scientists and subcontractors to design, build and operate
the space shuttle. In this situation, most thinking people will
definitely say it is nonsensical and impossible for the space
shuttle ‘Endeavour’ to come into existence by chance. Yet,
modern atheists believe that this complex world and universe
with its trillions of planets and life forms can exist without
God as a Creator. We are creatures living in an insignificant
planet called Earth. We are in reality creatures of nothingness
that were given the capability to realize the grandeur of the
universe and our own existence. Our purpose in life definitely
is beyond merely living a physical life. We have a greater
vision and mission in life to acknowledge, realize and praise
the Divine Creator.
Qur’anic Revelation and Modern Scientific

Discoveries Prove that God Created the
Universe
Muslims believe that the Qur’an is the revelation of God

to guide all mankind. This revelation was sent to Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) 1,400 years ago. One of the
miracles of the Qur’anic revelation is that the description of
the creation of the universe is in accordance to the modern
scientific finding in cosmology. How could an unlettered man,
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), who lived 1,400
years ago describe the creation of the universe scientifically?
This could not have been possible without prior knowledge
from the Creator of this universe:
Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and Earth, and the

alternation of the night and the day, and the [great] ships which
sail through the sea with that which benefits people, and what
God has sent down from the heavens of rain, giving life thereby
to the Earth after its lifelessness and dispersing therein every

[kind of] moving creature, and [His] directing of the winds and
the clouds controlled between the heaven and the Earth are
signs for a people who use reason.
(Al-Qur’an, 2:164)
The most striking everyday phenomenon resulting from

the interrelations of Heavens and Earth is the alternation of
day and night, regular and yet changing in duration with the
seasons, and the latitudes of our globe. This passage is one
of the many in which the Qur’an appeals to us. The verse
is very clear that those who use their reason to observe the
daily wonders of nature understand the evidence of man’s
own ingenuity, as so many indications of the existence
of a conscious, creative power-pervading of the universe.
Humanity is encouraged to think about the existence of
this universe and realize the Creator in their reflection and
contemplation of everything in the universe.
We now know that the universe we live in began with the

so-called Big Bang. God the Almighty says:
We constructed the universe with power and skill, for it is We

Who steadily expanding it.
(Al-Qur’an, 51: 47)
The Qur’anic passage revealed 1,400 years ago confirmed

that God created the universe with His power. Scientifically,
the universe has been steadily expanding. However, this
phenomenon of the expansion of the universe was only
discovered by Professor Hubble in the late 1920s. Hubble’s
discovery of the red shift in the spectrum of starlight shows
that the universe is expanding. Professor Anthony Flew was
an atheist who later became a believer in God after studying
contemporary cosmology. He said:
Notoriously, confession is good for the soul. I will therefore begin

by confessing that the Stratonician atheist has to be embarrassed
by the contemporary cosmological consensus.For

it seems
that the cosmologists are providing a scientific proof
of what St. Thomas contended could not be proved
philosophically; namely, that the universe had a
beginning.
Astrophysicist Hugh Ross states that there is a Creator

of the universe Who is above all physical dimensions as:
By definition, time is that dimension in which cause-and-effect

phenomenon takes place. No time, no cause and effect. If time’s
beginning is concurrent with the beginning of the universe, as
the space-time theorem says, then the cause of the universe
must be some entity operating in a time dimension completely
independent of and pre-existent to the time dimension of the
cosmos. …It tells us that the Creator is transcendent, operating
beyond the dimensional limits of the universe.
In the Qur’an we are told that this universe or any other

universes or dimensions were created from nothingness.
All that existed and that will exist in the future come into
existence by a command from God, which is beyond space
and time.
God says:
Is not He who created the heavens and the Earth Able to create
the likes of them? Yes, [it is so]; and He is the Knowing Creator.
His command is only when He intends a thing that He says to it,
“Be,” and it is. So exalted is He in whose hand is the realm of all
things, and to Him you will be returned.
(Al-Qur’an, 36: 81-83)
God is the Originator of the heavens and the Earth…

(Al-Qur’an, 6:101)
The nature of nothingness in which God created this

universe with power is only known to God. We can speculate
that this nothingness can be a quantum vacuum, quantum

field, primordial energy, dark energy, cosmic potential, etc.
We can never know scientifically the creative process of this
universe before the universe exists. The creative phenomena
may be partially explained scientifically through quantum
physics. The complete mystery of the nature of creation is
only known to God who creates all things.
The nature of the Big Bang is explained vividly in the

Qur’anic revelation;
Do those who are disbelievers not see that the heavens and the
Earth were sewn together and then We unstitched them and that
We made from water every living thing? So will they not have
faith?
(Al-Qur’an, 21: 30)
It is a very important choice of words in the original Arabic

which translation is given above. The word ratq translated
as “sewn to” means “mixed in each, blended” in Arabic
dictionaries. It is used to refer to two different substances
that make up a whole. The phrase “we unstitched” is the
verb fatq in Arabic and implies that something comes into
being by tearing apart or destroying the structure of ratq. The
sprouting of a seed from the soil is one of the actions to which
this verb is applied.
Let us take a look at the verse again with this knowledge

in mind. In the verse, sky and Earth are at first subject to the
status of ratq. They are separated (fatq) with one coming out
of the other. Intriguingly, cosmologists speak of a “cosmic egg”
that consisted of all the matter in the universe prior to the Big
Bang. In other words, all the heavens and Earth were included
in this egg in a condition of ratq. This cosmic egg expanded
violently causing its matter to fatq and in the process created
the structure of the whole universe. Whatever the quantum
vacuum or cosmic energy that was commanded by God to
form this universe is still not known. At the point, prior to the
creation of the universe, all laws of physics cannot be applied

in a situation before the existence of the universe, i.e. before
the existence of space, time and matter.
The findings of modern science support the truth that is

revealed in the Qur’an. Atheists may claim all of these to be
a “coincidence” but the plain fact is that the universe came
into being as a result of an act of Creation on God’s part and
the only true knowledge about the origin of universe is to be
found in the word of God as revealed to us in the Qur’an.
God is the Creator of this Fine-Tuned Universe
The creative process of the creation of the universe is not

merely a random explosion. The Big Bang is in fact, a
structured expansion, which is mathematically accurate.
And all the universes He has raised high, and He has set up
the balance of everything in order that you humanity may not
transgress due balance. So maintain the balance with equality
and fall not short in it.
(Al-Qur’an, 55 :7-9)
These Qur’anic verses explain the nature of balance in

everything that God created, i.e. balance in the creation of
the universe or multi-universes, balance in the environment
and ecology, etc.
The Speed of the Expansion of the Universe
At the point of the creation of the universe, two different and

opposing forces are at work. The force of the explosion, driving
matter outward and away, and the force of attraction, trying
to resist the first and pull everything back together must be
in equilibrium. If the attractive force had been greater than
the explosive force, the universe would have collapsed. If the
opposite had been true, matters would have been splattered
in every direction in a way to never be united together to form

the universe.
The mathematical physicist Paul Davies explains this

equilibrium:
Careful measurements put the rate of expansion very close to

a critical value at which the universe will just escape its own
gravity and expand forever. A little slower and the cosmos would
collapse, a little faster and the cosmic material would have long
ago completely dispersed. It is interesting to ask precisely how
delicately the rate of expansion has been “fine-tuned” to fall on
this narrow dividing line between two catastrophes. If at time
Is (by which the time pattern of expansion was already firmly
established) the expansion rate had differed from its actual value
by more than 10-18, it would have been sufficient to throw the
delicate balance out. The explosive vigour of the universe is thus
matched with almost unbelievable accuracy to its gravitating
power. The big bang was not evidently, any old bang, but an
explosion of exquisitely arranged magnitude.
Professor Davies admits this himself, noting:
It is hard to resist that the present structure of the universe,

apparently so sensitive to minor alterations in the numbers, has
been rather carefully thought out… The seemingly miraculous
concurrence of numerical values that nature has assigned to
her fundamental constants must remain the most compelling
evidence for an element of cosmic design.
Fine-Tuning from the Initial Big Bang towards

Life on Earth
The Second Law of Thermodynamics requires that the

disorder in the universe tends toward a maximum. Since the
universe could have not been dissipating from infinity or it
would have ran down by now, it must have had a beginning
– a very highly-ordered beginning. If the Big Bang is regarded
as only an impressive accident, there is no explanation why
it produced a universe with such a high degree of order,

contrary to the Second Law. As described above, Professor
Roger Penrose calculated that at the very beginning of the Big
Bang, the precision required to set the universe on its highly-
ordered course in which life could develop was staggering.
It is mathematically impossible for the universe to exist on
its own without a Creator who can produce a universe with
infinite precision.
The order of this universe is the most overwhelming

proof of the existence of a superior consciousness. Nobel
Prize winner and German physicist Max Planck, explained
the order in the universe:
At all events, we should say, in summing up, that, according to

everything taught by the exact sciences about the immense realm
of nature in which our tiny planet plays an insignificant role, a
certain order prevails - one independent of the human mind. Yet,
in so far as we are able to ascertain through our senses, this
order can be formulated in terms of purposeful activity. There is
evidence of an intelligent order of the universe.
The Fine-Tuning of the Four Fundamental

Forces
Scientifically, there are four fundamental forces that

organize the universe that we live in; gravitational force, the
electromagnetic force, the strong nuclear force, and the weak
nuclear force. The strong and weak nuclear forces operate
only on the atomic scale. The remaining two – the gravitational
force and the electromagnetic force, govern assemblages of
atoms, in other words, “matter”. These four fundamental
forces were at work in the immediate aftermath of the Big
Bang and resulted in the creation of atoms and matter.
A comparison of those forces is enlightening for their

values are stunningly different from one another, as listed
below in international standard units:
Strong nuclear force : 15

Weak nuclear force : 7.03 x 10-3
Electromagnetic force : 3.05 x 10-12
Gravitational force : 5.90 x 10-39
Notice how great the differences in the strengths of these

four fundamental forces are. The difference between the
strongest (strong nuclear force) and the weakest (gravitational
force) is about 25 followed by 38 zeros! How could this be so?
Molecular biologist, Michael Denton addresses this

question in his book, “Nature’s Destiny”:
If, for example, the gravitational force was a trillion times

stronger, then the universe would be far smaller and its life
history far shorter. An average star would have a mass a trillion
times less than the sun and a life span of about one year. On the
other hand, if gravity had been less powerful, no stars or galaxies
would have ever formed. The other relationships and values are
no less critical. If the strong force had been just slightly weaker,
the only element that would be stable would be hydrogen.
No other atoms could exist. If it had been slightly stronger in
relation to electromagnetism, then an atomic nucleus consisting
of only two protons would be a stable feature of the universe –
which would mean there would be no hydrogen, and if any stars
or galaxies evolved, they would be very different from the way
they are. Clearly, if these various forces and constants did not
have precisely the values they do, there would be no stars, no
supernovae, no planets, no atoms, no life.
Fine-Tuning in the Formation of Carbon
Life would be impossible without carbon, and yet because of

the precise requirements of its existence, carbon atom should
be very scarce. The formation of a carbon atom requires a
rare triple collision known as the triple alpha process. The
first step in the triple alpha process occurs when a helium
nucleus collides with another helium nucleus within a star.
This collision produces an unstable, very ephemeral isotope of

beryllium. When the unstable, short-lived beryllium collides
with a third helium nucleus, a carbon nucleus is formed.
Fred Hoyle, who introduced the idea of “double

resonance”, said that there had to be two resonances: one
that caused two heliums to fuse into beryllium, and one that
caused the third helium atom to join this unstable formation.
Nobody believed Hoyle. The idea of such a precise resonance
occurred once was hard enough to accept; that should it
occur twice was unthinkable. Hoyle pursued his research for
years and in the end he proved that his idea was right: there
really was a double resonance taking place in the red giants.
At the exact moment two helium atoms resonated in union, a
beryllium atom appeared in the 0.000000000000001 second
needed to produce carbon.
In the years that followed, it was discovered that other

elements like oxygen are also formed as a result of such
amazing resonances. A zealous secular materialist, Fred
Hoyle’s discovery of these “extraordinary transactions” forced
him to admit in his book, “Galaxies, Nuclei and Quasars”,
that such double resonances had to be the result of Creation
and not coincidence. In another article he wrote:
If you wanted to produce carbon and oxygen in roughly equal

quantities by stellar nucleosynthesis, these are the two levels
you would have to fix, and your fixing would have to be just
about where these levels are actually found to be.
Hoyle continued saying that the sensible interpretation

of the above mentioned facts suggest that a Super Intellect has
created physics, as well as chemistry and biology, and that
there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature. He
added, “The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to
be so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond
question.”
Hoyle declared that the inescapable conclusion of this

plain truth should not go unnoticed by other scientists, “I do
not believe that any scientists who examined the evidence
would fail to draw the inference that the laws of nuclear
physics have been deliberately designed with regard to the
consequences they produce inside the stars.”
This plain truth was expressed in the Qur’an 1,400 years

ago. Allah indicates the harmony in Creation of the heavens
in the verse:
Do you not see how Allah created seven heavens in harmony…

(Al-Qur’an, 71: 15)
Fine-Tuning in the Cosmological Constant of

Space-Time
The cosmological constant is a characteristic of the space-

time fabric of the universe related to its stretching energy
(space energy density). The more the universe expands, the
greater this stretching energy or “springiness” becomes. This
means that the stretching energy increases and has the effect
of moving bodies of mass that warp the space-time fabric
farther apart. When the fabric of space-time stretches, the
bodies of masses, such as the galaxies, move farther apart.
This gives the appearance that the galaxies are repelling each
other, when actually the space is stretching.
Had the value of the cosmological constant been minus

one (– 1), the universe would have expanded and collapsed
in less than 10-43 or Planck time. This is so short a length of
time that the time it takes for light to cross an atomic nucleus
10-24 (seconds) is huge by comparison. In other words, if
the cosmological constant had been negative, the universe
would have only lasted for ten-thousandth of a billionth of
a billionth of a billionth of a billionth of a second. Either of
these scenarios, of course, would not allow for life to exist.
If the cosmological constant was a small positive number,

say 1, then the expansion would have been so dramatic that
the universe would have doubled in size every ten-millionth
of a billionth of a billionth of a billionth of a billionth of a
second. The constant had to be exactly what it was to an
accuracy of one part in 10-123.
Fine-Tuning of the Biological Information in

Living Matter
For many years, scientists thought that there were two

fundamentals: matter and energy. Einstein discovered that
matter and energy were actually one unified fundamental,
i.e. matter/energy. The subsequent discovery of the working
of the DNA molecule, we then discovered that there are still
two fundamentals in nature: matter/energy and information.
What is the source of the instructions we find in the

DNA that exists in all living things? The question is central
to an understanding of life, because biological information is
the central distinction between living and non-living matters.
This distinction can be seen in the difference between the
carbon in a pencil and the carbon in one’s body. The carbon in
the pencil does not act pursuant to any instructions, whereas
the carbon in one’s body acts pursuant to the instructions
contained in the DNA molecules of the human organism.
The enormous information in living matter involves

irregular, flexible patterns, while inanimate matter never rises
above simple, repeating patterns in its information content. A
quartz crystal, for example, has simple order and replicates,
but it has very little information content and is not alive. By
contrast, DNA exists in all living matter and contains a vast
amount of information that allows organisms to replicate
and maintain themselves, that is, to live. The DNA for even
the smallest single-celled bacterium contains over 4 million
instructions. These instructions are encoded in the DNA’s
four “bases” – the rungs of the famous double helix ladder

of DNA that are denoted A,G,C,T. The bases act like a four-
letter alphabet for the genetic process. The process, like the
English language, consists of a code. Acting like sentences,
DNA instructions pass on the information needed to form
a protein or some other necessity that the living organism
needs in order to replicate or maintain itself.
The sequential order of the letters in DNA determines

the structure of a human being down to its slightest details.
In addition to features like height, hair and skin colours, the
DNA of a single cell also contains the design of 206 bones, 600
muscles, a network of 10,000 auditory muscles, a network of
2 billion nerve cells, 130 billion meter long veins ,and 100
trillion cells in the body, etc. It is Mathematically impossible
for all these DNA information to happen by chance.
Biologist Frank Salisbury says:
A medium protein might include about 300 amino acids. The

DNA gene controlling this would have about 1000 nucleotides
in a DNA chain, one consisting of 1000 links could exist in 41000
forms. Using a little algebra, we can see that 41000 = 10600. Ten
multiplied by itself 600 times gives the figure 1 followed by 600
zeros! This number is completely beyond our comprehension.
The impossibility of the formation of DNA and DNA by

a coincidental accumulation of nucleotides are expressed by
the French scientist Paul Auger in the following way:
We have to sharply distinguish the two stages in the chance

formation of complex molecules such as nucleotides by chemical
events. The production of nucleotides one by one – which is
possible – and the combination of these DNA within a very special
sequences. The second is impossible.
Francis Crick, the founder of the DNA structure observes

that even a man, armed with all knowledge available to human
being, cannot help but accept that human life has a miraculous
origin. Similarly, Professor Chandra Wickramasinga confirms

the miraculous origin of human life observing;
The likelihood of the spontaneous formation of life from

inanimate matter is one to a number with 1040,000 noughts after
it…It is big enough to bury all atheistic arguments and their
fancy theories…. if the beginnings of life were not random, they
must therefore have been the product of purposeful intelligence.
Many Other Phenomena Point to God
If we honestly study the valid scientific evidences of the nature

of creation as mentioned above, we will have to conclude that
a Supreme Intelligence creates this universe. There are many
other evidences of this purposeful creation. We can study
the fine-tuning of our planetary system, weather pattern,
ecological, environmental balance, etc. We can study the
miracle of the human body and its mental, emotional and
spiritual dimensions. God says:
We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within

themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth.
But is it not sufficient concerning your Lord that He is, over all
things, a Witness?
(Al-Qur’an, 41: 53)
The fact that we human beings can realize the grandeur

of the universe from our own existence points to a Creator.
Our consciousness, intelligence and sense of purpose beyond
the materialistic domains point to a supreme consciousness
that creates us.
The Mathematics of Probability Proves that

God Creates the Universe
What has been said so far shows the extraordinary balances

among the forces that make human life possible in this
universe. The speed of the Big Bang’s explosion, the values

of the four fundamental forces, and all the other fine-tuning
of variables described above shows that existence of the
universe has been arranged according to an extraordinary
precision and plan.
Let us now make a brief digression and consider

the coincidental theory of materialism. Coincidence is a
mathematical term and the possibility of an event’s occurrence
can be calculated using the mathematics of probability.
Taking the physical variables into account, what is the

likelihood of a universe giving us life coming into existence by
coincidence? One in billions of billions, or trillions of trillions
of trillions, or more? According to Penrose, the odds against
such an occurrence were on the order of 10123 to 1.
It is hard even to imagine what this number means. In

mathematics, the value 10123 means 1 followed by 123 zeros.
(This is, by the way, more than the total number of atoms
10-73 believed to exist in the whole universe.) However, Penrose’s
answer is vastly more than this: It requires 1 followed by 10123
zeros, or consider; 103means 1,000, i.e. a thousand. 10103 is
a number that has 1 followed by 1,000 zeros. If there are six
zeros, it’s called a million; if nine, a billion; if twelve, a trillion,
and so on. There is not even a name for a number that has 1
followed by 10123zeros.
In practical terms in mathematics, a probability of 1 in

1050 means “zero probability”. In short, Penrose’s number
tells us that the “accidental” or “coincidental” creation of our
universe is impossible.
Concerning this mind-boggling number, Roger Penrose

commented:
“This now tells how precise the Creator’s aim must have been,
namely to an accuracy of one part in 10123. This is an extraordinary
figure. One could not possibly even write the number down in
full in the notation: it would be 1 followed by 10123 successive 0’s.

Even if we were to write a 0 on each separate proton and on each
separate neutron in the entire universe and we could throw in all
the other particles for good measure, we should fall far short of
writing down the figure needed.”
The numbers defining the order and the plan of the

universe’s equilibrium play a crucial role and exceed
comprehension. They prove that the universe is by no means
the product of a coincidence, and show us “how precise the
Creator’s aim must have been”, as Penrose stated.
The recent discoveries of modern science concerning

the rationality, order, and fine-tuning in the universe by the
famous British atheistic philosopher Antony Flew reversed
his position on atheism. Flew stressed that his belief in God
was a journey of reason; he attempted to follow the evidence
wherever it led him. He states his conclusion:
I now believe that the universe was brought into existence by an

infinite intelligence. I believe that this universe’s intricate laws
manifest what scientists have called the Mind of God. I believe
that life and reproduction originate in a divine Source. Why do
I believe this, given that I expounded and defended atheism for
more than a half century? The short answer is this: this is the
world picture, as I see it, that has emerged from modern science.
Science spotlights three dimensions of nature that point God.
The first is the fact that nature obeys laws. The second is the
dimension of life, of intelligently organized and purpose-driven
beings, which arose from matter. The third is the very existence
of nature. However, it is not science alone that has guided me.
I have also been helped by a renewed study of the classical
philosophical arguments.
In fact, in order to recognize that the universe is not a

“product of coincidences”, one does not really need any of
these calculations at all. Simply by looking around himself,
a person can easily perceive the fact of Creation in even the
tiniest details of what he sees. How could a universe like this,
perfect in its systems, the Sun, Earth, people, houses, cars,
trees, flowers, insects, and all the other things in it ever have
come into existence as the result of atoms falling together by
chance after an explosion? Every detail we peer at shows the
evidence of Creation and God’s supreme power. Only people
who reflect can grasp these signs.
Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and Earth, and the

alternation of the night and the day, and the [great] ships which
sail through the sea with that which benefits people, and what
God has sent down from the heavens of rain, giving life thereby
to the Earth after its lifelessness and dispersing therein every
[kind of] moving creature, and [His] directing of the winds and
the clouds controlled between the heaven and the Earth are
signs for a people who use reason.
(Al-Qur’an, 2:164)
The American astrophysicist Hugh Ross ended his

article,“Design and the Anthropic Principle” with these words:
“An intelligent, transcendent Creator must have brought the

universe into existence. An intelligent, transcendent Creator must
have designed the universe. An intelligent, transcendent Creator
must have designed planet Earth. An intelligent, transcendent
Creator must have designed life.”
Thus, science proves the reality of Creation. Certainly,

there is God and He has created everything, not only the
physical dimension of this universe but also the spiritual
dimensions. He is the sole Creator of the extraordinary and
outstanding equilibrium and order of all the universes.
Mind Game on the Creation of the Universe
Science and religion appear to be far apart. Scientists

grounded in atheistic secular materialism see this only from
the perspective of physical existence. Yet, physical existence
itself can be an illusion if we look from the perspective of
quantum physics. If we look at the existence of our universe
with all the galaxies and super clusters scattered throughout

our cosmos, we cannot even possibly comprehend its scale in
space or time. Even if we could detect the boundaries of our
universe, there are possibly many other parallel universes
existing in hyperspace. Let us for a moment do a simple
mind game experiment. Imagine we are sitting in one of the
hyperspace in a dimension that allows us to see the whole
drama of the birth of our universe.
This universe, according to astrophysicists, began at

a point of singularity with neither space nor time. It then
congeal in a dense mass of energy where all the forces of
gravity, weak and strong nuclear force and other forces
including dark energy, and dark matters all bounded together
at a point of no dimension. Within a few nano, nano...seconds
these tremendous forces started to expand and a huge
concentration of energy began to form. During this Big Bang,
the explosion or expansion created the dimension of space
and time. Astrophysicists believe that this space-time and
physical universe were formed around 13.7 billion years ago.
Let us reflect for a moment as to how this universe could

come into existence. From our mind game experiment, at our
vantage point in hyperspace, we can see the whole process
of the “Big Bang” that that took place. Ask ourselves who
created this whole process of starting from nothingness at
the point of singularity to the formation of time and space.
Can we really believe that this whole universe came to being
on its own, or is there a Creator whose command initiates the
beginning of this universe and other universes?
Again, from our observation point in hyperspace in this

mind game, we can see that during this time the universe
neither have any stars, galaxies, nor light. At this point after
the blinding flash of the Big Bang, the universe is just a
black brew of primordial gases, invisible black matter and
maybe other invisible energies that we do not know. The
universe is still dark that lasted almost half a billion years.
Over those half billion years, stars began to form protogalactic

clumps. The thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen and helium in
the formation of the stars causes light to be emitted from a
dark black brew of primordial gases. We have our first stars
forming as well as the creation of heavy elements.
Again, from our vantage point, at one point of hyperspace,

we can see the stars forming into galaxies. Quasars begin to
emerge from the cloud of gas and galactic dusts. This was one
billion years after the Big Bang. Between 1 to 5 billion years
after the Big Bang, gravitational pull began to enhance the
filament-like formation of galaxies. Many stars and galaxies
collided, formed and reformed again in different formations.
Within 5 to10 billion years after the Big Bang, the galaxies
coalesced in filaments forming clusters and super clusters.
They also see deep voids within the universe. 10 billion years
after the Big Bang, our sun and planets come into existence.
Our galaxy, the Milky Way, sits between the super clusters
that are some 150 million light years across. Our super
cluster is a great aggregation of clusters of galaxies.
Today, approximately 13.7 billion years after the

Big Bang, we know that within our super cluster we have
thousands of trillions of suns. Our sun represents a mere
atom in the whole scheme of this universe. There are more
mysteries in the formation of our universe. We now know that
beyond the observable physical matters of the universe, there
are dark energy and dark matter that help hold our galaxies,
clusters and the universe together as well as causing it to
expand. The science of particle physics tells us that we only
know about 5% of the forces that cause our existence. 95% of
the forces are still unknown.
After seeing all this phenomena of the birth of the

universe from our vantage point in the realm of hyperspace,
we have to rationally accept that this whole drama of the
existence of space, time and the physical universe is a creative
process. This creative process must be initiated by an all-
powerful eternal and intelligent Creator. In Islam, we call Him

God or Allah, and the process of the existence of the universe
began when God initiates a command, “Be” and the universe
became. This is simply described in the Qur’anic revelation
as follows:
Is not He, Who created the heavens and the Earth able to create
the like of them? Yes, indeed! He is the All-Knowing Supreme
Creator. Verily, His Command, when He intends a thing, is only
that He says to it, “Be!” and it is! So Glorified is He and Exalted
above all that they associate with Him, and in Whose Hands is
the dominion of all things, and to Him you shall be returned.
(Al-Qur’an 36: 81-83)
Modern Scientific Evidence and the Qur’anic

Revelation Prove That God Creates the
Universe
We have to acknowledge God or the Divine who puts in place

the whole process of putting this universe and other universes
into being. Once we acknowledge the Divine, we can then
begin our sacred journey towards total success. Once we
acknowledge the Divine, we will be able to remove the veil of
the destructive secular, materialistic ego. We will then be able
to redirect, beginning with ourselves, the transformation of a
new, sacred civilization in the 21st century.
Now, let us exit from our mind game experiment in

hyperspace to scientifically study the nature of Godhood.
We have to be convinced that God really exists and that
atheism is a false theory. Atheism cannot stand in the light
of fundamental modern scientific discovery. Our growing
scientific knowledge will finally lead us to know God.
The 20th century civilization was founded on the basis of

scientific atheism. This leads to the idea of secular materialism
that currently is the dominant way of life in the West.
We have elaborated in the earlier chapter that we are not mere

physical beings that end at our physical death. In reality, we
are spiritual beings living temporarily on the physical plane.
We transcend death. The basis of our transcendental precepts
is to understand the reality of our existence and the reality of
Godhood.
In Islam, God is the One Who is Transcendent, Immanent,

Omniscient, Omnipresent and Omnipotent. God in Islam is
the absolute reality that is One, All-Merciful, All-Loving, and
Infinitely Good. God is the Possessor of all perfect attributes
beyond our human grasp or imagination. God is near to us,
nearer than our jugular vein.
And We have already created man and know what his soul
whispers to him, and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein.
(Al-Qur’an,50:16)
He answers our call.
And your Lord says, “Call upon Me; I will respond to you.”
Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered]
contemptible.
(Al-Qur’an, 40:60)
Our channel of communication with God is always

open intuitively beyond the five senses by using our innate
transcendent capability. By being able to realize and
implement the transcendent precepts in our lives, we will
be able to achieve real peace, happiness and success. It will
lead us to the realization of the ultimate, real, authentic total
success based on our innate transcendent capability. By
realizing our true nature, we can unveil gradually the keys
toward total success. By practicing these keys toward total
success, we will create a new world of peace, love, joy and
happiness for all in this universe.
Humanity is at a crossroad. Today, we live in an

unsustainable and insane world. Our desire and greed for
material wealth have resulted in an unbalanced lifestyle that
causes severe psychological, mental, emotional and social
problems. The world is getting more insane every day. We
are building mental hospitals throughout the world at an
unprecedented rate. Yet, those in the mental institutions are
not being healed by modern allopathic medicine, atheistic
psychiatry or psychology. More people are having severe
depressions, stress and other emotional problems. It seems
that the more we advance in technology, the more people
become mentally deranged, suicidal and unhappy. Sincere
seekers of truth are now questioning the premise of our
secular and materialistic 21st century civilization. Are we
ascending towards the ultimate total success, or are we
descending towards the depth of total destruction?
Our own unbridled use of science and technology to

exploit nature has resulted in the destruction of the natural
environment. Today, with vast problems in climate change,
ecological disasters, melting of the glaciers, rising of the
sea level, etc. brings us closer towards total destruction of
planet Earth. We, the 21st century human being sell our soul
to greed, consumerism and materialism as a basis of our
continuous economic growth. In the process, we destroy our
natural environment. Ultimately, we destroy this wonderful
planet Earth.
It is important for us to find a new direction to develop

our unlimited potential for total success. We have to develop
holistically not only in the physical and materialistic sense
but also from a more balanced holistic perspective of our
true human nature. We have to look at the development of
a total human being physically, mentally, emotionally and
spiritually. We should use our time on Earth to help build
a better world that is just, loving, peaceful, joyful for all on
planet Earth. We need to have a shift in our thinking from
the present egocentric materialistic lifestyle to a lifestyle
that is more balanced, which will give us happiness and give

happiness to others. With God’s grace, we will find a new
meaning and embark a new journey that allows us to achieve
total success and the real meaning of our life in this world.
This Sacred Journey towards excellence and total

success must commence with our acceptance of the divine
principle. Today, we are living in the external world of forms
that acknowledge only our physical aspects. As a result, we
are living in the egocentric world that accentuates the basic
desires. The majority of humanity today live to fulfill their
sexual and material desires only. We live within our physical
bodies as if it is the only reality. We live as if this physical
body will remain permanent. We strive to take all kinds of
anti-ageing strategies and therapies to extend our life as if
this physical life will remain permanent forever. However
hard we try, we all know that we will grow old, feeble, die
and permanently leave this physical world. The mentality
of egocentric, materialistic modern man does not allow us
to see other realities beside the physical reality. It is as if
we are heavily anchored in the materialism of this world
that we cannot see or perceive our inner dimensions. The
result of this blindness becomes a barrier for modern man to
perceive permanence in the mental, emotional and spiritual
dimensions that is more real than our physical reality. Our
secular, materialistic ego tells us that this physical world
is the only thing that we have. As a result, the premise of
our whole 21st century modern human civilization is solely
based on greed and material satisfaction. As we enjoy all the
physical material world has to offer, we are still searching for
happiness, fulfilllment and real success. We also know that
we are on the path of our own global self-destruction. It is
now time for us to find a new meaning and purpose of our
existence that is total, real and permanent.
As we begin to abandon our secular, materialistic ego,

we will begin to feel a sense of sacredness; a feeling that
allows us to journey into our inner sacred dimensions.
As we leave the mask of secular materialism, we begin to

feel the true persona of the essential self that lies within the
core of our existence. As we acknowledge the divine, we also
acknowledge our spiritual life that is us. This divine key will
free us from the shackles of the ego and gives us a purpose
and meaning beyond the material plane. By acknowledging
the divine, we will become aware of the fundamentals of the
oneness of life and the inter-relatedness of all things. With
this divine key, we will then open the door towards total
success.
From the divine perspective, human excellence consists

of achieving excellence at four levels, i.e. the spiritual,
emotional, mental and physical dimensions. By striving to
achieve excellence in these four dimensions, we will achieve
total success and create a new human civilization that is
holistic, filled with peace, love, happiness and joy. This new
human persona will accentuate a balance between the material
achievements and the spiritual well-being. A new sacred
culture of humanity will be the norm in the 21st century. We
can create a new paradise on Earth; a new civilization that is
excellent in all dimensions. This entails the development of a
new sacred human culture that is relevant to modern society.
This entails the transformation of our value systems, mental
attitudes and lifestyle consonant to a sacred way of life.
We can only achieve total success through a shaping

process towards excellence in our spiritual, emotional,
mental and physical dimensions. Success is a journey, not a
destination. We find success in life as we continue to expand
our sacred self in all dimensions. Here, the real total success
entails the balance of our spiritual, emotional, mental and
physical well-being. Real success gives us happiness, joy, and
peace of mind. Real success gives us the energy and enthusiasm
to achieve excellence. Real success will also give us the sense
of purpose and meaning in life and seek worthy goals. Real
success from the sacred divine principle puts us in harmony
with the Creator and allows us to receive and give joy, peace
and love to others. Real success allows us to reach spiritual

realization that will bring us closer to the Divine. Real total
success is the final realization that we are not a physical being
in the physical world but a spiritual being having temporary
physical experience in this world. When we realize all the
above, we will then know the meaning of success.
We are a Creature of Nothingness
From the scheme of things in this universe, our planet Earth is

an entity that is almost non-existent. Let us do a second mind
game. Let us experiment as if we are moving about from this
Earth to the edge of this known universe. Imagine we are sitting
in an imaginary rocket that travels at many trillion times the
speed of light. As we begin our journey from planet Earth and
zoom past our solar system, we begin to probe the depth of the
Milky way. At this point, when we look at our sun, it is just one
star within more than a hundred billion collections of stars. At
this point our star is smaller than the size of a golf ball.
As we travel further past our Milky way, we will come

across our super clusters which are great aggregation of
clusters of galaxies. These super clusters contain thousands
of galaxies including our galaxy, the Milky Way. At the edge of
the super cluster, our sun is less than the size of peanut. As
we travel further and further beyond our super cluster, we will
pass through many super clusters with billions of galaxies. As
our imaginary rocket reaches the edge of our known universe,
our sun cannot be seen anymore. Its physical size, if ever
we can measure it, is comparatively smaller than the size
of a pinhead in the whole scheme of this physical universe.
Imagine now, in reality our sun is just the size of one pinhead
if compared to the vastness of this physical universe.
Coming back from this mind game, journeying back to the

reality of the Earth, let us reflect on the reality of our existence.
If our star, the sun, is not even the size of a dust, smaller than
the size of a pin-head, an atom in this wide universe, what

would be the physical size of our planet Earth? Physically, in
the scheme of the universe, planet Earth is almost of no size
of any significance. If we imagine the physical size of us, the
human being, we are a creature of no physical significance
and we are a creature of almost `nothingness’. Yet, it is this
creature that has no physical significance whatsoever was
given the knowledge to realize the grandeur of the mystery of
this universe. Why is this so? What is our purpose of knowing
the secrets of this universe? How is this linked to our purpose
and meaning in life? Let us reflect intelligently so that we can
see and understand our real meaning and purpose of our
existence on this planet Earth.
Since we are physically the creatures of nothingness, our

physical existence will not be of any significance. Even if the
whole Earth, our sun or our galaxy, the Milky Way is wiped
out of existence from this universe, this universe will not bear
any loss whatsoever. We can deduce by understanding this
reality that the physical things that we accumulate on Earth
are of absolutely no significance whatsoever. Even if we can
accumulate by collecting and making the whole Earth as solid
gold, it is nothing because from the perspective of our Creator,
this whole Earth is merely subatomic particles and dust that
have no value whatsoever. God the Almighty in the Qur’an says:
Verily, those who disbelieved, and died while they were

disbelievers, the (whole) Earth full of gold will not be accepted
from anyone of them even if they offered it as a ransom. For them
is a painful torment and they will have no helpers.
(Al-Qur’an, 3: 91)
By realizing that we have no physical significance

whatsoever as creatures of nothingness, we must now
understand why we were given the key to understand the
mysteries of this universe and the mysteries of our very own
existence. From the perspective of our Creator, He has given
us a very significant role as His vicegerent or representative
in this universe. God says:
Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: “I will create a vicegerent

on Earth...
(Al-Qur’an, 2:30)
Once we understand this, we will understand that our

whole existence is with a tremendous meaning and purpose.
We will also realize that we are not merely physical beings but
we are also spiritual beings which temporarily exist within
physical bodies. Our real self, i.e. the spiritual self, endowed
by the Creator, will live forever beyond space, time, and the
existence or destruction of this universe.
Once we understand our real purpose and meaning in

life, we will be able to achieve total success beyond space
and time. i.e.eternally. we will then realize and know that
we are the spiritual beings which exist with our physical
bodies in this world. We will then journey on to live forever
beyond space and time. To understand our spirituality, we
must believe and know the Divine, i.e.God, only then can we
understand the true of the human self.
Now, I would like to conclude the chapter with this

extensive quotation from my good friend, John Herlihy,
an American Muslim revert, in his book Veils and Keys:
Possibilities of Contemporary Spirituality in the Light of
Traditional Islamic Wisdom”(1998):
In the secular and scientific climate of these times, religion has been
reduced to a problem of proofs rather than a repository of knowledge
and a channel of blessing. The question inevitably arises then how it is
possible to effectively prove for a disbelieving humanity the existence
of God and spiritual realities that cannot be experienced with the
physical sense. It is an existential dilemma that did not confront the
people living in more traditional times. In modern times, man tries to
reduce the Divine plenitude to a scientific proof that uses man’s reason
and physical senses as the operative norm in verifying the reality of a
Divine Being.
From spiritual point of view, however, it is not God and the mystery
of the Spirit that needs proving, any more than knowledge, virtue or
salvation of soul need proving, or the miseries of Hell for that matter,
since human suffering effectively previews the suffering behind the
symbolic image of Hell. Paradoxically, everyone today wants proof of
God, the spiritual world and the unseen forces of the cosmic reality,
and this proof must be as absolute and definitive as God Himself is,
even though modern man is unwilling to believe in God who portrays
Himself as the absolute and definitive Being. In other words, man wants
an absolute proof for a Divine Being that he denies on the grounds that
He portrays Himself as absolute.
If a man understood the magnitude of the cosmic challenge that

really confronted him, he would gladly abandon his “field of illusions”
and surrender to the one proof that needs no explanation and is as
absolute as anything on Earth can be, namely, direct experience or
what the Islamic mystics call a “taste” (dhawq) of the Sublime (Al-Jalil).
Direct human experience of God and an active human spirituality
contains its own proof and conveys its own certainty. It has satisfied
believers down through the ages as the most convincing proof of God’s
absolute existence. No physical proof can be as absolute and real as
direct inner experience since it carries a conviction that pierces the
very core of man’s being. Only such higher level, spiritual experience
with its connecting thread into the spiritual world can bring about
that absolute quality and convey a certainty beyond anything that the
relative world can offer.
Due to his intuitive intelligence, man has the capacity to recognize

genuine knowledge as the truth without any specific proofs. When the
human mind is confronted with the truth and the presence contained
within the religions, man is fully equipped and ready to cope with
this knowledge and blessing made available to him as explanation,
without the need for man-made proofs. In fact, to prove the Absolute
is paradoxically the easiest or the most difficult thing in the world,
depending on the mentality and the intellectual climate existing at
any given time or place. To prove and thus believe in the Absolute is
infinitely easy if it is an intuition and grace, but infinitely difficult if
it is merely the projection of an intellectual reasoning based solely on
the physical plane and the world of the sense, for then it would be a
projection into the sublime that would be based on man’s world and
not God’s universe.
CHAPTER TWO
POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY – 2ND PRINCIPLE: THE

HOLISTIC TRANSCENDENT NATURE OF THE HUMAN SELF
2nd Principle: The Holistic Transcendent Nature Of The Human Self 65
Understanding the Human Self
Based on the transcendent principle that God is the Creator of

this universe, we also know the true nature of the human self.
The atheistic belief that human beings are merely physical
beings made up of cells, organs, molecules, elements, atoms,
subatomic particles, etc., is not true. From the perspective
of quantum mechanics, subatomic particles are made up
of waves of energy that have no physical entity which can
exist within and without space and time, i.e. the non-locality
quantum event. At this point, we are talking about entities
which are beginning to transcend the physical nature. Beyond
the quantum nature, we have the nature of the transcendent
as the final layer of existence beyond space and time.
The true nature of the human self is beyond the physical

nature and the physical world. Modern science is now getting
closer to understanding the true nature of the human self
as revealed in the traditional understanding of the human
self that is both transcendent and physical. We are spiritual
beings first, before we existed in the physical realm. We have
existed beyond space and time and our transcendent nature
will exist beyond space and time, i.e. eternally.
It is necessary to discuss the nature of the human

self from the scientific and Islamic perspectives. This is
because we need sound scientific knowledge to understand
the reality of our existence as a composite being. From an
Islamic perspective, there are some aspects that constitute
the holistic human self. All prophets, from Adam to Abraham,
to Jesus, to Moses all, and the way to Prophet Muhammad
(may peace be upon them), and the great saintly teachers
such as Buddha, Lao Tze, Yogi saints, and others, all share
the same view that the human self is not purely physical but
have other inner dimensions, i.e. the transcendent/ spiritual
dimension of the self.
From the Islamic perspective, human being consists of

at least five domains/aspects as he lives on Earth. Only God
knows how many aspects/domains we have. They are called
aspects because ultimately, the root cause of everything that
exists in this world are creations or manifestations from God.
The five aspects as mentioned in the Qur’an are, Ruh – the
spirit aspect, Qalb – the heart aspect, Aqal – the intellectual/
mind aspect, Jasad – the physical aspect, and Nafs – the
totality of the human self/human psyche. We have all these
five aspects as we live on Earth. How then do we relate to
these aspects? What is the nature of these aspects?
This can be explained from the perspective of quantum

physics on the nature of the physical world. For example, the
physical body comprises organs, cells, and so on. The cells
consist of lipids, complex amino acids, etc, which are made
of elements such as oxygen, hydrogen, calcium, potassium,
and so on. These elements can be further split into electron,
neutron, proton, and further subdivided into subatomic
particles. If we split these subatomic particles further, what
is left is the energy in particles or wave form. According to
Einstein’s formula, E = mc2, at the point of the speed of
light, mass will be at infinity. While this is unimaginable,
the perspective of quantum physics states that there is a
point where all things, even at the subatomic particle levels,
exist beyond space and time, i.e. the quantum non-locality
phenomena.
In this non-locality event at the quantum level, these

subatomic particles will not be operating within space or
time. It can be instantaneous and it can be in two places at
the same time. This phenomenon is now being investigated
and scientists are working on various details of quantum
mechanics to understand these quantum phenomena.
We now have some understanding of the nature of

things in this universe. From the micro level perspective,
i.e. at the subatomic particle level, there are matter/energy
and information that govern our life at the micro level. While
energy is indestructible, i.e. cannot be destroyed, it can be
changed. For example, heat energy can be transformed into
light energy or electrical energy. Likewise, electrical energy
can be transformed into heat energy and so on.
Energy is indestructible and it comes from a source

which has been existing before anything physical was created.
We know that energy is created because at the point of the
creation of the universe, energy was manifested into physical
matter, i.e. the galaxies, stars, planets, etc. God tells us that
He exists before anything else existed. This universe began its
existence at the point of 13.7 billion years ago. This universe
came from a singularity. At the point of singularity, the
universe exploded through the Big Bang expansion, followed
by the formation of the subatomic particles, the electrons,
protons, neutrons, helium, hydrogen, helium star, super
nova, and so on. This whole process then generates other
elements and then at a certain point, there were biological
lives and then there was man. All this process happened
not out of chance. In the Qur’an, Allah the Almighty tells us
that this process began with His Command: “Kun Faya Kun”,
which means, “Be and it became”(Al-Qur’an, 2: 117).
That singularity became this universe and at that

point, the energy that we know today existed together by
the command of God. God creates energy by His Command
or Power. What was in existence before the creation of this
universe, other universes or dimensions is only known to God.
We have no knowledge of the phenomena that have occurred
before the existence of the universe, before time and space
existed. The Qur’an tells us that the knowledge is only known
to the Creator:
Glory to God, who created in pairs all things that the Earth
produces, as well as their own human kind and other things of
which they have no knowledge.
(Al-Qur’an, 36: 36)
If we look into the nature of matter, there is anti-matter.

Likewise, there is anti-particle in the nature of particles, etc.
The nature of pairing as ordained by God is a phenomenon
currently being studied by scientists from many fields.
If we look at ourselves, we will find that we are a “composite

being” having five or more aspects or dimensions. Our five
aspects or dimensions, i.e. the spiritual, emotional, mental,
physical self (SEMP), as well as our total human self/human
psyche are all interrelated. From the Qur’anic perspective, we
can define the human self as nafs. God says:
By the human self (nafs) and the proportion and order given to
it; And its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right; Truly he
succeeds that purifies it, And he fails that corrupts it!
(Al-Qur’an, 91:7- 10)
When we talk about the human self (nafs), Muslim

scholars use it interchangeably with the human psyche. Let
us try to understand these five aspects/dimensions in detail.
Understanding these five aspects will enable us to understand
the total reality of being a human being.
The Spirit (Ruh)
In traditional human society, God creates the universe

through His divine power. He endows us with free will to
realize the beauty of His creations and the grandeur of the
Creator. Traditional religious beliefs from the beginning of
humanity have placed God as the Creator of the universe.
Human beings were created from Divine Light, and endowed
with personal responsibility. We have unlimited possibilities
to achieve peace, happiness and perfection in this world and
in the Hereafter. We are endowed with a proper vision of life,
of who we are, why we are alive, what do we do with our life
on Earth, and where do we go after our physical death, i.e. in
the Hereafter.
Atheistic values in the 20th century have created a

mechanical vision of human beings who are just mechanical
automata without any meaning or purpose in life. We are
just cogs in a giant machine that grinds inexorably along a
preordained path in the grip of a blind causal process. This
modern atheistic ideology is morally corrosive and profoundly
inaccurate. This atheistic value and materialistic way of
life does not only destroy traditional moral values and the
notion of personal responsibility, but also our civilization and
environment that could finally lead to the demise of the human
species in the near future. Today, this notion of mechanical
human being without any purpose in life is being challenged
by enlightened scientists, physicists and intellectuals. These
intellectuals understand the latest scientific and holistic
knowledge of the nature of the cosmos and the nature of
existence.
Science and faith share a common belief whereby

what we see as normal reality is not an actual reality; the
observable has something more fundamental hidden behind
it. Attempts to structure the systems that open up all of that
reality face real obstacles. For example, the law of physics
breaks down as we approach time zero at the point of the Big
Bang in the creation of this universe. At time zero of Planck
time, the universe is smaller than its quantum wavelength
and is consequently hidden in the impenetrable clouds
of uncertain quantum . The identification of the force that
brought the universe into being appears to be scientifically
unknowable. We have no knowledge of ever lifting the veil
to know what really happened before or at the point of
singularity in the creation of the universe. Modern cosmology
points to the possible existence of multiple universes existing
in hyperspace. The fact that this universe exists points to a
very compelling proof of the existence of God as the Creator
of this universe or multiple universes.
We can explain the nature of our spiritual self (ruh)

by using analogies and understanding the phenomena
of the nature of the human genetic code, i.e. the DNA

(deoxyribonucleic acid). The DNA constitutes the program or
biological information that is the central distinction between
the living and non-living matters. In the physical world, there
are two basic fundamentals of nature. Einstein discovered
that matter and energy are one fundamental, i.e. matter/
energy. Claude Shannon’s information theory explains the
nature of information structured within the DNA molecule. We
can then deduce that in the physical world of this universe,
there are two fundamentals of nature, i.e. matter/energy and
information.
The instructions in DNA that exist in all living matter are

written in the genetic code using the letters A (for Adenine),
G (for Guanine), C (for Cytosine) and T (for Thymine). The
rungs of the nitrogen bases of the double helix DNA molecule
are pairs of either adenine and thymine (A-T) or cytosine and
guanine (C-G). The instructions in DNA are written in the
genetic code and carried in sequences of codens. The program
of the genetic code is extremely complex. The DNA for even
the smallest single-celled bacterium contains over 4 million
instructions.
In his book, The Fifth Miracle, physicist Paul Davies

states that the law of physics that operates between atoms and
molecules are simple and cannot apply to the genetic code.
No simple law of physics or chemistry can generate a random
information-rich macromolecule code of the DNA structure. A
law of nature of the sort that we know and love will not create
biological information or any information at all. Ordinary
laws merely transform input data into output data. They can
shuffle information about but they cannot create it. The laws
of physics, which determine which atoms react with what, and
how, are algorithmically very simple. These laws of physics or
chemistry contain relatively little information. Consequently,
they cannot be solely responsible on their own for creating
informational macromolecules such as the DNA structure.
Contrary to the often repeated claim by atheists, life cannot

be “written into” the laws of physics or chemistry as we know
today.
Mathematician Gregory Chaitin, the founder of

Algorithmic Information Theory concludes that the genetic
information for life to exist even for the smallest living
organism is much larger than the information content
found in the laws of physics and chemistry. An algorithm
dramatically shorter than the sequence itself cannot generate
the sequences necessary to transmit the genetic information
found in living matter. Once this essential point is grasped,
the real problems of life beginning from non-living elements,
minerals and complex carbon chains become impossible.
Biogenesis from the structure of DNA is definitely created as
a program for life to exist on Earth.
We have already understood the nature of the DNA genetic

code that allows us to be a living being. The next question is,
who creates all the information in our DNA structure? Who
is the Programmer who creates the DNA information that
allows life to exist? No scientists or atheists anywhere can
give a plausible explanation for the mystery of life. Of more
importance is that why is there life and why is human life
intelligible? We can only debate on who is the Creator. We
can call Him the Supreme Master Programmer, the Supreme
Intellect, etc., or we can call Him God, the Creator. For the
believers, the God who creates this universe also creates the
DNA code to allow all living matters including human beings
to live in this universe. God is a Supreme Programmer who
creates the genetic code and allows life to exist on Earth.
For Muslims, we have no problem in understanding the

nature of the human self. God not only creates the genetic code
to allow the continuous existence of the human species but also
to specify the real nature of the human self. Fundamentally,
we are spiritual beings living temporarily in the physical world.
We have existed even before the existence of the genetic code

that enabled human beings to exist in this physical world. We
have already existed in the spiritual realm with God beyond
space and time. Just as there is genetic imprint in the physical
self, there is also spiritual imprint as the true fundamental
nature of the human self. This fundamental nature is our
spirit (ruh) as has been mentioned in the Holy Qur’an:
And they ask you about the ruh (spirit). Say (to them) the ruh
proceeds from the command of Allah (amar) and you have very
little knowledge of the nature of the ruh.
(Al-Qur’an, 17: 85)
This verse of the Qur’an signifies that our spirit (ruh)

proceeded from the Divine command. This was further
clarified by Prophet Muhammad when he said: “the first thing
that God created was the spirit (ruh).”
There are two aspects of the ruh; the uncreated aspect

and the created aspect. The uncreated aspect refers to the
Universal Spirit that relates to God, the Divine Being. The
created aspect is the ruh or spirit that is of the manifestation
of the Universal Spirit that is projected and fused within the
human being which becomes his spirit, soul or nafs. Muslim
scholars call this the infusion of the breadth of God onto man.
And I breathed into him of My spirit (ruh).

(Al-Qur’an,15: 29)
The human spirit (ruh) which is created by God is living

in the primordial plane in close proximity to God before the
existence of the universe. The Qur’an says:
When your Lord drew forth from the children of Adam from their
loins – their descendants, and made them testify concerning
themselves”, “Am I not your Lord?”- They said:” Yes! We do
testify...
(Al-Qur’an, 7:172)
The human spirit (ruh) at this point of existence also

carries the imprint of his mental and emotional dimensions,
i.e. Spiritual-Emotional-Mind (SEM) aspects. To simplify
our understanding of the ruh, we can deduce that it has its
spiritual (ruh), emotional/heart, and the mind/ intellectual
aspects coming together as one package in the spirit (ruh).
Its differentiation is on its functional aspects, either at the
spiritual level (ruh), heart level (qalb), or mind/ intellectual
level (‘aqal).
We can now understand that imprinted within our

“spiritual DNA” is the inner cognition of who we are and our
relationship with God. Imprinted within our spiritual self (ruh)
is the witnessing of God as our Creator. Every human being
that exists in this world would already have the potential to
believe and know God, imprinted in our psyche. Every human
being born into this world is born a believer of God because of
our covenant with God (as stated in Al-Qur’an, 7:172).
This imprint of our covenant with God in our psyche

happened in the primordial spiritual state before the existence
of the physical world. This innate human nature or fitrah
can be blurred due to the self-indulgence of atheism and
materialism as we live through this physical existence in this
world. God allows us to follow our innate primordial human
nature of being believers or to deny God by following our
baser ego and material desires. Humanity then transcended
into another state beyond the state of primordial spiritual
existence with God. In this second state, we existed in a
blissful transcendental dimension of existence. God says:
O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife in this garden, and eat freely
thereof, both of you, whatever you may wish: but do not approach
this one tree, lest you become wrongdoers.
(Al-Qur’an, 2:35)
At this stage of our existence we did not only have

our spiritual dimension but also rational, emotional and
intellectual dimensions built into our nature and personality,
i.e. our fitrah. The heart (qalb) and intellectual (‘aqal/mental)
aspects were imprinted in our spirit (ruh). This is affirmed
thus:
And He i.e. God taught Adam the names of all things...

(Al-Qur’an, 2:31)
Here Adam represents all of humanity endowed with the

intellectual capability of knowing all forms of knowledge.
The third stage of our existence is on planet Earth. We

descended from the heavenly realm due to the abuse of our
free will to live on this physical Earth. Since human being is
endowed with the knowledge of all things that enables him
to live on this Earth, he is given the opportunity to journey
towards success and perfection. The knowledge “of all things”
given to the human species should be used towards goodness
and not towards self-destruction. Using our free will and
knowledge we can make this world a better place or make it
hellish that will bring us towards self-destruction.
From the perspective of modern quantum physics, we

can understand this universe in terms of the wave of energy at
different frequencies. For example, by examining the nature of
the physical light, it appears that the light spectrum is dependent
on its spectrum frequencies as well as energy level. Physical
lights also travel at a certain velocity of 300,000 kilometres
per second. Within the spectrum of the physical light, there
are infrared light, ultraviolet light, microwave light, and many
other frequencies and ranges of frequencies coexisting within
the visible as well as the invisible light spectrum.
Human beings even in the physical form are a system of

energy at the quantum level. In every moment of our existence,
there is energy that flows at the cellular physical level as well
as the energy that emanates from our emotion and thoughts.
We can describe the process of thinking as the transfer of

energy or light that is directed by our consciousness. We
can describe the ultimate nature of human beings from the
perspective of being dynamic creatures of energy flow, i.e. light
energy that gives shape to our physical actions, emotional
feelings, creativity, intentions and thoughts.
Today, there are a number of experiments in the study

of the phenomenon of Quantum Entanglement. In this state,
two subatomic particles once linked together will carry the
information even when separated by space and time. For
example, if one of these entangled subatomic particles is on
Earth and the other particle is at the edge of the universe, the
two entangled particles can still communicate and follow a set
of patterns imprinted during the first entanglement. At this
quantum level, we can say that subatomic particles can exist
beyond space and time. We can deduce from this quantum level
that we are at the border of the spiritual nature of existence. We
can understand the parable of the spiritual nature of existence
in the Qur’anic verse, known as the verse of Light (Nur).
It is impossible for the human mind to grasp the essential

nature/essence of God. However, the Qur’an has provided us
an analogy on the nature of the Creator in the verse of Light
where God says:
God is the uncreated light (nur) of the heavens and the Earth.
The parable of His light is as if there were a Niche and within it a
Lamp. The Lamp enclose in glass. The glass as it were a brilliant
star, lit from a blessed tree, an Olive, neither of the East nor of
the West, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarcely
touched it. Light upon Light! God doth guide whom He will to His
Light. God doth know all things.
(Al-Qur’an, 24:35)
The great Muslim scholar Imam Al-Ghazali in the 9th

Century interpreted the above verse from the perspective of
Qur’anic metaphysics. The metaphor of “nur” or the Universal
Uncreated Light explained the essential nature of the Creator.
From this first uncreated light, God manifests His Power

through the hierarchy of lights from the least to the greatest.
Al-Ghazali described the simple and beautiful example for us
to understand this hierarchy of light. For example, if we take
the moonlight passing through a window that reflects onto
a mirror in a house, and then reflected on the opposite wall
and onto the floor of the house, we can see different levels of
brightness.
In each of these stages, the light differs in brightness

depending on its proximity to the original source of light
from the reflection of the moon, which actually receives the
light from the sun. In this way he describes how the light
of God is passed from God to his creations through various
manifestations of existence. These manifestations exist for
all created things regardless whether they are at the unseen
energy level, at the physical visible existence in this physical
universe, or in other universes in hyperspace. We do not
know the reality of the multiple universes existing in parallel.
However, the current research in cosmology points to the
possibility of many universes existing in parallel. The above
Qur’anic verse alludes to this possibility.
From the scientific perspective, we know that white

and black are not colours. White light is a combination of
all colours of the visible spectrum just like the colour of the
rainbow. Black is the absence of light. This symbol is used
throughout human history where God is symbolized as the
Divine light and the evil is symbolized as darkness or the
absence of light. We know that our physical universes consist
of physical matters that can disintegrate into atoms and
subatomic particles, which will then be manifested as energies
vibrating at different frequencies. We know the physical light
is created light, because it travels at the velocity of 300,000
kilometres per second. The Divine Light (nur) mentioned in the
Qur’an is the Eternal Uncreated Light of God which is beyond
any form or need for velocity, or speed, or space, or time.
It is beyond any human imagination. This Divine Light

manifests and permeates through all the universes. Our
spirit (ruh) is a dynamic system of light, which was infused
and permeated with the Divine Light. This divine gift of love
from God unto all of humanity enables us to become the
Vicegerent of God on Earth.
The goal of human existence is to get nearer to the light of

God through joyful striving to achieve spiritual enlightenment
and transformation. For the believers, we are living within
the embrace of the Light of God. For the unbelievers, they are
unable to recognize the light of God, and as such they live in
spiritual darkness. The Qur’an describes the unbelievers as
those living in the darkness, in a fathomless ocean covered
by waves enveloping them resulting in the depth of total
darkness. In this parable God says:
The Unbelievers’ state is like the depths of darkness in a vast

deep ocean, overwhelmed with billow topped by billow, topped by
(dark) clouds: depths of darkness, one above another: if a man
stretches out his hands, he can hardly see it! for any to whom
Allah giveth not light, there is no light!
(Al-Qur’an, 24:40)
These fathomless ocean and waves of darkness represent

disbelief in God or atheism, human greed, appetite, sensory
pleasures, hatred, arrogance, and other human weaknesses
and immoralities. The cloud of darkness represents the
depths of disbelief that results in secular materialistic way
of life. This veil of darkness separates the believers from the
unbelievers. The believers are infused with the Light (nur) of
God which is imprinted in our primordial nature.
We are created good and imprinted with the belief in

God. For the unbelievers they are veiled from the Light of God
and as such live in spiritual darkness.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

described this veil as “God being separated from humans
by seventy thousand veils of light and darkness”.
Muslim scholars have further described these veils at three
levels:
(a) Veil of Darkness: Represents the atheists and

those who do not have faith in God and in the life in
the Hereafter, i.e. life after death.
(b) Veil of Darkness Mixed With Light: Represents

those who believes in God but mixed it up with false
principles/precepts and way of life.
(c) Veil of Light: Represents those who have realized

the nature of Godhood at various levels or grades.
These people seek to understand and live within the
presence of the Light of God.
From the earlier Qur’anic Verse of Light (Al-Qur’an, 24:

35) as symbolized by the niche, glass, lamp, tree and oil, God
gives the metaphor of His reality of being the Uncreated Light/
Nur. By His grace, He bestows His Light and guides those
who believe in Him. The ultimate end of understanding the
nature of God/the Uncreated Light is the ability to perceive
the ultimate transcendental reality that governs the whole
universe. God opens the door to human beings to absorb in
the spectrum of God’s Light to realize the existence of God
and become His true Vicegerents on Earth.
Muslim scholars give the analogy of how the human

spirit (ruh) relates to God. God is like an endless sea of ocean.
Human beings are like droplets of water being formed from
this ocean. In the primordial state, we are like the droplets
of water vapour floating in the clouds. As these droplets of
water travels over the mountains, they fall down as rain that
gushes forth to become rivers, i.e. the rivers of life on Earth.
The rivers will then gushes into the infinite ocean of mercy,
i.e. returning to God. The Qur’an tells us “that from God we

came and to God shall we return”(Al- Qur’an, 2: 156).The
purpose of the spirit (ruh) as it exists in this physical realm
is to perfect itself. It carries within itself the seeds of the
Divine attributes in some small relative quantities. Out of His
abundant Love, Grace and Mercy, God has bestowed upon
the human self some small measures of the infinite Divine
attributes. For example, all human beings are born with the
innate capabilities and desire for love. This humanly love is
a reflection of the infinite attributes of divine love belonging
to God.
God possesses the divine attributes of perfection. As

such, human beings carry the attributes of perfection in
some small measures. Life on Earth as ordained by God is
like a school where we go to in process of perfecting ourselves
in space and time. The total sum of all our intentions, actions
and experiences will then constitute our level of goodness or
badness. By exercising our free will, we can journey towards
perfecting ourselves or degrading ourselves. For example, if
our lives are filled with evil deeds as committing murder, being
unjust, being greedy, or full of hatred, then we are journeying
towards the spiritual degradation. Such actions will cause our
spiritual selves to degenerate and we will become imperfect
beings. However, if we continuously try to improve ourselves
by doing good deeds, we are slowly perfecting our spiritual
selves, which can then absorb greater quantities of the Divine
Light and finally reach enlightenment.
Our human spirit (ruh), because it existed beyond

the realm of the physical world, can interact with other
spiritual dimensions that are created by God. For example,
prophets and saints can be totally aware and interact
with the angelic dimension and other dimensions created
by God. All human beings have these spiritual faculties.
However, modern secular materialistic human beings cannot
sense this spiritual capability because of our spiritual
imperfection that is influenced by the materialistic way of life.
Being modern secular materialistic human beings, we function

only with our innate five physical sensory capabilities and
thus we have lost our sixth faculty, i.e. the spiritual faculty.
We can strengthen our spiritual, emotional, and mental
dimensions that will enable us to function beyond the five
physical sensory capabilities.
The human spirit (ruh), while existing in this physical

Earth can perceive beyond the physical reality. God has
given us the ability beyond the five senses to become multi-
sensory human beings that can understand the spiritual or
the invisible realms. From the perspective of modern science,
we can understand our existence beyond the quantum
state. We can also realize our nature beyond our physical
DNA towards understanding our nature as the creature of
light. The understanding and the realization that we are
spiritual beings existing within physical bodies are the key
to understanding our existence on this Earth. God has given
us the key to understanding our spiritual reality that is the
basis of our purpose in life. As we grow to perfect ourselves
to become multi-sensory beings, we will become aware of the
spiritual reality and understand the subtle feelings which are
useful in our journey towards perfection.
The Qur’an tells us that our ruh is a spirit from God.

The spiritual nature of our spirit (ruh) includes an eternal,
invisible, non-corporeal and transcendental element which
emanates from, or to have been created by God. We will later
explain the relationship of our spirit (ruh) vis-à-vis other
aspects of the human self.
To simplify our understanding of our spirit (ruh), heart

(qalb), and mind (‘aqal) aspects, let us represent them in a
diagram. This diagram does not represent the real nature
of the human self, which in reality is beyond any physical
representation or description. This diagram is just an analogy
for us to understand and realize our true nature.
Qalb
(Heart)
Ruh Nafs
(Spirit) (Self)
‘aqal
(Mind)
Diagram 1. Human Self/Nafs in the Primordial State with the

Three Domains.
We can represent our spirit (ruh) as the outer circle as

shown in Diagram 1. Within our spirit (ruh) we have the heart
(qalb) aspect, and the mind/intellectual (‘aqal) aspect as
represented by the two inner circles. All these three aspects
operate and interact as one unified entity as shown in the
diagram above. The spirit (ruh) is described as the heart
(qalb) when it functions from the perspective of free will
and emotion, and it is described as the mind (‘aqal) when
it functions from the perspective of intellect and decision-
making. In reality, there is only one entity and the terms ruh,
qalb, and ‘aqal that can be used to describe the one entity,
i.e. the human self. In our primordial state, our human self
or nafs consists of the above three aspects. In the physical
existence in this world, our self (nafs) includes our physical
entity (jasad). Many scholars also use the term “soul” for
our spiritual self. Our definition of the soul comprises the
spirit (ruh), heart (qalb), and mind (‘aqal). These aspects are
elaborated in greater detail in the following sections.
The Heart (Qalb)
As mentioned earlier, Muslim scholars have described the

human spirit (ruh), the heart (qalb), and the intellect (‘aqal)
interchangeably as one entity. When the human spirit (ruh)
is manifested by God at the primordial state, i.e. in the state
of azali, it already has the imprints of the heart (qalb) and
the intellectual (‘aqal) aspects. When we describe the heart
aspect (qalb), we are also describing our spirit (ruh). God gives
us a composite reality of our spirit (ruh) that includes the
function of the heart (qalb) aspect as well as the intellectual
(‘aqal) aspect in our primordial nature. These innate spiritual
gifts allow us to use our heart and our intellect to accept God
and become believers and receive the light of God. We could
also use the same faculty to deny God and veil ourselves
from the Light of God and thus becoming atheistic modern
materialistic human beings as we know today.
There are two aspects of the heart, i.e. the biological

heart in our physical body, as well as the inner heart that
is imprinted in the spirit (ruh). The inner heart (qalb) has
an affinity and close connection with our physical biological
heart. Since immemorial time this connection has been
known to humanity from the religious perspective. We can
find this perspective in Chinese, Hindu, Hebrew, Christian
and Islamic traditions.
In traditional Chinese philosophy, the physical heart is

the connection between the spirit and the body, i.e. with the
blood carrying the heart’s vital rhythmic messages throughout
the body. In traditional Chinese medicine, the body’s holistic
integral function is accessed via the pulse reading of the
heart. In Hindu yogi tradition, the heart is recognized as the
seed of an individual’s consciousness and the centre of life.
The physical heart is connected to the inner heart that will
affect the balance and equilibrium of the individual if these
two aspects of the heart are not tuned holistically. According
to ancient Judaic tradition, the heart is one of the centre
of energy (Sefirot) that affects beauty, harmony and balance

(Tifferet). The heart holds the key to radiant health, joy,
peace and total well-being. In Christian tradition, both the
old and new testament have shown the connection between
the physical and spiritual aspects of the heart, such as in the
verses: “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs,
23: 7); and, “What reasons ye in the hearts” (Luke, 5: 22).
The organ in the body that is associated with feelings of

love and emotion is the heart. Just as the intellectual mind
transcends the physical brain, the spiritual heart transcends
the physical heart. This is mentioned in the Qur’an:
It is not the eyes that are blind but the hearts...

(Al-Qur’an, 22:46)
According to the saying of Prophet Muhammad (peace

be upon him), God proclaims:
The heavens and Earth cannot contain Me, but the hearts of my
believing servants have room for Me.
Our transcendent heart identifies the divine beyond the

physical heart or physical realm. According to al-Ghazali, the
qalb is the essence of man, which is synonymous for the spirit
(ruh) depending on its functional aspect. In this physical plane
on Earth the transcendental heart is the spiritual entity that
abides within and beyond the physical body and controls all
functions of life on Earth. It also functions within the spiritual
realm beyond space, time, and the physical constraints of the
physical self and the physical world.
Understanding Our Heart
Our heart starts beating when we are still in the womb of our
mother. The heart of the foetus of an unborn baby begins
to beat at around the twenty-second day. Medical scientists
and biologists do not know why all of the sudden the foetus’
premature heart starts beating. They call this phenomena as

auto rhythmic. Somehow, the heartbeat is self-initiated within
the heart itself. As believers, we believe that everything is
initiated by the will of God. If we look at the structure of the
heart we will find that the heart is truly an amazing organ. The
heart works throughout our lifetime without ever stopping.
The moment it stops, we will die. Over the period of our
lifetime, the heart beats at about 100 thousand times a day,
and approximately 40 million times a year. If we live up to 70
years, our hearts beat nearly 3 billion times. The heart also
pumps more than 4 litres of blood per minute throughout our
vascular system, which is more than 96 thousand kilometres
long, i.e. 2 times the circumference of the Earth. There are
many new scientific findings about our amazing heart which
point to the Divine Creator, God. Let us review some of these
scientific discoveries about our heart.
Recently, cardiologists and bio scientists have discovered

that the heart does not only respond to signals coming from
the brain, but also vice versa. There is a bilateral, two-way
dynamic relationship between the heart and the brain. We
know that when a foetus begins to grow, the most important
part of the brain development begins with the brain stem,
the amygdala, and the hippocampus, which are the emotion
centres of the unborn baby. It is evident that the foetus
already has a brain with emotional functions and a beating
heart long before the other parts of the brain, i.e. the cortex
or the thinking brain, begin to form. We now know that the
heart interacts with the brain through at least four pathways.
The signals from these four pathways are:
Neurologically through electrical impulses
Chemically through hormones and eurotransmitters
Physically by pressure waves
Electromagnetic field interaction

Let us study the electromagnetic field interaction of the

heart. Scientists have discovered that the heart emits a stronger
electromagnetic field than our brain. This electromagnetic field
from the heart is 40-60 times greater in amplitude and permeates
every cell in the body. It is approximately 5,000 times stronger
than the brain’s magnetic field. Using sensitive magnetometers
we can detect the heart’s magnetic field approximately 1 meter
away from the body. This phenomenon proves that the heart’s
electromagnetic field not only permeates throughout every cell
in our physical body, but also transcends our physical body.
Scientists are now discovering that our Earth’s electromagnetic
field interacts with the electromagnetic field of our heart. This
phenomenon shows that all of us are intimately connected to
the Earth as well as to all other human beings and creatures
on this planet. We also know that our Earth’s electromagnetic
field is influenced by the electromagnetic field of our galaxy,
the Milky Way. In turn, the Milky Way is influenced by other
electromagnetic fields of all other galaxies in this universe.
If we reflect on these phenomena, It shows that we are

all interconnected from the smallest subatomic particle to
the cells in our body, to our heart, to this Earth and to this
universe, and finally to God the Creator. We are interacting
all the time giving and receiving signals that will influence
our future and the future of this Earth and the universe. The
heart plays the key role in this interaction.
Ancient sages and Muslim scholars have realized this

interconnectedness long before modern science was able
to prove it. In religious terms, these sages and scholars
used the analogy of the heart receiving light. We know from
quantum physics that light energy is actually a waveform
of electromagnetic energy that is being transmitted and
permeates throughout the universe. We may now understand
that the electromagnetic energy from our heart can transcend
our physical body and interact with the universe. In Islam,
the heart can interact not only with other human beings and
the universe, but also with the Divine.
On another note, the latest research points to the

existence of cell memory. Scientists of Karolinska Institute
Stockholm have found that the cells of our body contain some
form of memory. This memory affects the surrounding and
can be transmitted from one generation to another. We now
know that this influence is being stored in our genes, i.e. our
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). From the Islamic perspective,
we do not only have a physical DNA, but also a “spiritual
DNA” that was imprinted even before we existed as physical
beings. This imprint of both the physical DNA and the spiritual
DNA interacts to determine and influence our future. From
an Islamic perspective, our future transcends the physical
world. In Islam, the terminology qalb or heart signifies both
the biological physical heart as well as the spiritual inner
heart imprinted in our ruh. The analogy symbolizing the
inner heart (qalb) is like the sun, which is the heart of our
solar system. It spreads its energy throughout the whole
solar system. Likewise, our inner heart (qalb) spreads its
energy throughout the human self. The spiritual inner heart
is an independent entity that has affinity and closeness with
the physical heart. This connection is transcendental. The
spiritual heart is the real substance whereas the physical
heart is only an appendage.
Both the physical heart and the inner spiritual heart

are the emotional centres of our being. Our faculties such
as perception, consciousness, sensation, reasoning, and will
power are part of the human capabilities centred on the heart.
The biological heart is directed by the inner heart. In one of
the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), he
said:
There is a fleshy part in the body. If it is healthy, then the whole

of the body is healthy. If it is corrupted, then all the body is
corrupted. Beware! That part is the heart.
This saying shows the importance of the connection

between our physical heart and our inner spiritual heart
(qalb). Our spiritual, emotional, mental and physical (SEMP)
well-being is dependent on the condition of our physical and
inner spiritual heart (qalb).
The nature of this connection between the biological

heart and inner heart has been discussed by Muslim scholars
and sages for centuries. Through Islamic spiritual practices,
these scholars and sages discovered the connection between
the biological and inner spiritual hearts, which are the sources
of all human feelings and emotions. They also discovered
that the inner heart is the centre of the divine faculty that
differentiates human beings from other animals. The spiritual
heart houses our belief system, knowledge of God, and love
for God. Our spiritual heart realizes the spiritual delight of
affinity to God and finally knowing God.
The synergy between our spiritual heart and our biological

heart conveys the rhythmic emotions from the realm of the
inner heart and the spirit of the physical realm. This will
enable the physical body to feel the inner peace, tranquility,
happiness, love, and all of the positive emotions necessary
for our holistic well-being. Ignoring the inner voice of our
inner heart will result in splinted personality that cannot feel
the joy, happiness and meaning of life. Modern materialistic
civilization creates a mono-dimensional materialistic human
being without any higher purpose in life except to eat, have sex
and other material indulgences. As a result, today’s modern
humanity is having serious problems in terms of mental
health, happiness in life, as well as having higher purpose in
life beyond the physical realm.
The system of cell memory is embedded throughout every

cell in our body, especially in the heart. It contains information
and memory about our past actions and behaviours as well
as our personalities. Scientist Dr.Kandis
Burt in his book, “Passion Molecules”, discovered that

all cells in the human body exchange signals with each other
through amino acid interaction. It is now proven, that these
bio transmitters are not only found in the brain but also in
other internal organs such as the heart.
Bioscientist Dr. Joseph Chilton Pearce, the author of the

book “The Biology of Transcendence”, discovered that there
are neurals like cells in our heart. He discovered that within
the heart cells there are clusters of small neural groupings
in the heart that is almost like axon-dendrites forming the
neural connection of our brain.
Neuroscientists in recent years have also made startling

discoveries. In many research centres, neuroscientists have
discovered that the heart has its own independent nervous
system; a complex system which is simply referred to as the
brain in the heart. Neuroscientists have discovered that there
are more than 40,000 neuron cells in the heart, which is about
the same amount found in the sub-cortical centre of the brain.
They found that there is constant communication between
the neurons in the heart and the brain functional area, i.e.
the amygdale, the thalamus and the cortex. We know that the
amygdale, an almond-shaped structure deep inside the brain
emotional processing centre, is the key to all emotions. The
amygdale will assess any new information for its emotional
significance. It then communicates with the brain cortex to
assess this new information and take appropriate actions.
Dr. Rollin McCraty from the Institute of Heart Math has

discovered that the heart can act on its own. He said:
We observed the heart was acting as though it had a mind of its

own and was profoundly affecting perception, intelligence, and
awareness. Over the past twenty years, scientists have discovered
new information about the heart that makes us realize that it is
far more complex than what we had ever imagined. We now have
scientific evidence that the heart sends us emotional and intuitive
signals to help govern our lives. Instead of simply pumping blood,
it directs and aligns many systems in the body so that they can
function in harmony with one another. And although the heart is
in a constant communication with the brain, we now know that
it makes many of its own decisions.
Physiologists John and Beatrice Lacey of the Fels

Research Institute have discovered that the heart has its
own brain-like nervous system that can affect our physical
brain through the signals sent to the amygdale, the thalamus
and the cortex. The Laceys found that when the brain sent
“orders” to the heart through the nervous system, the heart
did not automatically obey. Instead, the heart responded as
if it had its own distinctive logic. Sometimes when the brain
sent an arousal signal to the body in response to stimuli,
the heartbeat sped up accordingly, but frequently, it actually
slowed down while the other organs responded with arousal.
The selectivity of the heart’s response indicated that it

was not merely mechanically responding to a signal from
the brain. Rather, the heart’s response appeared to depend
on the nature of the particular task at hand and the type
of mental processing it required. Even more intriguing, the
Laceys found that the heart appeared to be sending messages
back to the brain that the brain did not only understand the
signal but also obeyed it. This proves that the messages from
the heart can actually influence a person’s behaviours and
future outcomes. It also shows that our intuition play a role
beyond just our normal senses. This intuitive nature is built
in within our hearts. Modern human beings somehow are
beginning to lose the capabilities of our intuitive hearts.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) told us that

the heart can control the brain. The heart will shape the
personality of any individual that allows them to realize the
Creator. As God revealed in the Qur’an:
For, Believers are those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a

tremor in their hearts, and when they hear His signs rehearsed,
find their faith strengthened, and put (all) their trust in their
Lord.
(Al-Qur’an, 8:2)
Another relevant verse confirms the existence of cell

memory in the heart:
He knows all that is in the heavens and on Earth; and He knows

all that you keep secret as well as all that you bring into the open:
for God has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men].
(Al-Qur’an, 64:4)
The above Qur’anic verse was revealed to humanity 1,400

years ago. Yet it contains information which modern sciences
have only recently discovered. God reveals that our physical
heart is linked to the inner spiritual heart which can receive
signal or light from God. The illumination or enlightenment
from God affects both our physical and spiritual inner heart.
God says:
Could, then, one whose bosom God has opened wide with
willingness towards self-surrender unto Him, so that he is
illumined by a light that flows from his Sustainer, be likened to
the blind and deaf of heart? Woe, then, unto those whose hearts
are hardened against all remembrance of God! They are most
obviously lost in error!
(Al-Qur’an, 39:22)
In another verse, God also mentioned that not only our

heart has cell memory, but our other organs like the skin also
have cell memory that transcends the normal function of the
skin:
God bestows from on high the best of all teachings in the shape
of a divine writ fully consistent within itself, repeating each
statement of the truth in manifold forms, a divine writ whereat
shiver the skins of all who stand in awe of their Sustainer: but in
the end their skins and their hearts do soften at the remembrance
of the grace of God. Such is God’s guidance: He guides therewith
him that wills to be guided whereas he whom God lets go astray
can never find any guide.
(Al-Qur’an, 39:23)
Experiments carried out at the Institute of Noetic

Sciences show that the heart can operate intuitively beyond
space and time. Similarly, Professor Benjamin Libet, a
neurophysiologist at the University of California discovered
that every thought, emotion, perception, or movement happens
before our consciousness can realize it. This experiment proves
that there is a transcendent element beyond space and time
that affects our emotions, perceptions, and movements. In
one of his experiments, the subject was required to randomly
move his finger upon listening to the command, “move finger”.
Throughout this time, the brain was subject to continuous
monitoring. Professor Libet observed the relevant brain cells
before the person actually took the decision to move his finger.
The command “move finger” reached the individual’s brain,
which was then readied for action. The individual could only
activate this command and became aware of this command
after about 400 milliseconds.
From this experiment Professor Libet summarized as

follows: 1) the decision to move a muscle takes place before
that decision reaches a person’s consciousness. 2) There is
always a delay between a neurological or perceptual process
and us becoming aware of the thought, feeling, perception or
movement it represents. To put it in another way, we can only
be aware of a decision after that decision has been made 400
milliseconds before.
From the above experiment, we can conclude that there

is a “decision maker” beyond our physical brain and beyond
our consciousness. It seems that what we do in our physical
life is always in past tense. In Islam, we do not only live in
a physical dimension, but our hearts always live within the
realm of divine consciousness. Everything that happens in

this universe is by the Will of God. The Qur’an says:
And never say of anything, “Indeed, I will do that tomorrow,”

Except [when adding], “If Allah wills.” And remember your Lord
when you forget [it] and say, “Perhaps my Lord will guide me to
what is nearer than this to right conduct.
(Al-Qur’an, 18:23-24)
God has given us the free will to use our hearts to believe
in God and align ourselves with what is good or to disbelieve
and indulge in evil deeds following our desires or egos. In
reality, everything that exists in the universe, and everything
that has happened and will happen have been predetermined
by God at the point when He commands this universe to “Be”,
and it became. The human species is given the free will to
carry his or her action in a limited sense. We are individually
responsible for our actions based on the free will to use our
heart and mind to do good or to do evil.
A research conducted by Dr. Francis Waldrop from the

National Institute of Mental Health shows that the heart
is important to make us a whole person and the heart can
be the key to heal people with psychological and mental
problems. As we get closer towards the understanding of the
physical heart and its connection with human behaviour and
well-being, we should contemplate and take another step.
Naturally, the scientists cannot use the term “spirit” or “the
divine” because it seems unscientific to them.
However, in reality, only when science surrenders to

the spirit, then we can have real knowledge. We will then
understand the meaning of being a human being that has
five aspects, i.e. the totality of the human self (nafs) and its
dimensions of the spiritual, emotional, mental and physical
dimensions. Contemplate over this discovery and ask
yourselves, how could all of those ancient sages know so
much of our heart that modern men seem to be ignorant of?
Modern psychology has shown that intelligence quotient

(IQ) does not bring about success in life. Extensive research
done by leading psychologists throughout the world points
to the need for emotional intelligence (EQ). Today, we know
that success in life is based more on our ability to manage
our emotions rather than our intellectual capabilities.
Psychologists today are talking about cultivating the heart’s
intelligence. With our hearts, we will be able to develop self-
awareness to make good decisions. The heart is the centre
of our emotional intelligence. Famous psychologist, Daniel
Goleman says:
The ABC’s of emotional intelligence include: self-awareness,

seeing the links between thoughts, feelings and reactions;
knowing if thoughts or feelings are ruling a decision; seeing the
consequences of alternative choices; and applying these insights
to choices.
Without the guiding influence of the heart which is the

centre of our emotions, “we easily fall prey to reactive emotions
such anger, fear, frustration, depression and other negative
behaviours”. The problems of the modern 21st century
civilization like crime, rape, mental diseases, and breakdown
of our familial and societal structures point to the need for
nourishing and cultivating our heart/ emotional intelligence.
From an Islamic perspective, the heart is the gateway to

attain the vision of the Divine presence. Through the eye of
our inner heart, we begin the process of affinity to the Divine
and gain intuition (kashf). As we journey towards perfecting
our heart (qalb) through prayers and spiritual practices, we
begin to be aware of our affinity with God. Finally, we will
be able to have certainty of belief by not only having faith in
God but to know God in our heart (‘ainulyakin, i.e. knowing
God through our inner heart). This knowledge will bring us
closer to the knowledge of the ultimate reality. Through this
process, we will finally realize our true nature of being the
Vicegerent of God on Earth.
Maintenance of a healthy inner heart is the most

important aspect of our existence in this world. It is important
that we maintain a healthy heart (qalb) and a healthy body as
all human feelings and emotions are directed to this critical
centre. The heart must be protected and kept safe from being
infected by evil. The heart functions as a bridge between all
that is good as well as the gateway to the blessings of God. It
can also be deviated by satanic and evil temptations. In the
Qur’an, we are advised to pray:
Our Lord! Do not cause our hearts to swerve after You have
guided us
(Al-Qur’an,3: 8)
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in one of his

supplications used to say: “O God, O Converter of hearts.
Establish our hearts on Your way of truth”.
This reminds us of the absolute need to protect and

preserve the heart from the influence of evil. The heart that
is influenced by evil will have an inner satanic desire which
leads to evil deeds, temptations and vices.
The spiritual heart (qalb) is open to the physical world

through the sensory organs, which are conceived to be the
external windows. The qalb is fed with sensory facts perceived
through the physical light. Depending upon the states of the
inner illumination of the heart, the qalb processes these data
and reveals their interrelationships and meaning to the self
that becomes the basis of judgment and decisions. Decisions
are made by the heart (qalb). The brain and the nervous
system function as instruments to implement them. The inner
state of the heart(qalb) that has been spiritually regenerated
is like a shining glass that refracts divine light. The glass does
not prohibit the light from leaving. In fact, it preserves them
and projects them just like the brilliant stars lighting up the
universe. In our physical world, we utilize our five senses to
explore the physical reality. For us to transcend our physical
state, we have to utilize our heart (qalb) to understand our

spiritual reality, which is beyond space and time.
The heart (qalb) can also be described according to its

functions and its relationship with the rest of the bodily organs
as well as our emotions, perceptions and behaviours. In one
Qur’anic verse, God declares mankind to be the Vicegerents
or representatives of God on Earth (Al-Qur’an, 2:30). We can
relate an analogy from the Hadith, which states: “God created
Adam in His form”. Since God, as the Creator of this universe,
governs it with sovereign authority, the heart (qalb) is
considered to be the authority and master of the body and its
functions. All the organs of the body have been subordinated
to the heart (qalb). Our external perceptions, emotions and
behaviours are virtually the manifestations of the state of the
heart, i.e. the conditioning of our emotions based on the good
and bad deeds that we have done.
Two Qur’anic verses here are of utmost significance on

the danger of not taking care of our heart.
Nay, but their hearts are corroded by all the evil that they were
inclined to do
(Al-Qur’an, 83: 14)
God has sealed their hearts and their hearing, and over their
eyes is a veil; and awesome suffering awaits them.
(Al-Qur’an, 2: 7)
The sealing of the heart occurs over time. If a person

follows this destructive path of excessive material indulgences
and harmful evil deeds, i.e. the path of sin, he gradually loses
the ability to perceive the truth. Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him) gave an analogy of our heart that will have
black spots on it as we do sinful evil deeds. As we continue to
do more sinful evil deeds, the heart will be overwhelmed with
black spots that will prevent the divine light and guidance
from entering our heart (qalb).
At this point it is as if a seal is set upon our heart (qalb)

that makes it totally evil and beyond reform, i.e. the inner
heart is dead even though the physical heart is physically
alive. This is a consequence of man’s free choice to take the
path of evil. Those who follow the path of evil will harden
their hearts. This heart will be preoccupied with excessive
lust, greed, selfishness, arrogance, envy, pride, heedlessness
and attachment to status. This heart is centred only on the
physical pleasures and has lost all the ability to feel, believe
and realize God and to achieve authentic happiness.
If we take the path of perfecting our heart, then we are

travelling on a journey of perfecting ourselves. Our heart
will begin to grow, mature and slowly acquire the spiritual
insights. We always live in constant consciousness of God
fully realizing the Divine in our life. We will enjoy complete
happiness, serenity and security under the Divine’s protection.
We will live a life under the light of God and live a life of
purpose and self-control. The whole focus of life is to love God
and to pursue our life to please God. This way of life will allow
us to receive the love of God, i.e. Divine Light and cause the
whole universe to love us.
We will receive a warm welcome in all realms of

existence. Finally, by perfecting one’s heart, we will be able
to completely conquer the self-centred ego that is prone to
evil. With the Grace of God, gradually we will have a direct
understanding of the innermost transcendental nature of
our heart. We will have the ability to see with “the eye of the
heart” and understand the ultimate reality of the unity of
God. This journey towards the perfection of one self is open
to all human beings who use the inner heart (qalb) to make
the right choice.
It is our choice to nourish our heart to reach perfection

and total success or follow the ego towards ultimate disillusion
and destruction. We have to strive and work hard to achieve
the perfection of ourselves by perfecting our inner heart.
There is no shortcut towards real success in life. Real success

allows us to experience and achieve gnostic (makrifah) and
wisdom (hikmah). It will then allow us to comprehend the
inner reality of life.
As the Vicegerent of God, the human self is inherently

endowed with some of God’s attributes in some small finite
measures. These attributes, however, remain dormant and
veiled by the passions and the sensuous preoccupations of
the egoistic self as we journey through our physical life on
Earth. This test of life is described in the Qur’an:
By the human self (nafs) and the proportion and order given to
(Al-Qur’an, 91:7-10)
From the above verse, we can understand that to succeed

in life we have to purify our heart to receive enlightenment.
Al-Ghazali defined the diseases of the heart like pride/
arrogance (takabbur), hypocrisy (nifaq), uncontrolled desire
(hawa), ostentatiousness (riya’), greed (hars), ego and other
spiritual diseases linked to the heart (qalb) that can destroy
our state of balance, and bring us towards inner conflict and
self-destruction.
Modern humanity is fully engrossed with the worldly

indulgences and passions that are merely sensuous and
physical in nature. At this level, our existence is just like
animals where “survival of the fittest” becomes the dominant
behaviour. Our 21st century civilization will completely
disintegrate if we continue this materialistic atheistic path.
To survive in the post-modern human society, we must
acknowledge the reality of the divine Creator. This awakening
or realization of the Divine will remove the illusion of our ego
and make the heart free from pursuance of the temporary
sensuous goals. Freeing the self from the bondage of the
temporary sensory pursuits will remove the veil of darkness.
In this process, the heart will gradually understand the nature

and the secret treasures of the Divine reality.
The Mind (‘aqal)
In the earlier description of our spirit (ruh) and inner heart

(qalb) we have elaborated that on the primordial covenant
in the state of azali at the creation of the human self, the
mind/intellect (‘aqal) aspect is imprinted in our spirit
(ruh). As a result, Muslim scholars tend to use these three
aspects interchangeably depending on its functional and
situational roles in our journey of life. From our existence in
the primordial realm, to our existence in the physical realm
on this Earth, and then back to the realm of the hereafter,
our mind/intellect (‘aqal) plays the key role in reasoning
and decision-making. Islamic scholars have defined ‘aqal as
the all-encompassing intellect. It covers the whole range of
the mind/brain/intelligence aspects. ‘aqal is bound within
the spirit/nafs/soul and functions as an integrative faculty
between the spirit, inner heart and mind (‘aqal). Muslim
scholars have divided the mind (‘aqal) into two basic faculties:
Al-‘aqal al-Juzi: the faculty of reason, conscious

mind, the faculty of discursive or analytical thought.
Al-‘aqal al-Kulli: the subconscious mind and

beyond the subconscious mind, the faculty of
intuition and higher intellect, and the faculty of
awareness of the spiritual and divine realities.
The integration between these two aspects of reason,

higher intellect and intuition will enable man to discern truth
from falsehood, good from bad, etc., which will then imprint
positively and negatively his spiritual experiences throughout
his journey of life. The faculties of ‘aqal are bestowed upon
man to enable him to cope with his reality of existence in this
world.
The Islamic integrative concept of higher intelligence/

mind (‘aqal) is compatible with the findings of modern science
in neurology, physiology, psychology, quantum physics and
other new sciences on the nature of the brain and mind-
body relationship. Just as the physical heart is connected to
the inner heart (qalb), the physical brain is connected to the
mind/higher intelligence (al-‘aqal al-kulli).
Let us understand the basic science of our brain and

mind and how it is interactively connected with the totality of
the human self and the universe. Our amazing physical brain
has more than one hundred billion brain cells consisting of
active neuron cells connected through more than 20 thousand
branch-like connections within each cell. Brain and memory
expert Tony Buzan said:
Your brain is made of a trillion brain cells. Each brain cell is like
the most phenomenally complex little octopus. It has a centre,
it has many branches, and each branch has many connection
points. Each one of those billions of brain cells is many times more
powerful and sophisticated than most of the computers around
the planet today. Each one of these cells connects, embraces,
hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands of other cells. And
they shuttle information back and forward. It’s been called an
enchanted loom, the most astoundingly complex, beautiful thing
in existence. And each person has one.
Each one of our 100 billion active neurons or brain

cells stores information in its thousands of dendrites like
branches. It then transmits that information to other cells,
and other parts of the body through electrical impulses, along
a major pathway called an axon. When it reaches the synapse-
connecting gap to another brain cell, each electrical impulse
triggers a chemical reaction – a neurotransmitter which
jumps across the gap to transfer the message. Each axon is
insulated by a myelin sheath, which acts as an insulator. The
brain has at least 70 different types of neurotransmitters, and
each is affected by the food or diet that we take as well as our
way of life. The entire communication system is surrounded
by glial cells for “glue”, which lay down the myelin sheathing
and generally nourish the active nerve cells.
There are actually three brains in one, i.e. three different

levels from the outer brain to the brain-stem. The brain
consists of two hemispheres, namely the left brain and the
right brain, with six distinct layers. The lower brain or brain-
stem controls many of our instincts, such as breathing and
heartbeat. The central part of our brain controls our emotions
which is called the limbic system – from the Latin word limbus
for “collar” or “ring”- because it wraps around the brain-stem
like a collar. The upper brain, known as the cortex, enables
us to think, talk, reason, and create. We use many different
parts of the brain together to store, remember and retrieve
information. Each one of these factors has an important
bearing on how we use our inbuilt power of the brain. We
have on each of our individual head the most powerful of all
computers in the world put together. How amazing!
If I were to tell you that all of Microsoft software that

we are using today comes into existence without the tens of
thousands of software engineers at the Microsoft headquarter
creating the software code, would you believe it? Your common
sensical answer would be that the software codes were
created by Microsoft engineers. I would not like to indulge in
a religious debate. How can we believe that our brain, which
are billions of times more powerful than our computers were
not created by a Supreme Creator? Atheism does not make
any sense and it is not rational.
The complexity of the human brain, mind and soul

represents the pinnacle of all creations. All other creatures
on Earth do not have the capability of our brain, which are
endowed with free will, intelligence and reason. Our purpose
is to realize the grandeur of God’s creation of the universe.
Today, the science of quantum physics brings us closer
towards understanding our spiritual inner brain, i.e. our
higher intelligence/mind (‘aqal), etc.
Islam provides the most comprehensive understanding of

the nature of the human self through the Qur’anic revelation
from God sent to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
and all other prophets before him, like Jesus, Moses, Abraham
(peace be upon them), as well as sages like Buddha, Krishna,
Lao Tzu and others. These messages have provided us with
the answers of why we are living on Earth and where do we
go after we die.
The basis of the 21st century materialistic civilization

is based on the wrong so-called scientific Newtonian
definition of space, time, matter and causality. This deeply
ingrained materialistic philosophy resulted in the atheistic
belief prevalent in modern society. We need to have a new
holistic way of thinking as well as an integrative way of life to
completely comprehend modern sciences as well as quantum
physics which will revolutionize our belief system in the 21st
century and beyond. I believe that this new belief system
will finally be able to synergize with the transcendent and
spiritual precepts known to humanity since the beginning of
humanity.
We know that the human brain is a complex matrix

of interwoven systems. The human brain functions by
neurons connecting our cerebral cortex allow us higher brain
functions making us human beings. Today, neuroscientists
are trying to understand the nature of human consciousness.
Is consciousness itself limited to the brain cells within our
brain or does it transcend beyond our brain system as well
as our physical self? Is our capacity for perception, thought,
awareness and purposive response merely the result of our
neurotransmitters reactions in our brain or is it beyond our
brain? Is free will, the ability to choose between right and
wrong, good and bad directed only by our brain or is it more
transcendent beyond our brain system? The above problems
of the nature of consciousness are now being investigated
through neurosciences and quantum physics. Prominent
quantum physicist David Bohm said:
We may well now ask whether the close analogy between quantum
processes and our inner experiences and thought processes
is mere coincidence… the remarkable point-by-point analogy
between thought processes and quantum processes would
suggest that a hypothesis relating these two may well turn out to
be fruitful. If such a hypothesis could ever be verified, it would
explain in a natural way a great many features of our thinking.
As we develop the science of quantum physics and

neurobiology, we are beginning to realize the complex nature
of our brain system. We are also beginning to understand
the nature of consciousness and thought processes that
can transcend beyond the physical realm of space and time.
It can exist beyond the physical neuron of our physical
brain. Today, quantum physicists are able to explain the
non-local correlation effects of quantum events. This non-
locality quantum event allows subatomic particles to operate
instantaneously beyond distance, space or time when it is in
the waveform. Professor Roger Penrose said:
Quantum physics involves many highly intriguing and mysterious

kinds of behaviour. Not the latest of these are the non-local
quantum correlations that can occur over widely separated
distances. It seems to me to be a definite possibility that such
things could be playing a role in conscious thought modes.
Perhaps it is not too fanciful to suggest that quantum correlations
could be playing an operative role over large regions of the brain.
Might there be any relation between a ‘state of awareness’ and a
highly coherent quantum state inthe brain? Is the ‘oneness’ or
‘globality’ that seems to be a feature of consciousness connected
with this? It is somewhat tempting to believe so.
The basic fundamental principle of Islam is the concept

of tawhid, i.e. the oneness or globality of existence. Each day
thousands of our neuron cells die yet the same “me” exists.
Life is an on-going process. Our physical body is made up
of atoms and elements that were once stardust in some
galaxies. We can understand the nature of unity of not only
the physical dimension but also the transcendent dimension.
Author Danah Zohar said:
Just as there is no space and time between two separate laser

beams (their wave patterns interfere across space and time), so
there is no real division in space and time between selves. We
are all individuals, but individuals within a greater unity, a unity
which defines each of us in terms of others, each of us have
a stake in eternity. Understanding this, understanding the full
reality of the extent to which we are all, physically, interwoven,
requires a revolution in our whole way of perceiving ourselves
and our relation to others. It is a revolution required when we
apply quantum concepts to the nature of the self. We know that
quantum physics calls upon us to alter our notions of space and
time, but now we have to accept that this touches each and every
one of us at the core of our personhood.
Similarly, Professor Stuart Hameroff and Professor

Roger Penrose suggested that part of the solution of the
problem of consciousness might lie in understanding the
operations of microtubules in the neuron of the brain cells.
These microtubules seem to operate at both the molecular
and supra molecular level. The operations of microtubules
are remarkably complex and their role are pervasive in
cellular operations; these facts led to the speculation that the
computations sufficient for consciousness might somehow be
occurring there.
Hameroff and Penrose further saw the principles of

quantum theory as providing an alternative process through
which consciousness could arise. They further argued that
this non-algorithmic process in the brain required a new
form of the quantum wave reduction, later given the name
objective reduction (OR), which could link the brain to the
fundamental space-time geometry,
In January 2014, Hamerooff and Penrose announced that

a discovery of quantum vibrations in microtubules by Anirban
Bandyopadhyay of the National Institute for Materials Science
in Japan confirms the hypothesis of Orch-OR theory. These
research points towards a Science of Consciousness which is
very close to the Islamic view point. As we further develop our
understanding of the quantum phenomena, we will be able to

understand the transcendent nature of our mind. We will be
able to understand that the phenomena of consciousness, i.e.
our awareness, perception, thought, memory, etc., transcend
space and time. The Islamic concept of higher intelligence/
mind (‘aqal) provides a beautiful answer to the nature of our
true transcendent self.
God is the Supreme Intellect and demands acknowledgement

from His thinking creation, i.e. human beings. This is a divine
directive. One of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) on one important aspect of Godhood:
I was the hidden treasure and I desire to be known so I created

the creation.
(Hadis Gibril)
The whole scheme of this universe and its existence

will not be known unless God created a being endowed with
intelligence to realize the Creator. As God is the All Knowing
(Al-‘Alim), He created man to realize the Greatness of His
Attributes of Divine Intelligence, Love, Beauty and all other
Divine Attributes. Mankind was the creation that was given
in some small measure the gifts, faculties and qualities
of these Divine Attributes. With these gifts, man can take
part in the process of reasoning, contemplation and receive
knowledge through higher intelligence and intuitions. The
integration of the two aspects of ‘aqal, i.e. al-‘aqal al-juz’i
(partial intuition/reasoning) and al-‘aqal al-kulli, (complete
intuition/reasoning)will lead man to the realization of the
divine. Man’s integrative intelligence of aqal can witness the
truth of the existence of the Supreme Intelligence, i.e. God.
This realization of the existence of God is imprinted in

our “spiritual DNA” at the point when God commanded our
existence in the spiritual realm, i.e. before our existence in
the physical realm. Through the faculty of ‘aqal, mankind
can understand God. We have an inner primordial desire to

love God because God has given us some of His Attributes.
Metaphorically, mankind is the reflection of the image of God.
Of course, this does not mean that God is an image; rather it
means that mankind possesses some small Divine Attributes.
These faculties and gifts allow us to take part in the divine
reflection.
Man is the image, and “God is the Light of the heavens

and the Earth” (Al-Qur’an, 24:35) behind that human image.
God is the Absolute and the All-Knowing (Al-‘Alim).God is
also the Loving (Al-Wadud). God bestows intelligence to the
human species to reflect on the divine attributes of God and to
infuse these attributes within the human self. As such we are
bestowed higher intelligence that is capable of discernments
and contemplations. We are also given free will, which we can
exercise with reason to achieve true success in life.
In Islam, the essential knowledge of the Knowledge of

Godhood and the purpose of life were revealed by God. By
exercising our faculty of intuition and higher intelligence,
we can perceive the truth of divine revelation. The medium
of communication between God and the human species is
through the mind (‘aqal) which is the integrative intelligence
that can grasp the nature of the Divine. Man’s intelligence
is capable of objectivity because it can grasp the idea of the
Supreme Intelligence.
Similarly, we are given free will and reason so that our

mind (‘aqal) can act upon to make correct and good decisions.
It would not be sufficient if man could grasp the notion of the
Supreme Intelligence, i.e. God, but could not act on behalf
of God. The medium for this intervention is the mind/higher
intelligence (‘aqal). As mentioned earlier, our mind/higher
intelligence (‘aqal) is imprinted within the spirit (ruh). The
spirit (ruh) provides the ground in which the result of our
interaction of our intelligence and free will can take root.
The mind (‘aqal) is the meeting ground between God and man
in the intellectual sense, and acts as a bridge between the
world of the senses and the world of the spirit.
Without these divine gifts of the mind/higher intelligence

(‘aqal), our understanding of God is not possible or feasible.
In Islam, faith, believing and realizing God begin with the use
of our higher intelligence. Without the spiritually discerning
higher intelligence, there is no grasping of essential knowledge
of the Divine. By coupling our mind (‘aqal) and exercising our
reason and free will, we will transcend the current secular
materialistic human mentality. The synergy of our inner heart
(‘qalb) and our mind (‘aqal) provides the basis for knowing
who we are as human beings and where we are to journey
beyond this physical life, i.e. in the spiritual realm with God.
Our earthly hope resides in realizing God. Our ultimate

refuge rests in knowing the reality of God’s definitive existence.
Our ‘aqal/integrative intelligence, endowed with free will,
is the key to this realization. God is the absolute Divine
Intelligence and we are endowed with relative intelligence of
our mind (‘aqal) to understand Him. God alone is worthy of
being desired and loved as the sole object of man’s mission in
this world. Only then, can we satisfy the holistic needs of the
human self for love, beauty and goodness, i.e. our desire for
the realization of the perennial and universal truth.
Our human intelligence in this world functions with

the brain for our survival as a species. This mode of mind
(‘aqal) comprises multiple intelligences to enable man to
progress scientifically. Using sound reasoning of the mind
(‘aqal) beyond the scientific realm will finally lead towards
the intelligence of intuition and spirituality. The heart (qalb)
is the meeting ground where intelligence and free will work
together to provide the vital manifestation of our inner quest
for love, beauty and awareness of God.
When God endowed man the free will and intelligence,

man could take advantage of these faculties to either enrich
the soul or achieve total eternal success, or to use these
faculties of intelligence and free will to commit evil. Like a
two-edged sword, they can cut both ways, either to man’s
advantage or to his disadvantage, and even to his ultimate
damnation. The intelligence can fail, the will can betray him,
and the self can sink into a shadowy darkness through the
evil that man can commit from within. “The human self (nafs)
is a persistent enjoiner of evil, except those upon which my
Lord has mercy...” (Al-Qur’an, 12: 53), and even the Queen of
Sheba said:
My Lord! I have wronged my own soul.

(Al-Qur’an, 27: 44)
Contemporary man uses intelligence in a fragmentary

manner. We grasp the nature of our reality via piecemeal
fragmentary processes. We only perceive, rely and recognize
the physical material reality. This attitude permeates
throughout the idea that to be scientific, we must rely on
physical proof only. As such, it is fashionable for scientists
to deny any existence beyond the physical realm. However,
the latest discovery in quantum physics shows that there is
a reality beyond the physical reality. Scientists in the 21st
century must go beyond atheism to embrace non-physical
spiritual realities.
The fragmentary use of the mind (‘aqal) tend to be

destructive, misguided, and out of control. The current
dilemma of the 21st century, with its host of problems from
ecological disaster to the destruction of human values, points
to the misuse of our intelligence. If nothing is done in the 21st
century, our planet and all of human inhabitants will suffer
the greatest catastrophe in the history of mankind. It could
even signal Armageddon and the end of humanity altogether.
The parable of the story of Adam in the Qur’an relates how

the first man failed to use his intelligence properly by following
the misguided impulse of his free will, i.e. disobeying God and
eating the forbidden fruit. At this point, Adam betrayed the
primordial sacred trust and disobeyed God. Adam’s failure
to reflect and use his free will, which is consonant with the
needs of the spirit (ruh), resulted in Adam’s discharge from
the primordial heaven. At this point, Adam, the servant of
God has disobeyed God, the Master. Adam, the Vicegerent of
God, has betrayed the sacred trust. Later, Adam regretted and
asked God for forgiveness and began his spiritual journey to
become the Prophet of God, fully aware of his spiritual legacy.
We said: ’O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden; and eat
of the bountiful things therein as (where and when) ye will; but
approach not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression.’
Then did Satan make them slip from the garden, and get them
out of the state of felicity in which they had been. We said: ‘Get ye
down, all (ye people), with enmity between yourselves. On Earth
will be your dwelling place and your means of livelihood - for
a time.’ Then learnt Adam from his Lord words of inspiration,
and his Lord Turned towards him; for He is Oft-Returning, Most
Merciful. ‘But those who reject Faith and belie Our Signs, they
shall be companions of the Fire; they shall abide therein.
(Al-Qur’an, 2: 35-38)
These two modes of Adam’s use of intelligence are still

available to contemporary man. We can use our intelligence
and mental faculties purely for material success in the physical
plane, which is short-term and destructive. This short-term
thinking is the root cause of the dilemma of humanity in the
21st century. We need a new paradigm where we can use
our intelligence and free will to grasp the essential spiritual
knowledge to advance us towards the path of total success
and salvation. By harmonizing the use of our faculties of
intelligence and free will, coupled with the need of our spirit
(ruh), we will be able to grasp the essential knowledge of God
and tune our intelligence towards the realization of the divine
purpose.
Wise man can think intelligently and act on intelligently

using his free will that ultimately leads him to the love of
God. Through the integrative faculty of mind (‘aqal), he will
develop sincere faith that will direct the spirit (ruh) towards
its real destiny with the divine. To love God totally with our
mind, heart and spirit, will bring us closer to God who is the
Supreme Being. To be loved by God in return, which is the
object of the ultimate loving desire creates an inner blessing
and a feeling of equilibrium. Our expression of spirituality
is fully manifested through faith, surrender and virtue. The
mind (‘aqal), guided by the spirit (ruh) and the heart (qalb),
will lead man to the highest achievement and total success in
this world and the eternal realm of the Hereafter.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has beautifully

described the nature of our higher intelligence/mind (‘aqal),
in a hadith narrated by Ibn-’Abbas;
For everything there is an instrument and a tool, and the

instrument of the believer is his intellect; for everything there is a
mainstay, and the mainstay of man is his intellect; for everything
there is a support, and the support of religion is the intellect; for
every group of me there is a goal, and the goal of the worshippers
is the intellect; for every people there is a missionary (who calls
them to true faith), and the missionary of the devout is the
intellect; for every merchant there are goods and merchandise,
and the merchandise of the scholars is the intellect; for every
house there is a keeper, and the keeper of the houses of the saints
is the intellect; for every ruin there is rehabilitation, and the
rehabilitation of death is the intellect; for every man there is an
offspring who bears his name and perpetuates his memory, and
the offspring of the saints, who bear their names, and perpetuate
their memory, are their intellects; and finally for every journey
there is a shelter, and the shelter of the believers is the intellect.
The Physical Body (Jasad)
Our physical body (jasad) is a marvellous creation and a

miracle. No words seem adequate to describe the amazing
versatility, complexity and capability of the human body. As
human beings we do not only live, breath, move and think.
The full capability of the human body also encompasses
transcendental capabilities, which transcends the physical
body. During our lifetime on this Earth, we undergo a
remarkable journey of physical, emotional, intellectual and
spiritual developments that begin in the womb and continue
until the end of our physical life. From the Islamic perspective,
our life will continue beyond the physical life in the spiritual
realm.
The miracle of the human cell still fascinates scientists,

biologists, medical doctors, psychologists, philosophers,
spiritual masters and sages. For example, if we study the
miracle of the development of the human foetus, life begins with
conception when a male’s sperm fuses with a female’s ovum
to produce a single cell. Over the next 40 weeks, this single
fertilized cell multiplies again and again, millions of times in a
process that transforms it. from a minuscule speck no larger
than a pinhead into a fully independent life outside the womb.
The mechanism by which this occurs is called the mitotic cell
division, a copying and splitting by which cells constantly
divide and reproduce by themselves. This process, which
begins in the womb, continues throughout life. It is controlled
by our genes, i.e. the DNA/segments within the nucleus of the
cells. Our DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) gene carries within it
a “blueprint” of information. Together, the millions of genes
determine the unique physical and mental characteristics
inherited by the new human being from its parents.
The miracle of our creation is vividly described in the

Qur’an which explains in detail the various stages of our
creation from a single egg and a sperm right up to becoming
a newborn baby. The Qur’an says:
O mankind! If you have a doubt about the Resurrection, consider

that We created you out of dust, then out of sperm, then out
of a leech-like clot, then out of a morsel of flesh, partly formed
and partly unformed, in order that We may manifest our power
to you; and We cause whom We will to rest in the wombs for an
appointed term, then do We bring you out as babes, then foster
you that you may reach your age of full strength; and some of
you are called to die, and some are sent back to the feeblest old
age, so that they know nothing after having known much, and
further, you see the Earth barren and lifeless, but when We pour
down rain on it, it is stirred to life, it swells, and it puts forth
every kind of beautiful growth in pairs.
(Al-Qur’an, 22:5)
The above verse is a miracle in medical science because

God describes scientifically how the foetus is being formed.
This scientific fact was only discovered in the 20th century.
Yet the Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him) 1,400 years ago. From a tiny sperm and an
egg which is smaller than the size of a pinhead less than 0.1
millimetres to the growth of the foetus to be born as a fully-
formed human being at birth. God describes the process of
fertilization (nutfah). After the fertilization of the ovum, it is
anchored on the wall of the uterus, where it starts to grow.
This growing stage of the embryo is called ‘alaqah. It is still
so minute that it is just slightly more than 0.1 millimetres in
diameter. In the Qur’an, ‘alaqah means a leech like suspended
substance like a black clot.
The developing embryo has a leech like appearance, and

this stage of ‘alaqah of the embryo’s growth continues for about
25 days. The Qur’an describes the next stage of the embryo
growth as muÌghah or a lump of flesh, chewed-like substance.
The appearance of the embryo at this stage really looks like
a chewed substance with 13 somites resembling teeth prints
on a substance. The somites are paired, block-like masses of
mesoderm arranged segmentally alongside the neural tube
of the embryo, forming the vertebral column and segmental
musculature, also known as the mesodermal segments. As

the embryo begins to grow, all the organ systems begin to be
formed. The Qur’an describes this stage of the muÌghah as
partly formed and unformed. This is a scientific fact that the
medical science has found to be true today.
In the Qur’an, the development of the foetus is further

described:
When We placed him as a drop of sperm in a place of rest, firmly

fixed; Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood;
then of that clot We made a foetus lump; then we made out of that
lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed
out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create!
(Al-Qur’an, 23: 13-14)
Throughout the period from fertilization to gestation the

foetus becomes a fully formed baby in about 280 days or 40
weeks.
It is ordained by God that from a miraculous birth we

will grow from infanthood to childhood, adulthood and finally
reach old age. In the Qur’an God tells us that in the old age
we will become like children and forget many things that we
have learned. The Qur’an says:
If We grant long life to any, We cause him to be reversed in nature:

Will they not then understand?
(Al-Qur’an, 36:68)
We know that at old age, our physical body will degenerate,

and our mental capability will also deteriorate. For some they
will have dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive
problems which will make them become like children.
However, God also mentions that there is hope for the

future. We will continue to exist beyond the physical realm.
God says:
The trumpet shall be sounded, when behold! from the sepulchres

men will rush forth to their Lord! They will say: ‘Ah! Woe unto
us! Who has raised us up from our beds of repose?’... A voice will
say, ‘This is what Allah Most Gracious had promised. And true
was the word of the messengers! ’It will be no more than a single
Blast, when lo! they will all be brought up before Us!
(Al-Qur’an, 36:51-53)
In another verse, the God says:
Verily we shall give life to the dead, and We record that which
they send before and that which they leave behind, and of all
things have We taken account in a clear Book of evidence.
(Al-Qur’an, 36:12)
In another verse, the God says:
It would not be reasonable in me if I did not serve Him Who

created me, and to Whom you shall all be brought back.
(Al-Qur’an, 36:22)
The journey of life after death is a reality that every one

of us will have to go through. We can choose to do evil in our
life on Earth and suffer the consequence in the Hereafter,
or we can take a path of goodness and faith and enjoy the
eternal heaven. The Qur’an says:
As to those who believe and work righteousness, verily We shall

not cause them to suffer or perish. Their reward will be Gardens
of Eternity; beneath them rivers will flow; they will be adorned
therein with bracelets of gold, and they will wear green garments
of fine silk and heavy brocade: They will recline therein on raised
thrones. How good the recompense! How beautiful a couch to
recline on!
(Al-Qur’an, 18:30-31)
In all spiritual traditions whether Hebrew, Hindu,

Chinese, or Islamic traditions, the physical world is infused
with a subtle element of life force, imparting motion and
movement to the body. Thus, if we talk about the physical
realm, we have space and time in the physical dimension.
Whereas, the spiritual dimensions are not bounded by space
and time.
It is evident, from the above ideas, that from the Islamic

point of view, the essential aspects of the human self include
the spirit (ruh), the heart (qalb) and the mind (‘aqal) aspects,
which are corporeal, and transcendental. We identify all these
aspects as the ruh with its imprint of the inner heart or mind.
This primordial ruh, comes in contact with the physical realm
when we are born into this world and carry a physical body
which we call jasad. This body forms the borderline area
which connects the physical aspects of man to his spiritual
self. At this stage in the world, it is as if we are living in
a purely physical world. This is an illusion. Our prime life
force that enables us to exist beyond space and time is our
spiritual aspect which will remain forever, i.e. beyond space,
beyond time, and beyond the physical world of this universe.
Our physical body that we carry in this world will

disintegrate at the point of death. The sum total of our
experiences in this world, i.e. our beliefs, our deeds and
actions, feelings, etc., will be permanently imprinted into our
spiritual selves. Thus, the physical body is there to serve the
purpose as a tool towards differentiating between success or
failure. The Creator is aware of the tendencies of the human
self or nafs in the physical world to seek base desires and
pleasures. God knows the weakness of the human self in its
physical tendencies for ego, lust and passion. Man, in this
physical realm tends to lose sight of his spiritual nature and
seeks base pleasure. God has said in the Qur’an:
By the token of time, man is verily in the state of lost. Except

those who have faith and do good deeds. And those who practice
patience and constancy.
(Al-Qur’an, 103:1-3)
Through the discipline of our physical self, we can reduce

the egoistic tendency to become misaligned with the spiritual
reality. As we go through the journey of life, there will be
endless serious battles between the ego and the spirit. The
ego, led by the physical master, tends to gravitate towards
evil, lust, and greed, i.e. egoistic behaviour. At this stage, the
human self is at the stage of the self that has a tendency
towards evil (an-nafs al-ammarah bi al-su’). In this state,
the human self is totally egoistic. Muslim scholars equate
this stage as those of the diseased state. They classify the
diseases of the ego as those who lived through greed, lust,
pride, ostentatiousness, hypocrisy, self-centredness, avarice,
restlessness and animalistic behaviour. In the contemporary
world today, it is a “dog eat dog world”, and in Wall Street
the game is the survival of the fittest. This way of life is a
clear manifestation of the control of the ego in contemporary
human societies.
The human self in this world, with its physical aspect,

can transcend the egoistic state to align itself with its spiritual
reality. Through serious effort in developing faith in God, good
deeds, prayers, and other practices, we train the physical
body to be disciplined. In every situation, we can use our free
will to choose the way of the ego or the way of the spirit. God
says in the Qur’an:
But he hath made no haste on the path that is steep. And what
will explain to thee the path that is steep? It is freeing of slaves; or
the giving of food in days of deprivation; or to the extreme poor in
the dust. They will be of those who believe, and enjoin patience,
constancy, and self-restraint. They enjoin deeds of kindness and
compassion. Such are the Companions of the Right Hand.
(Al-Qur’an, 90:10-18)
We have indeed created man as the best of creation, but We can

use our free will to be the lowest of all creatures.
(Al-Qur’an, 95:4-5)
We strive to take the higher route that is to follow the

way of the spirit. By continuous practice and discipline of
the physical self through faith and good deeds, we can finally
eliminate the ego. At that point, the human self will be open to
the knowledge of the mysteries of the spiritual and the divine.
This is not an illusion but a reality through real experience by
enlightened multi-sensory human beings.
The Combined Human Self (Nafs)
The five aspects of the human self are: the spirit (ruh), heart
(qalb), mind (‘aqal), body (jasad), and the totality of the
human self (nafs). Understandably, it is difficult to represent
human transcendent concept in any diagram, form, or
symbol. However, diagram 2 serves as an analogy to help us
understand the integrated holistic nature of the human self.
We can have a better understanding of the terminologies that
constitute the human self (nafs), the spirit (ruh), soul, inner
heart (qalb) the emotional centre, mind (‘aqal) inclusive of our
intellect as well as our total brain function and our physical
self, i.e. what constitute our body using diagram 2.
To begin with, it is pertinent to start by elaborating on

some five terminologies to offer better clarification on the real
nature and purpose of human existence. Al-nafs, at times
called the human self or soul or psyche. As described in
Diagram 2, the primordial nafs is the integrated transcendent
entity that consists of SEM (spiritual, emotional, and mental)
realms. This nafs has three dimensions or aspects. It has
the capacity to move upward towards affinity to God, or
move downwards towards the baser physical temptations or
desires. The upward journey is the uppermost limit of psyche
that connects it to the Divine while the downward journey is
represented by the physical sensory desires like sex, food,

etc., that connects it to the bodily satisfaction.
Physical realm fused

Spiritual realms
into spiritual realms
Qalb
(Heart)
Ruh
(Spirit) Nafs Jasad
(Self) (Body)
Aqal
(Mind)
Diagram 2: The 5 realms existing in both our spiritual and

physical domains as we live on Earth
At the point of existence on this planet Earth, the

human self has the dimension of the physical body (jasad).
This physical body is only temporary because scientifically it
can only exist within space and time. In this world, the nafs
comprises four aspects, i.e. SEMP aspects. The description of
the human nafs that constitutes its SEMP functions points to
its role in our existence on Earth. We can make this analogy
that the human body consists of organs such as the heart,
lungs, brain, kidney, etc. that allow our body to function. Each
of these organs has specific roles that ensure the survival
of our physical body. Likewise, each one of the five aspects
of the human self, i.e. the spirit (ruh), emotional self (qalb),
mental self (‘aqal), and the physical self (jasad), plays specific
roles. In the way we function as a supra-temporal being, living
within time and space as well as beyond time and space,
i.e. within the physical realm as well as the spiritual realm
simultaneously. Each of these aspects plays its functional
roles of perfecting the human self to finally reach affinity or
closeness to God.
From Diagram 3, we can understand the journey of our

life from the primordial realm to life in this world and then to
life after death, i.e. the hereafter. The flow of life is as follows:
PRE-BIRTH LIFE ON EARTH LIFE AFTER DEATH

Primordial Self/the Self/Nafs of the human Self/Nafs in the Hereafter Back
nature of human self in self in this world as we to the original nature of the
the primordial state (nafs) exist on Earth human self with imprint of
experiences in the world
Birth Death
Qalb Qalb Qalb
)Heart( (Heart) (Heart)
Ruh Ruh Ruh
Jasad
(Spirit) Nafs (Spirit) Nafs (Spirit) Nafs
(Body)
(Self) (Self) (Self)
Aqal Aqal Aqal

(Mind) (Mind) (Mind)
Beyond space and beyond Spritual realm. Physical body/ Beyond space-time Imprint of our
time; In this state we have Beyond space- jasad exist Separated from existence in the
our spirit (ruh) imprited with time Link to the within space- the disintegrated physical world
the heart (qalb) and Mind physical body + time in this physical body influences our state
(aqal) in the realm of Azali physical wordl leaving only an in the hereafter
before birth. No physical imprint of the
existance physical self
Diagram 3: The Nature of Human Existence from Pre-birth to Life After

Death.
The Realm of Primordial Existence (Azali)

Before the Existence of Space and Time
The period before the existence of our universe and before

human beings existed in the physical plane, we existed in a
timeless spiritual plane with God. At this stage, the human
self or nafs does not have a physical body. We are all spiritual
beings and live in a dimension beyond space and time in the
realm of primordial spiritual state, i.e. the realm of azali. At
this primordial spiritual state, we are aware of our existence
as mentioned in the Qur’an:
And recall when at the time of the primordial spiritual state, your
Lord brought forth the chain of humanity of the children of Adam
and made them all testify to God “Am I not your Lord?”- They all
said:” Yea! We all do testify!
(Al-Qur’an,7:172)
This event relates to the existence of the human self in

the transcendent primordial spiritual dimension before the
advent of man in this spatio-temporal physical world. From
the above verse, the human self at this stage is the ruh or the
spirit from God that is aware of God and exist in the realm
of close proximity to God in the transcendent dimension. The
ruh also has the capacity to testify our relationship with God,
i.e. the ruh has the mind (‘aqal) aspect. The ruh also has the
emotional state or the heart aspect (qalb) in identifying God.
We will then realize that our spirit or ruh has the built-
in heart and mind aspects as shown in the diagram. Muslim
scholars use the term ruh (spirit), qalb (inner heart) and
‘aqal (mind) interchangeably to describe the nature of human
psyche or the human self (nafs). This description is dependent
on which aspect is predominant in their respective usage or
emphasis. Some scholars use the term “self” to describe the
above three transcendent aspects as one “spiritual” entity.
Let us now define that at the primordial stage of our

existence before the existence of space and time, our
transcendent self (nafs) had three important aspects built
within the ruh or spirit. We can deduce that this primordial
human self (nafs) has inherently the spiritual aspect (ruh), the
emotional aspect (qalb), and mind/mental aspect (aqal). They
are three aspects within one entity. It is also possible that
we may have other aspects within one entity. This reality is
described by Muslim spiritual masters as those infused with
the unlimited attributes of the Creator in a relative sense. In
this state the spiritual human self realizes and acknowledges
the perfect attributes of the Creator.
We cannot really fully describe something in the

transcendent realm within a simple diagram. The diagram
is only an analogy for us to understand the relationship of
our transcendent self. What is important is that we can now
understand that the nature of our spirit (ruh), our inner heart
(qalb) and mind (‘aqal) are aspects of one and are the same
thing. Our spirit, heart, and mind operate synergistically to
realize our role as the Vicegerent of God in this universe. This
imprint of Vicegerency has existed with us in the primordial
realm before our existence in the physical universe.
The Human Self (Nafs) in This World
The innate spiritual, emotional and mental dimensions

that constitute the primordial nafs were projected into the
physical body (jasad) at the point of our existence in this
physical world. As we live in this physical world, our self
(nafs) comprises four aspects, namely the spirit (ruh) aspect,
the inner heart (qalb) aspect, the mind (aqal) aspect, and the
physical body (jasad) aspect, i.e. Spiritual-Emotional-Mental-
Physical (SEMP) dimensions. As we grow older and die, the
physical body will disintegrate but the SEMP dimensions will
then be projected to another realm of existence. God says:
Verily We shall give life to the dead, and We record that which
they send before and that which they leave behind, and of all
things have We taken account in a clear Book of evidence.
(Al-Qur’an, 36:12)
The primordial nafs that existed in the spiritual realm of

azali is fused with the physical entity during pregnancy.
And when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My

[created] soul, then fall down to him in prostration.
(Al-Qur’an, 15:29)
The physical (jasad) aspect interacts with the spirit

(ruh), inner heart (qalb) and mind (‘aqal). The human self
at this point is both living in this physical realm as well as
the spiritual realm. If you look at the diagram, the arrow
encompasses everything, including the physical realm. The
physical realm meets a barrier at the center of the human self.
There is a veil or barrier for the physical man to transcend
to the spiritual realm. By the grace of God, through prayers,
spiritual exercises, and good deeds, God will slowly open the
door for us to receive Divine Light (Nur Hidayah). As this veil
opens, an enlightened human realizes his true destiny as a
spiritual being living temporarily in the physical world.
This Realm of Life after Death
At the point of death, the physical body is separated from the

spiritual nafs from the original primordial nafs. In the diagram,
the physical self is drawn on the dotted line to represent
the imprint of our physical existence in this world. All our
experiences, deeds, habits, etc. will impact the luminosity of
our primordial spirit (ruh), which comprises the ruh, qalb
and ‘aqal. Thus, if one takes the path of submission and
surrender to God and nurture our spiritual aspects in this
world, his nafs will experience tremendous joy which can be
described as heaven. In the opposite case, if the whole life of
the human self in this world is based on denial of God, greed,

lust and other evil way of life, this evil imprint will cause the
nafs to feel extreme frustration, anguish, and suffering which
is hell.
There are many stages within the realm of the hereafter.

For example, the SEM dimensions of the deceased man
will be projected into another realm known as “barzakh”, a
dimension of life after death.
At this point, the human self comprises of only the SEM

dimensions, the form that it originally was in the period before
humans existed on the human plane, i.e. the physical world.
The journey of the self (nafs) after death is dependent

on the individual human being’s intentions and actions
during his life on Earth. Those who acknowledged God and
nourished his spiritual, emotional and mental aspects/
dimensions (SEM) would have the joy of infinite happiness
and fulfillment, i.e. heaven. This heavenly state is for those
human selves that have fulfillled their primordial contracts
with God. As for those who lived in this world purely under
animalistic, atheistic and materialistic plane, their SEM state
would be diminished and undernourished. In this situation,
they could not have close proximity to the Divine Creator and
could not feel Divine Love and Peace. This would create a
tremendous sense of disappointment, anguish, frustration,
and total regret – all of which constitute hell. However, out
of the Grace of God, even those who have diminished their
spiritual SEM dimension would finally be cleansed. These
unfortunate human beings, finally, with the Grace of God will
be accepted to heaven.
The following diagram 4 shows how the human self (nafs)

ascends or descends in this world;
Total Happiness in this World and in the

Hereafter, i.e. Heaven
Towards Self Perfection
Faith and Good
Progress/Ascent or Decent of Self
No Faith in God and Evil Deeds
Towards Self Destruction
Total Anguish and Failure in this World and in the Hereafter, i.e. Hell
Diagram 4: The ascending and descending of the human self

(nafs) in this world and its return to the hereafter
From Diagram 4, it is clear that the human self (nafs) has

the capacity and the free will to ascend or descend depending
on the choices made by the human self on this Earth. As God
has revealed in the Qur’an:
We have certainly created man in the best of stature; Then We

return him to the lowest of the low
(Al-Qur’an, 95:4-5)
As human beings, we go through life as a test as well as a

journey towards perfection. If we follow our baser desires with
undue indulgences, we will descend to become the lowest of
the lows. The corporeal and bodily parts exist at purely animal
level and always pressure man towards sensual gratification.
The Qur’an says:
And if We had willed, we could have elevated him thereby, but he

adhered [instead] to the Earth and followed his own desire.
(Al-Qur’an, 7:176)
Man has the tendency to dwell on the desires of his lower

self, leading to the possibilities of becoming preoccupied and
distracted from his true purpose in life. Preoccupation with
his egoistic self and baser desires will cause imbalance in
our life. Since God is the Creator, He knows the limitations of
man and provides the way out to such needs. God has made
the fulfillment of basic legitimate needs to have a good and
happy life on the Earth. For example, equilibrium is neither
the starving man nor the overfed glutton. A starving man will
leave his responsibilities in search for food while the overfed
glutton will tend to sleep on his duty. Thus, if a person does
not permit the self for even the legitimate fulfilllment of
physical needs like sex, the lower self will rebel violently and
will attack him violently to fulfill his needs immediately. For
this reason, the self should be granted its legitimate rights to
be listened to its demands in accordance to divine injunction.
All difficulties and problems faced by man are due to

their distance from God and ignorance of the divine principle.
Man’s ultimate goal in life on this Earth is the realization of
the reality of his creation. It is a `maturation’ process where
man has to undergo various stages in life from preoccupation
and gratification of sensuous lowly needs to elevation towards
the perfect man where his actions reflect the realization of the
reality.
The first stratum is known as al-nafs al-ammarah bi al-

su’ which literally means the “evil prompting self”, that aspect
of the nafs which instigates man to be evil. It is man’s biggest
enemy, cutting his way to God. The al-nafs al-ammarah bi al-
su’ has Shaytân as its ally. He promises it great rewards and

gains, but casts falsehood into it. This egoistic prompting self
says, “Serve me,” “Bow to me,” and “I am everything, and you
are my slave”. As long as this nafs gives orders and as long
as man abides by these orders, he would not be able to reach
the Reality. It is an inner locus of immoderate desires and
fiery passions. It enjoys worldly things, not spiritual things
and it is never contented. This evil prompting nafs thrives on
lust, greed, self-centeredness, avarice and other evil acts.
The second stratum is called al-nafs al-lawwamah, which

literally means the “blaming nafs”. It refers to that aspect of
the soul which blames or criticizes itself, one which is aware
of its own evil tendencies. As God says in the Qur’an:
By the human self/nafs, and the proportion and order given to

(Al-Qur’an, 91:7-10)
The al-nafs al-lawwamah is searching for its moral

compass. It is ever restless to seek the higher state of peace
and happiness and it will not rest until it achieves perfection.
It often changes, remembers and forgets, submits and evades,
loves and hates, rejoices and becomes sad, accepts and rejects,
obeys and rebels. At this second level, the nafs is trying to
find its way towards perfection but stumbles along the way as
it faces the evil prompting desires. This battle of life is typical
of Believers seeking to perfect their faith but sometimes fail
to achieve their goal due to worldly temptations and desires.
The third stratum is al-nafs al-mutma’innah, also known

as the “ever-peaceful self”. It is the believing nafs in which
the turbulence of desires and passions has been calmed
down and the agitations of thoughts and concepts reduced to
stillness, tranquillity and quietude. Its owner is at rest and
content with his knowledge of God’s Names and Attributes,
and with what He has said about Himself and His Messenger,
and with what He has said about what awaits the soul after
death: about the departure of the soul, the life in the realm
of the hereafter, and the events on the Day of Resurrection
which will follow, so much so that a believer such as this
could almost see them with his own eyes. So he submits to
the will of God and surrenders to Him contentedly, never
dissatisfied or complaining, and with his faith never wavering.
He does not rejoice at his gains, nor do his afflictions make
him despair from the mercy of God.
When we achieve the state of nafs al-mutmainnah,

we will be able to live beyond the five sensory experiences
and receive information, intuition and other metaphysical
experiences that bring us closer to the love of God. Through
our journey of life in perfecting ourselves (nafs), we will act
more positively, have a deep feeling of love for all, and live
in harmony with God and all His creatures. The self that is
journeying towards perfection will be infused with the loving
personality when he receives the rays of Divine Light. The
journey towards perfection will be blessed with a life of love
and peace free from fear, frustration, or anguish. The Qur’an
says:
Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds and establish

prayer and give zakah will have their reward with their Lord, and
there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.
(Al-Quran, 2: 277)
As we journey through this life in making ourselves good,

helping others to be good and making the world good, we will
achieve this perfection. At that point, God invites us back to
His realm as mentioned in the Qur’an:
To the righteous soul will be said: ‘O thou soul, in complete rest

and satisfaction! Come back thou to thy Lord, - well pleased
(thyself), and well-pleasing unto Him!
(Al-Qur’an, 89:27-28)
To ensure that our total self (nafs), i.e. SEMP aspects is in

balance, we have to follow the divine keys towards excellence
and total success. By immersing ourselves in developing
our spirit, heart, mind and physical body, we will gravitate
towards goodness and the divine. Our spirit, heart and mind
will have close affinity to God and as we practice the practical
ways to strengthen our SEM self, we will discover God and
achieve total success, joy and happiness forever.
CHAPTER THREE
POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY – 3RD PRINCIPLE: ON BEING

THE VICEGERENT OF GOD IN THE UNIVERSE (ON BEING
THE KHALIFAH OF ALLAH)
3rd Principle: On Being The Vicegerent Of God In The Universe 129
(On Being The Khalifah Of Allah)
Introduction
Humanity in the 21st century is in a state of emotional,

mental and spiritual chaos as a result of the promotion of
secular, materialistic way of life. The collapse of moral,
spiritual, societal values in modern societies are clear
testimonies that our 21st century civilization is moving
towards self-destruction. This current dilemma led to
excessive materialistic consumption and desire-driven life
which consequently create many problems in our global
modern societies. Moreover, more and more modern societies
are facing severe mental health problems, drug and alcohol
addiction, breakdown of families, free-for-all hedonistic
lifestyle, boredom, meaninglessness, etc. All these social ills
point to a decline in contemporary civilization. However, we
must be reminded that going back to the true teachings of
Islam and practising them as enshrined in the Qur’an is the
best way to address these problems. This is because Islam
is the most comprehensive way of life in which our physical
existence is made perfect in accordance with the Will of God.
The concept of being the vicegerent of God on Earth is

the most positive message for all human beings. We know
our purpose in life that is full of goodness can lead to peace,
happiness and success in this life and the hereafter. This
positive message is unique and is the core message to all
human beings that desire to know their innate nature of
existence and their role and purpose in life.
We must acknowledge that the fundamental doctrines

and teachings of Islam are timeless and never-changing.
However, the traditional method of passing on these timeless
beliefs to new generations of Muslims, and of promulgating
Islam successfully among non-Muslims, are no longer working
very well in the light of the circumstances of the modern world.
The means of discussing and understanding the unchanging
basic teachings of Islam, therefore, must now include an
objective analysis based on acknowledged scientific facts and
logical reasoning. Similarly, we must effectively utilize the

modern communication technology, new powerful principles
of learning and social influence based on the contemporary
psychological knowledge. This, in my view, will help Muslims
and non-Muslims appreciate the beauty and true teachings of
Islam. Unless we provide a higher meaning and purpose to our
existence in this world, the current secular materialistic way
of life cannot fulfill the perennial human quest for fulfillment,
love, peace and happiness.
I suggest that one of the possible viable solutions to

solving the above problems is by implementing the Islamic
concept of being the vicegerent of God on the Earth, i.e. the
concept of Khalifatullah fil ard.
The Concept of Khalifah (Vicegerency)
In the Qur’an, God made the most direct statement concerning

His purpose in creating a race of human beings, through
Adam (peace be upon him). This purpose was that He wanted
us to act as His Khalifah (Vicegerents of God) on Earth. God
the Almighty says:
Behold’, your Lord said to the angels: ‘I will create a vicegerent

on Earth.’ They said: ‘Will you place therein one who will make
mischief and shed blood? While we do celebrate Your praises and
glorify Your holy (name)?’ He said: ‘I know what you know not.
(Al-Qur’an, 2: 30)
This role of Khalifah (Vicegerency) was declared before the

creation of the first human being, Adam (peace be upon him).
And of course, it was the very specific and most well-defined
purpose for the creation of man. And it must be remembered
that God had created all other creations – the angels, the
heavens, the Earth and all between them before the creation
of Adam (peace be upon him). A logical implication is that
God has a Grand Plan for all His creations and that Mankind
is the focus of this Grand Plan.
It must be noted however that before man was assigned

this role of God’s Khalifah on Earth, Allah the Almighty had
offered the opportunity of Khilafah in the form of trusteeship
(amanah) to the heavens, the Earth, the mountains and all
other creations that were created. They declined to accept
the role of vicegerency because they were not endowed with
knowledge and free will which God bestowed upon Adam
(peace be upon him), and all human beings. God the Almighty
says in the Qur’an:
We did indeed offer the trust to the heavens and the Earth and
the mountains; But they refused to undertake it, being afraid
thereof. But man undertook it...
(Al-Qur’an, 33: 72)
The above explanation shows that man has been chosen

to become the Khalifah of God because he has a certain
destiny and possesses an innate moral consciousness of good
and evil, and right and wrong. God intended this very high
destiny for man even before He created the physical world,
and placed man in his uncorrupted, pure state, on an even
loftier plane than the angels though, in man’s corruption and
transgression, he debases himself even lower than the beasts.
The question now is: What was it that raised human

beings to that high and noble position? Of course, the
special attributes which God bestowed upon mankind was
the breathing of His Spirit into man, thereby providing him
the attributes of knowledge and free will, which is God-
consciousness in a limited degree, for man’s use as God’s
Khalifah. Having endowed with such divine attributes as love,
mercy, and forbearance, although in a limited portion, man
naturally becomes inclined towards goodness.
When we delve deeper into the meaning of “Khalifah”,

we will explore that our correct understanding of Islam is
of extreme importance. In the Qur’an, God tells us that He
created man for three purposes:
1. To be His Khalifah on Earth.
2. To be His ‘Abd (servant).
3. To know Him.
From this we can understand that Man cannot be the

Khalifah of Allah without being the ‘Abd or servant of Allah
SWT. By being Allah's Khalifah and serving Him, man comes
to know God, i.e. ma’rifah.
Broadly speaking, when we examine the concept

of Khalifah, we will find the word of Khalifah that has
been translated into English language as the vicegerent.
The vicegerent is the accurate word in English language to
describe man's relationship with God (Allah SWT). Vicegerent
means the “one who acts on behalf of a leader or the king”. So
first, the leader or the king tells somebody “I want you to act
on my behalf” – you do not take it upon yourself to act on the
behalf of the leader or the king. In other words, the vicegerent
is appointed by the leader or the king. Then the leader or the
king tells the vicegerent to carry out the leader or king’s will,
that is, the vicegerent is told what to do. He does not carry
out his own will, but must carry out the leader’s will. The
vicegerent himself has no power of his own, but as he carries
out the leader’s will, he is allowed to use some of the leader’s
power. Thus, the leader gives the vicegerent the use of his
power to carry out his will in the leader’s place.
Essentially, God is saying to man “I want you to act in

My Place, and I am going to give you some of My Power to be
able to do so.” Therefore, everything in man’s life from the
beginning of the universe, to his birth, to his final destiny
begins to come together in a perfect plan. At a hundred and
twenty days in the development of the human being in its
mother’s womb, God breathes into the foetus His Spirit, i.e.
the Ruh. So often in Islam, when vital facts are revealed, we
hardly ever fully comprehend their meaning. What does it
mean when it is said that God breathes into man His Spirit?
When we look into what that means, it appears that God
breathes certain qualities into Adam (peace be upon him) and
by extension, into every human being who are the children of
Adam and Eve. These qualities include some small number
of God’s Attributes in some small portion. God Who has His
Attributes expressed infinitely could not impart His Infinite
Attributes into a relative being, man. God imparts those
attributes into man in just a sufficient amount so that Adam,
and through Adam, all human beings could successfully
carry out his role as Khalifah of God.
Certainly, this fits really well into the overall scheme of

things and the pattern is continuing to develop. It logically
appears that the whole universe is created by God to lead
towards the final Creation of Adam. Man’s appointment by
God as Khalifah of God on Earth, the Supreme Authority, to
be His representative is truly the greatest of honours. God
places the human being at the apex of all creations even
above the angels who were commanded to submit to Adam
(peace be upon him). God says in the Qur’an:
And behold”, We said to the angels: ‘Bow down to Adam.’ And

they bowed down...
(Al-Qur’an, 2: 34)
Understandably, God empowered Man to be His Khalifah

on Earth, but he would not have honoured Adam (peace be
upon him) with that enormous role without bestowing on him
the qualities necessary with which to successfully fulfill the
responsibilities of that role.
Now, the question is: What are these qualities?
Man is Given “Material Gifts”
Man has been given all the material things which are
necessary to sustain, beautify, and refine life, as well as all
those attributes, powers, faculties, and opportunities which
are instrumental in bringing all life to a higher plane and
preparing human beings for their destined greatness. God
the Almighty says:
It is We who have placed you with authority on Earth, and

provided you therein with means for the fulfillment of your life.
(Al-Qur’an, 7: 10)
Man is Given Natural Disposition (Fitrah)
God has endowed man with fitrah, which means a natural

disposition towards goodness. Mankind is created with the
inborn intuitive ability to discern between right and wrong,
true and false, good and evil, and thus to sense God’s Existence
and Oneness. This is the “spiritual DNA” imprinted onto every
human being beginning before birth in the covenant at the
spiritual plane of “Azali”.
And so, set thy face steadfastly towards the (one ever-true) faith,
turning away from all that is false, in accordance with the natural
disposition (fitrah) which God has instilled into man: (for) not to
allow any change to corrupt what God has thus created – this is
(the purpose of the one) ever-true faith; but most people know
it not.
(Al-Qur’an, 30: 30)
Also, fitrah would mean that the ability of man to

instinctively recognise God as his Creator, and the need
to surrender to Him, is an integral part of human nature.
This is further supported by the hadith of Prophet Muhammad

(peace be upon him), as transmitted by Bukhari and Muslim:
Every child is born in a state of fitrah; it is only his parents that

is, the social environment and influences that later turn him into
a Jew, a Christian or a Magian.
Man is Given God-Like Attributes
God says:
Behold, your Lord said to the angels: ‘I will create a vicegerent

on Earth.’ They said: ‘Will you place therein one who will make
mischief and shed blood? While we do celebrate Your praises and
glorify Your holy (name)?’ He said: ‘I know what you know not.
(Al-Qur’an, 2: 30)
Human beings (through Adam, peace be upon him)

have been endowed with a certain measure of these God-like
qualities while God retains all His Attributes in infinite number
and magnitude. In order to be His Khalifah, God has granted
human beings some small degree of God-consciousness.
Because man has to execute his role on Earth which is a
physical material existence in the relative realm, God gives
man just the right number and portion of His Attributes
needed to fulfill his roles as His Khalifah. If God were to give
human beings too great a portion of His Attributes, this would
immediately destroy us because none but God can possess
such unlimited power. God the Almighty says:
And He fashioned him in due proportion, and breathed into him

of His Spirit. And He gave you (the faculties) of hearing and sight
and understanding...
(Al-Qur’an, 32: 9)
The explanation of this is that when God breathed into

Adam (peace be upon him) of His Spirit, He imparted to him
some small number of His infinite Divine Attributes in some
small portion, but sufficient to successfully fulfill his roles as
Khalifah of God — the Divine Attributes of life, consciousness,
free will, knowledge, love, mercy, power, etc.
Man is Given Knowledge
Knowledge is one of the special attributes that God imparted to

man (Adam, peace be upon him) immediately after his creation.
And He taught Adam the names (and nature) of all things...

(Al-Qur’an, 2: 31)
This means that God endows man with a unique ability

which has not been given to any other creature, i.e. the use
of symbolic language to assign names (symbols) to all things,
whether material or non-material. Man is then endowed
with the knowledge and ability to understand the meaning
of things. Also, this enables man to think in his mind, to
conceptualize, to communicate with himself and others, and
have inner dialogue and self-reflective consciousness. This
unique ability is called the “inner speech”.
Man is Given Free Will
The inner speech that God has given man allows him to
exercise free will, although only in a limited sense. Free will
is man’s ability to decide whether or not to act in accordance
with the Will of God. In other words, man is created by God to
worship and serve Him by fulfilling his roles as His Khalifah
on Earth by exercising the limited free will endowed upon
him and utilizing all the “gifts” bestowed upon him the gifts
of attributes, faculties, opportunities, power, knowledge, etc.,
all in the heavens and the Earth.
The Roles of Khalifah of God
As we have mentioned earlier, the purpose of God’s creation

of the physical universe is to place man as His Khalifah on
Earth and to carry out his responsibilities as His Vicegerent.
In other words, the whole purpose of the universe is to allow
God’s Khalifah to exist. Consequently, we can logically deduce
that the universe would not have been created if the role of
Khalifah had not been a very important part of God’s Grand
Cosmic Plan.
Islamic scholars have from the earliest days of Islam

concluded that the responsibilities of Khalifah are only three:
1. To perfect himself,
2. To perfect the society, and
3. To perfect the physical world of space and time
To restate it more simply, especially for children, the

three responsibilities of Khalifah of God are:
1. To make oneself good,
2. To help others become good, and
3. To make the physical world good, i.e. clean and

beautiful so that it is pleasing to God.
These three responsibilities actually cover absolutely

everything that a human being can do. And so everything a
human being is supposed to be doing as a Khalifah of God is
making goodness prevail – in himself, in the society, and in the
physical world. And that is the totality of man’s responsibility
in this life – until he enters the spiritual world in the next
life. Thus, we have as our total responsibility the obligation
to bring goodness to ourselves, to others, and to the physical
world. Allah the Almighty says:
Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do

good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbour,
the neighbour farther away, the companion at your side, the
traveller, and those whom your right hands possess. Indeed,
Allah does not like those who are self-deluding and boastful.
(Qur’an, 4: 36)
In Islam, we are told that there is to be no compulsion in

our faith (deen). Deen should not be interpreted in a narrow
sense; this statement does not only mean we must not force
anyone to become Muslim, but what it really means is that
in the totality of the Islamic way of life, there should be no
compulsion. Islam should be practiced by free will.
There shall be no coercion in matters of faith. Distinct has now

become the right way from [the way of] error...
(Qur’an, 2: 256)
This is exactly what being a Khalifah of God is about, that

although God could easily make us fulfill our responsibilities
as His Khalifah, He has chosen to let us use our free will
to fulfill those responsibilities. God tells us, and provides us
with guidance on, how we can be His Khalifah; but He wants
us to use the free will He has given us to choose to do so.
If it had been His (God’s) Will, He could indeed have guided you
all...
(Qur’an, 6: 149)
This (message) is no less than a reminder to all mankind – to

every one of you who wills to walk a straight way...
(Qur’an, 81: 27-28)
The truth has now come from your Lord: let, then, him who wills,
believe in it, and let him who wills, reject it...
(Qur’an, 18: 29)
Had Your Lord so willed, all those who live on Earth would surely
have believed, all of them. Do you then think that you could
compel mankind against their will to believe…?
(Qur’an, 10: 99)
Now it is correct that the concept and the role of Khalifah

is the whole purpose of the existence of human beings, the
universe and everything in it. On the Day of Judgment, we
will be judged essentially on how well we carried out our
roles as Khalifah of God. Understandably, however, there
is something wrong with our Ummah in that most Muslims
have virtually no understanding of their roles as the Khalifah
of God. Why is that so?
One of the possibilities is that Shaitan does not want

us to succeed in this world. Of course this is obvious. In this
case, Shaitan seems to have succeeded in blinding us to our
most important role in Creation as God’s Khalifah. Shaitan
has intervened in a way that he has allowed us to know that
we are God’s Khalifah on Earth, but at the same time he has
blinded us to Khalifah’s true meaning. How pleased Shaitan
would be if he succeeded in his effort to deceive man and
cause God’s Plan for His Creation to fail. We must all do our
utmost to thwart Shaitan’s efforts to stop us from successfully
fulfilling our roles as the Khalifah of God.
We need to seek God’s help in this. In His Mercy, God

tells us everything we need to know, but we have to truly
understand God’s message by delving deeply into the meaning
of the words God uses in His Message to us.
As we all know man’s highest merit is to worship the

One True God. As Allah the Almighty says:
And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.
(Al-Qur’an, 51: 56)
This worship is to be undertaken by man, however, not

merely as a creature among creatures, but as the Vicegerent
of God – as a fully-integrated being committed to a cosmic
mission. Specifically, he has to realize the principle of
integration at its highest, because God’s Personality enshrines
the Perfect Ideal of Integration, and man is His Vicegerent. As
such, man’s worship of God should be dynamic, consequential,
and comprehensive in nature; which means that worship of
God as His ‘Abd or servant should not be confined only to the
act of prayer but also to:
1. The development of his personality in all dimensions,

i.e. to make oneself good.
2. The development of a godly society in which human

beings can live in love, justice and wisdom, i.e. to
help others become good.
3. The unravelling of the mysteries of Nature for

establishing his status of Vicegerency and for
comprehending the Majesty and Glory of God, i.e.
to make the physical world good.
The First Responsibility as a Khalifah of God
The first responsibility of man as a Khalifah of God is to strive

to make himself perfect. In doing so he needs to appreciate
the following:
Man is created with two levels of existence; the

spiritual, which comprises SEM aspects that we
can call our soul/spirit; and the physical which
comprises the body and the brain, the most complex
form of life on Earth.
Man has also been endowed with a mind, which

serves as the link between the soul/spirit and
the physical body. The mind is the centre of
consciousness and is closely-linked to the brain.
While in its mothers’ womb, God connects the

developing child to a soul/spirit and breathes His
Spirit into the unborn child. The developing child
is connected to a soul/spirit which is pure but
unperfected. At this moment, the soul/nafs might
be considered to be in an immature state, needing
the experiences of the physical body to which it is
linked to bring it to maturity through life in the
material world. God connects the soul/nafs from
the spiritual/ absolute world to the physical/
relative world and links it through the mind to the
physical body of the foetus in the womb. The foetus
is a believer and is a complete human being at this
stage, which possesses a soul/spirit, a material
body, and a mind, although all are still in their early
developmental stage.
This new human being (insan) is then born into the

world in the state of fitrah and has to go through
various stages of Earthly life from infancy, puberty,
adulthood, and until old age with the ultimate goal
of returning to the spiritual world as a perfected,
fully-purified soul. The perfected soul by God’s
Mercy is rewarded with a new existence in Paradise
(Al-Jannah).
Man is given only one chance in this worldly life

to attain the ultimate goal of Paradise. God’s Plan
is that man must choose by the limited free will
he is endowed with, and all abilities, capabilities,
and resources bestowed on him to fulfill his role on
this Earth as God’s Khalifah. God has allotted man
only a temporary period of existence in this world to
strive towards that ultimate success.
From the beginning of the foetal stage, the material

world will be writing messages on the mind of the
unborn child, and thus the child’s personality begins
to be shaped. Once the child comes into the world,
and as he grows to maturity, countless influences

from the physical and social environment and also
from his own inner speech and perception would
interplay, filling the mind with countless messages
which mould the individual’s personality, character
and acts, which include all thoughts, words, and
deeds.
As intentions and thoughts precede actions, a

mind full of good and right Islamic intentions
and thoughts will lead to good and right Islamic
behaviour and thus the soul/spirit becomes more
pure. Conversely, a mind filled with bad unIslamic
intentions and thoughts will result in bad, wrong,
and unIslamic behaviours and thus the soul/nafs
will become corrupted.
The mind has to strive to progress towards

perfection and purity so as not to pollute or corrupt
the soul/nafs to which it is connected. The highest
achievement is for man to leave the world with a
perfectly pure soul/nafs so as to pass on to the
realm of the grave while waiting for the Day of
Judgement in a state of peace.
The soul/nafs begins to receive its recompense in

Justice at this phase of our existence, which is also
of limited duration. Life after the Day of Judgement
is the final phase and is eternal. The soul/nafs that
has been perfectly pure at the time of death almost
surely will enter Paradise (Al-Jannah).
On the other hand, if man is unsuccessful in

perfecting his soul/nafs in his worldly life, in that he
did not choose to do so, the soul attempts to return
to the spiritual world in an unperfected or corrupted
state. Such a blemished soul cannot be allowed
access to paradise and must go to Hell (Jahannam),
which is the final cleansing opportunity, to complete

the perfection and purification of the soul. This
purification process is carried out through the
various forms and degrees of punishment (‘adzaab)
as described in Al-Qur’an and Al-Hadith. Once the
soul/nafs is perfectly purified by its tormented
existence in Hell (Jahannam), by God’s Grace and
Mercy, the soul/nafs may then be admitted into
Paradise (Al-Jannah).
In perfecting ourselves, we must choose through

our free will and with all the faculties, abilities,
resources, and opportunities given to us by God
to transform ourselves into Muslims living in true
submission to the Will of God.
True submission to the Will of God is attained by having

the correct Islamic worldview as embodied in the Articles of
Faith or Iman. The Articles of Faith (Iman) consist of the Belief
in the Unity of God (Tawhid), His Angels, His Messengers,
His Books of Revelation, life after death, and predestination.
Our Islamic worldview must be manifested by good deeds
(amalsalih) which are clearly detailed in the Holy Quran and
the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). God,
in His Mercy, gives us the Deen of Islam as a way of life to guide
us in every aspect of our life. As mankind learns by example,
God further guides us by sending Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him) as a perfect model to demonstrate how Muslims
should live in Iman and Islam.
The Second Responsibility of a Khalifah of God
The second responsibility of a Khalifah of God is to strive

to make the human society perfect. This can be achieved
through:
Collective duty
Muslim community is therapeutic
The brotherhood of mankind
Collective Duty
It is our collective duty to transform all of human societies into

an Islamic society living in true submission to the Will of God.
Every individual in a Muslim community has a duty to strive to
make it “the best community – commanding the good, forbidding
evil, and believing in God”, as described in the Qur’an:
You are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what
is right and forbidding what is wrong, and believing in God...
(Al-Qur’an, 3: 110)
The Muslim Community is Therapeutic
For an Islamic society to be successful, progressive,

strong, and prosperous, its individual members must be
strong in faith (Iman), execute righteousness (amalsalih),
collectively be totally committed to truth and justice, and be
determined to remain steadfast to the Deen of God. For this
reason, the foundation of interaction and cooperation in an
Islamic Society has been laid down in the Qur’an itself as
shown in the following verses:
The believers, men and women are awliyya (meaning protectors,

patrons, helpers, supporters, friends) one of another: they
enjoins what ma’aruf (good, right, just and positive), forbid what
is munkar (evil, wrong, unjust and negative), they establish
regular prayers, practice regular charity and obey God and His
Messenger. On them will God pour His Mercy: for God is exalted
in Power, Wise.
(Al-Qur’an, 9: 71)
In another verse, He says:
Cooperate with one another on the basis of righteousness and

God Consciousness (Taqwa), and do not cooperate with one
another on the basis of sin and transgression (‘udwaan-exceeding
the limits of permissible behaviour set by God).
(Al-Qur’an, 5: 2)
The Qur’an also asserts that individuals can only prosper

if they, altogether, acquire knowledge and faith, if they do
good deeds and if they collectively encourage and promote
truth and steadfastness. If they do not, the Islamic society
will find itself in a state of loss and ruin.
I swear by the Time! Man is indeed in a state of loss except those

who attain to faith and do good deeds and enjoin upon one
another to uphold the truth and enjoin upon one another to be
steadfast.
(Al-Qur’an, 103: 1-3)
The Brotherhood of Mankind
The Muslim community has been described by our beloved

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as having mutual
support and compassion for all, and acting like “a single body
– when one part of which is afflicted, the other parts feel pain
and fever”. Every Muslim in the community acting as a true
Khalifah must be a positive influence, has sincere love and
concern for the well-being of all members of the community
– his immediate family, his relatives, the neighbourhood, the
wider community, his nation, and ultimately, the world at
large. Everyone is to strive to seek the common good as the
basis of fulfillling their obligations to God (Haquq Allah) and
to His servants, i.e all of humanity and creatures of God on
Earth (Haquq ‘Ibad).
The main purposes of the Muslim community are

essentially:
1. To establish the system of Islam (the Deen) for the

service of God:
This implies inviting people to all that is beneficial,

promoting and commanding all that is good, just, and
positive, and discouraging or forbidding all that is evil,
unjust, negative, ugly, and harmful to man. Specifically,
this involves such duties as:
Establishing Salat in the community,
Collecting and distributing zakat and looking

after the welfare of all members of the community
(especially the needy) and to finally create a just
global civilization.
Putting in place Islamic institutions that facilitate

the practice of Islam such as educational, social,
economic, and political institutions,
Applying the provisions of the Shari’ah so as to

preserve the limits set by God, and
Defending the community.
2. To protect the interests of all members of the

community, as to life, property, honour, intellect,
and true religion (Deen).
Of course, there are definite norms and guidelines

in the Shari’ah to determine how the interests of the
community are to be protected. The Shari’ah which is
the moral and legal code of Islam is based on the Quran
and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him).
An ideal Muslim community would have to be based on

the following prime values:
An Islamic worldview based on the Articles of Faith

or Arkan Al-Iman which incorporates:
¤ Submission to God alone, and
¤ Obedience to Prophet Muhammad (peace be

upon him),
Shura or mutual consultation,
Equality strengthened by brotherhood,
Commanding the good and forbidding evil,
Freedom governed by responsibility and discipline,
A Model Muslim Community - Medina under the

Prophet’s Leadership.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) established

for us a complete and comprehensive moral code for both
the individual and society to abide by, in all areas of life,i.e.
personal, social, economic, political, etc.
After the migration(Hijrah) of Prophet Muhammad (peace

be upon him) from Makkah to Medina, an Islamic community
was established based on Tawhid as its ideological foundation,
and man’s role as Khalifah of God on Earth as the operational
framework of the Muslim Ummah. The early Muslims in
Medina under the leadership of Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him) fulfillled to the utmost their duties as God’s
Khalifah. Through Jihad, by embodying the true spirit of
Taqwa and Iman, and as a community that invited people
to God, commanded all that is good and right and forbade
all evil and wrong, they transformed their society into the
best community living in true submission to the Will of God.
Steadily, as promised by God, they achieved success in

this world and the next. The Medinan Muslims were able to
spread their Khalifah (Vicegerency) to Makkah and the entire
Arabian Peninsula.
Finally, we have to appreciate the fact that no member of

the community, either Muslims or non-Muslims can be forced,
even to goodness. It is fruitless to do so because God rewards
good actions only if the intention behind the action is sincere.
The obligation of the Khalifah of God is to help, not to make
others to be good; but, it is each individual’s free will that
determines if they themselves choose to become good. Each
individual has personal responsibility and accountability for
himself.
God has created man as a social being to live not in

isolation but in communities, which in Islam, should be based
on fraternity, piety, tolerance, justice, wisdom, selflessness,
love, and beauty. Every Muslim family, that is the basic unit
of society, is responsible for providing the right Islamic home
for their children to grow up in, and the Muslim society as a
whole must ensure the right Islamic society for their children
to go out into.
The Third Responsibility of a Khalifah of God
The third responsibility is to strive to perfect the physical

world of space and time. This can be achieved through
acknowledging the following:
1. Man as a custodian of the Earth
Man as a bearer of God’s trust as His Khalifah has

certain responsibilities to carry out; which refers to
the trust (amanah) accepted by man to live in and
manage this world with justice and goodness, and
to fulfill all his natural rights and obligations, and
the rights for all creatures.
As a trustee of the Earth, he acts as the custodian of

the planet by looking after everything in it according
to God’s command as He looks after His Creation.
God’s Creation, including inanimate matters,
animals, and plants, has been made subject to our
power for us to use, but we must do so only within
the limits set by God.
We are not supposed to cause corruption in any

form on Earth whether to our fellow human beings,
to other living creatures, or to the environment.
2. Harmony in the physical world
To perfect the physical world of space and time is a

very noble responsibility bearing in mind that God
has put everything in the heavens and the Earth
at our disposal as a trust or amanah. This trust
requires man to live in harmony with the Will of the
Creator, in harmony with his own self and with the
needs of the rest of Creation, surely including his
fellow human beings. This includes all animals, all
plants, and the entire environment, both built and
natural. As a Khalifah of God, we fulfill this trust in
various ways, some of which are listed below:
¤ Maintaining a wholesome cleanliness and

promoting beautification of the environment;
¤ Protecting the ecological balance between

human, animal, and plants;
¤ Environmental preservation for sustainable

development, particularly preventing
deforestation, depletion of natural resources,
and pollution of land, sea, or air;
¤ Bringing about a safer world by promoting

peace, preventing war, and eliminating threats
to the survival of life and the physical world,
such as supporting the prohibition on nuclear,
chemical, and biological weapons.
But when it comes to the question of the progress and

the development of the physical world, we need to ask this
critical question: What does it mean to be a Khalifah for the
world? A Khalifah is the representative specially trained by
God to administer, manage, and develop the world that He
has created. When a Khalifah manages the Earth he ensures
that it remains safe and secure for God’s creations to live in.
At the same time, a Khalifah helps to develop the world for
the benefit of all its inhabitants.
This task is not an easy task. Certainly God has placed

on our shoulders a heavy responsibility as we stated earlier.
However, God has also blessed each and every human being
with a thinking faculty, a rational and intelligent mind that
enables man to think, plan, envision, and therefore choose to
act rightly. No other creation is endowed with such a complex
and capable mind as that of the human being. It is with our
intellect and ability to think that we can help develop and
safeguard all creations of God. However, if we relinquish this
responsibility and fail to fulfill our duty as Khalifah, surely
this Earth and its inhabitants will fall into chaos and disarray.
When we human beings stop thinking about others and

think only about ourselves, the world will suffer greatly. This
has been made clear when God said:
Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea by

[reason of] what the hands of people have earned so He may let
them taste part of [the consequence of] what they have done that
perhaps they will return [to righteousness]”
(Al-Qur’an, 30: 41)
As a community of faith, the Ummah of Prophet

Muhammad (peace be upon him) should always be the first
to push for development, progress and peace in this world
because we are the ones with conviction and we are the ones
equipped with the boundless knowledge of Al-Qur’an. Every
ayah or verse of this knowledge has been guided and crafted
by God. The greatest tragedy is when mankind becomes a
passive Ummah that could not care less about the state of
affairs in this world, an Ummah that fails to protect God’s
creations and properties, and an Ummah that degenerates,
refusing to progress or develop for the better.
Jihad
To successfully carry out the roles as God’s Khalifah on

Earth, man needs to do Jihad. Jihad has been erroneously
defined by the orientalists and non-Muslims as “holy war”.
In Islam there is no such thing as holy war. “Holy war” was
a term used by the Christians in their Crusades when they
waged war against the Muslims to capture Jerusalem from
their control. Jihad in Islam is, though, a special struggle,
is the holy struggle. However, we have to acknowledge that
there are two types of Jihad; the greater and lesser Jihad.
The lesser Jihad involves fighting in a war to establish the
Deen of God on Earth. When Jihad involves armed struggle,
it must be for the defence of the Muslim community in a just
war to protect even the non-Muslims from evil, oppression,
and tyranny. This lesser Jihad is always to be carried out

only as a last resort when no positive actions can bring about
the necessary result.
On the other hand, the greater Jihad is the struggle

in one’s own self (nafs) which is constantly being incited by
Shaitan to rebel against God, and urges one to digress from
the path of faith and obedience to God. This greater Jihad is
fought against the influence of Shaitan, on the battleground
of one’s mind. This is because the intentions and thoughts
which originate in the mind and through one’s exercise of free
will are translated into actions. Evil intentions and thoughts
lead to evil acts, and conversely good intentions and thoughts
result in good actions.
Jihad is the whole purpose of the physical creation and

it is exactly what all the responsibilities of Khalifah of God are
about – the struggle of good versus evil. In every instance, the
Khalifah of God is supposed to make good prevails over evil.
In every place and time in God’s creation, good must win over
evil. That is the holy struggle - Jihad - that the Khalifah of
God must undertake. God the Almighty says:
Those who believe (have iman), and who have forsaken the
domain of evil (done hijrah) and have striven hard (engaged in
Jihad) in God’s cause with their possessions and their lives have
the highest rank in the sight of God; and it is they who shall
triumph (in the end).”
(Al-Qur’an, 9: 20)
To engage in Jihad, the Khalifah of God must strive,

earnestly and consistently, throughout his life in the cause
of God by employing all his resources, opportunities, and
mental abilities, his personal effort, his material wealth, and
even his own life. In another relevant verse, He says:
Oh you who have attained to faith (have iman), shall I point out
to you a bargain that will save you from grievous suffering (in
this world and the life to come)? You are to believe in God and
His Apostle, and to strive hard (engage in Jihad) in God’s cause

with your possessions and your lives: this is for your own good
– if you but knew it! (If you do so,) He will forgive you your sins,
and in the life to come will admit you into goodness through
which running waters flow, and into goodly mansions in (those)
gardens of perpetual bliss: that (will be) the triumph supreme!
(Al-Qur’an, 61: 10-12)
Another relevant verse similarly reads:
Do you think you could enter Paradise without God testing if

you have striven hard (in His cause – done Jihad) and remained
patient.
(Al-Qur’an, 3: 142)
Jihad is an obligation on every Muslim until the end

of time. The Qur’an is full of counsels, commandments, and
inspiring words calling upon the Muslims to serve Islam
with their minds, bodies, and material wealth, to make the
greatest sacrifice, to be steadfast in perseverance, and most
supremely of all, to do all this only in the hope of gaining
God’s pleasure. God the Almighty says:
And strive in His cause (Jihad) as you ought to strive, (with

sincerity and under discipline); He has chosen you (to carry His
message), and has imposed no difficulties on you….has named
you Muslims (those who have surrendered themselves to God)…
and hold fast to God! He is your Protector, the best to protect and
the best to help!
(Al-Qur’an, 22: 78)
Both Islamic teachings and the laws governing the

physical existence tell us that no moment can ever be the
same as the one before, change is always taking place. Since
change always takes place from one moment to the next, this
means that at every moment we will be better or worse than
the moment before; but we can never be the same from one
moment to the next. Better in this case is defined as being
more in accord with the Will of God, and worse is defined
as being less in accord with the Will of God. At each new

moment we are either closer to God or closer to Shaitan. The
responsibility of every human being as Khalifah of God is
to be constantly making change in a positive direction, to
perfect ourselves, to perfect our society and to perfect our
world according to the Will of God. This is the greater Jihad
– to continuously make positive effort, putting in new energy,
striving to move closer to God, to earn His pleasure.
In psychology, the concept of social entropy (or

behavioural drift) refers to a situation where unless new energy
is infused into an individual or a society, that individual or
society will naturally drift towards disharmony, chaos, and
disorder. Thus Jihad is the positive energy or effort that must
be expended by a Muslim as an individual or collectively
as a community to prevent himself or his community from
degenerating into an un-Islamic existence.
How to Make Jihad Successful
Man can successfully achieve his goal in holy struggle, Jihad,

through his commitment to the following:
To command what is right and forbid what is wrong
To eliminate evil and make good prevail
To apply beautiful words and wisdom
To try to keep our hearts (qalb) spotless
To make use of our Inner Speech to repent (taubah)

Commanding What is Right and Forbidding

What is Wrong
To ensure that the holy struggle of Jihad succeeds, that good

always defeats evil, we have to always command the right and
forbid the wrong. This is particularly necessary in carrying out
the above mentioned three responsibilities as Khalifah of God.
In each of the three responsibilities as God’s Khalifah, when
an opportunity comes up in your life to choose between doing
the right thing or the wrong thing, you have an obligation to
command the right thing and forbid the wrong thing, thereby
ensuring your acts are in accordance with the Will of God.
For example, a teenage school boy was offered a cigarette

to smoke by a group of friends after school. He has an
opportunity to either accept it or refuse it. God has given the
boy free will, even to do what He would not want the boy to do.
So, to a good Khalifah of God, that moment calls for the holy
struggle of Jihad to be undertaken. God wants the good (not
smoking the cigarette) to prevail over the evil (smoking it). A
true Khalifah of God will command the right and forbid the
wrong to himself by using his inner speech to direct himself
to refuse the cigarette.
However, to effectively command the right and forbid the

wrong, Muslims must possess sufficient amount of taqwa.
Taqwa is broadly defined as “God fearing”, but of course
it means much more than that. Taqwa also means God
awareness, God consciousness,, guarding ourselves from
all evil, wrong, and injustice, and the positive doing of good.
Further, taqwa involves awareness or consciousness of God’s
pervasive oneness which results in the desire to mould one’s
existence in the light of this awareness or consciousness. Such
God consciousness positively motivates one to do every act of
righteousness, for God observes both ones inner motives and
one’s outward actions, and in His Grand Plan, everything will
have its due consequences. God the Almighty says:
O you who have attained faith! Remain conscious of God (Taqwa),

and let every human being look to what he sends ahead for the
morrow! And (once again): Remain conscious of God (Taqwa), for
God is fully aware of all that you do.
(Al-Qur’an, 59: 18)
In the Qur’an, the only criterion which makes a believing

man or woman truly superior to another is the level of his/
her Taqwa. God says:
Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of God is (he whois)
with the most Taqwa (i.e most conscious of God)...
(Al-Qur’an, 49: 13)
The question now is, how does a Khalifah of God achieve

high level of Taqwa? The answer to this question is:
Firstly, Taqwa can be increased as one gains a

greater and deeper level of the right knowledge.
Knowledge here refers to:
(a) Knowledge of God and His Attributes,
(b) Knowledge of the accountability and Divine

Judgment in the Hereafter,
(c) Knowledge and understanding of the two

Books; God has commanded us to read and
study, the Qur’an and His Physical Creation.
Secondly, Taqwa is also nurtured by worshipping

and serving God with “Ihsan”, that is as though one
sees God and if one cannot do so, know for certain
that He sees you.
Thirdly, Taqwa increases when one carries out

more and more good acts such as prayer, fasting,
contemplation, remembrance of God, gaining
knowledge of His revelation, and other acts that
mould our consciousness into a God-centred one.
Eliminating Evil and Making Good Prevail
Evil spreads profusely. The intrinsic characteristic of evil

is that evil has the power to promote itself, in most cases
inordinately. For example, many popular pop artists, male
and female singers today wield a frightening powerful
influence over youths throughout the world. Their lifestyle
of free sex, drugs and alcohol addiction, and undisciplined
lifestyle affects youths throughout the world. This hedonistic
way of life causes many young people to follow their pop idols.
The root cause of these problems is because young people are
easily influenced by the media that portrays the glamorous
life style of these pop stars.
This example depicts how powerfully and quickly evil

can spread. In the 1950’s in the U.S., using drugs was not
common although some drug abuse was present. However,
10 years later, drug abuse became so rampant that virtually
everyone you saw was taking drugs. This was due partly to the
influence of rock music, particularly the decadent music of
Beatles and the Rolling Stones and their endorsement of drug
use through their music and lifestyle in the 70s. Musician and
pop artists today portray even worse behaviours. As a result,
many youths throughout the world grew up participating in
evil things while influencing millions of other innocent youths
in very negative ways.
Whoever recommends and helps a good cause shall have a

share in its blessings; and whoever recommends and helps an
evil cause shall be answerable for his part in it; for, indeed, God
watches over everything.
(Al-Qur’an, 4: 85)
As evil is gradually eliminated, the good increases

progressively until it dominates society. In fact, enjoining
good and forbidding evil is what makes the Islamic society
different from any other. As the Quran observes,
You are indeed the best community that has ever been brought
forth for (the good of) mankind: You enjoin the doing of what is
right and forbid the doing of what is wrong, and you believe in
God.
(Al-Qur’an, 3: 110)
Blessed is He in whose hand is Dominion; and He has power over

all things: He who has created death as well as life, so that He
might put you to a test (and thus show) which of you is best in
conduct, and (make you realize that) He alone is almighty, truly
forgiving.
(Al-Qur’an, 67: 1-2)
In his Road to Mecca (2003),Muhammad Asad observes

that discovery of the ‘open road’ of Islam is urgently needed
in modern times because the Muslim world finds itself in
the throes of a cultural crisis which may affirm or deny,
for centuries to come, the validity of Islam as a practical
proposition.
He went on to argue that since
we are in the midst of a rapidly changing world, our society,

too, is subject to the same inexorable law of change Whether we
like it or not, a change there will be – it is, indeed, already being
enacted before our eyes: a fact as evident as it is pregnant with
tremendous possibilities for better or for worse. For better or for
worse: this phrase merits emphasis because we must not forget
that ‘change’ is but another word for ‘movement’ and, within a
social organism, movement can be creative or destructive.
Applying Beautiful Words and Wisdom
Islam teaches us that the way to be most successful and

effective is to command the right and forbid the wrong
with beautiful words and wisdom. Beautiful words do not
mean pretty words; it means words we like to hear, or more
generally things that are rewarding to us. Wisdom does not
merely mean wise words; it means commanding the right and
forbidding the evil in a way that will succeed and will achieve
the goal of goodness in accord with the Will of God.
Call thou (all mankind) unto thy Sustainer’s path with wisdom
and goodly exhortation, and argue with them in the most kindly
manner – for, behold, thy Sustainer knows best as to who strays
from His path, and best knows He as to who are the right-guided.
(Al-Qur’an, 16: 125)
So the key to carrying out the role as the Khalifah of God

is commanding the right and forbidding the wrong. God, in
His Mercy, has given us inner speech (which is the source of
our free will) as a tool by which we can command the right
and forbid the wrong successfully. With our inner speech we
can think of absolutely anything we want to, there is no limit
to what we can think of in any circumstance.
Now I will show you how to apply this powerful tool of

inner speech to be a successful Khalifah of God. You should
also teach your children this. Aside from assimilating the
concept of Khalifah deeply into our consciousness, we and
our children must understand the purpose of our existence
in this world, and how God has set up certain rules or laws
by which human beings learn and become who we are. These
laws are called the Laws of Learning.
Keeping our Hearts (Qalb) Spotless
There are basically two classes in everything (behaviour,

characteristics, actions, beliefs, etc.) – what God allows (Halal)
and what God does not allow (Haram). Every time someone
does something that is not allowed, a black spot appears on
his heart (qalb). The black spot increases in size if you persist
in doing that which is not allowed. A stained heart pollutes
the mind and the soul. Thus, if one allows himself to commit
evil actions continuously, he could end up with an impure
soul/nafs.
While the “heart” does not necessarily refer to the

physical organ in the chest, it may be somehow linked to the
physical heart. From the Islamic perspective, the heart is the
core of human being. There may be some connection between
the mind and the physical heart, and to a lesser degree, the
whole body. The key to the heart, the core of human beings,
can be understood as existing primarily in the spiritual/
emotional/mental SEM domain. Wherever the black spot is
written, whether the black spot is actually a literal spot or
only a metaphor which symbolizes impurity, the nature of the
black spot is “dirtiness” that exists in the core of the human
being - it should not be there. As one enters the world with a
spotless heart, a pure mind, and a pure but immature soul/
nafs, one should also leave the world (at death) with a spotless
heart, a pure mind, and a still pure, matured soul/spirit. It
is only then that one can deserve God’s Mercy of immediate
entry into Paradise.
If the heart has some flaw or dirtiness (or rust) that

has stained it in its life, then the human being’s soul/nafs
is no longer pure and one should not have the expectation of
immediate entry into Paradise. God the Almighty says:
No! Rather, the stain has covered their hearts of that which they
were earning.
(Al-Qur’an, 83: 14)
When a believer commits a sin, a dark spot appears on

his heart. If he persists in sin, the dark spot increases. This is
the spot that has been mentioned in the Qur’anic verse 83:14
This fact was supported by the hadith of Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him):
Truly, in the body there is a morsel of flesh which, if it be whole,

all the body is whole and which, if it be diseased, all of it is
diseased. Truly it is the heart (qalb).
(Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim)
Using the Inner Speech to Repent (Taubah)
Basically, we need to do two things to ensure the purity of

our soul/nafs. Ideally, we would never want a black spot to
stain and grow in our hearts as we want to keep our hearts
cleansed. But if the heart has become stained, we need to
have a way to cleanse it. God offers a way to do both of these
things. God has given us the tool of inner speech, which is the
ability to speak to ourselves. Using the inner speech, we will
get to know that there is a way to remove the black spots from
our hearts because God accepts repentance (taubah). It is
impossible to repent without using the inner speech. Animals
do not have the inner speech. But since animals never do
any wrong, they can never go against the Will of God, As
such, animals do not need to repent. An animal merely acts
according to the nature that God has placed within it. An
animal obeys the Will of God. God controls it externally by its
physical and social influences, and internally by its instinct.
Humans are intrinsically being endowed with free will by

God and He does not control us in the way that He controls
the animals. As such, we have the ability to do things that
will put black spots in our hearts, but God in His Mercy has
given us a way to get rid of them. Logically, you can see that
the only way we can go through the process of repentance
is by using our inner speech. Repentance entails being truly
remorseful for the wrong that you have done, asking God for
forgiveness, resolving sincerely not to repeat them.
Repentance in this form cleanses the heart, but

essentially most of the process of repentance must be done
through the use of inner speech. There are many examples in
the Qur’an and hadith of the Prophet...
And those who having done something to be ashamed of, or

wronged their own souls, remember God and pray for their sins
to be forgiven – for who except God can forgive sins! – and do
not knowingly persist in doing whatever wrong they have done.
These it is who shall have as their reward forgiveness from their

Lord …..
(Al-Qur’an, 3:135-136)
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, that God

the Almighty has said:
O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall
forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son
of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were
you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of
Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the
Earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me,
I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it.
(narrated by Al-Tirmidzi)
Internalizing the Role of Khalifah: Raising a

Khalifah from the Grassroots
When we truly accept our responsibilities as Khalifah of

God, and truly understand the tasks involved in those
responsibilities, then certainly we must start by raising our
children from the very beginning with the knowledge that
they are Khalifah of God and make them fully understand the
meaning of being a Khalifah of God. We should then give them
the scientific and objective knowledge about the existence of
God, the creation of the universe and God’s Grand Cosmic
Plan, plus a good understanding of what the world ideally
should be like – so that they will have the necessary knowledge
in their minds, and sufficient motivation and faith in their
hearts to keep them on the right path. This way, they will be
aware of the true purpose of their life and realize that nothing
will be able to divert them from that right path. Indeed, this is
the best way to raise good Muslim children. This is the first of
the three simple steps that parents need to take, consistently
every day, to ensure that their children would successfully
become good Khalifah of God.
Similarly, if we appreciate our responsibilities as Khalifah

of God, and fully understand (through the laws of learning)
the effects of the constant influx of influences upon us, we
can use our inner speech to minimize the negative effects on
our life as Muslims. It is this skill that we must teach our
children so that in the future, each generation will be better
in every positive characteristic than the generation before.
The specific weapon to employ in this Jihad fought in the
battlefield of the mind is the exercise of our free will through
the precious gift of inner speech that God has bestowed on us
as a great Mercy.
Indeed, if we want to internalize our roles as Khalifah

of God, we must be in continuous struggle against the evil
forces and be able to resist them. This will help us in raising
our children in a way which makes them feel great joy
whenever they are able to resist negative influences and not
feel ashamed if they are not in the main stream of the society.
They should feel honoured that they have, by the Mercy of
God, the ability to go against the crowd; or to resist from
being blown by the wind, which invariably blows in a negative
direction, which is towards Shaitan.
Similarly, we must develop high self-motivation and

experience as well as great self-esteem as Khalifah of God in
order to teach our children about their roles as Khalifah of God
from the time they are first able to think. This is to ensure that
by the time they go out into the adult world, where they will
face many bad influences; they will have already developed
consciousness to actively resist those bad influences, with
the Will of God. Their inner speech, God willing, will resonate
with
“I am built by God to be a resistor against evil.
God has created me to be one who resists evil.
(On Being the Khalifah of Allah)

God has given me the power to resist evil.
God has explained to me how to use that power to resist

evil.
Evil cannot make me do anything.
I serve only God.
I’m invulnerable; I have armour against all the evils in the

world.
I don’t have to fear Shaitan.
Shaitan cannot influence me because God has given me

the power, the knowledge, and the tools to resist any
amount of evil influence, Insya-Allah.”
Children who have reached this level of confidence will

become true and successful Khalifah of God.
Behold, he (Shaitan) has no power over those who have attained

faith and in their Sustainer place their total trust: he has power
only over those who are willing to follow him, and who [thus]
ascribe to him a share in God’s divinity.
(Al-Qur’an, 16: 99-100)
And if we do all that has been presented above as a right

Khalifah of God, it is most definitely possible to have a much
better world. Only God knows for sure whether or not we
will actually do what it takes to help bring about a better
world. But we can know for sure that a much better world
is possible because God gave us a symbolic language so that
we have free will, the ability to understand how the learning
process works, a good understanding of His Grand Cosmic
Plan, and all this places us at the centre of responsibility in
the successful completion of this Divine Plan. We must then
pass this knowledge on to all Muslims and say to them:
Now you have heard and understood this knowledge. Can you
possibly deny this is the way God has destined us to have a good
and right world?
No! Nobody can logically and reasonably deny the truth

of this knowledge. But this is not basically how we as an
Ummah today have seen Islam presented, although this
knowledge is consistent with the general understanding of
the great Muslim scholars of the past.
The 3 Simple Khalifah Steps
Basically, there are three steps that you need to take

consistently, every day, to ensure that your children would
successfully become good Khalifah of God who deeply in their
hearts, love everything that God has made right for us and
develop a profound dislike for everything that God has told
us is wrong.
Once you follow the following three simple steps, your

children could only grow up as good, loving Muslims, who
are attracted to all of Islam’s wonderful beliefs and practices,
and having a great disdain and dislike for all the un-Islamic
things that Shaitan likes and tries so hard to influence us to
like. They are as follows:
STEP 1: Teach your children about their roles as

Khalifah of God. Do this in a way that would let them
feel in their hearts how this is the most exciting,
glorious honour that they could ever receive. At
least several times every day, find different positive
ways to remind your children that they are Khalifah
of God.
STEP 2: At least several times every day find

different ways to reward your children (mainly with
warm and loving praise) for the good things they do
or the good characteristics they show.
STEP 3: Set firm, reasonable rules for your children,

and explain the reason for these rules.
In addition to the above steps, you could also:
Give children lots of positive reward (mainly warm

and loving praise) for the good things they do, good
characteristics they show, as well as for the bad
things they do not do and negative characteristics
they do not show.
Set firm, reasonable rules for your children and

explain to them good reasons for these rules.
Enforce these rules consistently with kind
discipline, which means without harshness, done
with beautiful words and wisdom so that they
will be most successful. This is the sunnah of our
beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Using Khalifah Model to Raise Children to

Become Resistant to Evil
Parents must teach their children from a very young age that
God has given them the power through their inner speech
to resist negative influences. Children are fond of saying, “I
couldn’t help it,” which is just not true. Of course they can
“help it” if they use their free will to do so. Parents must teach
their children how to use their inner speech as an armour
against those negative influences. Many children are also
fond of saying, “My friend got me to do it” when they are
caught doing something wrong. Parents should explain to
their children that God has given them free will and hence
they have personal responsibility and accountability, and
that their friend merely gave them an opportunity to use
their inner speech either to go along with or to resist that bad
influence.
Children need to understand that this is the nature of

their life. Parents must teach children as they grow up to
know that they have come into this world as pure (in a state
of fitrah) and throughout their lives they will have both good
and bad messages written into their consciousness. Children
must be taught to use their inner speech correctly; every
time there is a bad influence upon them, they must use their
inner speech to take away that bad influence’s power to harm
them, and every time there is a good influence coming in, they
must use their inner speech to increase the good influence’s
power so that they have greater strength of goodness. Anyone
who does this will become increasingly more resistant to evil
influence and more accepting to good influence.
If a child uses his/her inner speech correctly, as willed

by God, he/she would never get any black spots in his/ her
heart throughout the life. Therefore, the child would have
fulfilled the responsibility that God has given him/her –
which is to come into the world as a pure but immature soul/
nafs, keeping the soul/nafs pure as it matures during his/
her life in the physical world; and leaving this world at death
with a clean heart and a pure, matured soul/nafs; entering
Paradise by God’s Mercy on the Day of Judgement. Children
need to know that this is the true goal of their lives, and the
way to attain that goal is both simple and guaranteed.
Similarly, parents must get children motivated to view

their life in the way that has been described and to understand
that part of the purpose of being God’s Khalifah on Earth is
not just to be good but also to progress. A Muslim is not
supposed to remain at the same point in any aspect of his
being - physically, spiritually, or intellectually. Stagnation
results in a drift towards the negative, which is Shaitan. This
is due to the phenomenon of social entropy or behavioural
drift. You cannot drift towards greater goodness; you can only
drift towards evil. New energy has to be infused into the child
so that they will purposefully move towards all that is good
and positive, i.e. towards God.
In moving towards all things positive, one of the things

we are to achieve is the greater exercise of free will. The more
a child learns to use the knowledge of how to exercise their
free will, the better. They are happier to know that they have
this amazing ability, and the more joy they experience when
they actually use it, the more likely they will be (when the
time comes to combat bad social influences or harmful inner
speech) resistant to bad social influence or negative peer
pressure, Insya-Allah:
“I don’t care what my friends think.
I won’t let them influence me to do wrong things.
They are external influences.
But I have internal control over myself.
I make my decisions inside my mind based on what God

wants, not what my friends want.
I’m proud to do that.
I’m thankful that God has given me this power to do that.
God has shown me how to use that power,
And I’m going to use it... Insya-Allah!!!”
Today, we (and especially our children) are faced with an

avalanche of admittedly sometimes exciting and enticing bad
influences from the world around us. Compared to Western
movies, fast food, computer games, secular entertainment
and animalistic pleasures, Islam can (to those who have not
truly understood their role as Khalifah of God) be made to
seem somewhat unappealing. The truly meaningful things
in life like faith, doing good, gaining knowledge, learning Al-
Qur’an, developing good character, praying, fasting, keeping
up to Islamic values and loving God do not always have
enough attractive power to keep us and our children away
from the powerful, seductive pull and seduction of the “fun

and exciting” activities, products, and lifestyle of secular
materialist culture. Shaitan seems to be calling out to us:
“Come on, come on! Participate in all this (evil).
It is free, it is fun!
Don’t bother with all that Islamic nonsense.
Don’t worry about the future.
There’s no God.
There is no Judgment Day.
There is only this life here and now on this Earth.
If it feels good, do it.
Enjoy yourself!”
These are the influences going around in the world today

and they truly affect many of us, especially young people.
Unto him who cares for [no more than the enjoyment of] this
fleeting life We readily grant thereof as much as We please,[giving]
to whomever it is Our will [to give]; but in the end We consign him
to [the suffering of] hell; which he will have to endure disgraced
and disowned! But as for those who care for the [good of the]
life to come, and strive for it as it ought to be striven for, and
are [true] believers they are the ones whose striving finds favour
[with God]!
(Al-Qur’an, 17: 18-19)
If parents start teaching this to their children when they

are very young, they will grow up to be young Muslims who
are very resistant to the negative influences of the world.
They will also start changing the world by getting rid of the
negative influences that exist so that we will eventually live
in a world that has virtually no negative influences. In a right

Islamic society, it is beneficial to let some of the external
influences write messages in our consciousness because
they will be the right messages, but in a corrupt, secular
materialistic society like we have today, the external messages
will be overwhelmingly bad ones. Children must be taught to
understand that growing up good and helping to bring about
a right world is definitely possible – once they have a good
knowledge of God’s physical creation, logic and reason will
support that belief too.
Conclusion
Allah the Almighty had essentially created the entire universe

to assign man to take the role as His Vicegerent on Earth, i.e.
His Khalifah. These responsibilities of man as God’s Khalifah
on Earth encompass everything good, right, just, and positive
to transform individuals, families, communities, and the
whole world into fully and truly Islamic individuals, families,
and communities, i.e. a fully and truly Islamic world.
Islam, which God has perfected for us and given to us as

our way of life, is the perfect plan of social engineering. Rightly
understood and practiced Islam, which in its truest form is
enduringly kind, loving, and tolerant, is designed to create
the right human being, family, community, and ultimately to
create the right world. The individuals who make up a truly
Islamic family would create a unit that produces ever more
right individuals; and, ever more right Muslim individuals
would create ever more right families. A community of right
family units becomes an ever more right Muslim community,
and a world of right Muslim communities becomes a more right
Muslim world; and an ever more right Muslim world creates
ever more right individuals, families, and communities. This
is the beautiful simplicity of God’s plan for all human beings.
All Praise to God, how blessed we are! Therefore, we need to
start raising generations that truly believe this, who feel deep
in their hearts a burning desire to transform Islam and bring

it to the top in all aspects of human life. The love for God
flowing from their hearts should make them want to do only
that which pleases God. So they will pray, only for God, they
will study only to please Him, and they will achieve the best
because they are really proud to be His Khalifah.
As individuals, we must acknowledge that it is our sole

responsibility to pass as much of this knowledge as possible
on to our children. We must also give every member of the
Ummah a good and accurate understanding of the revealed
practices and beliefs of Islam as interpreted by the rightly-
guided early scholars combined with a good understanding
of that traditional Islamic knowledge based on supportive
modern scientific facts and logical reasoning. Moreover,
we must also try to give every member of the Ummah a
good understanding of the Laws of Learning by which all
human development takes place. If, as stated in the original
hypothesis, every person is given these two things in a way
they can truly understand, there will result in a natural and
inevitable movement, within the individuals and social groups
which make up the human society, towards all things good
and right, towards a world fully and truly in accord with the
Will of God.
CHAPTER FOUR
POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY – 3RD PRINCIPLE: ON BEING

THE VICEGERENT OF GOD IN THE UNIVERSE (ON BEING
THE KHALIFAH OF ALLAH)
4th Principle: Holistic Principles Of Human Behaviour And Laws Of 173
Learning
Introduction
This chapter on the application of Holistic Principle of

Behaviour and Laws of Learning to transform contemporary
society is mostly the work of the late Professor Muhammad
Al-Mahdi Jenkins before he converted to Islam. He started
his search for truth and completed the trilogy on the concept
of the Unified Theory of Existence after leaving the university
35 years ago. As a result of his research on that theory, he
converted to Islam.
Professor Jenkins’ deep research in Islamic theology

of the Unity of Being (tauhid) enhanced his idea of Positive
Islam. Later, he realised the beauty and the truth of the
Islamic concept of the Vicegerent of God in Islam, (the
Khalifah Concept). Since his demise in 2006, this work has
been continued by the co-author Dr. Abdul Aziz Azimullah. In
essence, this book is the continuation of the work of Professor
Al-Mahdi Jenkins by Dr. Abdul Aziz Azimullah, one of the
trustees of Khalifah Institute and the co-author of this book.
Human behaviour and human learning are extremely

complex phenomena. As we develop more knowledge on the
nature of the human self as well as the scientific discoveries
of the nature and the function of human brain, human will
have a better understanding of the holistic nature of human
behaviour and learning. The behavioural process that occurs
within human mind is complex. It combines input from the
cognitive, emotive, spiritual and other subtle interactions. The
totalities of these interactions have to include the spiritual
and intuitive aspects of being. This holistic interaction will
require more research and can lead us to a holistic concept
of human behaviour and human learning.
Basically, every learning process and experiences in our

life will have the requirements of: the person as a learner, the
social situation in the learning process, the experience that
a learner gets from the learning environment, the process of
transformation and the development of knowledge for self-

actualization.
In psychology, there are many theories that try to give

some answers to the nature of human learning. For us to
ultimately develop a comprehensive theory of human learning,
we have to learn about the intrinsic holistic nature of the
human self. If we can understand our holistic nature and a
way of life, consonant with our intrinsic nature (fitrah), then
we can then develop a holistic concept of human learning and
behaviour.
It is hoped that this 4th principle of Positive Islamic

Psychology will give us a clear understanding of the nature of
human behaviour through the psychology of learning and the
laws of human learning. This knowledge on the holistic and
integrative nature of human learning and behaviour focuses
on a very powerful ‘tool’ that provides a means to help solve
all of the world’s problems, and bring about a future of peace,
happiness, love and success. The first logical step is to devise
a plan by which the social problems facing humanity could
be solved and find a means by which that plan can be carried
out. There will not only be changes in the social structure
of the human race, but also changes in every individual.
These changes will affect the thoughts, words, and deeds of
every person on this planet. These changes will be brought
about by billions of people acting together. This is the basis
for the idea of the laws of learning which is elaborated in
this 4th principle of Positive Islamic Psychology. To transform
human behaviour we have to transform the belief system of
humanity. This includes the social, political and economic
ideas that are detrimental to the development of a holistic
contemporary society. To progress, therefore, we need to
have a new paradigm of new knowledge in our holistic laws of
learning and human behaviour.
Learning
It is this knowledge and these ideas which will change the

world, but this knowledge and these ideas are not mine. They
belong to everyone. Whether or not I speak of these words
and profess these truths, they exist as part of the heritage
of the human race. If we are to have a future, it will include
these ideas and this knowledge regardless of whether I speak
of these truths or not. There is a moment when these truths
will be first expressed, then fully assimilated. My words are
only one possible beginning to the full expression of these
truths.
People should fear the violence and wrong ideology but

not the revolution. By revolution, I refer to the overthrowing
of the existing conditions. I refer to a complete turnaround
from the present’s social insanity to a beautiful future of
peace, happiness and love. Revolution is change and change
is part of the natural order. And to overthrow the existing
conditions without the use of violence is the purpose of the
new worldview.
When this new knowledge spreads through human

society, those who understand will perceive our reality
differently. Many present beliefs and thoughts are so
detrimental to our individual progression and to the
progression of human society that they are regarded as
insane. Words and deeds which arise from these wrong beliefs
and thoughts cause great harm and suffering. The beliefs and
thoughts based on the new worldview will be beneficial to our
individual progression and also to the progression of human
society. This is the path to sanity. Words and deeds that arise
from these right beliefs and thoughts will allow great success
and happiness.
As we begin to give up those things that have been the

focus of human striving for thousands of years, the wealth,
the power, and the never ending quest for the pleasures of
the flesh, we may only do so because we must change or die.
This type of sacrifice often has been experienced in the lives
of individuals. When there is no alternative but to drastically

alter one’s life or die, perhaps for reasons of illness, most
people find the inner strength to successfully make those
changes. It is always a struggle, but it is usually won. It would
be much better if the human race had come to right beliefs
and right behaviours before reaching this critical point. We
could have but we didn’t. Part of the new worldview is to
objectively accept the reality of the present moment. It is no
use of feeling sorry for ourselves that we didn’t become better
sooner. We must face our reality and move forward from that
point.
Change through Directed Positive Influence
The death facing the human race is not so much of a threat

as an alternative. All actions have some outcomes. It is often
possible to predict beforehand what will be the probable
outcome of any actions. If we consider the overall behaviour
of human society at present as the action, we can predict very
reliably what the outcome will be. It will be the destruction of
human life, perhaps all life, on this planet. Once we realise
this, we must choose to change and live in harmony with the
natural order or accept the natural consequence of society’s
wrong actions. Indeed, I believe the threat of the extinction of
the human race would not be sufficient to save us because of
the weakness of negative control. The range and magnitude
of the social change that the human race must undergo to
survive the threat of extinction cannot be carried out and
maintained by negative control or force. The natural limit on
the use of negative influence to attain any goal means that
the human race cannot be forced to become good.
Most people would say that the use of force is the most
powerful means available to attain any desired goal. As it
is often the case in a society gone insane, most people are
wrong; that which is many times more powerful than the force
is called “Directed Positive Influence”. It could also be called
Learning
love. We are only beginning to realise the power of love as we

are beginning to realise the weakness of force and aggression.
On the other hand, negative influence, while not being

able to maintain long term positive change, could successfully
initiate short term change. I believe there is only one viable
way, through the power of love. With love, we could focus the
world’s attention on the problem and provide motivation to
seek a solution.
Harnessing People’s Power
Humanity has, throughout human history been notoriously

short-sighted when it comes to understanding the true nature
of the difficulties we are facing and accepting the necessary
solutions. There is unfortunately some chances that we will
once again do too little too late. Many governments are doing
a lot to be seen as attempting to provide solutions to the
world’s problems. But I don’t believe that the efforts of some
governments are sincere. Even those efforts that may be
sincere are still misguided. There is much more effort being
put forth to make people believe that the social problems are
being faced and solutions attempted that result in realistic
solutions to those problems.
While some lack of success in finding solutions to the

world’s problems can be attributed to a misunderstanding
of the nature of the problem, the major cause of the lack of
success is a refusal to do what is necessary to bring about
solutions. These governments refuse to act as they could do
to solve the world’s problems because the things that are the
causes of the world’s problems are often exactly the same
things that they desire and seek most. These things are
power and material wealth. Moreover, governments cannot
afford to do what is truly necessary to bring about an end to
the world’s problems because governments play such a major
part in causing these problems. If governments were to do
what must be done, they would in effect be bringing about

their own end.
It is correct that governments cannot refuse to do

something about the dire circumstances of human life. They
publicly make what appears to be real attempts to solve
these problems. The people are made to believe that their
governments are trying their hardest and doing all that can
be done. People are made to believe that the problems are
insurmountable, that they must be accepted. The problems
are attributed to human nature and to modern life. The
reality is that the world’s governments are doing little to
bring an end to these problems facing human society. Since
unless world society changes soon the human race is likely to
become extinct, it could be fairly said that the overall result
of the efforts of the world’s governments is presently doing
more harm than good. However, this does not mean that the
governments are to be blamed because they are institutions
of society, organised and run by members of the society.
Rather, we must accept the responsibility for the wrongs of our
governments even though there are very few people that have
any say in what the government executes. This is because
the masses of humanity have no power over government, who
holds the monopoly of all the power. The will of the people
cannot be resisted. Governments fail to do what must be done
to solve the problems facing humanity because the people
have yet to rightly exercise their will. As things stand, the will
of the people supports wrong government, wrong goals, and
wrong values.
Certainly there are many ordinary people in many

countries working to bring about our glorious future; but they
represent only a tiny fraction of the whole of contemporary
humanity. These right thinking people could not by any
means, at this point in human history, be said to represent
the will of the people. So we need more right thinking people
because the basic concept behind social changes through the
spread of a new, more correct holistic worldview. Once the
Learning
world society see the truth of this new reality more clearly and
have a common foundation to understand that reality, then
the will of the people shall have direction. The will of people
who hold this new worldview shall be more powerful through
Directed Positive Influence than the world’s governments
have ever been through the exercise of force. The will of a
good and right society which has come to the realisation that
the path of force and aggression must be forsaken and that
the path of peace and love embraced can bring about the
solution to all of the world’s problems.
The Keys to Knowledge and Truth
The Positive Islamic Psychology plan is to spread the knowledge

in this book to the 1.7 billion Muslims as well as other non-
Muslims around the globe. Of course, there are many reasons
which make the spread of this knowledge throughout the
world much easier than it may at first appear. Many of these
truths are already widely known and accepted. Many people
are searching for the truth. Many people are searching for an
answer to the varied problems facing human society. Many
people are dissatisfied with the present wrong worldview. If
we don’t almost immediately find a solution to the aspects of
the world’s social problems which threaten to bring an end
to life on this planet, we will have no future. The time has
come when this knowledge will naturally unfold as part of the
overall developmental process of material existence.
The knowledge of truth does not exist as separate from

the human society. This knowledge is part of the human
society. It is the nature of this knowledge to be the means of its
own dissemination. Truth is like a seed, which once planted
in the mind of an individual, germinates, spreading its roots
through the social body of the human race and flowering in
the collective consciousness of humanity.
What I mean by “the knowledge is the means of its own

dissemination” has to do with the way learning takes place.
I could describe this process briefly, but this particular part
of the model is so important that I would only feel right if I
went into great detail. It is the key. This is the knowledge
of the way we learn; but in this sense I am using the word
‘learn’ very broadly. When you hear all I have to say about
this area of knowledge you will see why that name would be
too narrow. Or perhaps it is a fair comment to say that the
present understanding of learning is too limited. Just as in
all other areas, the new worldview broadens the horizons, so
the doors to new vistas are opened to our understanding of
learning by this new knowledge. Much of the new worldview
so far has focused on physics, chemistry, cosmology, and
biology. Since all things are one and linked, there will certainly
be a connection, but generally what I would like to discuss
next would be called Positive Islamic Psychology. It is based
on the holistic transcendent principle of human learning and
behaviour.
As stated before, psychology is often defined as the

study of the mind, the study of human nature, or the study of
behaviour. Those definitions are quite inclusive and I find them
all acceptable, but I consider psychology to be “the study of
the relationship of consciousness with the physical universe”.
All words are but names we assign to various aspects of our
relationship with existence. Psychology happens to be a word
that covers a large segment of that relationship. It is this
particular knowledge that will allow free will to be manifested
to a degree that was never previously possible. Had we been
able to freely choose our future, we would not have chosen
the tortuous path which has led the human race to the brink
of destruction. No one who does not know their true nature
ever makes a free choice. Because we were unaware of the
true nature of the relationship between our consciousness
and the physical existence, we were susceptible to negative
influences. These unseen negative influences have determined
that we walk the wrong path.
Learning
The knowledge of this new psychology allows us to

understand the varied influences which affect our thinking,
our behaviour, and our overall development as unique
individuals. While the range of influences is virtually infinite,
they all fall into a small number of categories and all of these
influences act lawfully. In other words, the effects of these
varied influences upon our development can all be described
by a set of laws. However, I couldn’t say these laws are simple;
but many of them, although having been given unfamiliar
names, would be familiar when explained by example. Indeed,
by understanding several categories of influence and a set of
laws of learning, we can overcome all the problems of society.
I came from a staunchly atheistic behavioural psychology

background. I was a keen student of B. F. Skinner; in fact, I
was told that I was his protégé. As an atheist, I used to tell
my students in the university that if there is ever any human
being that can believe in God, I would be the last person on
Earth. It was only after I did further research on the nature
of consciousness and the laws of human learning that I
realised that we are not just a mere physical being. My earlier
background in nuclear physics supported by Einstein theory of
special relativity brought me closer to understanding the true
nature of this created universe. Later on, my understanding
on quantum physics brought me towards the belief in God.
We have elucidated the nature of God and the nature

of human self in the 1st and 2nd principles of this book
respectively. We found that of all the major religions, Islam
presents the most rational psychology for human nature
and existence. My reference to the laws of human learning
hence forth must always be related to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd
principles of this book.
There are basically three classes of influence that

determine all our learning and the development of our
individual personalities. First, we are influenced by the
physical environment. Second, we are influenced by other
people, i.e. social influence; and third, we are influenced by

our own inner speech. We will go into detail about these three
types of influence later.
Inner Speech
Inner speech means the internal communication with

our own consciousness. This includes thoughts, but is
much more comprehensive than that. It includes not only
thoughts, but feeling from the realm of our spiritual heart
(Qalb). Inner speech is all communication that originates
within the mind. We are not yet aware of the full range of
those communications. Some of the communications within
the mind take place beyond the perception of ordinary
waking consciousness. Future research needs to be done to
understand the communication at the level of the spiritual,
emotional and mental domain which I have elaborated in detail
in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd principles in this book. This provides a
framework for future Positive Islamic Psychologists as well as
other psychologists that believe in the transcendent nature of
our existence, to do further research and complete the task of
understanding the true nature of the human self.
The Nature of Consciousness and Inner Speech
Let us recap the second principle of the nature of the human

self. We understand that the human self consists of four
realms/domains, namely the spiritual (ruh), emotional-heart
(qalb), mental-mind (aqal) and the physical body (jasad).
These four domains constitute our real self (nafs) as we exist
in this physical world.
We can understand the interface of the SEMP (spiritual-

emotional-mental-physical) realms. We exist beyond space and
time when our inner speech develops from the unconscious
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realm. We will explain this nature of the inner speech later on

in the Positive Islamic Psychology (PIP) model.
Modern research in neurology points to the importance

of the limbic system and the brain stem in processing human
consciousness. All the neural and dendritic connections of
both the left and right brain are connected into the limbic
system and the brain stem which is the centre or the hub of
all our brain functions, both conscious and unconscious. We
can see that the limbic system/brain stem of the brain helps
to coordinate and process all our conscious and unconscious
inner speech.
Modern brain science is proving the truth of the nature

of the human self that is consonant with Islamic principles.
From the perspective of Positive Islamic Psychology we not
only have the five senses but also our senses beyond the
realm of time and space. The laws of learning must be holistic
to cater for all our nature; both physical and spiritual. The
totality of our life is a learning environment that is governed
by the laws of learning. If the laws of learning only cover the
five sensory physical aspects, it will not be complete and
cannot be the real holistic laws of human learning.
As we have better understanding of the quantum nature

of this universe we will begin to understand the existence
of the realm that is beyond our five physical faculties.
Our understanding of quantum mechanics is already
transforming our notions of relationships. Things and events
once conceived as separated/parted in both space and time,
are seen by the quantum theorists as so integrally linked that
their bonds mock the reality of both space and time. They
behave, instead, as multiple aspects of some larger whole
deriving both definition and their meaning from that whole
(Danah Zohar, 1990)
Quantum experiment on pairs of correlated photons has

proven the non-local influences of these photons’ behavioural
pattern. Even though they are separated across the universe,
they are eerily linked together across space and time. In
Islam, our relationship with the universe is not mechanical
but multi-dimensional. Our relationship with God is based
on the principles of tawhid, i.e. the Oneness of Being that
transcends all realms, time, space and all universes. Human
being was created for a purpose, which is to understand
and learn the nature of the Oneness of the Creator. We
are progressing towards understanding that this life in the
physical realm is both a learning process and experiences
towards self-perfection. We have a greater existence in the
eternal spiritual realm beyond space and time in the timeless
future.
In Islam, because we are created with the spiritual,

emotional, mental and physical domains, we are multi-
sensory beings capable of perception beyond the physical
visible realm. Our intention, behaviours, and actions at all
levels affect us in all realms of existence. Our personality and
behaviour are shaped by the learning environment in this
world. The choices that we make affect our progress towards
perfection in the eternal spiritual realm. Imprinted within
our nature are deeper questions of our existence such as, “Is
there purpose in life?”, “Does God exist?”, “Is there life after
death?”, as well as other critical questions of life. In Islam, we
are created as the Vicegerent of God on Earth (Khalifatullah fil
ard ) to experience and fulfill our life in answering the above
perennial questions.
By understanding the nature of our existence, we can

shape our spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical self
towards becoming loving, compassionate and wise human
beings by directing our inner speech in a positive way. By
aligning our holistic inner speech we will be able to understand
the subtle inner feelings and intuitions beyond our five senses.
When we align our inner speech from the negative aspects of
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anger, fear, hatred, vengeance, frustration, cynicism and so

on, we can cultivate our holistic personality to become more
loving and compassionate. In Islam, this is the journey of
life for every human being towards achieving perfection of
their existence (al-insanal kamil ) . We will elaborate the full
spectrum of this new knowledge of Positive Islamic Psychology
model in the coming chapters.
My experience in the universities as a behavioural

psychologist and my research with my mentor, Professor B. F.
Skinner, the father of behavioural psychology leads to many
paths. I can see the beauty of behavioural psychology with
animal experiments on the nature of learning. I also begin to
realise the limitation of behavioural psychology with regards
to human behaviour and learning. I will elaborate some of my
research in behavioural psychology that can be a basis for
integration in transcendent holistic psychology.
Nature of Animal and Human Learning
Let me give you an example of my experiment in the university

that has caused me to see these principles of learning in a
different light; I taught my pet chicken to turn a full circle
to the right while standing on one leg It sounds like a very
difficult task. Although it was the first time I ever tried to
teach a chicken anything, it was extremely easy, taking only
about ten minutes. I was astounded. I had never so clearly
seen learning take place before. Most people wouldn’t have
the slightest idea how to begin teaching a chicken but I simply
put the principles of learning I had read into practice. It was
during those ten minutes, while I was teaching that chicken,
when I came to realise what an incredibly powerful tool these
principles of learning are.
Imagine that we can teach an animal within ten minutes

a set of complex tasks. Human learning will be far more
powerful. I realised that with these laws of learning there was
no goal which could not be reached. The holistic integration

of the human self will affect our learning capability as well
as our behaviour. Human being operates beyond the animal
level with our free will that affects our inner speech. We are
interacting both within the realm of consciousness and the
infinite realm of the unconscious.
Types of Learning: Conditioning
I will start by describing the simplest kind of learning.

Sometimes instead of using the word ‘learning’ I’ll use the
word ‘conditioning’. They mean just about the same thing
but in some situations one term seems to fit better than the
other. Something that really amazed me when I came across
these principles of learning is that they have been known
for less than one hundred years. People have been learning
by them and using them to teach others for as long as there
have been human beings, but only during this century did we
come to realise that learning took place according to specific
laws just like all other aspects of material existence. I think
all that exist are sacred; but, I don’t believe there is anything
that should be considered beyond study.
The fact that learning takes place according to certain

laws was first discovered accidentally while medical
experiments were being conducted. Scientists were trying to
find out how salivation takes place when they were working
with a dog and had a mechanism that blew meat powder into
a dog’s mouth so they could determine how much saliva the
dog produced with different amounts of meat powder. They
found something they weren’t expecting; sometimes the dog
would begin to salivate before there was any meat powder in
its mouth.
Since they were scientists they decided to look carefully

at how their experiment was set up in hopes of finding some
logical reason for this unexpected happening. What they
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noticed was that one of their team, whose job was to feed the
meat powder to the dog, always entered the room wearing a
white lab coat immediately before the experiment began. They
realised that the dog would begin to salivate as soon as it saw
this lab assistant in the white coat. That’s the scientific way
of thinking. If you come across anything that is unexplained
you ask “why”.
At first, they thought it was because the dog had come

to know the lab assistant that caused the salivation to occur.
They tested this idea by checking to see if the dog salivated
when other people entered the room. No salivation occurred,
so they thought they might have come up with the solution.
Those others who entered the room were not wearing white
coats. It turned out that the dog would salivate when anyone
wearing a white lab coat entered the room. They discovered
that it was the white lab coat and not the person that caused
the dog to salivate.
I could almost imagine that seeing a person the dog

knew and liked might bring about some salivation; but it
seems extremely unlikely that there would be anything about
a white lab coat that would cause a dog to salivate. To those
who understand learning today; the reason is obvious, but
at that time the scientists were probably mystified. And the
white lab coat caused the dog to salivate because he had been
conditioned to salivate when it saw someone enter the room
wearing a white lab coat. This means the dog had learned
to salivate when he saw someone wearing a white lab coat.
We’ll start by considering the original experiment. Meat
powder was placed in the dog’s mouth and the dog salivated.
Each time the dog received a certain amount of meat powder
it would produce, on the average, some certain number of
drops of saliva. Here I’ll have to introduce several words that
describe different parts of this process. Actually, they are both
scientific and common, and they mean pretty much the same
thing in both contexts. When they are used in the scientific
sense though, their meaning is more specific.
There are three words; “stimulus”, “response”, and

“reflex”. Actually, I should probably also define the word
“elicit”. A stimulus is something that brings about action. In
the example we have been talking about, the meat powder
is the stimulus. The word “elicit” means to bring something
about, to cause something to happen. The stimulus, meat
powder, elicits or brings about salivation, which in this case
is the response. A response is a reaction to or result from a
stimulus. The stimulus elicits a response which in this case
is a way of saying the meat powder causes salivation to take
place. This whole process is called a “reflex”. When a dog gets
food in its mouth, it salivates. A reflex is a fixed relationship
between a stimulus and a response where the stimulus elicits
the response.
Reflexes work the same way in people. Candy in the

mouth of a child will cause salivation. There are quite a few
reflexes. Some are obvious and some take place inside our
bodies which we aren’t aware of. When a doctor taps your
knee in the right place with a little hammer your leg will jerk.
That is an example of a common reflex. All reflexes are natural
responses that are elicited by stimuli in the environment. That
is the way people and animals are made. Certain things which
happen to our bodies bring about certain natural responses.
That is the way our muscles, nerves, and brains are organised.
Even single celled animals have natural reflexive responses to
certain stimuli; and they don’t even have brains in the usual
sense of the word.
The dog did not learn to salivate when it had meat powder
in its mouth, it did that naturally. Neither the stimulus nor the
response was learned, they were not conditioned. The natural
stimulus could then be called the unconditioned stimulus
because it was unlearned, and the natural response could be
called the unconditioned response because it was unlearned.
The unconditioned stimulus, meat powder, naturally elicited
the unconditioned response, salivation. In the case of this
experiment, shortly before the dog was given the unconditioned
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stimulus, meat powder, it saw someone wearing a white lab

coat. What is believed to have happened is that by being
associated with the unconditioned stimulus, meat powder, the
person in a white lab coat became a stimulus that could elicit
salivation almost like the meat powder did. The dog learned,
or was conditioned, to respond to the stimulus of a person in
a white lab coat in much the same way it had responded to
the meat powder. In such a situation, the person in a white
lab coat would be called a conditioned stimulus because it
was learned. When the conditioned stimulus, the person in a
white lab coat, elicits salivation, the salivation is now called a
conditioned response because it was learned.
The dog might salivate somewhat less because of the lab

assistant than it would to the meat powder; but that’s not the
reason the response have different names. Salivation brought
about by the meat powder is natural or unconditioned, and
salivation brought about by the white coated lab assistant
is learned or conditioned. The dog would always salivate
when it has meat powder in its mouth, but it won’t always
salivate when it sees someone in a white lab coat. Seeing
the lab assistant in the white coat originally had no effect
on the dog’s salivation; in such a situation the white coated
lab assistant could be called a neutral stimulus since no
salivation response was initially elicited. As it turns out, if the
lab assistant had entered the room after the meat powder was
placed in the dog’s mouth, rather than immediately before, the
dog would never have been conditioned to salivate when it saw
the white coated lab assistant. In such a circumstance, the
white coated person would never have become a conditioned
stimulus which could elicit the response of salivation. The
critical factor in this type of learning experience is the pairing
of the natural unconditioned stimulus, the meat powder, and
the previously neutral stimulus, the white lab coat. For this
type of learning to take place, the dog had to see the white
lab coat just prior to getting the meat powder. In this type of
learning situation, you begin with a naturally occurring reflex
action, where a certain stimulus regularly elicits a certain
response. A neutral stimulus can then be chosen and must

be presented just before the unconditioned stimulus occurs.
When this is done, the previously neutral stimulus will take
on the characteristics of the natural unconditioned stimulus
and will elicit a similar response.
Actually, one of the first thoughts those scientists had

when they discovered this new type of learning was to use
a very different kind of stimulus. They chose to use a bell.
In this situation, the relationship between the meat powder
and the salivation response remained the same, but now the
experiment was arranged so that a mechanical device would
put the meat powder in the dog’s mouth with nobody in the
room. This time, the neutral stimulus that was presented just
before the meat powder was a bell. After only a few pairings
of the meat powder and the bell, the conditioning began to
take effect, and the dog began to salivate when the bell was
sounded without any meat powder, but the bell wasn’t nearly
as effective at eliciting salivation as the meat powder was. As
I said, after only a few pairings of the meat powder and the
bell, the dog began to salivate when the bell sounded alone.
And when the bell sounded, the dog began to salivate later
and produced much less saliva than was elicited by the meat
powder.
Most learning takes place gradually through a series

of small steps. After a few pairings of the bell and the meat
powder, the learning process has only just begun. After quite
a few pairings of the bell and the meat powder, the salivation
response would have been fully conditioned. The bell stimulus
alone would then elicit a salivation response almost as fast
as the natural stimulus, meat powder, and there would be
almost as many drops of saliva.
While natural reflexes remain in effect forever, the

conditioned reflex will fade out over time. Each time the bell
is sounded without being paired with the meat powder, the
salivation response will fade to some degree. This process
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when conditioning loses its effects is called extinction.

Extinction in this case refers to the decrease in the power
of conditioning which takes place when the conditioned
stimulus, the bell, is repeated without being paired with the
natural unconditioned stimulus, the meat powder. It should
be noted that the strength of the conditioned stimulus
decrease gradually during extinction. Each time the bell is
sounded without the meat powder, it will take a little longer
for salivation to begin and there will be fewer drops of saliva.
After the bell has been sounded quite a few times, without
being paired with the meat powder, sounding the bell will no
longer elicit the salivation response.
Classical Conditioning
When you present a neutral stimulus shortly before some

other stimulus, the unconditioned stimulus, which already
has the ability to bring about a certain response, and this
previously neutral stimulus, when presented alone, takes on
the ability to elicit essentially that same response, classical
conditioning has taken place. Classical conditioning works
also the same way for all animals and human beings. The
more highly developed the level of consciousness, the more
complex are the circumstances of the conditioning process.
At the human level, the holistic analysis is much more
sophisticated and wide ranging than in any animal, therefore,
many more factors are included in the classical conditioning
process.
There is a situation that sometimes occurs with young

children that is very similar to the circumstances during the
salivation experiment with the dog when classical conditioning
was first discovered. This involves the situation where a young
child is first taken to a doctor, perhaps to receive a painful
treatment. The doctor might be wearing a white coat and be
a friendly person whom the child likes at first meeting. While
the doctor is treating the child the child experiences pain
because of the treatment. The child responds to the painful

stimulus by crying and trying to get away from the doctor,
which is a common way in which young children respond to
things that cause them pain.
Now, suppose a few months later the child goes to another

doctor, as soon as this doctor appears wearing a white coat
the child cries and tries to run away from the doctor. This time
the child is responding to the white coat in the same way the
pain had been responded to. The white coat was originally a
neutral stimulus having no particular effect on the child. The
pain was originally an unconditioned stimulus, a stimulus
that naturally elicits crying and running away. When the
white coat was paired with the pain, the white coat took on the
ability of the pain to bring about crying and running away. The
white coat became a conditioned stimulus which would elicit
crying and running away on its own. Since the avoidance of
harm is a survival tactic that has been incorporated into the
genetic make-up of human beings, our brains are structured
to learn anything that can aid us to avoid pain. The earlier we
can recognise a situation that might cause us harm, the more
effectively we can avoid that harm. When the child first saw
a doctor in a white coat, the white coat would have no special
significance to the holistic analysis taking place in the child’s
brain. The child would respond to the doctor as to any other
stranger.
After being caused pain while being treated by the

doctor, the information about the circumstances of the pain
was stored in the child’s memory. The next time, when the
child went to another doctor, the child perceiving the white
coat matched this perception with the stored information
regarding similar circumstances. The holistic analysis no
longer considered the white coat to be a neutral stimulus but
now understands the white coat as a cue that harm might be
coming. The holistic analysis, which as part of its function
advises action to avoid harm, indicates that crying and
running away is the appropriate response to the situation.
Learning
The holistic analysis is one of the functions of

consciousness; it is an aspect of mind, but it is not all
that mind is. At the human level the holistic analysis has
both conscious and unconscious aspects. The lower the
level of consciousness, the more the holistic analysis is an
unconscious process. The higher the level of consciousness,
the more the holistic analysis is a conscious process. At the
level of perfected consciousness, the holistic analysis is done
with complete awareness.
Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning, while not a very familiar term, is

very commonly practiced in everyday life. Most of operant
conditioning involves what we commonly call “reward and
punishment”. Operant conditioning is a scientific way of
looking at how that which follows a response affects that
response in the future. To explain in a simple manner, if any
response is followed by a reward, that response will tend to
increase in the future; and, if any response is followed by
punishment, that response will tend to decrease in the future.
These laws of learning are always logical, but they can also be
quite complex. There is much more to operant conditioning
than the very simple descriptions of reward and punishment.
There is no aspect of our lives not touched by these laws of
learning. We must know these laws of learning to perfectly
manifest our great potential for free will. There is so much to
know about these laws of learning I almost don’t know where
to begin. This discussion will need many new terms defined,
and examples given of these laws in practice. Luckily, since all
knowledge is linked and all truth interconnected, all the varied
aspects of operant conditioning will fall into place and allow a
comprehensive understanding of the whole beyond the scope
of my explanations. Perhaps I could start by explaining how
operant conditioning is different from classical conditioning
– I could also tell you how they are the same, but I will save
that for later.
The main difference between classical conditioning and

operant conditioning is in the order in which the stimulus and
the response occur. In classical conditioning, the controlling
stimulus occurs before the response. We say the stimulus
elicits the response. In the example given, the dog really has
no choice but to salivate when it has meat powder placed in its
mouth. The stimulus of the meat powder very directly causes
the salivation to occur. It is an involuntary response. After
the dog is conditioned to salivate to the previously neutral
stimulus of the bell, it has very little choice in that situation
either. In that case, the salivation brought about by the bell
is also involuntary.
In classical conditioning, it could be said that the

stimulus controls the response. What happens in operant
conditioning is quite different. There is both a stimulus
and a response involved in this type of learning but they
occur in a different sequence than in classical conditioning.
Importantly, the stimulus has a different relationship with
the response; it influences rather than controls. The response
which is involved in operant conditioning is also very different
in that it is voluntary, rather than involuntary as in classical
conditioning.
In operant learning, the influencing stimulus comes after

the response. The response, which is voluntary, is followed by
a stimulus. Also, the nature of the stimulus which follows the
response has an influence on the occurrence of that response
in the future. The influence of the stimulus might result in
more responses, less responses, or changed responses in
the future. Operant means ‘to operate upon’. It refers to the
fact that all responses operate upon the environment. The
change in the environment brought about by a response
becomes the stimulus. All responses affect some change
in the environment, and these changes in the environment
will have some effects on the nature of the response in the
future. That is why this type of learning is called operant
conditioning. Operant conditioning is a description of the
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relationship between responses and the changes which follow

those responses.
“Environment” is one of the most inclusive words in our

language. It has been used to describe all surrounding things,
conditions, and influences. That definition is how I mean the
word environment to be understood, with the exception of
one word which I must remove.
I would have to take out the word “surrounding”. The

usual understanding of environment, as indicated by the word
surrounding, implies that the environment is everything which
is external. It says the environment is that which surrounds
me or that which surrounds you. I say my environment
includes me and your environment includes you. I define the
environment as all things, conditions, and influences. Later,
it will become clear how this misunderstanding of the true
nature of the environment has restricted the potential of
personal development.
Those definitions of ‘stimulus’ and ‘response’ fit particularly

well with the way stimulus and response occur in classical
conditioning, but those definitions I gave were general. They
apply to stimulus and response in a much broader context
than just classical conditioning. More generally, saying that
a stimulus brings about a reaction means that it is perceived.
Anything that can be perceived is a stimulus. A response
is a reaction to a stimulus. A perception is a reaction to a
stimulus. A perception is a form of response. Every response
is a stimulus, and every stimulus is a response. This is the
nature of physical existence. Existence in the material plane
is a sea of causality. Each action is affected by some stimulus;
and each action, as soon as it occurs, becomes a stimulus that
will provoke further action. Actually, each stimulus brings
about innumerable responses and each response serves as
innumerable stimuli.
Reward and Punishment
Reward is often referred to as reinforcement. In some

circumstances the word ‘reinforcement’ is more appropriate
than reward. Reinforcement always increases the probability
that a response will occur in the future given similar
circumstances. Punishment always decreases the probability
that a response will occur in the future given similar
circumstances. Reward increases responding, punishment
decreases responding. As we discuss operant conditioning,
many of the examples I will be giving will be about the
learning experiences of animals. The basic principles will be
identical. Despite the fact that the principles are identical,
the applications are made much more complex due to the
high level of human consciousness.
Reinforcement and Learning
Now, let’s describe a very simple example of learning through

reinforcement. If a rat enters one of these learning chambers
for the first time, it will wander around and explore its
new surroundings. This is a natural behaviour with rats.
Somewhat humanising the rat’s motivation, you could say it
is inquisitive. It might take several minutes, but eventually
the rat will press the lever during its exploration. The action
of pressing the lever is the response to be conditioned by
operant means. If immediately after the rat presses the lever
it is given, or you might say rewarded with, a food pellet, it
will soon spend all its time in the cage pressing the lever, at
least as long as it is hungry. This would be the simplest type
of reinforcement possible. In this example, the response is
lever pressing and reinforcing stimulus is food. Each time
the rat presses the lever it is immediately given a food pellet.
As I described operant conditioning, it is concerned with how
the events which follow a response affect the nature of that
response in the future. In this example of reinforcement, each
response of lever pressing is followed by the presentation of
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the positive stimulus, food. Being given food after each lever
press increases the amount of lever pressing that the rat
engages in.
The holistic analysis is a critical factor in the degree

to which free will can be expressed at all levels of material
development. The holistic analysis is a dynamic process, it
is always undergoing change. Any form of material existence
is constantly receiving many stimuli from the environment.
If the particular material form is a rat, as in the example
we have been discussing, the holistic analysis takes place
mainly in the brain. There are many stimuli reaching the rat.
These stimuli are received by the rat’s sensory nerves and
transmitted to the brain. The brain interprets these sensory
inputs and matches them with appropriate memory storage.
This interaction between perception, interpretation, and
the stored information of memory results in an evaluation
of all these factors in relation to the general conditions and
circumstances of the rat. This process is best thought of as a
holistic analysis.
In addition to perception, interpretation, and memory,

which are the crucial factors at the animal level, self-reflective
consciousness is included at the human level. Self-reflective
consciousness allows a much greater range of variables to
be considered by the holistic analysis which takes place in
the human brain. This self-reflective consciousness becomes,
in effect, another source of environmental influence. The
effect of self-reflective consciousness is the third factor of
environmental influence, inner speech. That is why self-
reflective consciousness provides a new source of stimuli
which are perceived, interpreted, and matched against
previously stored information during the holistic analysis, in
just the same manner as the external stimuli.
It is for exactly that reason, the complexity and

sophistication of the holistic analysis determine the degree to
which free will can be manifested. Plants, molecules, atoms,
and subatomic particles all have holistic analysis as one of

their natural characteristics. The brain is not necessary to the
process of holistic analysis. The holistic analysis takes place
within each level of material existence in whatever is the most
appropriate structure of that particular form. In humans and
most animals, the brain is the focus of conscious activity and
therefore, is the most appropriate site for holistic analysis to
take place.
Holistic analysis at the human level includes those

three functions; perception, interpretation, and storage of
information. In addition, at the human level, self-reflective
consciousness becomes a new and critical factor in the holistic
analysis. At the animal level, holistic analysis, while including
perception, interpretation, and information storage, does not
include fully expressed self-reflective consciousness. This is
not to say that the precursors of self-reflective consciousness
do not exist at the animal level and are not involved in the
holistic analysis. In the levels of physical existence below
the animal, perception, interpretation, and storage of
information are less fully expressed, to varying degrees, than
at the animal level. This is not to say that the precursors
of perception, interpretation, and information storage do not
exist at all those lower levels, be they plant, molecule, atom,
or subatomic particle; and, that they are all involved in the
process of holistic analysis.
Even an electron uses holistic analysis to react

appropriately to the simple sources of environmental
influence which it can perceive. However, range of perception
is so limited and its range of appropriate action so restricted
that it expresses virtually no free will. On the other hand,
the human level, the range of perception is so wide and the
range of appropriate action so broad that the degree of free
will expressed surpasses for the first time the influence of
external causes. At both the animal and human level, the laws
of learning describe the relationship between the conscious,
living organism and the environmental influences. It should
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be remembered that holistic analysis is a conceptual tool

to aid understanding, and not a thing in itself. The concept
of holistic analysis was neglected in the early theories of
learning. This omission resulted in an inability to realise the
full potential of the application of these learning principles
to the happiness of to the betterment of society, and to the
progression of the human species.
In the simple example of reinforcement we were

discussing, it is necessary to have some idea of the holistic
analysis to know whether the learning process will be
successful. If you intend to reward a rat with food for
pressing a lever, you must know whether or not the holistic
analysis would consider the food worth working for. If the rat
is not hungry, food would not be desirable – in other words,
food could not be considered as a positive stimulus in that
situation. A positive stimulus is something which is desired,
and a negative stimulus is something which is to be avoided.
A negative stimulus is usually called “aversive”.
A neutral stimulus would be one that is neither desired

nor avoided. It would be possible that if someone had just
overeaten to the point of feeling sick, food could even become
an aversive stimulus. Whether a stimulus is positive, neutral
or aversive, is not determined by the stimulus itself, but by
whoever perceives the stimulus. It is the holistic analysis
which determines whether a stimulus is positive, neutral,
or aversive. It is usually fairly easy to determine what will
be considered a positive or negative stimulus by an animal
because their holistic analysis does not include self-reflective
consciousness. With human beings, it sometimes becomes
extremely difficult to judge what might be considered a positive
or aversive stimulus. It seems that some people would desire
what the vast majority find most aversive; and some would
be repulsed by what the vast majority find most attractive.
These seeming discrepancies are due to the compelling and
largely unrestricted influence of self-reflective consciousness
on the human holistic analysis.
Of course, you can never know for sure without presenting

the stimulus after the response and looking at the effect on
that response. Practically, though, it is possible to know
through two general means. First, there are many stimuli
that are almost invariably perceived as positive or aversive.
The other way to know, before conditioning, the positive or
aversive character of the stimulus is to be aware of the past
circumstances of the animal or person you are working with.
Virtually, any rat who had not eaten for a whole day would
consider food to be a very positive stimulus. By knowing the
past circumstances, it is possible to predict quite accurately
what the internal condition will be and to know the likely
outcome of the holistic analysis. It should be noted, however,
that reward and punishment are not determined by what type
of stimulus is involved, but are defined by their affect on the
responses they follow. Regardless of whether the stimulus
is positive or aversive, reinforcement always increases the
probability of the response occurring in the future; and
punishment, regardless of whether the stimulus is positive
or aversive, always decreases the probability of the response
occurring in the future.
Types of Operant Conditioning
There are basically four types of operant conditioning, two

of reinforcement and two of punishment. Reinforcement can
involve either a positive or negative stimulus; and punishment
can involve either a positive or negative stimulus. The most
familiar type of reinforcement involves a positive stimulus
occurring after the response; and the most familiar type of
punishment involves a negative stimulus occurring after the
response. When a response is followed by a positive stimulus,
that response tends to increase in the future. If we do anything
that gets us something we want, we are more likely to do that
thing again in the future. When a response is followed by
an aversive stimulus, that response tends to decrease in the
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future. When we do anything that brings us something we do

not like, we are less likely to do that thing again in the future.
Reinforcement which involves a positive stimulus is called

“positive reinforcement”; hence reinforcement that involves a
“negative stimulus” is called negative reinforcement. Negative
reinforcement occurs when the response removes an already
present aversive stimulus. When a response removes an
aversive stimulus, that response tends to increase in the
future. If we do anything that stops something we don’t like,
we are more likely to do that thing again in the future.
Punishment that involves a negative stimulus has no

special name, but it could be called presentation punishment
since a negative stimulus is presented after the response. This
would allow punishment that involves a positive stimulus to
quite logically be called “withdrawal punishment”. Withdrawal
punishment occurs when the response removes an already
present positive stimulus. When a response removes a positive
stimulus, that response tends to decrease in the future. If we
do anything that stops something we like, we are less likely
to do that thing again in the future.
Most of the complex types of operant conditioning are

variations and combinations of those four simple relationships
between some response and a positive or aversive stimulus.
Reinforcement always increases the response being
conditioned. Reinforcement can occur with either a positive
or a negative stimulus. In positive reinforcement, the
response is always followed by a positive stimulus. In negative
reinforcement, the response always removes an already
existing negative stimulus. No matter whether a positive or
negative stimulus is involved, reinforcement always results in
an increase in the likelihood of the response being conditioned
occurring in the future.
Punishment always decreases the response being

conditioned. Punishment can occur with either a positive or
negative stimulus. In presentation punishment, the response

is always followed by a negative stimulus. In withdrawal
punishment, the response always removes an already
existing positive stimulus. Regardless of whether a positive or
negative stimulus is involved, punishment always results in
a decrease in the likelihood of the response being conditioned
occurring in the future. There is a very good word which
describes that relationship. The word is ‘contingent’, which
refers to a dependent relationship. In the example of positive
reinforcement, where the rat was conditioned to press the
lever by receiving a food pellet each time it pressed the lever,
you could say that receiving the food pellet was contingent
on the response of pressing the lever. Getting a food pellet
depended on pressing the lever.
In negative reinforcement, the removal of the aversive

stimulus is contingent on, or depends on some certain
response. In presentation punishment, the occurrence of the
aversive stimulus is contingent on some certain response.
And in withdrawal punishment, the removal of the positive
stimulus is contingent on some certain response. It is quite
a useful word for describing these learning situations. When
these conditioning procedures are set up, it could be said that
you arrange the contingencies. You arrange the dependent
relationships in which various stimuli will follow certain
responses. By setting up these contingent relationships you
can determine which responses will be conditioned and what
effect that conditioning will have on the responses.
Operant conditioning can be used to influence not only

the probability of a response occurring in the future, but it can
also influence how often the response occurs. The influence
of reinforcement results in higher rates of responding and the
influence of punishment results in lower rates of responding.
In these experimental situations, this response rate provides
a good simple measure of the effectiveness of the conditioning
process.
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Now, let’s continue to answer questions about holistic

analysis as if it were a human thought process by giving
an example of positive reinforcement in human learning.
If a young child was lonely at night and its mother was in
another room, the child might cry. If this situation had never
happened before, the child would not know that its mother
would come in because of the crying. Right after the child
begins crying, its mother comes into the room. Crying is the
response that is followed by the mother’s entry into the room.
The mother’s presence is a positive stimulus. In the future,
the child would be more likely to cry when it wants its mother.
This would indicate that not only desirable behaviour can be
increased by reinforcement, but undesirable behaviour can
also be increased by reinforcement.
Now, let us give an example of presentation punishment

in human learning. A very young child sees a lit candle for the
first time. The child has never been burnt by fire or told that
fire can burn. The child is attracted to the pretty, coloured,
dancing flame. The child reaches out and touches the flame,
immediately experiencing pain and pulling its hand from the
flame. The response was touching the flame with the hand.
The following aversive stimulus was the pain from the burn.
This experience results in a decreased probability in future
circumstances that the child would emit the response of
reaching out and touching a flame. It is good that the child
learned to be careful around fire. It was not good that the
child was burnt. It would have been better if the child could
have come to the realisation of the danger of fire by inner
conscious processes rather than by forceful external means.
At the human level, it is free will that must prevail

over external control. Severe pain is an external influence
which overcomes free will and imposes control by force. The
imposition of will by force is the definition of evil. While good
can come from evil, at the human level when force is used
to control behaviour any good outcome is outweighed in the
long term by the evil outcome. There can be no future but a
positive future. For example, there was a family with several

young children who tended to get excessively noisy while they
were watching cartoons on television. The parents obtained
a noise measuring device which could be hooked up to the
television in such a way that when the noise reached a certain
level it would turn the television off. The children made noise
as usual and the noise meter turned off the television. The
response is making a loud noise, and the positive stimulus,
which is removed contingent on the response, is the cartoon
show on television. After the television had been turned off
a few times when the children were excessively noisy, the
children quit making excessive noise while watching television.
Environmental Conditions and Goal Setting
People need no longer have their lives and abilities

arbitrarily determined by contingencies in the environment
that they were neither aware of nor had any control over.
A person who truly understood these principles of learning
could exercise control over their own destiny.
We could set our goals, determine which experiences

we must undergo to achieve those goals, and organise the
environmental conditions so that we will undergo those
experiences which would influence our developmental
progression towards our goals. What a beautiful future it
would be. We could be as we choose to be. Sometimes I think
it was that moment of insight into the true nature of the
learning process which allowed my consciousness to expand,
thereby allowing me to see all knowledge as a whole. I saw the
unified nature of all that exists. After that experience, I could
never again view the world from the traditional perspective.
The new worldview became my perception of reality.
It was possibly the single most important moment in

my life. I had always loved learning, knowledge, and truth;
but this new insight into the ultimate reality was almost like
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a rebirth. At first, it was sometimes difficult to handle this

new knowledge. As I suddenly saw the laws of learning so
intimately and inextricably bound to every instant of my life
the veil of ignorance and self-deception fell away. The honesty
was almost too much. It took me some time to adjust to a
world without illusion. Never once, even at the most difficult
moment, did I ever regret gaining this new understanding or
becoming a new person. There is no better way I could describe
the change I underwent. It was a moment of transformation.
It was the great increase in free will. I suddenly became aware
of and responsible for my every thought, word, and deed in a
way that had never before been possible.
As we discuss these learning principles I try to let

the knowledge unfold in a natural order. Each new bit of
information will contain seeds of further truths. During the
learning process it is important that any response being
conditioned be followed immediately by some change that
will be noticed. If the lapse of time between the response
and the following stimulus was even one second long the
chances of the response being effectively conditioned may
be significantly decreased. The longer the period between
the response and the following stimulus, the less obvious
the relationship between the two becomes. In many learning
situations it isn’t possible to follow the response immediately
with the reinforcing stimulus.
It should be noted, however, that all primary reinforcers

directly satisfy physiological needs. Other primary stimuli
include; food, water, air, physical pleasure, or pain are all
primary stimuli. A primary stimulus can be either positive or
negative. A secondary stimulus gains its reinforcing quality by
being paired with a primary stimulus. If the primary stimulus
is being used as a reinforcer, then the secondary stimulus
gains reinforcing properties; and if the primary stimulus is
being used as a punisher then the secondary stimulus gains
punishing properties.
In operant conditioning of all kinds, there must be

immediate feedback after the response. It is the result of
the response which must be known for conditioning to be
effective. The feedback received as to what changes come
about after the response is referred to as the stimulus. During
the process of reinforcement, the stimulus may be positive,
and be brought about by the response; or the stimulus might
be negative, and be removed by the response. In both of those
learning situations, positive and negative reinforcement, it
is important that feedback be given immediately after the
response. Additionally, during the process of punishment,
the stimulus may be negative, and be brought about by the
response; or the stimulus may be positive, and be removed
by the response. In both of those learning situations,
presentation and withdrawal punishment, it is also important
that feedback be given immediately after the response.
Secondary stimuli can, and sometimes must, be used

in all different forms of conditioning. Only for a short while,
until it became clear during the holistic analysis that the
secondary stimulus no longer served as a cue that the
primary stimulus was forthcoming. The relationship between
the secondary stimulus and the primary stimulus in operant
conditioning is very similar to the relationship between the
conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus in
classical conditioning. In other words, they are virtually
identical. In classical conditioning, the conditioned stimulus
is a previously neutral stimulus which gains its ability to affect
the response by being paired with an unconditioned stimulus
which naturally elicited that response. Both the conditioned
stimulus of classical conditioning and the secondary
stimulus of operant conditioning begin to lose their ability
to affect the response when they are no longer paired with
the unconditioned stimulus or primary stimulus respectively.
The unconditioned stimulus is a primary stimulus. Both the
conditioned stimulus and the secondary stimulus gain their
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ability to affect the response by being seen in the holistic

analysis as cues which allow accurate predictions about future
happenings to be made more quickly. It seems that way but
all of the apparent differences refer only to the relationship of
the particular stimulus with a certain response. There is no
essential difference in the stimuli; all differences are in the
way the stimuli are perceived.
Now, we have discussed unconditioned stimuli,

conditioned stimuli, positive stimuli, negative stimuli,
primary stimuli, secondary stimuli, aversive stimuli, neutral
stimuli, reinforcing stimuli, and punishing stimuli. The only
difference between all these various types of stimuli lies in
their relationship with certain responses. In other words,
the difference between those stimuli could be expressed
in terms of how those various stimuli are perceived. In the
right conditions, any one stimulus, such as food, could fulfill
the function of any of those seemingly different stimuli.
Nevertheless, there are more types of stimuli than those we
have already discussed.
Shaping Process
Since there are so many linked responses which make up the

chain, the best way to know which responses to reinforce is to
apply another new concept, called “shaping”. All conditioning
has certain basic characteristics. There is the behaviour
as it occurs before the conditioning, and there is a goal for
behaviour after conditioning. In the example where I trained my
chicken called Aphrodite, the behaviour before conditioning
consisted of standing in the experimental learning chamber,
occasionally scratching and looking around. The goal
behaviour was standing on one leg and turning a full circle to
the right. The steps in the conditioning process resulting in
the change from standing and looking around to turning full
circles on one leg are called the “shaping process”.
Shaping could be defined as successive approximations

towards the goal behaviour which are conditioned through a
series of small steps. The behaviour before conditioning began
could be called “the base” or “baseline condition”. The baseline
is where all conditioning procedures must begin.During
my experiment, before I started reinforcing any response,
Aphrodite was just standing and looking around. This would
be called her “baseline behaviour”. It was the starting point
for the conditioning process.
You cannot condition responses that are not occurring.

The baseline behaviours are the only responses available to
conditioning; at least, before shaping has taken place. As
behaviour changes when shaped through conditioning, the new
responses being emitted become available to the conditioning
procedures. Since the goal behaviour was turning a full circle
to the right, I looked at Aphrodite’s baseline behaviour to see
which was closest to the goal behaviour. The only thing she
was doing that was part of the goal behaviour was occasionally
turning her head to the right. It isn’t important how close to
the goal behaviour the first response you reinforce is. What is
important is that out of all the baseline responses going on,
that the one being reinforced is a response in the direction of
the goal behaviour.
For learning to be as fast and efficient as possible, it

should always be clear when progress is being made towards
the goal. Each time I reinforced a head turning response from
my pet chicken Aphrodite, I made sure it was farther to the
right than the previous reinforced response. Each reinforced
response was a closer approximation of the goal behaviour.
The sequence of reinforced responses was - standing on one
leg; the first head turn to the right; head turns increasingly
further to the right; head and neck turns to the right; head,
neck, and body turns to the right; head, neck, body, and
hopping on one leg to the right; and finally turning full circles
to the right. The final approximation reinforced is the goal
behaviour, the last link in the chain. Understanding the
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shaping process must be very important if you want to learn

anything or teach anything. Similarly, the more clearly shaping
is understood, the faster and more efficient the learning and
teaching which takes place. I taught my pet chicken all the
above learnt behaviour in just ten minutes. Imagine what we
can achieve by teaching a child using these laws of learning.
The Importance of Laws of Learning
It will take a much better understanding of the laws of

learning than the simple examples of conditioning that we
have discussed so far to provide an effective tool for world
social change. Knowledge isn’t nearly as useful when it cannot
be explained simply. Knowledge belongs to everyone and
shouldn’t be made inaccessible by being incomprehensible.
We could all benefit from having a larger vocabulary. The more
words you know, the more ideas you can communicate, and
the more things you can understand. I must say that the laws
of learning have become an important part of my life. I think
about them all the time, and I really enjoy talking about them.
That is why I use them to evaluate my every thought, word,
and deed. My goal is to become perfect in every way. I want
my every thought, word, and deed to be directed towards that
goal. Every thought, word, and deed is a response which is
subject to the conditioning influences from the environment.
I want to make sure that the effect of conditioning on my
every response is in the direction of perfection. If I was not
aware of the laws of learning, I might not even be aware when
the effects of conditioning were shaping my thoughts, words,
and deeds in the opposite direction from my desired goal. By
understanding the principles of learning, I am able to control
my own destiny. I am then truly able to exercise my free will
as ordained by God.
Operant conditioning does not just occur by planning.

Our every interaction with the environment is subject to the
influences of the conditioning process. Operant conditioning
is a natural part of our lives. Usually, the stimulus following

a response is brought about by that response, but there
are occasionally situations when the stimulus following a
response is totally unrelated to that response. Every response
is influenced by the stimulus which occurs immediately after
it. The holistic analysis looks for the relationship in time and
contiguity, between the response and the following stimulus;
it doesn’t look for the cause. The effect is the same whether
the stimulus is brought about by the response or if the
occurrence of the stimulus after the response was accidental.
While it is acceptable to call this particular relationship

between a response and the following stimulus “accidental
conditioning”, it is usually called “superstitious learning”,
because it is that accidental relationship between response
and the following stimuli which reinforce superstitious beliefs.
For instance, suppose someone had heard that a black cat
crossing their path was bad luck, and right after a black
cat crossed their path they returned home and found their
house was on fire. There is no real connection between the
black cat and the fire; but because the stimulus – the house
on fire, occurred right after the response – the cat crossing
their path, the holistic analysis would assign some weight
to that relationship between the response and the following
stimulus. It would increase that person’s belief that a black
cat crossing their path meant bad luck.
A belief is a response. It is a mental response. There

are basically three kinds of responses – mental, verbal, and
physical responses in our everyday physical life. However,
our inner speech operates beyond the realm of the physical
world. We are interconnected to the universe and the Divine
that operates in all realms of existence both conscious and
unconscious. Our holistic nature allows us to understand
this interconnectedness to the universe and our Creator. At
this level of understanding, we become a multisensory being
capable of understanding the true nature of our existence and
the nature of this universe. This is the innate human intuitive
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self that is somehow not nurtured in this contemporary

materialistic human civilization.
Accidental conditioning is an example of holistic analysis

being misled. This happens because holistic analysis, while
being very logical, is also very trusting. It accepts information
at face value. Holistic analysis which takes place other
than at the human level has good reason to be trusting. All
material existence from the simplest form to the most highly
developed animal live in a harmonious relationship with
the natural order. The natural order very seldom misleads.
The natural order is essentially logical and truthful. Holistic
analysis involves dealing with logical and truthful information.
However, human species does not live in a harmonious
relationship with the natural order. Human beings are not
always logical and truthful. Holistic analysis at the human
level, having developed to deal with logic and truth, finds
it sometimes difficult to cope with information that is not
logical or truthful. As such, discriminative stimulus provides
information as to whether or not a response is likely to be
reinforced. It could also provide information as to whether
or not a response is likely to be punished. Discriminative
stimuli give cues which allow the contingencies operating in
the conditioning process to be known.
The Limits of Our Behaviour
Much of our behaviour, both mental and physical, occur

below the level of conscious awareness. Every response is
preceded by some stimulus, and every response is followed
by some stimulus. Any preceding stimulus may serve as a
discriminative stimulus, and any following stimulus may serve
as a reinforcing or punishing stimulus. Whether a stimulus
is discriminative, reinforcing, or punishing is determined by
the function it fulfills in those particular circumstances. It
is often the case that a single stimulus may function as a
discriminative stimulus and a reinforcing stimulus at the
same time. All behaviours are actually chains of responses.

In these chains, each response is followed by some stimulus,
perhaps a reinforcer. After that reinforcing of stimulus,
another response occurs. In relation to the first response, the
stimulus following it functioned as a reinforcing stimulus. In
relation to the second response, the stimulus that preceded it
functioned as a discriminative stimulus. The stimulus which
followed the first response and preceded the second response
was the same stimulus.
I will give an example that will illustrate the chaining

of responses, and where the stimuli perform discriminative
and reinforcing functions at the same time. There would be
many more responses in the chain that I could include so
I will simplify the links in the chain. Suppose a man was
going for a drive in his car. First, he walks up to the car,
reaches out, and opens the door. He would not reach out to
open the door until he was beside the car. The car door being
within reach serves as a cue, a discriminative stimulus that
the response of reaching out is likely to be reinforced. The
responses which open the door are rewarded, or reinforced,
by the door opening. The open door serves as a cue to move
into the car and sit down. The responses of moving into the
car and sitting down are rewarded by being in the car, ready
to drive. Sitting in the driver’s seat serves as a cue for turning
on the ignition.
Turning on the ignition is reinforced by the car starting.

The car starting serves as a cue to put the car in gear. Putting
the car in gear is rewarded by the car being ready to move
forward. The car being ready to move forward is a cue for
pushing on the accelerator pedal. Pushing on the accelerator
pedal is rewarded by the car moving forward. The car moving
forward is a cue for turning the steering wheel. I won’t go any
further with this example, but you can see the sequential
links in the chain. Each of the cues also serves as a reinforcer,
and each reinforcer also serves as a cue, a discriminative
stimulus. It is undoubtedly through the conditioning process
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that every one of those responses came to occur. It sounds

overly simplistic when put into words, but the reason people
emit the responses which open doors is because behaving
that way results in open doors. If door opening responses
didn’t open doors, no one would perform those behaviours.
It’s surprising with such a direct relationship between that
response and its resulting rewarding or punishing stimulus
that the nature of the conditioning process goes largely
unrealised. This is simply due to the incredible ignorance of
learning principles throughout human society.
The average person wouldn’t be aware of even one per

cent of the conditioning which shapes their lives. What we
have no awareness of, we have little control over. Because
of our blindness to the learning process, our destinies are
governed mainly by unseen, or at least unrealised, influences.
When our minds are opened by the knowledge of learning
principles, we shall determine our own destinies through
the exercise of free will. We shall guide our development
through self-directed inner influence. There is little difference
between the three. If there is any real difference, it would
be in the degree of significance that the discriminative
stimulus has in the conditioning process. A good example
of differential reinforcement that occurs naturally during
human development would be of an infant learning to pick
up objects. When the infant, perhaps a baby girl, makes the
first attempts in her life to pick up an object she wouldn’t
be very successful. She would see the object she desired to
grasp, but as she reached for it her hand would wave around,
almost aimlessly.
All the arm movements could be considered attempts

to grasp the object, but the holistic analysis has not yet
learned to relate certain muscular movements to particular
positions of the arm and hand. With a young infant, we
describe this lack of ability as being “uncoordinated”. Many
factors enter into all stages in our development. Within the
limits of physical ability, conditioning determines the degree
to which any characteristic is manifested. In the case of the

baby in this example, she does have the physical ability to
grasp and pick up an object; but she has had virtually no
training in the use of that ability. She would learn to use
her natural ability through differential reinforcement. Of
all the possible movements of the arm and hand, only one
particular set would be reinforced. The only responses being
reinforced would be the ones that got the hand to the object.
You could say those responses were differently rewarded.
Since no other movements of the arm and hand would get
the hand to the object so it could be picked up, no other set
of muscular movements would be followed by reinforcement.
The sequence of movements that got the hand to the object
would increase in the future, and those which did not get the
hand to the object would decrease.
It takes many reinforced reaching responses to become

proficient at picking up objects. This process of differential
reinforcement, when successful responses are rewarded and
unsuccessful responses are not rewarded, is the way that
co-ordination is learned. Remember that the holistic analysis
consists of perception, and comparison with previously
stored information. A very young infant, no matter how well
perception works, will not be able to interpret those perceptions
very well and will have very little stored information to make
comparisons with. For instance, the baby girl in our example
may perceive some object that because of its nature, perhaps
it is shiny, attracts her attention.
There may be so little stored information available to the

holistic analysis that it is not possible to know what the object
is, or exactly how to get it. Without ever previously realising
that objects can often be reached by arm and hand movements,
there would still have been past experiences when moving the
arm around has brought the hand in contact with objects that
have had some reinforcing value. This would have occurred to
some degree even before birth. Holistic analysis wouldn’t be
certain there was a relationship between hand movements and
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being able to touch objects, but some hint of that relationship,

even if unconscious, would exist. Holistic analysis may advise
waving an arm around when the desire to pick up or touch
some object occurs. As this arm waving occurs, there are more
perceptions and interpretations taking place.
The infant can see the spatial relationships between the

hand movements and the desired object. Eventually the hand
touches and grasps the object. At the moment that happens,
the responses which brought the hand to the object are
reinforced. Those responses become more likely to occur in
the future. Holistic analysis now has more information to use
in advising appropriate behaviour next time the infant desires
to pick up some object. This additional information contains
visual cues and memory of muscular positions. Each time the
infant successfully picks up some object, the holistic analysis
becomes more able to advise appropriate behaviour in the
future. As this conditioning process takes place through
differential reinforcement, the infant slowly changes from an
uncoordinated baby to a coordinated young child.
Those visual cues about relative hand and object position

do function as discriminative stimuli. There is actually no
conditioning which has no discriminative stimuli in the chain
of responses. This was an example where the discriminative
stimuli are not as obvious as the light being switched on or
off during the example of differential conditioning with a rat.
Interpretation is a learned response. We can, throughout our
lives, learn to make increasingly accurate interpretations
of the things we perceive. All learning is a gradual process.
Even the classical conditioning we first discussed took place
gradually. Learning takes place through a series of small
steps. The effect of the conditioning which takes place at each
step in the learning process, changes the information holistic
analysis has to work with the next time a similar opportunity
presents itself. The more holistic analysis knows about the
circumstances, the better the decisions which can be made
as to appropriate behaviour in those circumstances.
Appropriate behaviour is that which is in the best overall

interest of the animal or person, given the circumstances.
It is not surprising then that holistic analysis has been so
highly developed and forms such a large portion of our genetic
and cultural heritage. There is a similar process in operant
conditioning called “extinction” which we had discussed
earlier. Extinction could almost be called “unlearning”. When
a response rate has been increased by reinforcement, and
the reinforcing stimulus is no longer presented after that
response, the rate of responding will drop back to roughly
the level it occurred before reinforcement.
Generalization
Another important concept in conditioning is called

“generalisation”. Generalisation is related to the process of
discrimination. I will explain it using the example of classical
conditioning, whereby a dog was conditioned to salivate to the
sound of a bell. In that situation, the bell was a conditioned
stimulus which elicited salivation. For the purpose of this
example, we will say that each time the bell was sounded, the
dog produced fifty drops of saliva. The dog was conditioned
using a bell with a certain tone. Some bells have higher tones
and some bells have lower tones than the one used in the
conditioning procedure. If a bell with a slightly higher tone
or a bell with a slightly lower tone is sounded, the dog would
still salivate, even though neither of those bell tones had been
used in the conditioning procedure. The identical stimulus
used in the conditioning process to exert an influence on the
response is called generalisation. The dog generalises the
stimulus from the stimulus it is most familiar with to other
stimuli which are similar.
In the salivation experiment, it was found that the more

the bell tone varies, either higher or lower than the original
bell tone, the less the dog would salivate. If the frequency of
the tone varied, say, ten percent higher or lower, the dog might
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produce only forty drops of saliva. If the frequency of the tone

varied by twenty per cent, the dog might only produce thirty
drops of saliva. If the tone of the bell varied too far from the
original to be identified as similar, no drops of saliva would
be produced.
How Generalisation Occurs
Generalisation in operant conditioning takes place in regards

to the discriminative stimulus. The discriminative stimulus
provides a clue as to whether or not a response will be
reinforced. In the example of discrimination training discussed
earlier, the rat was reinforced for pressing the lever when
the light was on, and would not be reinforced for pressing
the lever when the light was off. The light functioned as a
discriminative stimulus. A tone would have served equally
well as a discriminative stimulus in this learning situation.
When the tone was on, pressing the lever would be rewarded;
and when the tone was off, pressing the lever would not be
rewarded. The rat, having learned to discriminate between
these two conditions would respond at perhaps five hundred
lever presses an hour if the tone was sounding, and just
several lever presses an hour when the tone was not sounding.
If tones were sounded that were higher or lower than the
tone involved in the original conditioning procedure the rat
would still press the lever, but at rates less than five hundred
presses an hour. The more from the original tone the new tone
was, the fewer times the rat would press the lever. If the tone
sounded was so different from the tone originally involved
in the conditioning process that it could not be identified as
similar, then the rat would not be influenced by the tone at
all, and would only press the lever several times each hour,
just as it would do if there was no tone sounding.
Holistic analysis becomes aware of a certain stimulus

which provides cues to appropriate future behaviour. After
the cue has proven itself as an accurate predictor of what
is to come, the holistic analysis accepts the certainty of the

relationship of the cue to reinforcing or punishing events
which will follow the response. When another stimulus
appears, which is similar to the one that holistic analysis
has become certain about, the common characteristics are
recognised. Since the match in characteristics is not perfect,
holistic analysis is somewhat less than certain that this
similar stimulus is a useful cue to future events. Being less
certain of the value of this new but similar stimulus, holistic
analysis expresses those reservations by advising a reduced
response.
The further the new stimulus is from the original stimulus,

the greater the reservations expressed by the holistic analysis.
If the characteristics of the new stimulus are too far removed
from those of the original stimulus, the new stimulus will
not be taken into consideration in the holistic analysis. In
this case, the new stimulus will be neutral in respect to the
response and will have no influence on the response.
Human Learning
Human examples are often most obvious with young children.

When very young children learn to talk, they are sometimes
shown different animals and told what each animal is called.
For instance, the child might be shown a small dog and
told it is called a puppy. Several times the child might point
out other little dogs and say “puppy”. The parents reinforce
this behaviour by showing their approval. In this learning
sequence, a little dog is the discriminative stimulus, saying
“puppy” is the response, and the parent’s approval is the
reinforcing stimulus. The child has been conditioned by
positive reinforcement to call little dogs “puppy”. Now the
child sees another small animal, with fur, a tail, and running
on four legs. Once again, the child says “puppy”.
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This time though, the small animal was actually a cat.

The mistake made by the child was due to generalisation.
There were enough similar characteristics between the
original stimulus, the little dog, and the new stimulus, the
cat, for the child to respond to the cat in a way which would
have been the appropriate response upon seeing a dog.
If the characteristics of the cat had not been so similar, it
would be unlikely the child would have responded by saying
“puppy”. The child, upon seeing an elephant, is not likely
to generalise and call it a puppy. Although the elephant
shares some characteristics with a dog, there would not be
enough to allow generalisation to take place. Young children
have also been known to call the wrong adult “Mummy” or
“Daddy”. This happens because of generalisation also. The
child, seeing enough similar characteristics, responds to
an unrelated adult as it had learned to do when seeing its
real parents. We humans and some animals find approval,
affection, friendliness, smiles, a kind word, or even attention
to be desirable. They can all be positive stimuli and serve as
reinforcers. Social reinforcers are one of the most common
and effective rewards. Most human learning involves some
form of social reinforcement.
Social Reinforcement
Social reinforcement is also a very nice way to reward

desirable behaviour and is frequently used to develop
behaviours which are wrong and harmful.
When I began explaining about operant conditioning, I said

there were four main types. They were positive reinforcement,
negative reinforcement, presentation punishment, and
withdrawal punishment. I would like to discuss one of those
four types further that is the negative stimulus.
Negative reinforcement increases the rate of a response

which can terminate an on-going aversive stimulus. If a
response puts an end to something that is unpleasant, then
that response is more likely to occur again in the future.
Getting out of an unpleasant situation is a form of escape.
Sometimes negative reinforcement is called “escape training”.
There is another way to deal with an unpleasant situation.
If the unpleasant situation has already begun then escape
is the appropriate behaviour; but if the unpleasant situation
has not yet begun then the appropriate behaviour is to
avoid the forthcoming unpleasant situation. There is a type
of reinforcement called “avoidance”. It can be thought of as
a special instance of negative reinforcement. In avoidance
conditioning, the response postpones an imminent aversive
stimulus. The response keeps something unpleasant from
taking place. Any response which keeps something unpleasant
from happening is more likely to occur again.
We are not born knowing that getting out of the way of

approaching vehicles is an appropriate behaviour. That is why
little children have to be taught that running onto the roadway
can be dangerous. It is only obvious that a fast approaching
vehicle is dangerous because we have so successfully learned
that truth. Although little children might not have learned
that it can be dangerous to run out in the road, most if they
saw a vehicle rushing at them would try to get out of the way.
However, this does not prove that the aversive character of
an onrushing vehicle has not been conditioned to be seen
as dangerous. I still claim the approaching vehicle gained
its aversive quality by conditioning; and that the response of
jumping out of the way was learned by conditioning. We live
in a world of objects, many of them moving objects. That is
the nature of the physical universe. The objects of material
existence relate to each other in certain ways. Human bodies
during their development experience relationships of many
sorts with many different objects. One of these classes of
relationships is with moving objects. Since we can’t experience
every possible relationship with every different object we come
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to general conclusions about the nature of these interactions.

The general conclusions we arrive at are determined by the
particular experiences we undergo. We learn that collisions
with hard objects usually hurt more than with soft objects.
We learn that collisions with big objects often hurt more than
with small objects.
Moreover, we learn that collisions with fast moving

objects often hurt more than with slow moving objects. It
would be fair to say that a collision with a big, hard, fast
moving object would virtually always cause more harm than
a collision with a small, soft, slow moving object. Since this
is true, big, hard, fast moving objects become conditioned as
aversive stimuli. We do not inherit this knowledge; we learn
it by various experiences during our interactions with the
environment. That is the reason there would be few people
in the world, regardless of whether or not they had ever
previously seen a fast approaching vehicle, who would not
recognise the potential danger of that oncoming vehicle and
would act appropriately by jumping out of the way.
The onrushing vehicle would exhibit a sufficient number

of similar characteristics to the varied objects in the past
which have played a part in conditioning big, hard, fast moving
objects as aversive stimuli for holistic analysis to be treating the
fast approaching vehicle as an aversive stimulus. This would
be a terrible experience. The child would certainly undergo
emotional stress. There would always be some undesirable
emotional side effects. Sometimes, the emotional difficulties
could go virtually unnoticed, but in other circumstances the
emotional problems could be devastating.
Anxiety
Anxiety could be defined as emotional distress or uneasiness

of mind caused by the apprehension of danger or misfortune.
Well, that definition described anxiety in human terms; but
although less developed, all the same mental and emotional
states exist at the animal level. The higher the consciousness
of the animal the closer to the human experience it will be.
Interestingly, like many things, anxiety can be beneficial
in moderation. A little bit of anxiety stimulates particularly
efficient performance. Performance with a small amount of
anxiety usually shows an improvement over performance with
no anxiety at all. With a large amount of anxiety, performance
drops below the level of performance with no anxiety. While
a small amount of anxiety seems to stimulate behaviour, a
large amount of anxiety seems to inhibit behaviour. The level
of anxiety can become so high that all behaviour comes to a
stop.
It is correct that anxiety can be beneficial and will

stimulate behaviour. From the relative point of view, this
would be considered good. From the absolute perspective,
anxiety is never good since the influence of anxiety is through
the imposition of will by force. Anxiety always involves the
influence of some form of negative control. It would be better
if the improved performance came about from the influence
of positive factors. While there are many harmful effects from
the use of negative means to condition behaviour, there is
one which out shadows all others. Every time conditioning
by negative means is successful, it reinforces the response
of using negative means. Each successful use of negative
control increases the use of negative control in the future.
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Negative Conditioning
When we refer to negative means of conditioning, that include

both negative reinforcement and presentation punishment.
Yes, those two forms of conditioning are harmful because of
the use of negative stimuli to influence behaviour. I would
also class withdrawal punishment as a negative means of
conditioning, although this form involves a positive stimulus
due to the effect on the emotional state of the subject being
conditioned. No one is happy to have something they want
taken from them. If negative reinforcement and presentation
punishment are harmful because they both involve the use of
a negative stimulus, and withdrawal punishment is harmful
because it also results in an unhappy emotional state, there
is only one of the four basic forms of operant conditioning
left.
In this case, positive reinforcement is the only form of

conditioning which has no inherent harmful side effects. It
would be best if all conditioning took place through positive
reinforcement. But of course, it would be possible for a much
greater portion of all conditioning to take place through
positive reinforcement.
Sometimes, parents attempt to control their child’s

behaviour using physical punishment. If a child does
something that the parent thinks is wrong, the parent will
hit the child. The parent follows the child’s wrong behaviour
with a negative stimulus. This is a form of presentation
punishment. The parent uses this form of negative control
to reduce or eliminate some behaviour which they consider
to be wrong. If hitting the child is successful in stopping that
behaviour, the parent is reinforced for hitting the child. The
parent’s behaviour, therefore, is being conditioned by negative
reinforcement. The on-going aversive stimulus is the child’s
wrong behaviour, and the response that terminates the on-
going aversive stimulus is hitting the child. Each time the
parents succeed in stopping behaviour they consider wrong
by hitting the child, the probability increases that the parents

will in the future hit the child to stop wrong behaviour.
Successfully using physical punishment increases the

use of physical punishment. In this example, the parents are
not the only ones being conditioned to use hitting as a means
to attain desired ends. The child also learns that hitting is an
appropriate way to get what you want. That involves another
concept in learning called “modelling”.
Laws of Learning as a Foundation of Social

Change
In some countries, the government keeps people in a deprived

and oppressed condition. The government maintains this
control over the people by negative means. Some of the
oppressed people ask in a reasonable way to be granted
their basic human rights. The government ignores this quiet
and reasonable request. The response of asking quietly
and reasonably is not reinforced. Therefore, asking quietly
and reasonably is not likely to occur again in the future.
Some of the oppressed people now take up arms and fight
violently against the government. However, the government
cannot continue to ignore the oppressed people. The violent
struggle becomes widespread, becomes a revolution, and the
oppressive government is overthrown. The control is now
in the hands of the people. The response of violent struggle
has been powerfully reinforced. Violent struggle is likely to
be looked on favourably and is also likely to reoccur in the
future. Revolution through violent struggle will be promoted
as the best way, perhaps the only way, to attain positive social
change. Revolution through violent means may bring about
positive social change; but, this social change will contain a
fatal flaw. The seeds of negative control and violent action
are spread throughout the new government and among the
people. This seed will grow and overwhelm whatever positive
social change had been obtained. This fervour for revolution
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through violent action could destroy the government, the

people, and even the planet.
Fixed-Ratio Conditioning
Remembering that every response provides information

which is included in the holistic analysis, the prediction that
can be made on a fixed-ratio schedule the presentation of
the reinforcing stimulus signals that the next response will
not be reinforced. It indicates that there is once again some
certain number of responses which must be emitted before
reinforcement can once again follow the response. On a
variable-ratio schedule, it cannot be known whether or not
the next response after the presentation of the reinforcing
stimulus will also be reinforced. That two or more responses
in a row may be reinforced on a variable-ratio schedule
remains always a possibility.
In general, responding is more likely to occur if the

response can result in reinforcement than if it canot. On a
fixed-ratio schedule, the response after reinforcement cannot
be reinforced. It is for this reason, pauses occur just after the
presentation of the reinforcing stimulus during fixed-ratio
conditioning, but not during variable-ratio schedules. From
a human point of view, it might be considered as having just
finished a meal break from work and the person might think.
Before we move on to discuss the interval schedules, I think
it would be helpful to give some examples from human life in
order to increase the understanding of the ratio schedules.
Many people have jobs which involve fixed-ratio schedules.
Jobs of this sort are often called piece work. A certain amount
of money is given for each fixed number of units completed.
The units of work could be shirts made, boxes of fruit picked,
number of papers delivered, or many other things.
In this case, a fixed-ratio schedule of that type is effective

in getting the job done and it usually results in the employees
working fast and hard. But the problem is that I think piece
work is of much more advantage to the employer than to the
worker. Jobs that are paid on a piecework basis are often not
preferred jobs. The workers who take these jobs are often
desperate and have no other alternative.
Moreover, the workers do not usually have the opportunity

to make a good living by doing a lot of work. It is more often
the case that the reward for long hours and hard work will
be barely enough to live on. The reason is that employers
often misuse the power of learning principles. I would not
say that piecework could never provide a decent income, but
it would be rare, if ever, that piecework was not of greater
advantage to the employer than to the worker. Employers
who have their workers on a fixed-ratio schedule tend to get
more work for less pay than any other arrangement. There
is no time for leisure, regardless of the post-reinforcement
pause we discussed, on a fixed-ratio schedule. Any leisure
time, indeed any break from the work routine, is paid for by
the worker and costs nothing to the employer.
The Effects of Variable-Ratio Conditioning and

Gambling
Variable-ratio schedules are very common and very old

in human society. Gambling is one of the most prominent
examples. Gambling behaviour is developed and maintained
by conditioning on a variable-ratio schedule. However, given
the fact that I do not know much about gambling I will have
to give a very simple example. Suppose people were to bet on
the throw of one dice. Dice come in pairs. One of the pair of
dice is called a “die”. But it sounds funny to call one a die,
but I guess I will get used to it. Anyway, suppose people were
to bet on the throw of one die. A die, being a cube, has six
sides. The chance of any particular number coming up is one
in six. When betting on the number that will come up, there
is one chance in six of winning. This doesn’t mean the bettor
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will win every sixth throw of the die, it means that on average
there would be one win for every six throws. This is clearly an
example of a variable-ratio (6) schedule.
On the average, one throw in six will win. The throw,

or the bet on each throw, is the response. The winnings are
the reinforcing stimulus. It is the intermittent pairing of the
response and the reinforcing stimulus which conditions
gambling behaviour. Sometimes, on variable-ratio schedules
the reinforcing stimulus will follow several responses in
succession, and sometimes there will be a large number of
responses in a row which go unrewarded. When a person
gambles for the first time, they may encounter a number
of reinforced responses in quick succession or they may
bet quite a few times and never win. The person who won a
number of times in quick succession would be more likely
to gamble again in the future. Once the gambling behaviour
becomes stabilised on the variable-ratio schedule, it would be
very resistant to extinction.
Sometimes, gambling can become a very severe problem

in people’s lives. It is the resistance to extinction of variable-
ratio schedules which can cause those terrible problems. In
gambling, there is never a response which doesn’t have a
chance of being reinforced. Since every bet has some chance
of winning, there comes an expectation, or more truthfully, a
hope that the next bet will win. Even after losing everything,
when gambling has become a sickness, a gambler will try to
gather money for just one more bet. Some people’s lives have
been destroyed by the power of variable-ratio conditioning to
resist extinction.
Fixed-Interval and Variable-Interval Schedules

and Their Effects on Students’ Behaviour
On the question of whether there is any common human

behaviour that is governed by fixed-interval reinforcement,
I can say that many schools condition students to study on

a fixed-interval schedule. When exams are scheduled to be
given on some certain date in the future, this acts as a fixed
interval schedule. For instance, an exam may be planned for
a month in the future. The response under consideration is
the student’s study behaviour. The schedule is a fixed interval
(one month). Many students after hearing that the exam is a
month away will do no studying at all for two or three weeks.
Then they may do some small amount of study until a day
or two before the exam when a high rate of study behaviour
begins, and many will stay up most of the night before the
exam studying at a very high rate, called “cramming”. The
reinforcement in this schedule hopefully means a good or at
least passing grade in the exam. The study behaviour pattern
of students is almost identical to the lever pressing behaviour
of a rat on a fixed-interval schedule.
Moreover, fixed-interval schedules condition behaviour

into a very distinctive pattern. The fact that study behaviour
is taught by means of fixed-interval scheduling is just one of
many examples of how ignorance of even the most simplistic
learning principles limits personal development and creates
various human social problems. If exams were given on a
variable-interval schedule, the students would never know
when to expect an exam. Every once in a while the student
would be presented with an exam when they show up in
class. Many students in this type of situation tend to do some
studying almost every day. They are afraid not to study at all
because each day may be the day of the exam. They do not
study intensely each day because there may be no exam that
day, and they would receive no reward for studying. A steady,
but low rate of studying would be developed by the variable-
interval exam schedule.
The students may feel that it is an unfair situation to

be required to study constantly, but often receive no reward.
Additionally, they would still be working at a level far below
their potential. They would be learning far less than they
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could if they fulfilled their potential. The overriding desire

as long as there is deprivation of any need is to obtain as
much reinforcement; reward or success, as possible. So
receiving maximum reward is primary; but, while obtaining
that maximum reinforcement the secondary desire is to
achieve this goal while expending as little energy as possible.
When the amount of reward is unlimited, as is knowledge,
study behaviour while still striving for maximum efficiency
achieves maximum reward by a maximum expenditure of
energy. Ideally, students will not be studying only to do well
on an exam, but will study in order to acquire knowledge.
The results on exams should be secondary to the reward of
acquired knowledge.
Exams are used to provide a means to assign grades.

Exams can also be used to let the students know how well
their studies are progressing; and specifically to let the
students know the weaknesses or gaps in their knowledge.
This information could be used to plan for future study.
Either fixed-ratio or variable-ratio schedules could be used
effectively to encourage study behaviour. Ratio schedules
would be appropriate because they offer unlimited opportunity
for reward for hard work. The more the responding, the
more the reinforcement. The more you study, the more you
learn. Variable-ratio would probably be best as it would allow
greatest flexibility.
When study is done from textbooks, such schedules

are easy to set up. On a fixed-ratio schedule, the students
would be allowed to take an exam each time they had studied
a particular number of pages, for example, on a fixed-ratio
(twenty five pages) schedule. On a variable-ratio schedule,
the students would be allowed to be examined on what they
have learned after any number of pages they chose.
A student may find one page particularly important but

difficult, and may want to be examined on how effectively he/
she had learned that one page before moving on. At other
times, a student may feel very confident of the progress of

his/her knowledge and may not want to interfere with that
progress. In this case, the student may desire to verify his/
her success and confidence by an examination after studying
a hundred pages.
In these examples, taking an exam is considered to

be a reinforcer. However, many students do not find the
opportunity to take an exam very rewarding. Any stimulus
can be positive or negative depending on the circumstances.
Ideally, an exam should be a positive experience for a
student. Both correct and incorrect answers on an exam can
be reinforcing. If an answer is correct, the reward comes from
having successfully acquired new knowledge. If an answer
is incorrect, the reward comes from the opportunity to
correct a flaw in knowledge. None of those situations should
ever occur. All forms of punishment hold the student back
from the true purpose of studying, which is the gaining of
knowledge. There are always problems associated with the
use of punishment. Punishment is seldom an effective way
to stop negative behaviour; and it is never an effective way to
develop positive behaviour. It is good to know that learning
usually takes place faster on continuous reinforcement
than any other schedule of reinforcement. This is because
continuous reinforcement gives the most information about
the relationship between the response and the reinforcement.
It is always exactly clear which behaviour will bring reward,
since every correct response is reinforced.
Schedule of Reinforcement and Feedback
In example of a young child is being taught to identify the

letters of the alphabet, the best schedule of reinforcement
to use is always best to start with continuous reinforcement
so that the behaviour to be conditioned will be influenced
as quickly as possible. After the behaviour is stabilised on
continuous reinforcement, the next appropriate schedule is
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determined by many factors. For instance, if simply being

told the letter on the card had been correctly named was an
effective reinforcing stimulus, the schedule could remain on
continuous reinforcement. This is because all learning, to be
successful, must be followed by feedback as to the result of the
response. There can never be too much feedback during the
process of gaining knowledge. If the feedback as to the result
of the response can also serve as the reinforcing stimulus,
then it can remain on a continuous schedule forever. But
this does not mean that feedback is usually provided on a
continuous basis in educational settings.
However, the amount of feedback is usually very limited

in schools. Most educational institutions are not organised in a
way which allows continuous feedback of learning behaviour.
The effect of not having continuous feedback available during
school learning situations is that much less learning takes
place than it occurs given the large amount of time spent
in school. Schools, since they do not provide continuous
and immediate feedback as to the progress of learning, are
extremely inefficient. If learning behaviour was reinforced
more efficiently, ten times as much could easily be learned
in a more efficient school environment. Perhaps a hundred
times as much could be learned in an ideally efficient school,
maybe even more. Therefore, it is an understatement to say
that schools must be terribly inefficient at present. Because,
in the future, schools will be so different that today’s schools
would not even be recognised as schools. There will be major
changes soon within the present school setting; but the most
significant changes will be a longer time coming.
Understandably, the broad application of the laws of

learning is one of the major changes coming soon. Other
major changes will be in what the schools teach and in the
role of children. The subjects presently dominating school
curricula will become less prominent and children will take
a much more active role in every aspect of their schooling.
Once these changes take place, children will be very attracted
by school and highly motivated to learn. And of course,

traditional educators will find the potential benefits of this
new educational model both threatening and hard to believe.
They will soon relent, and become enthusiastic themselves, as
they see there is no threat. The results will prove the benefits,
and the children will surpass the ideals of the traditionalists
in every area, social, behavioural, and academic. It will take
a while until everyone is satisfied, but that time will come.
Even then, there will be further changes. Education must
progress toward perfection also. In these circumstances, a
perfect school may look like the physical universe.
The Effect of Schedule of Reinforcement and

Tantrum Behaviour
There is a young boy four years old. Whenever he doesn’t get

his way, he throws a tantrum. Sometimes, his parents give in
to him as soon as his tantrums begin, but other times, since
they are becoming accustomed to his tantrums, they let him
go on with his tantrums for a long time until the noise and
screaming rises so high it becomes unbearable and they can’t
stand it anymore. In this example, the little boy’s tantrum
behaviour is the response being conditioned. Tantrum
behaviour is both being maintained at a high rate and shaped
to a higher intensity by the intermittent reinforcement offered
by the parents. The child is rewarded for his tantrums by
getting his own way. The parents are rewarding their son’s
tantrum behaviour on a variable-ratio schedule. This ensures
that the tantrums will occur more often and that they will
be very resistant to extinction. This is a very good answer
in the sense that conditions the tantrum behaviour will not
only increase in number but will become louder and more
violent. It has happened in such pathological situations that
children have come to harm themselves or others severely
during uncontrolled tantrums. That critical situation doesn’t
arise suddenly, but is conditioned through a series of small
steps over a long period of time.
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Moreover, the parents quit reinforcing such tantrum

behaviour before it becomes so harmful because they often
don’t understand even the simplest workings of the laws of
learning. The parents might attribute the child’s tantrums
to all sorts of influences, but not to the obvious conditioning
process which actually controls the tantrum behaviour. The
child’s tantrums would often be attributed to some vague
inner state, such as “that is his nature”, “he was born bad”,
or, “that runs in the family”. All those statements imply that
the child’s tantrum behaviour is actually an inherited trait,
somehow carried in the genes, and therefore, not susceptible
to parental influence. This allows the parents to disown
responsibility for their part in the development of the child’s
tantrum behaviour.
Particularly, when children are very young, the parents

must accept a great deal of the responsibility for the
behavioural patterns their children develop. I purposefully
used the word “responsibility” instead of the word “blame”.
Responsibility only indicates the degree of significance of
the natural influences which occur in the early parent-child
relationships. Blame has an associated meaning beyond
responsibility, as if the person has done something bad and
perhaps should be punished. Blame often results in guilt.
Guilt is not a beneficial state of mind. Responsibility should be
accepted objectively, with no feelings of guilt. Responsibility
for something which has gone wrong should lead to a different
behaviour in the future. Guilt need not be felt for most wrong
behaviour. Wrong behaviour should be recognised for what
it is and serve as a cue to behave differently in the future. In
such a case, the wrong behaviour functions as a discriminative
stimulus which indicates a different, more positive behaviour
will be reinforced. Guilt is one of the most common forms of
punishment at the human level of existence. Before we get
away from the example of the learned tantrum behaviour, it
will be relevant to define a word we used in that example.
It was the word “pathological”. The word pathological

refers to disease or illness. I used the word to indicate the
sickness of human society which results in certain negative
behaviours and the social interactions which condition those
wrong behaviours. Both the tantrum behaviour and the
interactions between the parents and child which conditioned
that tantrum behaviour are symptoms of an insane society.
Many, perhaps most, children throw tantrums sometime

in their lives. This says more about society than about the
individual families. Sick behaviour is the norm in an insane
society. In a truly sane society, there may still be some
tantrums. The parents’ behaviour is also being conditioned.
The parents are on a continuous reinforcement schedule. The
response being reinforced is giving in to their child’s demands.
In this case, the reinforcing stimulus is the termination of the
tantrum behaviour. Every time they give in to their child’s
demands, the tantrum stops. Therefore, it’s not surprising
the parents find it rewarding to be able to put an end to a
tantrum. They are being conditioned to give in to their child’s
demands by negative reinforcement.
The Effect of Negative Reinforcement on

Response
Negative reinforcement increases the rate of a response

which puts an end to an on-going aversive stimulus. In this
example, it seems like the parents are doing their child a
great disservice by giving in to him while he is throwing a
tantrum. They are teaching him something that will bring
him much harm throughout his life. It is possible that the
parents never began giving in to tantrums. But the tantrum
behaviour developed through what we call as “shaping”.
The behaviour which the parents first reinforced was

probably not actually tantrum behaviour, but was the first
step in the shaping process which led to tantrum behaviour.
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The first behaviour may not have looked at all like a tantrum.
It may have been a request that was almost unnoticeably
more assertive or demanding than the ordinary calm and
reasonable request. That might have led to many hundreds
of slightly more demanding requests before anything
resembling a true tantrum appeared. There may have never
been an individual response in this shaping process which
could be called the first true tantrum. The parents may have
been kind, well-meaning people, only interested in the well-
being of their child. They may have never realised they were
teaching their child to throw tantrums. They may not have
seen the development of tantrum behaviour as being under
the influence of any schedules of reinforcement. By the time
the tantrum behaviour was fully developed, its origins would
likely have been a complete mystery to the parents.
Now, I would like to explain the meaning of a few

more terms, and then we can talk about the application of
these learning principles. I think, next I will explain what
“fading” means. Fading refers to the decreasing role of the
discriminative stimulus as an influence on the response.It
is often important that learned behaviour takes place on its
own without prompting. Attention span refers to the amount
of time a particular task is attended to. Some children have
a very difficult time learning because they only attend to any
specific task for a few seconds.
Conditioning Process to Increase Attention

Span
It should be noted that attention span is a learned behaviour

which can be influenced by the conditioning process. The
attention span of people of all ages tends to vary a lot. For
children who can only attend to a learning task for a few
seconds, this can be a major problem. In this example, we
have a five year old girl whose attention span is virtually non-
existent, perhaps two or three seconds. The means used in
this example to teach attending behaviour is a variation of

a very old form of gambling called the “shell game”. In its
original form the game consisted of three half shells from
walnuts and a dried bean. The three shells would be placed on
a table in a line and the bean placed under one of the shells.
The shells would then be moved quickly from one position to
another, finally coming to rest.
The person watching would then be asked to pick the

shell that the bean was under. When this procedure is used
to teach children to pay attention, three white paper cups are
often used instead of the shells. If the right cup was picked,
finding the bean underneath would indicate success. We
humans tend to find success generally rewarding. But if the
child did not consider successful choices to be rewarding,
some sort of small treat could be placed under one of the
cups instead of the bean. Actually, I have always thought it
best if rewards can be some form of inner satisfaction rather
than some kind of external material reward. For the purposes
of this example, we’ll say the little girl considers successfully
picking the cup with the bean under it rewarding. When
testing to determine how well the child could do this task
without any training, it turned out that if the cups were lined
up, the bean placed under one of them and the position of
each cup was changed slowly just once. The little girl was
often no more likely to choose the right cup than she would
have been by chance. She would choose correctly only about
one time in three, on the average.
Since she seemed quite delighted when she chose

correctly, it would appear she was making her best effort
to attend to which cup the bean was under. That initial low
level of success would be considered the baseline, or the
starting condition. Now that the baseline behaviour has been
established, it is time to begin the conditioning process. The
goal would be to shape attending behaviour to the point
where she can pick the cup with the bean under it every
time after a fairly large number of changes in the position
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of each cup while those moves are being made as fast as

the teacher is able. When I trained the chicken, Aphrodite,
to perform a complicated sequence of behaviours, it seemed
impossible until the laws of learning were known. With the
laws of learning, teaching a chicken to do that complex
task was simple. The same is true when teaching this little
girl a seemingly very difficult attending task. With a good
understanding of learning principles, it becomes a simple
task.
With the chicken, the baseline response you first

rewarded was turning the head in the direction of the goal
response. I think I assumed there would always be some
equivalent place to begin any shaping process. In the above
situation, and as will sometimes be the case, no part of the
behaviour you want to reinforce is present in the baseline
condition. What must be done then is to alter the situation in
such a way that will bring about some approximation of the
behaviour you want to reward. However, there is no specific
answer regarding the knowing which conditions to change
which will cover all possibilities. The solution requires a good
general understanding of the sequence of events which make
up any learning process. Once you see learning and behaviour
as a series of separate links in a chain, you will always be
able to find a solution to each different situation that arises.
In teaching this young girl to focus her attention for longer
periods, it was decided to provide a discriminative stimulus
which would serve as a powerful cue that she would be able
to attend to or notice the correct cup as its position was
changed. One of the three white cups was painted red. The
bean was always placed under the red cup as their positions
were changed. Each time after the cups were moved around,
the little girl was asked to pick the one with the bean under
it. Each time, she chose correctly.
During the shaping process, it is best to have each

response successful so that it will be rewarded. If the gap
between any two steps in the shaping process is too large, the
behaviour being learned could break down. Painting one cup

red was only the first step. Now, let’s discuss the second step.
After the little girl had been reinforced a few times for picking
the cup with the bean under it, the completely red cup was
replaced with one that was just painted red on the top half.
The bean is always placed under the cup with red on top,
so once again, she successfully chose the cup with the bean
under it. The half red cup was replaced with one that had a
broad red stripe; the next step being a thin red stripe; then
a large red dot; then a small red dot. During each of those
steps, her attending behaviour was allowed to stabilise over
a number of successful choices. All the while, during each
of these steps, the teacher was changing the position of the
cups more times and moving them faster. During all those
steps in the shaping process, which may have numbered up
to fifty now, the child never made an incorrect choice. She
seemed very pleased with her success. The red dot was made
smaller several more times until the last red dot on the cup
was almost unnoticeable.
The child was still able to pick the cup with the bean
under it every time.
The next step is to place the bean under a cup that was
completely white, identical to the other two cups. By now,
the little girl was so involved in the game, and paying such
good attention to which cup the bean was under, she was still
able to pick the correct cup each time. Slowly, getting faster
and faster, the teacher changed the position of the three cups
many times. When the teacher could move the cups no faster,
and it didn’t seem to matter how many changes of position the
cups underwent, the child could still choose the cup covering
the bean every time. At the end of this learning experience,
the little girl said that she thought the game was fun, but too
easy. She could concentrate easily and well for periods up
to five minutes and more. The only aspect of the process I
left out was the communication that took place between the
teacher and the child. The communication which takes place
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during any learning situation is extremely important. The two

aspects of the learning experience can’t really be separated.
Of course, the example of teaching a child to attend to a task
gives a clear idea of what fading means. Again, the steps by
which the discriminative stimulus, in this case red paint,
decreased step by step until it was no longer present provides
a very graphic understanding of the fading procedure.
An excellent analogy is to say that fading is to the

discriminative process, what thinning is to the reinforcing
stimuli. As the conditioning process progresses, it is often the
case that the discriminative stimulus fades to nothing, while
the amount of reinforcement provided is thinned significantly.
Fading refers to progressive decreases in the magnitude of the
discriminative stimulus, and thinning refers to the progressive
decreases in the overall quantity of the reinforcing stimulus
received. To condition any behaviour, it is often necessary to
first introduce discriminative stimuli and reinforcers at an
artificially high magnitude and rate. It is important to reduce
these inflated magnitudes and rates so that the behaviour
being conditioned can come under natural control.
In every human interaction, we condition others, just

as we are conditioned by others. Most of the outcomes of
that on-going conditioning are negligible, but some are of
lasting and perhaps major impact. Conditioning is the name
for the various influences which are described by the laws
of learning. They are a natural and integral part of our
existence. We cannot put a stop to our influence on others
and we cannot put a stop to the influence others have on us.
It is not wrong to condition others; the harm comes when we
condition others wrongly.
Concerning the question of what determines right

conditioning from wrong conditioning, I can say that if in every
thought, word, and deed we are fair, honest, and positive, all
our influences will be right influences.
Theoretically, every thought influences every other

person on the planet to some degree. I think I understand the
process by which this happens, but it is very difficult to know
the degree of influence. Still, I think your questions deserve
a more practical answer. Not only do we condition others,
but we also condition ourselves. Our thoughts are the most
powerful means we have to condition ourselves.
The Influence of Inner Speech
There is no doubt that our thoughts, or more correctly, our

inner speech has a much greater potential influence on our
overall development than all external influences. The internal
influences work by the same means and are governed by the
same laws of learning as external influences. All the different
types of reinforcement and punishment also take place
within our mental processes. Every term and concept I have
defined and explained is also part of the internal conditioning
processes. We explained how the influences of conditioning
took place unnoticed in most cases. The example we gave was
a child being conditioned to throw tantrums. The parents,
not knowing or understanding the laws of learning, were
oblivious to the conditioning taking place. Although, in that
example, the relationship between behaviour and reinforcing
stimuli was quite obvious, or would be to anyone aware of
learning principles. If those obvious external factors could
be overlooked, the subtle internal factors must be almost
impossible to perceive.
For someone unaware of the principles of learning,

most aspects of the internal conditioning process remain
invisible. Even for a person who has a good knowledge and
understanding of the laws of learning, it remains difficult to
be aware of the subtleties of the internal conditioning process.
This would mean that the laws of learning must become part
of our life, part of our being, as we are already one with the
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laws of learning. We need only become aware of our true

nature, and we will come to the full realisation of principles
of learning.
Although we are clearly on a path to perfection, we are

obviously not yet close to being perfect. Because in all that we
do, there will be some combination of good and evil. What we
can do, though, is to maximise the good and to minimise the
evil in our every thought, word, and deed. Similarly, we cannot
yet be perfectly fair, honest, and positive. In all that we do,
even when we attempt to be fair, honest, and positive, there
will be some aspect of unfairness, dishonesty, and negativity.
What we must do is to maximise the fair, the honest, and the
positivity, while minimising the unfair, the dishonest, and the
negativity in our every thought, deed, and word.
Understanding the Concept of Fairness,

Honesty and Truth
The meaning of fairness, honesty and positive is both very

simple and very complex. Simply put; that which is fair is
right, that which is honest is true, and that which is positive is
other than negative. As we have defined right, it is all actions
in harmony with the natural order. That which is right,
aids the progressive development towards perfection. So no
thought, word, or deed that stands in the way of the quest for
perfection could ever be considered fair. Truth is a statement
of the way things are. Absolute truth is identical with perfect
existence. Relative truth is consistent with material existence.
Both relative and absolute truth can be perfectly known only
from a perspective beyond the material plane. Neither relative
nor absolute truth can be perfectly known from a perspective
on the material plane. Truth to a being existing on the
material plane can only be known as probability. The higher
the probability, the closer to the absolute truth. Truth at our
level of existence is consistent with the highest probability
statements of the nature of existence.
The meaning of positive comes from the laws of

learning. All forms of negative control are harmful. We saw
that negative reinforcement, presentation punishment, and
withdrawal punishment are forms of negative control. Positive
reinforcement remains the most legitimate form other than of
influence. However, this does not mean that anything which is
fair, honest, and positive is harmful. Rather, we should be free
to think, speak, and act in any way which is fair, honest, and
positive. But if we restrict ourselves to those things which are
fair honest, and positive, we would be missing out on much
that is presently part of human life. Moreover, we would have
to forego all that stands between us and the attainment of
our ultimate destiny, the survival of the human race and a
utopian future.
When the true nature of our existence and purpose is

known in its fullness, it will be easy to give up the temptations
of the material world and live in harmony with the natural
law. But when that truth has not been experienced, I can
understand how what is asked may seem an insurmountable
burden. We can become fair, honest, and positive by no other
means than through the shaping process. Each human being
is at a different point on the continuum of fairness, honesty,
and positivity. The point each of us is presently at represents
our baseline condition. To increase our fairness, honesty,
and positivity we must be reinforced for the expression of
those characteristics. We can speed up the rate at which we
become more fair, honest, and positive by organising our
lives so that we often have the opportunity to be rewarded for
fairness, honesty, and positivity. This means that we should
be conditioned to be more fair, honest and positive. Somehow,
that sounds artificial.
Our every thought, word, and deed is already conditioned.

Why would it be any more artificial if we were to make
conscious decisions as to the circumstances which exist in
our environment to help make sure that the direction of the
conditioning we undergo helps us to be more fair, more honest,
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and more positive? Some people may assume that when I say
we should take an active role in creating the circumstances
which will reinforce fairness, honesty, and positivity, these
planned influences would be something like the conditioning
which took place in the experimental learning chamber with
the chicken or the rat.
I must say that those were simple examples of basic

learning from the laboratory. If such practices were attempted
in human life, they would indeed be artificial. In a right world
that is fair, honest, and positive, it would be naturally rewarded.
It is actually those influences which lead us away from that
which is fair, honest, and positive which are unnatural.
However, this does not mean that the society would have to
set up any contrived schedules of reinforcement to increase
the amount of fairness, honesty, and positivity in the world.
As the knowledge of the true nature of our existence spreads
through human society, we will begin to live more in accord
with natural law. As we begin to live more in harmony with
our environment there will naturally be more opportunities to
be reinforced for doing that which is fair, honest, and positive.
To consciously alter our relationship with the

environment is the most natural thing we could do. It is
our free will that allows us the opportunity to choose the
environmental conditions which will aid us the most in our
quest for perfection. That is a right accorded by our human
nature. But we must appreciate the fact that when we alter
our own environment, we also alter the environment of others.
We do have that responsibility. We have always had that
responsibility, but it had previously either gone unnoticed or
been ignored. Knowledge of the laws of learning allows us to
realise and fulfill that responsibility.
The Influence of Laws of Learning on

Human Life
I realised much earlier that the laws of learning could have

a great influence in human life and a great effect on human
society; but it took me a lot longer to truly understand the
all-pervasive, powerful, and direct nature of those influences.
As we have shown, first real understanding came from the
studies of animal learning. The next step in the shaping
of my understanding of learning principles involved the
simple applications of those laws of learning to children with
educational difficulties. I studied many examples of children
considered mentally retarded or learning disabled. It was with
children in those categories that operant learning principles
were first widely put into practice. In those early efforts, the
conditions of reinforcement, and sometimes punishment,
which were set up were of the type you would have called
artificial. Those organising the environment, so that specific
conditioning could take place, had learned their theory and
developed their practical skills with animals in the laboratory.
It is not surprising that when those same learning principles
were put into practice with human beings they were very
similar to the methods used in animal research.
Those early pioneers in the application of learning

principles thought they realised the power of the new tool
they were working with. For a while, they were like modern
examples of the knights on white horses, come to correct
the wrongs of the world. They believed they could cure any
problem, improve any deficiency, and transform human
society by the application of the laws of learning.
The laws of learning offer a potential beyond even those

grand claims.
They did not even come close. Many of the early believers
in the potential of learning principles lost their faith. Most
came to consider the early enthusiasm to be misguided and
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accepted the apparent limitations on the application of the

laws of learning. Some gave up completely and entered other
fields. Although all that happened only a relatively few years
ago, I consider it to be the ancient history of behavioural
science. As in the early knowledge of most areas of science,
there were many flaws. Some of those flaws came from
a misunderstanding of available facts, some of the flaws
occurred because of knowledge that was not yet available.
Behaviour Modification
These early attempts to apply the laws of learning with

human beings are called “behaviour modification”. I think
some of the resistance to the application of learning principles
occurred because of that unappealing and misleading label.
Behaviour modification somehow sounds like something

that might be done to people against their will. Unfortunately,
there were instances of the laws of learning being applied to
alter people’s behaviour against their will. One of the worst
abuses of operant conditioning occurred when prisoners of
war were brainwashed by the use of these learning principles.
Brainwashing is a systematic process of conditioning

designed to alter someone’s convictions and beliefs
against their will. The laws of learning are very powerful.
Brainwashing could be effectively done with ease. Any tool
can be misused. This is why it is imperative that the laws
of learning be combined with a positive philosophy of life.
The major objections to behaviour modification as is the case
when anything is strongly opposed, a lot of the opposition was
emotionally based without objective reason. I can understand
the emotion behind such opposition, but I can’t credit it with
logical significance. There were, though, two major points for
objective criticism. First, was the use of negative forms of
control, and second, was the fact that those whose behaviour
was being conditioned often had no say as to whether or not

they wanted their behaviour modified.
Most programs of behaviour modification, even from the

earliest times, involved the use of positive reinforcement, so
all those were free from the arguments against using negative
control. Even so, very little of the behaviour modification
done would have been done at the request of or even the
consent of those whose behaviour was being modified, so the
second major criticism was almost universally valid. I would
say virtually all, certainly most, behaviour modification was
done with the best interests of the subject in mind. I doubt
if many of the people doing this behaviour modification at
all could be considered to have evil intent. A few might have
been misguided, and a few might have been more interested
in adding to their scientific knowledge than any other
consideration, but most used behaviour modification in an
attempt to better the life of those being conditioned.
I am sure that some of the criticism, both emotional

and objective, directed towards behaviour modification came
about because people perceived the potential danger that
could come from those techniques when misused. Similarly,
I guess it is possible that the proposals I make for the
widespread knowledge of, and use of, the laws of learning
might draw the same criticism as behaviour modification
did, even though there would be no logical basis. Somehow,
learning principles themselves have become associated with
the various wrongs involved in behaviour modification in the
minds of a few critics. Once, I read of a person who said they
didn’t like the laws of learning. That’s very much the same as
someone saying they don’t like the laws of physics. It means
as if, if you dislike reinforcement, you dislike gravity. There
is nowhere you can go to be beyond the influence of either.
The natural laws of physical existence are not to be liked or
disliked. They are as they are, they all serve the purpose that
the physical universe was created to fulfill. If those natural
laws did not exist, we would not exist.
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I will try and pick a number of examples which will portray

a wide range of the early efforts to apply the laws of learning
to human behaviour. As I said, much of this conditioning was
done by positive reinforcement. The first example is of the
simplest type and could be applied to thousands of different
learning tasks. The teacher sits with a child and shows cards
with different letters of the alphabet on them. After showing
each card, the teacher asks the child to name the letter of the
alphabet. If the child gives the correct answer, the teacher
may acknowledge the correctness of the answer, praise the
child, or give the child a small piece of candy. In this example,
the card with the letter of the alphabet is the discriminative
stimulus; correctly naming the letter is the response; and
the acknowledgement, praise, or candy, is the reinforcing
stimulus.
A discriminative stimulus gives information about what

response is likely to be reinforced. If a card with the letter
‘x’ is shown, this provides information that the response of
saying “x” might be rewarded. The explanation is a general
one and applies in all situations. It is less useful in simple
common situations like this than it is in other cases where
what is occurring may not be so obvious.
If the child had not learned that saying the correct letter
when shown an alphabet card could bring reinforcement, then
the child would be unlikely to respond by saying the letter
upon seeing the card. Once the child learns that relationship,
the card does function as a discriminative stimulus.
In this example, the reinforcer was the acknowledgement

of the correct answer, praise, or a small piece of candy. But
the reason why there are different rewards is that those
were different possible reinforcing stimuli. Which of those
rewards was actually used would depend on the child’s
past experiences. Some children have learned to consider
success at any educational task to be rewarding. In this
case, acknowledgement would be a sufficient reward. Some
children have no interest in the particular educational task

but desire praise. In some cases, children may have never
learned to consider praise rewarding, but greatly appreciate
a piece of candy.
There are both health and social reasons why it is not

desirable to use candy as a reward, particularly for performing
learning tasks. In every instance, I would say the minimal
reward which brings about the desired results should be
given; and the reward should be based on internalised positive
feelings as much as is possible. Candy is very seldom used
in normal educational settings. It is much more widely used
with children experiencing a degree of retardation or severe
learning handicap which has not allowed them to become
receptive to less primary rewards. Even then candy is less
than ideal as a reward.
Of the three different reinforcers in this example,

acknowledgement of a correct answer and praise are both
secondary rewards. We are not born seeking acknowledgement
of academic achievement or praise. We learn to find them
to be reinforcing. Candy is a sweet food, and we are born
with a body and brain that considers sweets reinforcing.
For this reason, candy is a primary reward. Children, whose
handicaps have not allowed them to learn the reinforcing
appeal of acknowledged correct answers or praise, may
only respond on educational tasks if rewarded with some
primary stimulus, such as candy. If the child wasn’t hungry,
that’s another problem with using candy to reward learning
behaviour. What should be done in any situation where a
primary reinforcer, like candy, is necessary to ensure that
the child completes some learning task, is to fade the
primary reinforcer as quickly as possible and replace it with
a secondary reinforcer.
The secondary reinforcer, perhaps praise, could be paired

with the primary reinforcer, candy. The candy would be given
less often, while praise would still be given for every correct
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response. Soon no candy would need to be given as the child

learned to consider praise rewarding in itself. Also, it might
be appropriate if praise could then be faded out as a reward
when acknowledgement of success was introduced. The goal
should always be to have as little external reward as possible.
Only the minimum reinforcement required to maintain the
behaviour should be given.
The question of whether it should be generous with

reward provides a good example of the necessity to consider
in a holistic manner when considering any question. Since
our goal is to attain perfect free will, we must always seek
to reduce external control. We are not yet perfect so there
is still some external influence necessary for our continued
development. When external influence is used, it should
always be the minimum which will achieve the necessary
effect. Whenever we reward another person we are exercising
an external influence. It is for this reason that reward should
not be given generously. Without that understanding, it might
have seemed giving generous reward would be doing a good
thing. The world as it seems to be is often different from the
world as it truly is. In fact, instead of giving generous rewards
being a good thing to do, it would be an evil thing.
The Concept of Good and Evil
Good and evil, as I use the words, are not subjective and
emotional terms. They have definite objective meaning. Good
aids progress towards our ultimate goal of perfection; and evil
hinders our progress towards that goal. If generous reward
hinders our progress towards perfect free will, then it is by
definition evil.
Well, my feeling towards evil is always objective. In my

view, the greater the harm it causes the more sad I would feel
about it. But evil does not make me angry. I don’t hate evil.
I do not hate anything; and I almost never feel angry. Just
as I attempt to live in harmony with the world around me,

I attempt to attain harmony within myself. Hate and anger
cause harmony to be lost. We are born with the potential to
feel hate and anger. Whether or not we express that potential
is determined by our conditioning through the interactions
we experience with our environment. No, the expression of
hate and anger are not natural.
Similarly, my view towards good is also objective because

I believe the greater the benefit it brings the better I feel about
it. I do love goodness, and goodness does make me happy
because the more love and happiness within, the greater the
experience of inner harmony. I think, to experience love and
feel happy is a natural human condition. We are progressing
towards the perfect and absolute expression of all positive
characteristics. Hate and anger cannot be perfectly and
absolutely manifested without being infinitely destructive.
Love and happiness can be perfectly and absolutely
manifested bringing infinite benefit. That which cannot be
perfectly manifested is unnatural; and that which can be
perfectly manifested is natural. Anyway, I am certainly glad
there are no limits to love and happiness. When in harmony,
the physical universe is a beautiful place.
Modelling
Modelling is a form of conditioning. It refers to the learning

which takes place by seeing others undergo some reinforcing
or punishing situation. Modelling involves learning by seeing
the learning experiences of others. I will start with a very
simple example. Fashion is a good example of the effect of
modelling. Perhaps one person wears a different style of shoe.
If that person receives positive notice from others for wearing
those shoes, soon other people who saw those shoes being
favourably noticed will start wearing them also. If the style
is particularly attractive or unique, the fashion media might
take notice of people wearing that new type of shoe. Other
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people seeing reports favourably mentioning that new shoe

style will start wearing those shoes, and then be noticed
positively by others.
That process sometimes sweeps much of the world, not

just with shoes, but with all items of clothing. Sometimes
it happens with hairstyles, sometimes with slang words or
sayings. All of that is part of the spread of fashion. It is a
conditioning process which takes place through modelling.
People seeing others rewarded for the response of wearing
certain clothes, styling their hair a certain way, or saying
certain words will copy that behaviour.
Modelling occurs even without conscious attempts at

imitation. As the saying goes “monkey see, monkey do!”; that
saying refers to the tendency of people to imitate the behaviour
of others. Just about all aspects of operant conditioning
have been noticed in human life, even though it hadn’t been
realised those factors formed a comprehensive theory by
which to understand learning. There would be few human
thoughts, words, or deeds which have not been influenced
during their development by the effects of modelling.
Now, let’s talk about a few other instances of modelling.

Our choice of food is heavily influenced by modelling. This
has resulted in foods considered acceptable and desirable
by some cultures, being forbidden and repulsive by other
cultures. We learn our preferences in food largely from what
we see those around us eating as we grow up. If a child were
to grow up among people who consider live grubs to be a
delicacy, that child would feel entirely happy and comfortable
popping a live grub into their mouth. That behaviour would
be considered so repulsive to people who had not grown up
seeing people eat live grubs that they could hardly imagine
anyone could do such a thing.
The influences on smoking behaviour are many. Not

only do people close around us have been influenced through
modelling, but because our environment has been made much

wider by the media and the entertainment industry, people
model the behaviour of those they have never been close to
or have never even seen in person. When famous people, be
they politicians, sports heroes, or the stars of film, television,
or the music world, are seen smoking, there is some influence
by modelling occurring.
That effect is particularly strong in children and young

adults, as they are still in the early stages of development
and are seeking role models. Sometimes, the influence of the
famous is exploited by those who wish to sell more of their
product and the modelling effect is used consciously to create
a market which, in the case of cigarettes, is selling an early
death.
It may sound pretty unscrupulous, but that is nothing

compared to the lengths some people would go for financial
gain. Once the laws of learning are known well and widely, all
wrong influence will be less effective. Since modelling is such
a powerful influence, it is used by anyone who wants to create
the belief that their product is desirable. In advertising, it is
extremely common to see virtually any product trying to gain
from the association of attractive people enjoying that product.
Modelling has a general impact also. People can be influenced
by the modelling effect of a class of people. For this reason,
products have been promoted as having an association with
those who are generally rich, powerful, sexy, intelligent,
macho, beautiful, or any other characteristic thought to be
generally desired. Those who market their products in that
way want people to believe they can be like the general class
model in the advertisements just by using their products.
Moreover, modelling plays a major part in a very serious

problem area in human behaviour, aggression. Almost all
aggressive behaviour in human beings has its origins in
modelling. Well, as we have already discussed in some detail,
human beings are not animals. I think, what is meant by that
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statement is that human beings are innately aggressive. No,

human beings are not born aggressive. Human beings are
born with the potential to be aggressive.
Whether or not that potential for aggression is

expressed, depends on the circumstances of each individual’s
life. Unfortunately, seeing other people acting aggressively
is a very common experience in human society. Aggressive
behaviour occurs in many homes, in schools, on the streets,
and is almost invariably depicted in movies, television and
online games. Aggressive behaviour in real life often is seen
to be successful.
Aggression is successful because force often brings

immediate changes, that being the nature of the material
universe for billions of years when external control was
needed to maintain progression. Aggression is also often
seen to be successful in that those who act aggressively are
frequently held in some esteem. In those cultures where
successful aggression is held in highest esteem, there
tends to be a more aggressive populace. When children see
aggression being rewarded, children will be likely to imitate
that aggressive behaviour. There was an interesting study
done where children were placed in a room with a number of
toys. Among the toys was a large inflatable clown which was
heavily weighted on the bottom so that if knocked over the
clown would become upright again.
Each child was left alone in the room and observed

through a one-way mirror. The children tended to play quietly
with the various toys. After the children had been playing for
some period of time, an adult would enter the room, talk in
a friendly manner with the child for a while, and then start
kicking and punching the inflatable clown. The adult would
then leave the room. Almost every child who underwent the
experience of seeing the adult act aggressively then punched
and kicked the inflatable clown after the adult left the room.
It seems very likely that children in the natural environment,

who see mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, teachers, friends,
or actors on television and in movies acting aggressively,
will imitate aspects of that violent behaviour. But we must
acknowledge that violence breeds violence and peace breeds
peace. Parents probably do not realise that they are teaching
children to be aggressive by their own aggressive behaviour.
Parents and teachers often act aggressively towards children
in an attempt to teach them not to be aggressive. Sometimes,
children are hit by adults to stop them from hitting other
children.
The Effects of Conditioning in Our Lives
Conditioning seems to play such a large part in our lives and

development. It is a shame that conditioning is not done in
a way which is consistent with our goals. It appears that
much of what has long been believed to be human nature
was actually the effect of unnoticed conditioning factors in
human society. In other words, human nature is very poorly
understood. A large amount of current human behaviour is
in opposition to the true nature of human beings. To know
human nature requires knowledge of the natural order of
existence. True human nature is an ideal. To exist perfectly
in accord with the natural law is the ideal of human nature.
However, human beings do not live in perfect harmony

with the natural law because we humans are going through
a difficult period in this 21st century. Because of the major
developmental step we have taken through the expression
of self-reflective, human level consciousness, we are no
longer animals. Although we have reached a new stage in
civilization and developmental progression of life, we still
have bodies identical to the animals with the exception of
that part of the brain function which accounts for our self-
reflective consciousness. Animals, through billions of years of
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adaptation, have developed ways of living which are in accord

with the natural order.
That which is in harmony with natural law at the animal

level, is not necessarily in harmony with natural law at the
human level. Our bodies and many structures of our brains
are attempting to fulfill their original functions and live in
accord with the natural order at the animal level. This causes
great difficulties, because for the human species to survive
and progress we must transcend those aspects of our lives
bound up with animal nature, and express fully our civilized
human nature. So we can say that part of every human being
is acting in accord with the animal nature and part is acting
in accord with human nature.
As I said, the conflict between the animal nature and

human nature is a great difficulty faced by the human
species. Consequently, we have to experience that conflict.
We must undergo the conflict between our animal nature and
our human nature. We all have those two different influences
acting upon us. This would be a difficult period even in the
best of circumstances, but a third influence of evil global
conditioning of greed and lust is greatly increasing the difficulty
in making the transition. This third influence has increased
the difficulty so much that it is no longer certain that the
transition will be successfully made. The conflict between the
animal nature and the human nature may become so severe
as to bring destruction to all life on this planet.
Effect of Conditioning
The third influence is the effect of conditioning. But let me

be clear, I am not saying that the process of conditioning is
wrong, not at all. I am saying that the effect of conditioning
is wrong. Conditioning ought to be the means by which we
achieve the successful transition from our animal nature to
our human present nature. However, conditioning has been
powerfully used to ensure the continued and ever increasing

influence of our animal nature.
At the human level of existence, it would be natural to

express more fully the true characteristics of human nature.
Those human characteristics should naturally prevail over
the influence of our animal nature. This natural transition has
been hindered by the fact that human society has developed
in such a way that expressions of the characteristics of our
animal nature have been highly rewarded. At the same time,
the expression of our true human nature has either failed to
receive the reinforcement or has been punished.
This sad situation came to be because the problem has

always been ignorance; of our true nature, our true purpose,
our destined goal and how to achieve that grand goal. There
have been a number of times when most of the truth of our
existence was known, but that was not enough. Because even
when our nature, our purpose and our destiny were known,
it was indeed rare to also know the right path.
There was, but even that was not enough. Although all
was known, those truths were neither fully understood nor
available to everyone. Truth must be universally known. If
only some knew the truth and followed the right path, they
would be conquered by those who lacked truth and followed
the wrong path.
I can assure you that any victory gained by wrong action

would only be temporary. Victory, when achieved by right
action, shall be eternal.
Our true nature, purpose, destiny, and the right path

are all contained in the new worldview. Our nature is to be
the stage, in the developmental progression of matter in
the physical universe, which has just passed the turning
point where individual exercise of free will first surpasses
external control. Our purpose is to progress along the
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developmental continuum to the most positive expression of

all characteristics. Our destiny is to become perfect in every
aspect. The right path, in fact the only path, is the way of
peace and love.
However, success is determined by the survival and

progression of the species, not of the individual. Groups of
any size, unless they encompass the whole of human society,
have always succumbed to the immediate power of force and
aggression.
Nature of Force and Aggression
It would be correct if I left out the word aggression, since

force includes all wrong influence. I include the word
“aggression” because it portrays the most blatant use of force
in human behaviour. It is important to the successful spread
of knowledge that effective images be created. When I say the
right path is peace and love, it provides a good mental image
to contrast with the wrong path of force and aggression. In
this way of expressing the right and wrong paths, all the
words are actually mental symbols. Other words could take
their place, but all would be signifying the same underlying
truth. In this comparison of the paths of right and wrong,
force is the contrasting symbol to peace, and aggression is
the contrasting symbol to love.
Those are just a small part of that which is force and

aggression. Force and aggression include all forms of influence
which derive their power from the material plane of existence.
I will, but remember, all those influences derive their power
from the material existence. Matter in the physical universe
is directed by those influences. The non-physical component
in matter is directed by free will, influenced by the attraction
of perfect existence. Included among the influences of force
and aggression at the human level are material wealth,
power, fame, the seeking of pleasure, and the avoidance of
pain. Anything which conditions us in a way that enhances

the attractiveness or increases the practice of any of those
forms of force and aggression is wrong conditioning. It is just
as wrong as conditioning children to be aggressive by fighting
in front of them. Those wrong influences also have internal
expression. Some of these would be greed, envy, and lust.
Those are but a few. There are many more, not all so obvious
and some yet unnamed.
Nature of Guilt
Some of those wrong influences have been called sins by

various religions. That is a way of expressing the effect of some
of those wrong influences on our progression. They hold us
back from attaining our destined goal. However, I don’t mind
the use of the word sin to describe certain things that hinder
us in our quest for perfection; but I view the word sin very
objectively, just as I view good and evil objectively. I think the
concept of sin can be harmful if it leads to feelings of guilt.
Guilt is another form of wrong influence. Guilt is an attempt
to alter our beliefs or behaviour by force. If by guilt you only
meant experiencing the feeling of having done wrong, then
that could be considered natural, but guilt so often includes
the feeling that you are a bad person for having done the
wrong. Guilt in that form is not a natural human emotion.
Guilt in that form has been conditioned into the human
mental process. It has become a part of our inner speech.
To fully understand how to differentiate what is natural

and what is not, I would have to go into a long explanation of
natural and unnatural as perceived from the relative reality
and the absolute reality. If you think back to our discussion
of good and evil, you will see the essence of this explanation.
I think, now, a briefer answer should be sufficient. From the
relative point of view, those aspects of our existence which are
necessary to ensure our continued progression are natural;
and those aspects of our existence which are not necessary
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to ensure our continued progression are unnatural. From

the absolute point of view, those aspects of existence which
can be perfectly manifested are natural; and those aspects of
existence which cannot be perfectly manifested are unnatural.
Many things exist as potential which if expressed would

be unnatural. I will use guilt as an example. Obviously, guilt
does exist. Guilt is a combined acknowledgement of having
done wrong, and the belief that having done wrong makes
you a bad person. Now, there is nothing harmful in anyone
acknowledging they have done wrong. Indeed, that is a healthy
and good thing to do. The harm comes from believing ourselves
to be bad because we have done a wrong thing. Believing
ourselves bad because we have acted wrongly is an internal
form of punishment. The wrong action is the response, which
is followed by the thought saying either directly or indirectly,
“I am bad”. That thought acts as a negative stimulus. When a
response is followed by a negative stimulus, it often reduces
the likelihood of that response occurring again in the future.
In fact, there is no difference in the way that external or

internal influences affect our future actions. No one would
punish themselves by guilt if they had not been conditioned to
do so. That is why I say guilt is not a natural human emotion.
The human mind has all the necessary human characteristics
which would allow guilt to be expressed. Those abilities exist
only as a potential until conditioning brings about their
expression.
The main requirement is self-reflective consciousness.

That is, a mind which can consider the past and future
symbolically. Self-reflective consciousness is so-called
because it is able to reflect on what has occurred in the past
and to make predictions as to future happenings.
A being who can reflect on their past behaviour has

the opportunity to judge that past behaviour as to whether
it was successful or unsuccessful, wise or unwise, helpful
or harmful, good or bad. Self-reflective consciousness also
has the ability to create any combination of symbols which
are known to it. That means, any possible thought can arise
in the mind. Those attributes of self-reflective consciousness
are sufficient to allow guilt to be created.
The mind recreates the response in mental images, and

follows that mental image by a thought constructed so as to
be perceived negatively. For example, a girl who had pushed
her little brother down the day before might recreate the
response of pushing her brother as a mental image, and feel
bad for having done so. Even the words we use to describe
that experience, “feel bad”, can refer to the fact that we are
saying “I am bad” for us having done that wrong action. We
could, and sometimes, say we “feel sorry”, but that express
a different and more constructive thought process. So the
question becomes, how did people first learn to experience
guilt for their wrong behaviour?
When we delve into the distant past of the human race,

we should not think we know exactly how things happened,
but better we use our present knowledge to understand how
things might have happened. From the earliest times in
human history, there have been individuals or groups who
exercised control over others. Much of that control would
have been exercised by the use of force. There are a number
of difficulties which occur when negative control is used. One
of those problems is that while negative control effectively
influences behaviour when the controller is clearly present,
the influence is often lost when the controller is absent.
The proverb, “when the cat’s away, the mice will play”
would seem to describe those situations quite well. That
problem, where influence is lost when the controller is not
present to use force to maintain control, could be overcome if
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there is some way to have the negative control always present.

The self-reflective abilities of human consciousness provide
such an opportunity. If some way can be found to make the
person being controlled also be the one who applies the force
or negative control, then the person being controlled is always
under the desired influence. If a person can be conditioned to
believe behaving in certain ways makes them bad, they will
see themselves as bad when they behave in those ways. They
will then also try to avoid behaving in that way to avoid being
bad. Parents often condition their children in this manner by
saying, “you’re a bad boy” or, “you’re a bad girl” after the child
had performed some behaviour which the parent considers
wrong.
Guilt is a conditioned emotional reaction to whatever the

person in control thinks is wrong. What the person in control
believes to be wrong may not necessarily be wrong and, in
fact, could even be right. Guilt over right behaviour is worse
than guilt over wrong behaviour; but all guilt is harmful.
While that is possible, I think it is more likely that leaders

within social groupings have attempted to gain control over
their followers by creating feelings which we might now
consider as the religious guilt. The basic method could have
been to have people believe that God created us as “sinners”.
This guilt of being “sinners” is used by the religious authority
to wield control over their followers by establishing religious
rules and rituals to confess your sin in order to lessen your
guilt. In this way, the followers are trapped in a perpetual
circle of feeling guilty, confession and more guilt. The followers
are shamed before God.
It is not the way of God to think badly of any person.

Any person who considers themselves shamed before God is
mistaken. We can feel shame in ourselves, and others may
feel ashamed of us; but God is never ashamed of us. God
understands us in the most full and complete way possible.
Besides, many of the laws and rules attributed to the “gods”
early in the history of human society did not come from God,
but were an expression of the beliefs and desires of those who
held positions of leadership.
The word is “anthropomorphise”. It means to ascribe

human form or human characteristics to beings or things
not human. Human characteristics have been attributed to
almost everything at one time or another. Such widely diverse
things as mountains, trees, weather, stars, the moon, seas,
rivers, ships, planes, and cars have all been seen as having
human attributes. Gods also have been considered to have
both human form and human characteristics.
It has placed limits upon God’s true nature. It has

made it even more difficult to know the true nature of God.
Aspects of God can express all things; but all aspects of
God are less than the unity of God. Both our belief in God
and our understanding of God’s nature are conditioned.
It doesn’t bother me in the slightest that those beliefs and
sacred aspects of human life are conditioned. Conditioning
is the natural way that we come to know the reality of our
existence. My experience of God is no less real, sacred, or
beautiful because it is conditioned. When we understand the
true nature of the human self, we would understand the true
nature of God. We have elaborated this concept in the 1st,
2nd and 3rd principles of this book.
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Opportunity, Potential and Success in Life
Apparently, there are three factors that determine the

expression of any characteristic. First, that characteristic
must exist as a potential. Second, the opportunity to express
that characteristic must arise. Third, the conditioning of
that characteristic is determined by the laws of learning.
Well, if we want to give an example of experience affecting
the expression of some potential at the human level, the
sport of tennis provides a good example. Every person,
without debilitating physical or mental handicaps, has within
themselves the potential to perform all the behaviours which
constitute playing tennis. Only those people who are met
with the environmental conditions such as a tennis court,
tennis racket, and tennis balls will ever have the opportunity
to express that potential. Those people who are rewarded for
their tennis playing behaviour will tend to play more tennis,
and those who are not rewarded by the experience will tend
to play little or no tennis.
Out of all the people who express their potential to play

tennis, only one at any moment becomes the best tennis
player in the world. That person would have had hundreds
or perhaps thousands of times as much experience at playing
tennis as the average tennis player. That person would also
have received many times as much reward for their tennis
playing behaviour than the average player has. Every tennis
player learns the skills involved in a series of small steps.
Tennis playing skills are conditioned. The person who has
undergone the most successful conditioning becomes the
best tennis player in the world. If the world’s best tennis
player had not had the opportunity to play tennis, or if tennis
playing had not been sufficiently rewarded, that person would
not have played tennis or would not be able to play it well.
There would probably be millions of people throughout the

world who, if having undergone the appropriate conditioning,
could play tennis better than the present world champion.
Being the best is never a very special thing to be. Somebody

will always be the best in the world in each different thing
that people do. There will always be large numbers, perhaps
millions, of others who could have been better than the person
who is the best if they had undergone the right experiences in
their lives. The person who is best in the world at anything is
not special, it is the experiences they have undergone which
are special. It means little to be the best compared with others.
It means more to have expressed your own potential to its
fullest. Of course, millions of people could become better cooks,
engineers, race car drivers, psychologists, environmentalists,
swimmers, doctors, carpenters, and virtually any other skill
you could name, than the person who is presently the best in
the world. This goes to show that potential within each of us
is virtually unlimited.
Probably no one yet understands the true nature of

their potential. Human potential is beyond even the grandest
dreams. Although I know human potential is to become
perfect in every aspect, I am far from knowing what all
those characteristics will be. Many of the characteristics
which shall be perfectly manifested may be presently beyond
comprehension. No matter how broadly I interpret the nature
of perfect existence, the true expression of that perfection
remains beyond my grandest dreams.
The human conception of perfection is so limited because

our understanding of perfection has been conditioned by our
experiences as material beings inhabiting a physical universe.
Human beings are only just beginning to conceptualise that
which exists beyond the material plane. All that exists on
the material plane is less than the tiniest part of that which
exists beyond the material plane. We certainly have much to
look forward to. I pray that we don’t squander that sublime
opportunity.
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It is obvious that virtually all characteristics of human

beings have been developed by interactions with the
environment rather than having their origins in the expression
of genetic information carried in the chromosomes. There
has been a long standing scientific and philosophical debate
concerning this matter, which might be called the nature
versus nurture controversy. There have been those on the
nature side of the debate who have made the claims that
virtually all of what we become as adults we were born with;
and there have been those on the nurture side of the debate
who have made the claim that virtually all of what we become
as adults results from our interactions with the environment
as we grew up. Basically, this is genetic inheritance versus
conditioning.
The new science of epigenetics is now proving the simple

idea of our genes controlling our future is proven to be wrong.
Genetic mechanisms alone cannot explain how cellular traits
are propagated. Life style, experiences and social stress
can influence our success or failure in life. Even the idea of
evolution is being challenged by the new science of epigenetics.
However, I am not saying that the answer is a compromise

between these two extremes. No, it appears to me that virtually
all we become as adults is determined by the effects of our
experiences as we grow up. I take the side of nurture on this
question.
Those inherited characteristics determine our potential,

but only in the broadest terms. For example, a person born
with only one leg is not likely to become the world’s fastest
runner.
I admit that the example was somewhat extreme, but

it also contains the essence of an important general truth.
We come into this world essentially, although not actually,
equal. The later discrepancies in our skills and abilities are
due more to the experiences encountered during development

into adulthood than to our inherited characteristics.
Probably, more than any other reason, because the

influence of experience was largely invisible when the powerful
laws of learning were unknown. For thousands of years in
human history, it was believed that the offspring of rulers,
the aristocracy, and the wealthy were superior to the children
of common people. That was a view largely unchallenged until
recent times, and has been of great influence in many human
beliefs.
It is true that children of parents with certain traits, skills,

or abilities often tend to express those same characteristics.
Certainly it is surely another reason why the belief we are
born with certain characteristics rather than learn them
has been so predominant. However, this does not mean at
all that most human traits, skills and abilities are inherited
characteristics. The conclusion that those are inherited
characteristics is based on an incorrect assessment of the
facts of the situation. Actually, that misinterpretation of the
nature of observed reality typifies the origins of many widely
held, but false, beliefs.
That general misunderstanding takes place when

we observe some situation or event taking place, that we
often attempt to account for those situations or events by
describing the reasons or causes. The reasons we come up
with are often those which appear obvious or seem logical.
For example, when primitive people saw the sun cross the
sky each day there was an attempt to explain that event.
There were many early explanations given, such as the sun
was being carried by a giant bird across the sky, or the sun
was a blazing chariot of a God crossing the sky. After those
primitive mythological explanations were discounted by early
scientists, a new belief arose. This new belief was that the
sun was a heavenly body which revolved around the Earth.
That belief was almost universally held and appeared to be
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obviously true. Those who now had that new truth about the
sun’s nature could look back on the myths of their primitive
ancestors, sometimes with ridicule. Only a few hundred years
ago it was finally proven that the sun does not revolve around
the Earth, but instead the Earth revolves around the sun.
This came as a shock to many, and that new truth took a long
time to be accepted. The mistake at each stage of incorrect
knowledge was to think that what appeared to be, must really
be.
Indeed, this is a constantly recurring idea in the new

worldview; that things are as they are, not how they appear to
be. We must be forever testing our perceptions to see if they
accurately represent truth. What may appear to be totally
obvious may also be completely wrong.
As with all the things I say I know, that is really an

assessment of what is most probable given the information
available. Whether the traits, skills, and abilities shown by an
adult are bestowed by inheritance or instilled by experience,
there must be some process by which that is achieved. When
the genetic material carried in the chromosomes is evaluated
as a possible mechanism for the transmission of most traits,
skills, and abilities, we find the means to do that are just not
present. It is easy to assume, for instance, musical ability is
transmitted from musically inclined parents to their offspring
through genes on the chromosomes; but when considering
the way genes work, it can be seen that there is no way for
this to be done. In contrast, when our life’s experiences,
affected by the laws of learning, are evaluated as a possible
mechanism for the transmission of traits, skills, and abilities,
we find those means more than adequate to the task.
There is a very good explanation for that fact based on

learning principles.
Modelling would be responsible for many of the

characteristics which show up among members of a family,
along with the shared opportunities and influences of the
common environment. In every trait, skill, and ability there
is some aspect inherited from the parents. The physical and
neurological structure of our bodies is largely determined
by information given to us by the chromosomes of our
parents. The inherited factors don’t determine what we will
be, they determine what we can be. Those characteristics we
inherit exist as potential. The expression of that potential
is determined by the influences of our experiences with the
environment.
Differences in Inherent Human Potential,

Tendencies and Behaviour
Understandably, no one becomes an alcoholic because of

inherited physiological or neurological factors. Also, the
question of whether some people are born more prone to
become alcoholics than others is sometimes very difficult to
give a "yes-or-no" answer without being misleading. Yes, it is
true some people are born more prone to become alcoholics
than others. Some people are born more likely to do or be
anything than others. That is because every person is born
different from all others, and those differences will show up,
however much or little, in the way each person interacts with
their environment. With that being said, I can now give you a
better answer to the question. No, for all practical purposes,
some people are not born more prone to become alcoholics
than others.
In other words, although there are differences among

people related to how prone they are to become an alcoholic,
nowhere in that range of difference is there a condition
which would actually make the person more prone to become
an alcoholic. Nobody is born significantly more prone to
alcoholism than any other person. What differences do exist
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are not significant. Another important question is whether

or not mental illness inherited. Before I could give a definite
answer to that question we would have to come to an
agreement as to what is meant by the term “mental illness”.
While there may be some mental abnormalities which are
transmitted genetically, the vast majority of what is considered
to be mental illness is not transmitted genetically. Likewise,
criminal behaviour and homosexuality are not inherited.
The factors which result in the existence of those

behaviours throughout human society are complex. I can say,
though with no changes in the present inherited component
which affects the expression of those behaviours, we could
have a world that had no alcoholism, no mental illness other
than the specific physical abnormalities passed on genetically,
no crime, and no homosexual activity. The environmental
influences which pervade our present world society subtly
shape certain individuals’ behaviour patterns until they
become alcoholics, mentally ill, criminals, or homosexuals.
I think this might be another area where the things which

I say, while true, will either be found difficult to believe, or
perhaps, even be found to be offensive.
The importance of that social insight was that it took

the blame away from the alcoholic. It removed some of the
social stigma of being an alcoholic. Alcoholics could no longer
be considered worthless people. That was good because all
people are of great worth, regardless of whether or not they
are alcoholics. Besides being wrong to consider alcoholism to
be an inherited trait, it also removes the responsibility from
the alcoholic for their condition.
If you take away the responsibility, you also take the

free will. Every person who is an alcoholic must be given the
responsibility for their condition so that they can exercise
their free will to escape from the influence of alcohol. It is
important to accept responsibility, because that which we
do not have responsibility for we could hardly be expected

to overcome. No, society owns some large part of that
responsibility. Society powerfully conditions the belief that
drinking alcohol is desirable. Society creates the role of the
alcoholic, just as society creates the role of the mentally ill,
the role of the criminal, and the role of the homosexual.
As we said earlier when referring to the responsibility of

society, that responsibility truly belongs to the people. The
term “society” is just a convenient way to refer to the combined
influence of all humanity. It should never be considered as
some abstract concept, because it serves no purpose to assign
responsibility to an abstract concept. Only human beings
can accept responsibility. We each have responsibilities both
as individuals and as members of the various social groups
which make up the human race.
Indeed, every person on this planet shares the

responsibility for every problem which exists in human
society. Every person has some degree of influence which
diffuses throughout the world. Usually, that influence is
minor for any particular individual; but some individuals have
an influence which can bring major changes to the whole of
human society. Whether the influence of any individual is
great or small, the responsibility held by every individual is
great. It is the responsibility of each person to be a positive
influence. The billions of small positive influences which
should naturally arise from the human populace are what
can bring about a utopian future.
Collective Human Consciousness
All problems exist because of wrongness in the collective

consciousness of the human race. If a single human mind
has a basic wrongness, that individual will manifest a wide
range of problems. The consciousness of all individuals in
the world makes up the collective human mind. A wrongness
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in an individual mind is a wrongness in the collective mind.

If the collective human mind has a basic wrongness, human
society manifests a wide range of problems. The mechanism
is very similar to the way the mind of one individual alters
the structure of the mind of another. It is done through
the exchange of photons between physical matter at the
subatomic level. We don’t see that micro level of influence.
We view those changes at the level of human physical form
and mental processes. Each time any person influences their
environment, the effects of that influence are transmitted
directly to the immediate surroundings. The changes which
take place in the immediate surroundings from that influence
spread out affecting the broader environment. Those
influences branch out many times without number until the
entire world feels the effects.
The example will be hypothetical, but it could be real.

A professor of psychology speaking to her university class
makes a statement about world peace. She says that there
is nothing so fine and beautiful and necessary to human life
as peace and love. There are thirty students in her class who
hear that statement. Each of those students is changed to
some degree by hearing the professor’s words. The subatomic
particles in the brains of each of those students are altered in
their organisation by the input of that information.
Each of those thirty students walks away from that

classroom ‘a changed person’. Regardless of the degree of
change, the fact remains, each one of those students is a
changed person. For the rest of their lives, some effects of
hearing their professor’s words will remain with them. Every
interaction they have with their environment, which occurs
after hearing the professor’s words of peace and love, will
transmit some degree of impact from those words.
The influence of the professor’s original words does

not stop after being passed on just once, but is picked up
and re-transmitted in some form after each new interaction
in the spreading web of influence. Perhaps years later one

of the original thirty students is now a teacher; and when
remembering those words of peace and love, passes them on
to his students. One of this new group of students grows up
and develops a body of knowledge that, when spread widely
throughout the world, initiates a change in the consciousness
of humanity which results in a future of fully expressed peace
and love, a utopian society.
After many years, and having gone through a number of

intermediate stages, the influences of the professor’s words
of peace and love touch many people in the world. Of course,
the influence will not always be so dramatic; but even the
smallest influence diffuses through the whole world.
No, every thought, word, and deed which occur in each

person’s life will touch the life of every other person in the
world to some degree. It is for this reason that we have such
a great responsibility to be a positive influence. We may not
all want that responsibility, or we may not all meet that
responsibility; but we cannot refuse to accept it. It is ours
whether we like it or not. That is the true nature of our reality.
Getting back to the discussion of alcoholism, this is an

example of truth being other than many people would desire to
hear. The responsibility for alcoholism lies with the individual
alcoholic and with all of human society. Alcoholism (together
with drug addictions always) is conditioned and alcoholism
is learned. By altering the circumstances which presently
shape alcoholism, people will no longer learn to be alcoholics.
That’s because the word ‘learn’ has for so long been too
limited in its usage. It will help people to exercise control over
their own destinies when we all understand learning in its
fullest meaning. We have too long associated learning with
schools and academic subjects. Learning is an essential and
continuous part of life.
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In all areas of human behaviour, where people presently

act wrongly, there is no one who could not overcome that
wrongness. There will, though, be those who do not overcome
their wrong actions. It is within the potential of every person
to overcome their wrong actions. That which is within our
potential may not always be easily attainable. Few, if any,
have yet reached their full potential. It is possible to try
extremely hard and still not succeed. It is for that reason it
can be said that some people are not able to overcome their
alcoholism, just as people struggling to achieve many other
different goals do not succeed.
They must be given more time and greater opportunity

to succeed; but even if a person cannot live up to what they
know to be right, they must take great care that they do not
influence others to follow their wrong example.
There are few things worse than influencing others to

follow a wrong example. Sometimes, people who do wrong
encourage others to also do wrong because it reduces their
feeling of guilt. When someone is the only one doing wrong,
the wrong stands in contrast to the right action of others.
When doing wrong among others doing the same wrong thing,
the wrong action becomes the social norm.
I sometimes wonder, if they should have the opportunity

to be a wrong influence on others taken from them. Human
society can overcome the harm from individual wrong action,
but it may not be possible to overcome the harm done by
those who actively seek to influence others to do wrong.
That has been the cause of much which is wrong in the

world. That is why when people widely come to know the laws
of learning they will not be so susceptible to wrong influence.
If the effect of conditioning in our present society resulting in
such widespread use of alcohol and the massive problems of
alcoholism is greatly reduced, that would be one of the many
benefits of a sane society.
Moreover, that is the only way to successfully achieve

those results. There could never be a sane society which
resorts to any form of negative control. People cannot be
made good by negative control. Goodness is an inner quality.
Wrong behaviour can sometimes be temporarily suppressed
by negative control, but goodness can never be instilled by
negative control. Ultimately, right behaviour can only be
achieved through positive influence.
Characteristics and Factors of Mental Illness
When I say mental illness is not inherited, I mean that there

is no gene or combination of genes which produces most
types of mental illness. It is not surprising that mental illness
tends to occur more often in some families. Mental illness is
a set of learned characteristics. Some environments are more
likely to shape the characteristics associated with mental
illness than others. Among the most powerful influences in
the environment are the social influences. Families are the
most powerful sources of social influence, particularly during
the early years. Families that have a history of mental illness
within them, make-up more of the influences; mainly social,
which produce the beliefs and behaviours of the mentally ill.
There is, but not all, so called scientific evidence that is

logically sound and true.There have been statistical studies
done which compare the rates of mental illness between
family members of varying degrees of relationship with
unrelated people in the community. The researchers looked
at how often mental illness occurs in children of mentally ill
parents, in brothers and sisters of mentally ill people, and at
most of the other close family relationships. The closer the
genetic identity, the more likely mental illness would occur.
For example, brothers and sisters of a mentally ill person
are more likely to also be mentally ill than are cousins of a
mentally ill person. The twin of a mentally ill person is more
likely to also be mentally ill than a brother or sister who is
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not a twin. But no matter what degree of closeness the family

relationship, if one member of the family is mentally ill then
the chances of some other member also becoming mentally ill
are greater than among unrelated people.
That certainly appears to be a reasonable interpretation;

but it is not necessarily true. The family social environment
would account for much of the related mental illness between
family members, but certainly not all of it. There have been
studies done on twins separated at birth and raised in
different families. They also show a much greater chance of
both becoming mentally ill if one becomes mentally ill than
would unrelated people.
Remember I stressed that when I say mental illness is

not inherited, I mean that there is no one gene or combination
of genes which produces mental illness. I have not said
that there is no connection between genetic make-up and
the development of mental illness. That is an extremely
important difference. Each person is unique in the world in
that their physical and neurological structure is different
from all others. These differences are largely determined by
the chromosomes inherited from their parents. I once gave an
extreme example of how a person born with one leg is going to
be a slower runner than most two legged people. While such an
obvious difference in physical structure can easily be related
to the later ability of the adult person, most differences in
physiological and neurological make-up are not so obvious. A
person born with only one leg will, throughout their life, not
only be less likely to be a fast runner, but will have a different
overall set of interactions with their environment.
Those different interactions with their environment will

begin from the earliest periods of life and continue throughout
their life. Those differences in the interactions will not only
be with the physical world, but also will result in different
social interactions. Not only will there be differences in the
physical and social interactions, but in their own thoughts
and feelings there will be differences which will come about

due to being born with only one leg. Every difference in the
genetic make-up, whether great or small, will somehow have
an effect on the interactions between the physical, social,
and inner mental environment during a person’s life. The
total of the genetic differences which make up each unique
individual will have a combined effect on the nature of the
individual’s interaction with their environment. When every
class of learned behaviour is looked at, we will find that the
unique genetic structure of each individual has some effect
on the individual’s performance of that class of behaviour.
Some people have a genetic make-up which will affect

their interactions with the environment in such a way that
those learning experiences are more likely to produce mental
illness than others. No, it is not the genetic inheritance in
any way which makes the person become mentally ill. It is
the interactions with the total environment which produces
mental illness. The genetic make-up of some people is such
that their interactions with the environment result in those
interactions making the development of mental illness more
likely.
If a person’s genetic make-up caused them to become

mentally ill, there would be little that could be done to stop
mental illness from occurring; but since it is the interactions
with the environment which produce mental illness, there
is much that can be done to remedy this problem. If the
interactions of the individual with their environment produce
mental illness, there could be further interactions with the
environment which bring about a cure to that individual’s
mental illness. Just as there are conditions of environmental
influence which produce mental illness, there are also
conditions of environmental influence which can cure mental
illness. It would also be possible for human society to be such
that the conditions of environmental influence which produce
mental illness do not exist. The new science of epigenetics
provides hope that this can be achieved in the future.
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Much mental illness which now exists is an attempt by

the consciousness of individuals to adjust to their insane
environment. In a truly sane society, there would be no
mentally ill people, regardless of what genetic inheritance
they brought into the world. It would appear that the unique
physical and neurological structure of each individual, while
having quite a large effect on the nature of that individual’s
interactions with their environment, has only a small impact
on the total development when compared to the experiences
of life. Moreover, it has often been noted that the most obvious
of genetic characteristics which show up in our physical make
up can be great enough to develop certain personality traits.
Self-fulfillling Prophecy: The Pygmalion Effect
In the modern times, many studies have also confirmed

the authenticity of the Pygmalion effect. It is found that, for
example, if a person is fat, they are likely to have a large
number of comments made to them about their weight.
Comments of that type will only be made to those who are
overweight. The combined effect of those comments will only
have an influence on that class of people who are overweight.
Since there is a specific form of influence directed toward only
one segment of society it would be expected that segment of
society might be shaped to behave in ways different than the
rest of society who were not subject to those influences.
It is possible that the particular influences unique to

overweight people may result in the development of behaviour
patterns which could be called jolly. I don’t want to say this
example is actually the way some overweight people are
shaped toward being jolly. It would be better to think of this
example as a way to understand the general process whereby
overweight people might be conditioned to behave in a manner
which is described as jolly.
Since people who are quite overweight will have a

number of comments made to them about their weight, they
are likely to develop some particular tactics in dealing with
those comments. If each time some comment was made about
their weight and they were to get angry, life could be very
unpleasant. If each time some comment was made about their
weight and they were to respond in a good humoured way,
they might well receive a positive reaction from the person
making the comment, and don’t have to suffer themselves the
unpleasant experience of anger.
After many years of responding humorously to comments

about their weight, they would likely generalise that verbal skill
to other aspects of their communication. From the perception
of others, such a person would probably be considered to be
jolly. In addition to whatever other influences, which during
their development, condition overweight people to act in a
jolly manner, those overweight people would also be aware
that overweight people are often perceived to be jolly. The
knowledge that such a stereotype exists might be another
aspect of the conditioning factors in human society which
result in the development of behaviour considered to be jolly.
When others place expectations on us, or particularly

when we place expectations on ourselves, we increase the
likelihood of acting in accordance with those expectations. If
an overweight person has social expectations upon them to
be jolly, the likelihood that they will act in a jolly manner is
increased. The process is called the “self-fulfilling prophecy”
or “the Pygmalion Effect”. The concept of the self-fulfilling
prophecy is much broader than that. The belief, held for
whatever reason, that something is going to happen increases
the likelihood of that thing happening. No matter what it is
which we expect will happen, that thing becomes more likely
because it is expected. The self-fulfilling prophecy does not
make things happen, it creates a set of circumstances which
increase the probability that the expected thing will take
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place. If we expect to do well at something, that expectation

increases the chance we will do well.
Similarly, if we expect to do poorly at something will

that expectation increase the chance we will do poorly. That
also is an effect of the self-fulfilling prophecy. For example,
if a person believes they are going to do well at something,
they create a positive attitude toward the thing they are
going to do. That positive feeling facilitates smooth and
successful performance. In every thought and action related
to the person’s performance, there will be some effect which
facilitates that performance. If a person expects something to
happen to them in the future, they will act in ways, many of
them unconscious, to make that thing happen.
Similarly, if someone were to believe that they were going

to break their leg, that belief actually increases the chance
they will break their leg. That belief will act on the person in
many ways, largely subconscious, and the combined effect
of those influences increases the probability that person
will break their leg. If only one person believed the world is
going to become a peaceful and loving place, there would
be some increase in the likelihood of that happening; but
it would be an extremely minor increase. The more people
who believe anything will happen, the greater the effect of the
combined influences which can increase the chance of that
thing happening. If many people believe the world is going
to become a peaceful and loving place, that would result in
a major increase in the likelihood of world peace becoming a
reality.
If everyone believed that the world is going to become

a peaceful and loving place, world peace would become a
reality. Self-fulfilling prophecy works no matter what the
expectation. If war and destruction is expected, we will have
war and destruction. Much of what is believed is true. It is the
future of the human race to either progress through raised
consciousness to a future of peace and love, or to succumb
to the prevailing wrong influences and perish in a horrible

manner. We are close to the point now where, if all human
society does not make the decision to follow the path of peace
and love, the disastrous alternative will bring worldwide
destruction.
Let me present one more common argument against the

idea that it is the conditioning effects of our interaction with
the environment which has the major influence in determining
the characteristics of each individual. Often, two people will
come from a virtually identical environment, and yet they
turn out to be completely different. For example, two people
grow to maturity in a crime ridden, slum area. One turns out
to be a thief and murderer, the other turns out to be a loving
imam of a mosque. It is often thought one was born bad and
the other was born good, since the environmental influence
was the same for both. That kind of thinking shows a lack of
understanding of the factors which make up the environment.
Both the criminal and the holy man, in the example, might
have had the same physical and social influences.
We could take the example further and say they were

brothers, even identical twins, in our attempt to make
their physical and social environments as nearly identical
as possible. What we are then considering is still only the
smaller part of the environmental influence upon the criminal
and the mosque imam. The biggest part of the environmental
influence upon us always comes from our own thoughts and
feelings, from our inner speech. When twin brothers turn out
to be so very different from each other, having grown up in
the same neighbourhood, in the same home, with the same
family and acquaintances, the factor which is responsible
for that great difference is due to the thoughts and feelings
which took place in their inner speech over the years. It
might be true that the physical and social environment they
both experienced had a strong general influence toward the
development of criminal behaviour.
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The inner speech of one would have provided influence

which aided the effect of the external environmental influences,
and he became a criminal. The inner speech of the other
would have provided influence which opposed the effect of the
external environmental influences, and he became an Imam
of a mosque. Our inner speech is the source of our free will.
There are, in all physical and social environments, influences
which hinder our progression and influences which aid our
progression.
If we choose to exercise our free will we can, with

inner speech, counter those influences which hinder our
progression, and we can, with inner speech, support those
influences which aid our progression. In this case, we insure
a life which rises into the full expression of human nature,
continuing toward our grand destiny, perfection in every
aspect.
Of those four classes of behaviour, sometimes believed

to be inherited rather than learned, we have discussed about
alcoholism and mental illness. Later, I want to ask more about
mental illness; but first, I’d like to know something about
the other two behaviours, criminality and homosexuality.
Do both of those patterns of behaviour develop through the
conditioning factors of the physical environment, the social
environment, and inner speech?
Criminality and Homosexuality
Both criminal behaviour and homosexuality are learned

behaviours. There is no genetic information carried in the
chromosomes which can make a person either a criminal or
a homosexual. Social factors, which in reality, have no logical
significance, often influence the beliefs that people hold.
There has been, within recent times, an attempt to equate
the condition of homosexuality as an issue of civil rights. It
is easier to pass homosexuality off as a legitimate lifestyle,
which must be protected along with other civil rights, if it is a

matter of genetic inheritance rather than a learned behaviour.
If people are born homosexuals then we would have to accept
that homosexuality is natural. The homosexuals would have
no responsibility for their condition, and would justifiably
expect to be granted the same rights as all other people.
We have briefly discussed homosexual behaviour earlier.

We have been discussing homosexuality along with alcoholism,
mental illness, and criminal behaviour. They were grouped
together because all four classes of behaviour have been
claimed to be due to inherited physiological factors, rather
than being conditioned by the experiences of life. Virtually,
no one would disagree that alcoholism, mental illness, and
criminal behaviour are harmful both to the individual and
to society; but some would not consider homosexuality to be
harmful to either the individual or to society.
It is most fitting that homosexuality be grouped with

alcoholism, mental illness, and criminal behaviour. It
is only recently that the inclusion of homosexuality
with those other behaviours was questioned. The word
homosexual has been often misunderstood. It refers to sex
between partners of the same gender, although the term
homosexual has more commonly been used to describe
the sexual relationship between men. When I use the word
“homosexual”, I am referring to the condition of both men
and women who engage in sexual behaviour with a partner of
the same sex. There is much behaviour that is wrong which
should not be considered criminal until society is well into its
transformation into a society of goodness and right. In other
words, only those qualities and behaviours of human beings
which are in accord with natural law should be guaranteed
as issues of civil rights.
We must discriminate between that which is right and

that which is wrong; there is no other way to achieve our
grand destiny. Although I say homosexuality is not deserving
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of full acceptance, and may fairly and rightly be the subject

of discrimination, it is important that any action taken
in regard to homosexuality be only for the protection of
society, and must never include any form of punishment or
retribution toward the homosexual person. If homosexuals
are fully accepted then the practice of homosexuality would
be fully accepted. By giving full rights to homosexuals, the
society would be acknowledging that there is nothing wrong
with homosexual behaviour; but if homosexuality is a wrong
behaviour there must be natural consequences. One of the
natural consequences of wrong behaviour is the refusal of
society to accept that wrong behaviour. The acceptance of
wrong behaviour acts as a reinforcer for wrong behaviour,
and therefore, results in an increase in that wrong behaviour.
Homosexuals should be denied the opportunity to influence
others to participate in homosexual acts, or to influence others
to believe homosexual behaviour is right and desirable. No
one has the right to influence others to think, speak, or act
wrongly.
In the beginning, yes. Removal of the opportunity to be

a wrong influence has far reaching consequences. In all other
ways, homosexuals are deserving of the love, consideration,
and respect due to any person. Homosexuality is not a mental
illness in the traditional meaning of the term; but the broadest
meaning of mental illness must include homosexuality just
as it must include all wrong human behaviour. Homosexual
behaviour is a mental illness in the same way violence is a
mental illness. All wrong thoughts, words, and deeds are
symptoms of our insane society. In the true meaning of
mentally ill, anyone who thinks, speaks, or acts in opposition
to the natural law would have to be considered mentally ill.
Classification of Mental Illness
Under that broad definition of mental illness, every person on

this planet is mentally ill. Yes, even me. I am not free from the
pervasive influence of the old worldview. The wrong beliefs

and influences from the past lead me to think, speak, and act
wrongly at times. If every person in the world is mentally ill, to
some degree, then it would seem no person should look down
upon others as unworthy. The wrongness in thought, word,
and deed of some is great, and in others small. No person
shall overcome their wrongness, be it great or small, unless
we all work together to bring sanity to the human race.
I do not consider it useful to have such a detailed

classification system for mental illness. That method of
classification leads to the belief that each of the listed
categories of mental illness is truly separate from the others.
If each one is a separate form of mental illness then it would
also be likely that there are specific origins and cures for
each. They might be valuable if they were correct, but they
are based on an incorrect understanding of the basic nature
of human illness. It is not correct to think that there are
many different types of mental illness. Virtually, all mental
illness is of one type. That one basic type manifests itself in
many different ways. There is one set of laws which govern
the development of virtually all mental illness, and one form
of treatment which provides the best hope of recovery from
the varied expressions of mental illness. If one were to view
the behaviours associated with the different expressions of
mental illness, they would appear to have no common factor.
It is probably that fact which resulted in the widely held belief
that there are many different types of mental illness. Different
patterns of physical and verbal behaviour were observed to
fall into a number of recognisable classes. The general pattern
of behaviour which makes up each different class was then
labelled as a separate mental illness. There is also another
factor which resulted in the belief that there were a number
of different types of mental illness.
Even the name, mental illness, is related to the influence

of that same factor. Long before problems of the mind became
the subject of study, problems of the body occupied the
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healers of society. Diseases of the body often had symptoms

distinctly different from each other. The various diseases also
often had different origins and different cures. When attempts
were first made to understand the problems of the mind, the
medical model, which had been developed to understand the
problems of the body, seemed to apply equally well to the
problems of the mind. Problems of the mind were seen as an
illness, the cause of the problems of the mind was thought
to be a disease, and the methods of treating problems of the
mind were of the same type as those used to treat physical
ailments. Those who suffered problems of the mind were
believed to be sick and were treated by medical practitioners
as patients, who had no more responsibility for overcoming
their condition than someone being treated for a broken leg.
Why Treatment of Mental Illness Fails
Since the problems of the mind were not well understood,

there was little success in the treatment of mental illness.
Sometimes, the mentally ill person was thought to have
diseased fluids within the body. In those cases, the patient was
usually bled or purged. At other times, the mentally ill person
was thought to be possessed by evil spirits. In those cases,
which were often the more severe expressions of problems of
the mind, the mentally ill person underwent exorcism, which
is a religious ritual to drive the evil spirits out of the person
believed to be possessed. Those people suffering severe
mental problems were often beaten, drowned, and burned in
an attempt to make the body so unpleasant an abode that the
demons would leave.
Many people already suffering the anguish of mental

illness have died during what was claimed to be treatment.
There have been instances of mentally ill people being equally
mistreated during the 20th century. There are still mentally
ill people dying while undergoing what is claimed to be
treatment in today’s world. The nature, the origins, and the
cure of mental illness are still poorly understood. In a world

society so sick as ours, where in the true sense we all are
suffering from mental illness, it is only to be expected that the
understanding and treatment of problems of the mind would
be notably less than adequate.
Therefore, little is known even about the normal functions

of the mind that there has been little basis to understand
the mind when it goes wrong. I’ll start by explaining mental
illness as it has recently been understood. Very broadly,
mental illness was thought to fall into two main categories.
These are neuroses and psychoses. Of the two, neuroses are
usually the less severe, while the psychoses include the more
major expressions of mental illness.
There are a wide range of behaviours and thought

patterns which are considered to be neuroses. Basically,
they include thoughts and behaviours which stand in
the way of happiness, calmness, satisfaction, and social/
personal effectiveness. Neuroses are expressed in a variety
of ways such as exaggerated character traits, changes in
mood, compulsions, preoccupations, or unreasonable fears.
Such thoughts and behaviours often have some defensive
intent, but are almost invariably self-defeating. Also, people
experiencing problems of this type are most often unaware of
the nature of their difficulties.
This does not mean that people who are expressing

neurotic difficulties don’t know they have a problem. It is
often quite obvious to the person involved, as well as others,
that they are experiencing some problem; but people seldom
understand why they have a problem, the nature of the
problem, and are most often unable to resolve the problem
without help.
A common neurosis is the general anxiety disorder. A

person suffering from general anxiety disorder will experience
a distress or uneasiness of mind due to a non-specific fear of
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danger or misfortune. That uneasy mental state will often be

accompanied by physical symptoms such as sweating or an
increased heart rate. The neurotic anxiety reaction is like being
scared for no reason. That would be a very uncomfortable
feeling. Since there is no real basis for the fear, there is no
way to deal with the object of fear. The expression of neuroses
falls on a continuum like all other things. The range would
extend from virtually never feeling general anxiety to almost
constantly feeling that general anxiety. Most people would,
at some time or other, experience such a feeling, so in that
case it would be considered normal. Those who experience a
general anxiety disorder to a degree that it seriously interferes
with their life are considered to be suffering a neurosis. It
also depends on how severely the anxiety is felt. If quite mild
it would more likely be accepted as normal, and if it is very
intense, it would more likely be considered as neurotic. That
is invariably the case, and this fact will be important when we
discuss the origins of all mental illness.
Understanding Phobias
Phobias are a very common expression of neurosis. A phobia

is a specific fear which is way out of proportion to the thing
feared. It is an obsessively persistent, unrealistic fear, which
is inappropriate to the situation. There are a number of well-
known phobias, but are there many others not so well known.
Theoretically, the list of phobias would be as long as the list
of all things which exist, since anything may serve as the
stimulus for a phobic reaction. Very common phobias include
claustrophobia, the fear of closed places; acrophobia, the fear
of heights; and ophidiophobia, the fear of snakes.
Phobias include both harmful and harmless objects of

fear. It isn’t the fear which makes a phobia, as phobias only
include fear beyond that which is normal for the situation.
A person unfamiliar with snakes might have what is called a
“valid fear” or “healthy respect” for snakes. That might keep
the person from indiscriminately handling snakes, some of

which might be poisonous. An unreasonable fear might be
expressed by a person who screams, cries, and becomes
hysterical in the presence of a snake. I think phobias would
be a good expression of mental illness to explore further. Some
of the factors effecting the development and treatment of
phobias, which are a relatively simple form of mental illness,
also have importance to the development and treatment of
mental illness in general. By understanding the simple, we
will be better able to understand the complex.
Both the mental and physical expressions of phobic

reaction are learned. People who have phobias learn the
thoughts and feelings of fear which they experience, and learn
ways to express that fear with bodily reactions. Every aspect
of the phobic experience is conditioned by those same basic
learning principles. This does not mean that the development
of all the different types of phobia went through the same
process of development. The process of development would be
different for each phobia. In fact, the process of development
of the same phobia by any two people would be different.
Each person who develops a phobia would have undergone
a process of development different from all others. No two
phobias will ever be identically developed. The laws which
govern the development never vary, but the experiences which
are governed by those laws are always unique.
The circumstances surrounding the development of any

phobia will be much too complex to be fully known. Many of
the experiences which had an impact on the development of
the phobia would not have been obviously connected with
the development of the phobia. While it is always helpful in
curing a phobia to know as many of the circumstances of its
development as possible, luckily, it is possible to successfully
cure a phobia while knowing little of the specifics of its
development. Every aspect of the expression of a phobia is
behaviour. Some of those behaviours may be physical, some
verbal, and some mental. That group of behaviours which
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make up the phobia are all subject to the laws of learning. All
of those behaviours were learned, and all can be unlearned.
As with any behaviour, you attempt to alter, you begin with
the baseline behaviour and organise experiences which will
reinforce the movement of behaviour away from the baseline
toward some goal. The baseline behaviour in the case of a
phobia is the present state of all physical, verbal, and mental
responses to the object of the irrational fear. The goal is to bring
all aspects of the phobic response into a normal range, which
would no longer cause difficulties or excessive discomfort.
Indeed, the introduction of Positive Islamic Psychology will
encourage the implementation of Pi-CBT i.e. Positive Islamic
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (Pi-CBT) and serve as a way
forward towards addressing existing mental problems in the
world today.
Cognitive Dissonance
In psychology, cognitive dissonance refers to the mental

stress or discomfort experienced by an individual who holds
two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas or values. Cognitive
dissonance is particularly evident in situations where an
individual’s behaviour conflicts with beliefs that are integral
to his or her self-identity.
Cognitive dissonance, therefore, is a disharmony of

the mind. When there is a discrepancy between what we
think and what we do, a condition of discomfort is created
in the mind. The mind, which feels more comfortable with
order and harmony than with disorder and disharmony,
seeks to overcome the experienced discomfort. Since it is
the discrepancy between the beliefs held and the behaviour
performed which causes the discomfort, the obvious way to
remove the disharmony is for the beliefs and behaviour to
be one. To achieve that harmonious condition, beliefs tend
to move towards behaviour, and behaviour tends to move
towards belief.
In the broad sense, the effects of cognitive dissonance

would be felt in many areas of our lives. We tend to drift from
one point to another at times, but we always seem able to
keep the discussion headed in the same direction. It is the
nature of conversation to jump and drift. I feel the manner of
our discussion represents the freedom of mind which is itself
part of the truth we seek.
One of the things we discussed earlier was the self-

fulfilling prophecy. The resulting effect of the self-fulfilling
prophecy was that anything a person believes will happen
becomes more likely to happen. Consciousness at the human
level becomes complex almost beyond present understanding.
There are many factors which result in our beliefs becoming
more likely to be our reality. Some of those factors we are
aware of, and some we do not yet understand. Among those
factors of which we are presently aware, cognitive dissonance
is a major influence in the occurrence of the self-fulfilling
prophecy. Although I described cognitive dissonance as a
discomfort of the mind, we are most often not consciously
aware of the condition. It is well within human potential to
be fully aware of the condition and the circumstances of
cognitive dissonance. As in many realms of human endeavour,
most people fail to realise their potential. While the mental
discomfort is invariably perceived, the causes are seldom
known.
When we fail to be aware of the reality of our

circumstances, it greatly increases the chance of making
wrong decisions in our lives. We must know the truth in
all things to maximise our developmental progression. The
effects of cognitive dissonance are experienced not only by
individuals, but by social groups of all sizes. Indeed, all of
human society can be affected by this type of disharmony
of the collective mind. When there is a discrepancy between
any widely held belief in society and the behaviour of society
in respect to that belief, then the collective mind of society
experiences discomfort. The result is the same as in the
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individual. Social beliefs tend to move toward the on-going

behaviour patterns, and social behaviour tends to move
toward the widely held beliefs.
Depending on what beliefs and behaviours are causing

the disharmony in the collective mind, the social changes may
be small or large. Through the course of human history, some
of those states of cognitive dissonance, affecting the collective
mind, have been resolved in ways which have brought about
major social upheaval. There is no fixed proportion of change
that either makes toward the other. There are many factors
which determine whether it is behaviour that changes most
in the direction of belief, or whether it is belief that changes
most in the direction of behaviour. Chief among those factors
is the influence of the social environment.
As usual, I don’t want to claim the examples I give are

actually the way things happened. It is the understanding
of a general process which is of importance, not the specific
example. This does not mean that your example will not be an
actual account of social change. It only means that there is
no obligation for examples of this type to be factual accounts.
With that said, I’ll use the example of women smoking. There
was a time when the belief was widely held that it was quite a
terrible thing for a woman to smoke a cigarette. Most people
accepted that restriction, and virtually no women smoked.
In that case, there was little effect from cognitive dissonance
since beliefs and behaviour were in harmony. Then behaviour
changed as some women began to smoke. The behaviour
changed while social beliefs remained the same. Then the
effect of cognitive dissonance became a reality in the minds
of many. Some women who smoked felt guilty about it. Some
women who, seeing other women smoke, would have liked to
smoke, but didn’t because they thought it was wrong. Men
and women both experienced discomfort because women
they saw or knew were smoking. By that time, there was
considerable discomfort present in the minds of many people.
This discomfort was due to the various discrepancies which
now existed between beliefs and behaviour, in regard to the

issue of whether or not women should smoke.
There were two ways in which that condition of

disharmony could have been resolved; either behaviour could
have moved back toward beliefs, and women could have quit
smoking or that beliefs could have moved toward behaviour,
and people could have generally acknowledged that it was
acceptable for women to smoke. The second option was the
one chosen. The influence of the social environment soon
heavily supported the acceptability of women smoking. It
became almost socially unacceptable to doubt the rightness
of women smoking. Belief changed from general disapproval
of women smoking to the widely held belief that it was
acceptable, perhaps even desirable, for women to smoke.
Behaviour and belief once again established a harmony, with
a very large proportion of women smoking and that behaviour
being widely approved.
However, this was not the end of the process of cognitive

dissonance regarding women smoking. Rather, further
changes were to take place. This time, rather than behaviour
changing and bringing disharmony, it was beliefs that were
to change first. A general public awareness developed that
cigarette smoking was a very unhealthy thing to do. That
was true for both men and women; but because women have
the special role as bearers of children, it was discovered to
be worse for women. By smoking cigarettes, women were
not only harming themselves, but were also damaging their
unborn children. As health, physical fitness, and realisation of
responsibility to unborn children became important and widely
held beliefs within our society, the collective consciousness
once again began to experience cognitive dissonance. This
renewed experience of cognitive dissonance in society came
about because the behaviour of the many women who smoked
was once again coming to be in opposition to the widely held
beliefs. As always, there were the same two ways to reduce
that conflict.
Learning
Behaviour could have moved towards belief, i.e. women

could have quit smoking or they could have moved towards
behaviour, Women smoking could once again receive wide
public acceptance. This time the first option is the one being
chosen. Many women, and happily men also, are beginning to
give up smoking. Once again, a position of harmony is being
approached where there will be less effect from cognitive
dissonance because there will be less discrepancy between
belief and behaviour.
In recent times, much human behaviour has strayed far

from society’s long held system of beliefs and values. Vast
numbers of the world population suffered great mental trauma
as the discrepancy between beliefs and behaviour widened.
So great was this emotional pain that, virtually overnight,
long held social beliefs and values shifted to keep pace with
changing social behaviour. In that way, cognitive dissonance
was reduced, mental pain was eased. This was not really a
successful strategy because the cost was far too great. We once
discussed the fact that all levels of material form, including
the human level, must act in harmony with natural law. It is
possible to vary to some degree from that natural order, but
if the degree of variance is too great, there is a penalty. The
penalty, if the divergence becomes extreme, is the termination
of that particular line of material development. Natural law
must be followed. If the divergence of the human race reaches
that disastrous extreme, the result will be the extinction of
the species. Many of the human behaviours which strayed
from society’s long held beliefs and values also diverged from
the natural order. It was bad enough that behaviour violated
natural law, but when belief followed behaviour in order to
reduce mental discomfort, the future of the human species
was put at dire risk.
Now it is obvious to understand why I say the cost was

too high. We cannot afford to put the human race at risk to
eliminate the mental trauma of cognitive dissonance, neither
could humanity continue to exist in that state of mental
trauma. The reason why human behaviour in recent times

begin to stray so greatly from the long established beliefs and
values of human society was because those long held beliefs
and values underwent scrutiny and reassessment based
on a newly emerging worldview. They were found wanting.
Those cherished beliefs and values did not appear to fit in
the grand scheme of that newly emerging worldview. It would
not have been so damaging if the emerging worldview had
been correct, but unfortunately, the emerging worldview took
humanity further from the understanding of the true nature
of the reality of our existence than we have perhaps ever been.
Spiritual/Mystical knowledge
Mystical knowledge is spiritual knowledge; the world can

surely use a lot more spirituality. As long as we don’t diverge
from the truth, the distinction between the spiritual and the
material is only a matter of language. All truth is connected
as part of the unified whole. Our minds have reached a degree
of harmonious union. I am sure we will have no difficulty
understanding each other no matter how we speak of the
truth. Since our discussion may fast be coming to an end, we
should set no more limits on how we should proceed. What
is now most important is that we left nothing unsaid. Now
that we are not limited to the formal discussion of the laws of
learning, I would like to discuss how all of human society can
come to understand the new worldview presented in Positive
Islamic Psychology.
This is reasonable because once we know how individual

consciousness, or personality, develops we will be better able
to know how individual consciousness can change. After
we know how individual consciousness can change, since
human society is made up of the consciousness of billions of
individuals, then we would be better able to understand how
all of human society can change and come to hold this new
worldview. Moreover, once we know how one person develops
Learning
and changes, then we will have a pretty good idea how the
society develops and changes.
Our thoughts and feelings are very much physical

activities. Concerning the question that if our thoughts
and feelings are physical activities, then why can’t they be
observed? The answer to that question goes back to our
earliest discussions about the nature of physical existence.
Our bodies are made up of physical matter. Our physical
bodies are made up of an extremely complex grouping of
subatomic particles; mainly protons, neutrons, and electrons.
For instance, then large groupings of those subatomic
particles, which make up an arm, all move together then we
have no difficulty observing that movement. Our brains are
also made up of physical matter. Whenever we think of any
thought or experience, any feeling there is, because of the
way that the mind works, a movement of an infinitesimal
number of subatomic particles in the brain when compared
with the multitudes which make up an arm. Not only are
there many fewer particles of matter involved in thinking a
thought than in moving an arm, but the subatomic particles
of the brain, involved in thinking a thought, move distances
which are much less than the smallest we are easily capable
of perceiving.
The physical body of each individual is a grouping of

subatomic particles, those particles being no different from
the subatomic particles which make up the body of any other
individual. It is the particular learning experiences which
each grouping of subatomic particles making up a human
body undergoes that sets each individual apart as unique,
different from all other human beings. This fact of our existence
does not in any way diminish our unique importance as an
individual. Without the effect of learning experiences as we
interact with our environment, we would have no exciting,
creative, and beautiful differences between individuals.
Without the effect of learning experiences, we would not even
be dull, boring, identical human beings; we would be nothing
more than meaningless blobs of protoplasm, having no more

personality than an amoeba. It always seems hard to give up
setting the characteristics of human beings apart from all
other aspects of existence in the physical universe. It is very
difficult for us to realise and accept we are truly part of the
material existence, that our essential nature is identical with
the nature of the universe around us. We are one with the
universe. Whatever we come to know of the universe around
us, we come to know of ourselves.
It will be good when we are no longer limited by beliefs

which require us to deny the truth to maintain an illusion.
As we seek to attain perfection in every aspect of our being,
we must give up all illusions so that we can be fully open to
the true nature of our existence. So we should now have no
difficulty accepting the fact that each human being becomes
a unique individual as determined by the sum total of their
interactions with the environment, their past learning history.
Conclusion
In the 1st, 2nd and 3rd principles of this book, I have elaborated
the nature of the Creator and the created universe, the true
nature of the human self and our role as vicegerent of God
on Earth. These principles will be used as a basis for the
development of our holistic existence and the nature of our
spiritual and mystical experience. Any new language is hard
to get used to at first; but once we become used to that new
language, it becomes as easy and as comfortable as the old
language.
By using that objective, scientific language I find I can

better understand the influences upon my behaviour; and
then I have much greater control over the direction my life
takes as I develop into adulthood. As always, the greater the
amount of knowledge the greater the ability to exercise free
will. It is for this reason that I want you to understand how
Learning
learning takes place at all different levels. When this greater

understanding of how learning takes place becomes widely
known throughout human society, then humanity as a whole
will be better able to exercise free will. Once the human race
has achieved this greater ability to act out of free will, rather
than be pushed around by external forces, we will be able
to live more fully in accord with our true nature, which is
peaceful and loving.
In my own life, I can see that happening. The more I come

to know of the true nature of reality the more I desire to be
a peaceful and loving person; the better able I become to use
my free will to choose peaceful and loving thoughts, peaceful
and loving words, and peaceful and loving deeds. If I find my
desire to live in a peaceful and loving manner increasing as
my knowledge increases, and if at the same time my ability
to exercise my free will also increases, thus allowing me to
more successfully choose to follow the path of peace and love,
then what happens to me as an individual must be expected
to happen to all of the human race as soon as this new, more
correct worldview permeates the consciousness of humanity.
It can be no other way. If the collective consciousness of

human society comes to possess a new, more correct body of
knowledge, then humanity will move further along the path
to perfection. Any place further along the path to perfection
from where we are now, will definitely be more peaceful and
loving. In fact, any place further along the path to perfection
from where we are now will necessarily be better in every
positive characteristic.
I have given many examples of the effects of some of

the laws of learning; there are many more laws of learning
that affects human behaviour which are yet to be discovered.
Further research in understanding the integrative
transcendent nature of human learning and behaviour will
allow us to frame a comprehensive theory of human learning.
I am proposing the Positive Islamic Psychology model as one
of the ways to achieve comprehensive laws of learning of

learning and human behaviour. I will also include practical
application of this PIP model to transform individual and
contemporary human society towards goodness, peace, love,
happiness and success. Insya'Allah!
CHAPTER FIVE
POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY MODEL

Introduction
Our Positive Islamic Psychology (PIP) Model attempts to define

and create a framework of positive psychology in our effort
towards creating a positive global worldview. The four basic
principles of Positive Islamic Psychology (PIP) outlined in the
previous chapters are:
1st Principle: Understanding the Creator and the

Created Universe.
2nd Principle: The True Nature of the Human Self.
3rd Principle: On being the Vicegerent of God in this

Universe (Khalifatullah fil ard).
4th Principle: Holistic Principles of Human Behaviour

and Laws of Learning.
Certainly, there is a tremendous need for the Muslim

Ummah to become more positive and contribute towards the
development of the twenty first century humanity. Therefore,
more research need to be done by Muslim psychologists and
others throughout the world to expand on this work. We will
then be able to understand the true transcendent nature
of human existence and expand the scientific basis of this
reality. Only then can we really understand who we are as
human beings and work collectively towards achieving peace,
happiness and success.
By examining the transcendent nature of the human self

from an Islamic perspective, it is clear that the Concept of
Perception and Total Past Learning History (TPLH) transcend
the physical world. The sum total of human existence which
is inclusive of all of his perceptions, behaviour and actions
are the basis of his Total Past Learning History (TPLH). This
transcendental model should be understood based on the
principles described in the previous chapters.
Positive Islamic Psychology Model 301
In sum, human existence in this world, based on Al-

Ghazali’s Ihya’ Ulumuddin is described in the following
diagram:
Spiritual realms Physical realm fused

into spiritual realms
Qalb
(Heart)
Ruh
(Spirit) Nafs Jasad
(Self) (Body)
Aqal
(Mind)
Diagram 4: The 5 realms existing in both our spiritual and

physical domains as we live on Earth based on Al-Ghazali’s
model.
We understand that the human self consists of five

realms/ domains, namely: spiritual (ruh), emotional-heart
(qalb), mental-mind (aqal) and the physical body (jasad).
These four domains combine to constitute our real self (nafs)
as a fifth domain, as we exist in this physical world.
From the above diagram, we can understand the

interface of the SEMP (Spiritual-Emotional-Mental-Physical)
realms. It should be noted, however, that we are existing
beyond space and time when our inner speech develops from
the unconscious realm. When we think consciously, however,
that inner speech interfaces transcends the unconscious
realm to the conscious realm that is bounded by space and
time.
Over the last hundred years, there has been a number

of interesting, even useful, personality theories offered by
adherents of the various ‘schools’ of psychology and psychiatry.
In general, these theories have shown considerable insight
into the human condition, but none has ever dealt sufficiently
with the full range and complexity of variables which influence
human development. A theoretical construct of personality
development was needed which provided a mechanism by
which we could come to objectively understand the influences,
both within and without, which determine the course of our
development. Without this knowledge, we would never be able
to gain control over our own development by utilising to its
maximum the great potential of our free will. It is necessary
to consider all of the variables in the environment influencing
the development of the personality.
Modern research in neurology points to the importance

of the limbic system and the brain stem in processing human
consciousness. All the neural and dendrite connections of
both the left and right brain is network into the limbic system
and the brain stem; the centre or the hub of all our brain
function both conscious and unconscious. The limbic system/
brain stem of the brain help to coordinate and process all our
conscious and unconscious inner speech. We also now know
that the physical brain is just one aspect or domain of our
existence. Modern brain science is proving the true nature of
the transcendent human self that is consonant with Islamic
principles.
From Positive Islamic Psychology perspective, human

beings have six sensory capabilities which can transcend
beyond the realm of space and time. The laws of learning must
be holistic to cater to all of the human domains of existence,

i.e. SEMP domains. Moreover, the totality of human life is a
learning environment for his SEMP domains that is governed
by laws of learning. If human laws of learning only cover the
five sensory physical aspects, it will not be complete and
cannot be the real holistic laws of human learning.
As we have better understanding of the quantum nature

of this universe, we will begin to understand the existence
of the realm that is beyond our five physical faculties. Our
understanding of quantum mechanics is already transforming
our notions of relationship. As Danah Zohar, in “The Quantum
Self, Bloomsbury”, 1990, observes,
Both the concept of an entity being an indeterminate wave/

particle dualism and a concept of movement which rests on
virtual transitions presage a revolution in our perception of how
things relate. Things and events once conceived of as separate,
parted in both space and time, are seen by the quantum theorists
as so integrally linked that their bonds mocks the reality of both
space and time. They behave, instead, as multiple aspects of
some larger whole, their individualist existence deriving both
definition and their meaning from that whole.
Quantum experiment on pairs of correlated photons has

proven the non-local influences of these photons behavioural
pattern. Even though they are separated across the universe,
they are linked together across space and time. Quantum
theory also suggests the possibility of many universes or
worlds, in each of which, we can a version of our selves.
Each different from the other, and having pursued different
developmental progress, depending on the nature of that
world or universe.
In the same vein, John Eccles, neurologist and Nobel

prize winner, conducted outstanding researches of the human
nervous system concluding that human brain is not just
mere mechanical nervous system but has an independent
“self-conscious mind”. This non-material entity fully controls
all nervous and behavioural activities of the human self. We

can call this non-material entity as “our spirit” or “our soul”
as described in most transcendent /religious belief system.
According to Eccles, this self-conscious mind continuously
scans and controls the brain.
Similarly, Eccles and another renowned philosopher

Karl Popper in their book The Self and Its Brain, concluded
that the “self-conscious mind” transcends death. They wrote:
Finally, of course we come to the ultimate picture, what happens

in the death? Then all cerebral activity ceases permanently. The
self-conscious mind that has had an autonomous existence in
a sense ... now finds that the brain it had scanned and probed
and controlled so efficiently and effectively through a long life is
no longer giving any messages at all. What happens then is the
ultimate question.
Modern biological research cannot resolve the problem of

true human nature. In fact, there are many experiments that
demonstrate that the signal from the heart controls human
brain. In his Evolution’s End, for example, Joseph Pearce
observes that; “actions in the heart precede the actions of both
body and brain... We know now that the heart... controls and
governs the brain action through hormonal, neurotransmitter,
and possibly fineer quantum-energies of communication”.
Pearce also discovered that when we are in deep spiritual
contemplation, we are connecting our physical heart to the
spiritual universal heart which in turn communicates with
our brain cells that influence our thinking and behaviour.
Interestingly, classical Islamic Theologist/ Philosopher

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali in his monumental work IhyaUlum al-
Din described this phenomenon one thousand years before
Joseph Pearce. Al-Ghazali explained that our spiritual heart
(qalb) controls all our function including our physical heart.
We will elaborate on al-Ghazali’s finding later in this chapter.
Moreover, research conducted at internationally

renowned Heart Math Institute found that the heart’s intrinsic
nervous system (the heart brain) contains sensory neurites
as well as local circuit neurons of several types. The sensory
neurites, which are distributed throughout the heart, sent
and respond to many types of biological information, including
heart rate, pressure, hormones, and neurotransmitters. The
local circuit neurons are arranged in progans with input from
the heart’s sensory neurites. From there, the neurological
information from the heart travels to higher brain centres
involved in emotional processing, decision making, and
reasoning.
It must be remembered that in Islam, our relationship

with the universe is not mechanical but multi-dimensional.
Our relationship with God is based on the principles of tawhid,
i.e. the oneness of Being that transcends all realms, all time
and space and all universes. Human being was created for a
purpose; to understand and learn the nature of the oneness
of the Creator. We are progressing towards understanding
that this life in the physical realm is a learning process
and experiences towards self perfection. We have a greater
existence in the eternal spiritual realm beyond space and
time in the timeless future.
Given the fact that humans are created with the

spiritual, emotional, mental and physical domains, they
are multi-sensory beings capable of perception beyond the
physical visible realm. Indeed, their perception, intention,
behaviour and actions at all levels affect us at all realms of
existence. Similarly, their existence, intention, behaviour and
actions affect this physical universe as well as all realms of the
spiritual worlds. Moreover, their personality and behaviour
are shaped by the learning environment in this world at both
physical and spiritual level.
Consequently, the choices that they make as humans

affect their progress towards perfection in the eternal spiritual
realm. Imprinted within their human nature are the deeper

questions of our existence such as; is there purpose in life?
Does God exist? Is there life after death? ... as well as other
critical questions of life.
In Islam, man is created as the vicegerent of God on

Earth (Khalifatallah fi al-ardh) to experience and fulfill our
life in answering the above perennial questions. In fact,
human being is the only creature equipped with the ability to
make choices through free will. Similarly, he is also the only
creature given the knowledge to realize the grandeur of this
universe and the greatness of the Creator.
Inputs that Shape Human Perception
From the above description of our integrated transcendent

self and our journey in life, we can develop a holistic
framework of Positive Islamic Psychology. Whatever inputs
that shape our human perception, we must see this from
the integrated aspects of the spiritual, emotional, mental
and physical domain. It is actually very difficult to find the
boundary of the sources that shape our human perception.
However, from modern psychological research, we can have
some understanding of these inputs.
From our research, it appears that three major

sources of input shape human perception. They are the
physical environment, interpersonal communication/ social
environment and inner speech. However, there are many other
inputs towards shaping human perception and behaviour
which we classify as subsidiaries that compliments these
three major inputs.
First Input: Physical Environment
The physical environment is the starting point of our existence

in this physical plane. We are affected by all aspects of the
physical environment for us to exist on this Earth. Our basic

requirement is our food, clothing and shelter. In addition, we
are also affected by our genetic makeup that can affect our
physical, mental, and emotional state. For example,
a) If the nutrition level in our food intake is insufficient

it will stunt our physical and mental growth. Many
children in the Sub-Saharan region are stunted
both physically and mentally as a result of famine
and gross malnutrition. We also have the opposite
problem of excessive food intake in the western
world resulting in obesity and lifestyle diseases such
as diabetes, heart diseases, as well as psychological
problems such as anorexia and bulimia.
b) We need proper clothing and shelter. There are

hundreds of shanty towns where the poor live in
abject poverty with no proper housing or sanitation.
These shanty towns are the breeding ground
for diseases, as well as social and psychological
problems such as rape, murder, incest, drug
addiction, gangsterism and other major societal
problems.
c) We are also living in a world that is increasingly

polluted. Due to our excessive material greed and
consumerism, we are plundering planet Earth to the
point of no return. We are seeing catastrophic climate
change, as well as environmental degradation that
will make all biological life extremely difficult in the
future. This environmental disaster that can wipe
out human life within the next hundred years is
due to our imbalanced way of life. We can say that
modern humanity is collectively insane. We know
that we are destroying ourselves and our future,
yet we continue doing wrong things that will finally
destroy all of humanity. Is this not a sign of a
collective insane behaviour?
d) There are many studies currently being conducted

to determine the extent to which DNA/genes affect
our behaviour. For example, some research claims
that we may have a genetic disposition towards
alcoholism. However, if the environment does
not encourage the consumption of alcohol then
alcoholism will not be a problem in that society
even though some of the members in that society
may have some genetic predisposition towards
alcoholism. Another global problem is addiction
to drug. Some existing researches also claim some
genetic predisposition that contributes to drug
addiction. However, in many western countries,
extensive drug addiction are due to availability of
drugs. In countries where laws are strictly enforced,
the incidents of drug addiction is nominal. This goes
to show that the physical environment will be the
final determinant in shaping the behaviour of drug
addicts. Similarly, the new science of epigenetics
shows that the inherited genes are largely influenced
by the physical and social environment.
There are many more examples of the physical

environment that we can quote. However, we need to
understand that the physical environment that affects our
TPLH at the individual human level or collectively as a society
or globally as a civilization takes into account all physical
factors that we encounter as we exist on this physical Earth.
Second Input: Interpersonal Communication/

Social Environment
The next input that affects our Total Past Learning

History (TPLH) is the interpersonal communication/social
environment. It must be explained why interpersonal
communication/social environment is considered as a
separate source of input rather than as part of the physical

environment.
According to social scientists, human being is a

social animal which interacts with other human beings by
forming social bonds. We are the only species given the gifts
of language as means of communication, interaction and
learning. We are also the only species given free will to act
in a good manner to make the world better and happier or in
evil manner that causes destruction and unhappiness. The
complex interaction of good and evil is reflected through our
interpersonal communication and social environment.
There are many scientific researches and discoveries

in the field of Communication and Sociology that point to
these complex interactions. The detailed elaboration of these
interactions, however, is beyond the scope of this book.
For the purpose of research in this Positive Islamic

Psychology (PIP) model, we will discuss how the physical
environment, interpersonal communication/social
environment interact holistically with our inner speech.
Third Input: Inner Speech
As we have explained the transcendent nature of inner speech,

it transcends the spiritual, emotion, mental and physical
domains. Our inner speeches are also influenced by the
physical world/universe, as well as the spiritual universes,
i.e. the Angelic realm (al-alamal-Malaki) and other spiritual
influences which we will elaborate later.
At this point, it might be of benefit to refer to the diagrams

below that illustrate the three sources of input in relation to
an individual personality. We must remember that when we
discuss about the three sources of input, we are also referring
to all realms of existence that interact with us that shape our
persona.
PERSONALITY CONSTRUCT- BASIC FRAMEWORK
Three Sources of Input Personality A
Perception
Total Past
3. Physical Enviroment Learning History
2. Interpersonal Communication/
Social Enviroment
1. Inner Speech
Diagram 5: Personality Construct- Basic Framework
Source 1 : Physical Environment

Personality A
Perception
Physical Total Past

Enviroment Learning History
Diagram 6: Physical environment impinges directly on our

various sensory
Source 2 : Interpersonal Communication / Social Enviroment
Personality B Personality A
Total Past
Learning History
Perception
Total Past
Physical Learning
Enviroment
Diagram 7: Personality B can only communicate (impinge

on the sensory inputs) with Personality A through the
manipulation of the physical environment; but the self source
is not empirical, rather it is an abstract concept.
Source 3 : Inner Speech
Personality A
Perception
Total Past
Learning History
3. Inner Speech
Diagram 8: Note: Inner speech originates within Personality A,

becomes a conscious process through entering the perception:
and, as do the other sources, affect the Total Past Learning
History (TPLH).
In addition to considering the effect these three sources

of input have on the development of human personality,
this model of personality development provides additional
important consideration we will like to call “concept of
perception”. In essence, humans are not directly affected by
their environment; but instead, by their perception of the
environment. For example, consider two people who arrive
at a meeting late, they both step through the doorway at the
same time, all those at the meeting stop what they are doing
and look at the late arrivals.
One may perceive what is occurring as indicative of

negative feedback (input), the people present are critical of
the late arrival, and the other may perceive this situation as
positive feedback (input), the people present consider the late
arrival to be appropriately fashionable. On the basis of this
input, the first may resolve never again to be late at a meeting.
While the second may find himself arriving late more often,
this result could be independent of the true feelings of those
already present at the meeting. Of course, the reason the
two persons (personalities) perceived and responded to an
identical environmental situation differently is that the two
individuals brought to that environment vastly different past
learning histories. Not only does our past learning history
affect our behaviour, but it also affects our perceptions of the
environment.
Each input, from whatever source that enters the

individual’s perception, has an effect greater than zero on
the Total Past Learning History (TPLH); and each change in
the TPLH has an effect greater than zero on the individual’s
perception. The effect of any perceived input while always
greater than zero will have a range of effect from negligible
to all pervasive. Of course many, perhaps most, of the inputs
from the environment will have a negligible effect on the
TPLH, but it is possible for a single input to have such great
significance as to result in a major change in the course of
the development of the personality. It is also the case that
any change in the TPLH has the same possible range of effect
on the perception of future inputs from the environment. We
also have to take into account the effects of our spirituality, as
explained in the earlier chapters on our TPLH. Other effects
on TPLH include physiology, biochemistry, heredity etc. But
their effect is determined by our perception of them and how
they alter our interactions with the environment.
In the purest theoretical sense, with this ‘tabula rasa’

personality construct, we would have to say that there is a time,
probably pre-natal, when the first sensory input, probably
from the physical environment, is perceived, processed, and
stored. The early inputs would have a greater effect than the
later ones since they have less past learning history to dilute
their effect, and they would also have a greater effect because
they would be more influential in determining the perception
of future inputs from the environment. This would account
for the presumption common to most personality theories
that the basic personality is formed in the very early years
of childhood. This theoretical model addresses several of the
major, but simplistic, challenges to and reservations about
behaviourism. One reservation is the idea that behaviourism
is a tautology since we define our stimuli by their effect on the
responses they are made contingent upon. This is answered
in theory, although not in practice due to the state of the
technology by the fact that it would be possible to determine
‘a priori’ with absolute certainty, the effect of any stimulus in
any contingent relationship with a response if we fully knew
the total past learning history of that individual.
A second much asked question is, “how do two people

who grow up in a seemingly identical environment can become
two very different people?” Those who would ask such a
question are taking a naive view of the environmental variables
affecting human development; and based on this model, they
have probably neglected to consider the input from source
three, inner speech. Additionally, they have not considered
that the inputs from the so-called ‘identical’ environments
have been mediated by each individual’s unique perception

of that environment. A third and very compelling reservation
about behaviourism is that the practical application of the
theory, while changing behaviour, does not change the ‘inner’
person; and it is less than a true therapeutic agent. From this
learning, it is clearly based on personality theory, as we affect
the individual’s behaviour by a manipulation of environmental
variables, we are affecting the ‘inner’ person, the personality. I
would agree though, since behaviourists have largely ignored
the inner being, they have not been nearly as effective as they
could be in developing behavioural generalization from the
therapeutic environment to the outside world.
Finally, there are many who believe that since

behaviourists say that the individual becomes the person he
is based on his interaction with his environment, they are
saying that the individual is not responsible for his actions.
I believe this has been misinterpreted. What is actually the
case is that at any given point in time, the individual could be
no other than he is, based on his past interactions with his
environment; but it is also true that the humanists were right,
that the individual is responsible for and in control of his own
destiny. At any given point in time, the individual is free to
choose any of the infinite courses of action available. Our
past learning history may determine the course of action we
choose, but we can determine our own past learning history.
Nature of Inner Speech
Famous psychologists Aaron Beck, the founder of Cognitive

Behaviour Therapy (CBT), propounded the idea of “automatic
thoughts” that can affect our emotion and behaviour. Beck’s
theory of the causes of depression consists of:
a) Negative automatic thoughts:
Negative thoughts are mental reflects that “just pop

into the head” or “come out of the blue” without
any thinking. When we accept this distorted
negative idea, it will constantly play in our mind
automatically reinforcing our negative view of the
self which eventually leads to depression.
b) Depressive “schemata”
As we live in this world, each and every one of us

has their own “Schemata”. Schemata are sets of
attitudes or assumptions which shape our beliefs
about ourselves, others, and the world, as we
interact physically and socially. Our depressive
schemata are influenced by automatic thoughts
that play in our mind throughout our lives.
c) Logical errors in thinking
These negative thoughts can then spark a change of

cognitive reaction. For example, negative thoughts
usually affect our feelings and moods which
consequently become our depressive behaviour.
We will then magnify the feeling of being hopeless
and feel rejected. When we are psychologically
depressed, we then tend to avoid all social contact
and then become reclusive.
In his book Cognitive Therapy and the Emotional

Disorders, Aaron Beck described these new ways of looking
at thoughts and feelings. He writes,
This new approach to emotional disorders changes man’s

perspective on himself and his problems. Rather than viewing
himself as the helpless creature of his own biochemical reactions,
or of blind impulses, or automatic reflexes, he can regard himself
as prone to learning erroneous, self-defeating notions and
capable of unlearning or correcting them as well. By pinpointing

the fallacies in his thinking and correcting them, he can create a
more self-fulfillling life for himself.
Part of our inner speech is the automatic thoughts

that Beck describes in the above discovery. Experiment by
neurologists shows that when we produce positive automatic
thoughts, our brains will then fire up neurons which produce
the neurotransmitter dopamine that gives us the feeling of
joy and happiness. Conversely, if our automatic thoughts/
inner speech dwells on negative thoughts and emotions, we
will then tend to become psychologically depressed in life.
Beck believed that some people are vulnerable to depression
because they develop negative or dysfunctional thoughts
and feelings about themselves as a result of early learning
experiences.
The above discovery of Aaron Beck that leads to the

development of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) was
actually discovered by Muslim scholars eight centuries ago.
For example, Ibn al-Qayyim, in his book al-Fawa’id (spiritual
benefits) explains that a person’s action begins with his
inner thought, a concealed speech or an internal dialogue,
(khawatir). This automatic thought/khawatir/inner speech in
the human mind are like a rotating millstone that never stops
rotating. It grinds continuously day and night throughout
our lives. Those who feed their inner thought/inner speech
with goodness are like those who put wheat in their millstone
which then produce good flour, i .e. a positive and good happy
life. However, many of us are using our millstone to grind dirt
and stone, i.e. constant negative inner thoughts like sadness,
jealousy, deception, arrogance, and other negative inner
thoughts that lead to frustration, anguish and failure in life.
As Ibn al-Qayyim observes,
You should know that the beginning of any voluntary act is

automatic thoughts and concealed whisper (khawatir). It is used
in the Qur’an to describe the inner temptation of Satan. These
automatic thoughts lead to conscious thinking. Next, thinking
will be transferred to or stored in the memory and the memory

will transform it into volition and a motive which will be acted
out in real life as an action. Repeating the action leads to a
strong habit. So, eliminating an emotional or lustful or bad habit
is easier at an early stage before it gains strength and become
harmful.
Similarly, al-Ghazali describes in his book Ihya ‘Ulum

al-Din that if we want to change our self-image we must
change our thoughts. Positive thoughts will lead us to positive
behaviour. Likewise, negative thoughts will lead us to negative
behaviour. Al-Ghazali also described the Pygmalion Effect
which is the self-fulfilling prophecy. If we have good thoughts
and are constantly intending to do good actions, it will finally
lead to the actualization of good actions. Conversely, if we
constantly have evil thoughts and evil intentions, it will finally
lead to the actualization of evil actions. Al-Gazali describes in
his book that,
Good manners can be acquired by practice; by feigning or

assuming the actions issuing from those manners at first until
they eventually become part of one’s nature. This is one of the
wonders of the relation between the heart and the organs. I mean,
the soul and the body. Every quality that appears in the heart
will have its influence flowing to the organs so they act only in
accordance with that quality. Similarly, the effect of every action
that issues from the organs may reach the heart. This continues
in a circular system.
Let us summarise this contemporary finding of our

ancient scholars such as Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, Ibn
Miskiyyah, Imam al-Ghazali and other scholars. Throughout
the glorious period of Islamic civilization, they have conducted
many researches that complemented the transcendent
nature of inner speech with modern psychological ideas
that are astounding. In fact, they are more advanced in
their psychological theory framework that incorporate the
holistic nature of the human self than modern day secular
psychologist.
From the previous chapters, we can understand the

nature of the transcendent human self. Our SEMP domain
operates both in the conscious physical realm and the
unconscious spiritual realm simultaneously. We exist
within space and time as we experience physical life and all
its psychological and physical activities. We exist beyond
space and time because we are continuously linked to the
unconscious spiritual world. All the influences from our
integrated inner speech will then affect our perception and
behaviour. Every human being would have his inner speech
being influenced at the SEMP level that comes from two main
sources which consist of the external and inner sources.
Diagram 9 summarizes the holistic nature of the human

self and its effect on our total past learning history (TPLH).
Diagram 9: The Human Self-Total Past Learning History (TPLH),

SEMP Influences on Inner Speech
Diagram 9 gives us a greater understanding of research

done by traditional Muslim scholars over the last one thousand
years. For example, al-Ghazali elaborated that the idea of evil
suggestion/influences (khawatir shaytani) which consists of
greed of worldly material things, excessive appetite, excessive
sexual desire, evil prompting self and suggestion (nafs al
ammarah), as well as excessive worry/psychological disorder
(waswasa). This evil suggestion is usually linked to our
external sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, as well
as excessive indulgence in this physical and material world.
Our good inner speech that leads to perfection of our

perception and behaviour usually comes from our inner
sources. There are many categories of these inner capabilities,
for example, prophetic inspiration (wahy), inspiration (ilham),
knowledge of God (Ilm al-ladunni), true insight (firasah),
spiritual vision (Mushahadah), contemplation/reflection
(tafakkur/tazakkur), meditation/ remembrance of God
(Zikrullah/Prayers).
We are linked to the universe and we are also influenced

by nature and the spiritual existence. As al-Ghazali elaborated
how good suggestions from the universe, God and the Angelic
realm (khawatir malaki) influences our inner speech that
affects our perception and behaviour. This includes receiving
divine guidance (tawfiq and hidaya), positive suggestion
from the spiritual realm (khawatir ruh), that leads to Divine
suggestion on realizing God (khatir al-yaqin).
FROM INNER SPEECH TO ACTION
Positive/ negative natural inclination

(Mayltabi) shapes the personality of the
person.
Inner speech inclinations/ suggestions/

influences lead to conviction to act (i'tiqad),
our personality already shaped by the three
sources of input, i.e. physical, social and
inner speech.
Physical and spiritual actions based on the

decisions of the heart, that was influenced
by the previous factors (hamm)
Physical and spiritual actions based on the

decisions of the heart, that was manifested
in the personality, life values and actions of
the individuals.
Bad actions Good actions/ deeds

(Munkar) (Ma'aruf)
These actions naturally lead Happiness, fulfillment,

to unhappiness, failure and achievement, success in this
frustrations, anguish, failure life hereafter. Positive Total
in life. Negative Total Past Past Learning History (TPLH)
Learning History (TPLH)
Diagram 10: Inner Speech motivation to action
Our inner speech is the sum total of both the positive

and negative influences from all realms. Our perception and
behaviour will be shaped as described in diagram 10. For
example,
a) Positive/negative suggestion of a person (mayl tabi)

shape the personality of the person.
b) Inner speech suggestion/influences lead to

conviction to act (i’tiqad). Our personality is already
shaped by 3 sources of input, i.e. physical, social
and inner speech.
c) Physical and spiritual actions based on the decisions

of the heart that was influenced by the previous
factors (hamm) i.e. negative or positive.
d) This leads to bad action (munkar). These bad

actions naturally lead to unhappiness, failure and
frustrations, anguish, failure in life. On the other
hand, good, positive actions and deeds (maaruf)
lead to happiness, fulfillment, achievement, success
in this life and the hereafter.
The Journey of Life towards Perfection
By understanding the holistic and transcendent nature of our

inner speech, we can shape our spiritual, emotional, mental
and physical selves towards becoming loving, compassionate
and wise human beings through directing our inner speech in
a positive way. By aligning our holistic inner speech, we will
be able to understand the subtle inner feelings and intuitions
beyond our five senses. When we align our inner speech
from the negative aspects of anger, fear, hatred, vengeance,
frustration, cynicism, and so on, we can cultivate our holistic
personality to become more loving and compassionate. In
Islam, this is the journey of life openly available for every
human being towards achieving perfection of his existence
(al-Insan al-kamil), as illustrated in the diagram below:
Journey of Life
Diagram 11: Journey of Life on Earth towards Perfection

In Islam, the purpose of human existence is the journey

towards perfection in striving to serve our Creator and
realising our role as the vicegerents of God on Earth. The
perfection that we have to strive for is the holistic transcendent
perfection of our spiritual domain (ruh), emotional domain
(qalb), mental domain (aqal), and the physical domain (jasad).
This positive striving in life will allow us to develop our SEMP
as we progress towards trying to achieve perfection (al-Insan
al-Kamil).
This journey of life begins from the primordial existence

before our birth on this Earth and ends at our point of death
in this physical world. We will then journey in the realm of
life after death, as elaborated in the second principle in this
book.
There are a number of key psychological concepts in

Islam that allowed us to journey towards perfection. Great
Islamic scholars have elaborated these concepts in detail. For
our purpose in this book, let us summarise a few of these
concepts as follows:
a) Journey towards perfect goodness (Ihsan): are

actions of the heart (qalb) that involves thinking
according to the standards of truth and forming
the intention to do good, and by this is followed by
performing the good deeds and acts of worship with
full consciousness that God sees us. To attain this
perfect goodness in our journey of life, we have to
align our thoughts, feelings and perceptions based
on the full belief in the oneness of God. This belief
system can be actualized by practicing the essential
principles of Islam. This continuous practice of
Islam will tune our hearts to receive Divine gifts and
illuminate it with the light of His manifestations.
b) Insight and Discernment (Basira and firasah).

As we develop our higher consciousness, the eye
of our heart opens and aquire some of the reality
of the spiritual world. The pleasure of having this
insight gives us a deeper realisation of the truth
in the spiritual, emotional and mental realm. We

experience the gift of seing beyond our physical
realm. We begin to see through the radiance of
God’s light and receive the pleasure of nearness to
God.
c) Achieving serenity and peacefulness (sakinah and

itmi’nan): Modern man is living in restless and
purposeless life based on secular materialism.
Our journey in life is to train our inner SEMP self
towards achieving serenity and peacefulness. This
will strengthen our belief and help us receive the
gifts of peacefulness and serenity. In this stage of
our journey in life, we will not be shaken by worldly
fear, grief, and anxiety and find peace, integrity and
harmony between our inner world and the outer
world. We will then become dignified, balanced,
confident and assured human beings. We are
confident in our relationship with God the Almighty.
We will then be able to abandon egoism, vanity and
self-pride. Every spiritual gift received is attributed
to God by thanking Him through humility and self-
discipline. All dissatisfaction and uneasiness are
ascribed to personal weakness and examined in
the light of self-criticism. By continuously directing
our inner speech towards the above path, we will
achieve peace, happiness and success.
Framework for Positive Islamic Psychology

(PIP) Model
The above Positive Islamic Psychology (PIP) model takes

into account the three sources of input i.e. the physical
environment, the interpersonal communication, social
environment and inner speech. This model also explains that
our Total Past Learning History (TPLH) is the sum total of
our existence in this world. It also integrates the nature of
influence at our spiritual (ruh), emotional (qalb), mental (aqal),

and physical domain as we exist within space and time in the
physical world. We also include our transcendent nature that
exists beyond time and space within the spiritual world.
In reality, our total past learning history is the result of

the constant interaction of our spiritual, emotional, mental
and physical (SEMP) domains that is integrative, holistic and
which has no boundary. The sum result of our actions and
behaviours will then determine the nature, success or failure
of our life i. e. The sum of our Total Past Learning History
(TPLH). We can describe these influences in the following
Diagram 12:
Spiritual Existence
Ruh-Qalb-Aqal
(spirit-Heart-Mind)
Enviroment : 3 Sources
Physical Body (Jasad)
Physical Existence
Physical Enviroment
PERCEPTION
THE HUMAN SELF (SEMP

/ NAFS) TOTAL PAST
Social Enviroment
LEARNING HISTORY
(TPLH)
Inner Speech
Diagram 12: Positive Islamic Psychology (P.I.P): Model to

Achieve Peace Happiness and Success. This model integrates
the spiritual, emotional and mental domains in the Spiritual
Existence realm with the Physical realm as we exist in this
Earthly life.
1. The positive Islamic psychology model integrates

all the SEMP domain of the human self and the
three inputs of physical environment, interpersonal

communication/social environment and inner
speech.
2. Every thought, action, habit and behaviour are the

result of our personal choice and responsibility. We
creatures are given the free will by God to make the
choice between good and bad.
3. As we develop the positive aspects and domains of our

lives, i.e. the development of positive SEMP coupled
with positive physical environment, interpersonal
communication/social environment and inner
speech, we will then nurture the development of
our positive Total Past Learning History (TPLH).
4. Conversely, if we indulge in the negative aspect of

our SEMP, we will negate our human development
and this causes the development of negative TPLH.
5. Our life on Earth is a sum total of both actions and

behaviour which then become our TPLH.
6. If we nurture out of our free will and choice to

develop more and more of our positive SEMP then
we will achieve peace, happiness and success in
life.
7. Conversely, if we indulge in negative and destructive

inner speech, action and behaviour, then we will
face failure, frustration and anguish in life.
THE HUMAN SELF (TPLH) PIP MODEL
Personal Choice and Responsibility in our

thoughts, actions, habits and behaviour
Development of
Development of Negatif
Positive
(TPLH)
(TPLH)
Life on earth is the sum of total both positive and

negative TPLH
More Negative TPLH More Positive TPLH
Failure in Life Success in Life
Diagram 13: P.I.P. Model: Personal Choice and Responsibility
This model is the most comprehensive integrative

transcendent model of human nature. This Positive Islamic
Psychology (PIP) model can be the basis of the future
development of the Muslim Ummah to achieve peace,
happiness and success. Once this model is implemented
within Muslim society, we hope we can influence non-Muslim
societies to accept our Positive Islamic Psychology (PIP)
modality for 21st century civilization.
We will elaborate how PIP model affect the consciousness

of individual and society. By understanding the nature of our
consciousness, we will be able to imprint a positive worldview
that can change society.
Positive Islamic Psychology: Model of Human

Consciousness
A human being comes into the world with nothing evil written
on his consciousness. In Islam, we are born in a state of
fitrah, i.e. pure, good and innocent. The Islamic concept
of being born pure, good and innocent is the most positive
concept for human existence on this Earth. In reality, we
are created as Vicegerent of God on Earth to achieve peace,
happiness and success as we journey through life influencing
our TPLH in a positive manner. However, we can use our free
will to color our TPLH in a negative way. This choice involves
having wrong perceptions, behaviours and actions that lead
to unhappiness and failure in life.
From the Positive Islamic Psychology (PIP) model, the

influences from the three sources of the environment will
write millions of messages onto our consciousness. However,
there are fundamentally only two types of messages – good
or bad messages – that can come into our consciousness. So
every message that enters the consciousness is either good
or bad. In Islam, and also in the science of Physics, there is a
fundamental law: no moment is the same as the one before.
In the flow of time, a moment following the one before can be
in either one of two places – to a higher degree or to lesser
degree. There is always movement, never stagnation. All day
long, messages (good and bad) are constantly being written
onto our consciousness, whether we are aware of them or
not. Each time a message is written on our consciousness,
it enters our Total Past Learning History (TPLH). The next
message that comes in cannot leave us at the same place we
were a moment before. There are only two possible places we
can be. If it is a good message, we move closer to God; and if it
is a bad message, we move away from God and closer to evil.
God has made the world that way: we come into the world in a
state of fitrah, and then we are going to have messages written
onto our consciousness (TPLH). God gave us Islam as our way
of life to give us a society that is to function like a process of
social engineering, guiding us to all that is good and right. If

we live in a right Islamic society, all the influences, particularly
from the social environment will be directed toward writing
good messages that are consistent with the Will of God. See
Diagram 14, where G2 represents good messages from the
social environment and G1 represents good messages from
the physical environment (which we do not have to be unduly
concerned about). Both the physical and social influences are
from external sources. Also, the thoughts that we think in
our minds must be consistent with what God tells us is right,
and wrong. Bad thoughts must be corrected, overwritten and
replaced with good thoughts. So, from the third source of the
environment, which is an internal source, the inner speech,
we will have good messages (as represented by G3) written
onto our consciousness.
ENVIRONMENT 3 :
SOURCES
The Human Self Total Past

1. Physical
Learning History
PERCEPTION
Just Good
Global
Islamic
2. Social G1 G1 G1 G1 G1 Society
G2 G2 G2 G2 G2
G3 G3 G3 G3 G3
3. Inner Speech
G1, G2 = Good
Diagram 14: Good Messages Written onto the Consciousness in

a Right Islamic Society.
It should be noted, however, that we do not live in

totally right Islamic society. In the Modern 21st century,
secular materialistic civilization we get a huge number of
bad messages, especially from the social environment, into
our consciousness. The powerful negative influence of the

electronic media such as TV, films, the Internet, and the
printed media, are destructively harmful. Bad messages
such as it is “cool” and “fun” to indulge in promiscuity,
indecency, drug abuse, smoking, alcoholism and violence (as
represented by `B’ in Diagram 15) are mercilessly impinging on
our consciousness. The sad reality in the world today is that
the number of bad messages overwhelmingly out numbers
the good messages. Even in the consciousness of the average
Muslim living in an Islamic country, the bad messages have
begun to outweigh the good messages.
Across the planet, we have a whole lot of bad messages

and only few good. For example, messages saying: “Smoking
is cool”, “Drinking alcohol is OK”, “Using drugs is acceptable”,
“Promiscuous sex is allowed”. There are even people in the
world who think that “WAR is OK”. Some Western politics
leaders today, in their consciousness, (although they were
all born with a pure consciousness, in a state of fitrah),
have come to think it is right to send the most sophisticated
modern military hardware that ever existed over to regions
in the world where people live in mud huts and kill them
by the hundreds of thousands! They have no qualms at all
about doing that! Because the messages written into their
consciousness tell them it is right to do such obviously wrong
horrible things. The military top brass around them, likewise,
have similar messages written into their consciousness that
turn their soldiers to kill innocent civilians.
Another of the world’s ill is murder. We have thousands

of murders committed in the world every year because we
have millions of people who have messages written into
their consciousness that tell them that murder is somehow
acceptable. Likewise, for drug sale and abuse, corruption,
pollution, theft, violence and crime – all these evil things
happen in the world because people in the world have
messages written onto their consciousness saying in a wide
variety of ways that all this evil is OK! We are increasingly

becoming an insane civilization that is doomed to implode if
we do not change our way of life towards goodness.
ENVIRONMENT 3 :
SOURCES

1. Physical
Learning Histoy
PERCEPTION
Bad Evil
Unjust
Global
2. Social BGBBBB Society
B G B BB
G BB
3. Inner Speech
B = Bad
G = Good
Diagram 15: Bad Messages Outnumber the Good in Today’s

World
World Consciousness is the Sum Total of

Individual Consciousness
What I have just described is a reality that is happening

at every moment in this world. The consciousness of an
individual human being develops and interacts with others
in the world. There are about 7 billion people in the world.
Each one of them has a consciousness that has messages
written on it.
If we were to combine the individual consciousness

of every human being in the world, we would have a world
consciousness of world society. What will it be like? It will
be just like in Diagram 15, where the consciousness of one
individual has many bad messages, and only a few good
messages are written into it; so, world society likewise, has
many bad and few good messages written into it. So, it is
absolutely impossible not to have a world with so many wrong
things happening like we have today because so many bad

messages are being written into the world consciousness. All
the evil in the world is happening because of the messages
that are written onto the collective consciousness of world
society which say that these bad things are O.K. That means
we have a society that writes those messages into the world’s
consciousness.
As long as we have a society that writes wrong messages

into the consciousness of individuals, as they develop all of
the terrible problems facing our world, it will continue to
exist. To get rid of the terrible problems facing our world,
we have to get rid of bad and wrong messages being written
into the consciousness of the world’s individuals. Doesn’t
all this information seem very logical to you? This is almost
undeniably why problems exist in today’s world. Of course,
we have yet to address the question as to why does the world
write so many wrong messages in the first place, but so far
the logic of this explanation seems unassailable.
Basically, the answer to why all the terrible problems

exist in the world is because we live in a world society that
conditions people to do all these bad things. It teaches people
that it is somehow alright to do all of these bad things –
war, crime, violence, corruption, pollution, etc. Could there
be anyone who does not consider this a sufficiently logical
answer to the question: “Why do the problems in the world
exist?” It is all so clear it just has to be the correct answer!
Application of Maqasid al-Sharia in Positive

Islamic Psychology model
The fundamentals of Maqasid al-Sharia are deeply rooted in

the principles of the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence.
To achieve peace happiness and success in the 21st century,
we have to integrate this Maqasid al-Shariah in our Positive
Islamic Psychology model.
It is worthy to note that the four essential characteristics

of justice as developed in Islamic system are derived from the
Qur’an and Hadith. The objectives of Maqasid al-Sharia are
therefore, to regulate the Usul Fiqh (the principles of Islamic
jurisprudence), to the extent they reflect and conform to the
highest principles relevant for humanity in the 21st century.
The parameters which guide the understanding and

applicability of the principles of Islamic jurisprudence were
expounded by two of the greatest Islamic scholars of the
medieval era; Shamsuddeen bin al-Qayyim (d. 751 AH), and
his mentor Imam Ahmad Ibn Taimiyyah (d. 728 AH). Ibn
Qayyim, for example, observes that “the Islamic law is all
about wisdom, and achieving peoples’ welfare in this life and
the afterlife. It is all about justice, mercy, wisdom, and good.
Thus, anything that replaces justice with injustice, mercy
with its opposite, common good with mischief, or wisdom
with nonsense, is a ruling that does not belong to Islamic law.
It is critical for the development of Ummah in the 21st

century to ensure that principles of Maqasid al-Shariah are
applied in relevant fields of human civilizational development.
Indeed, this is essential for the development of Positive
Islamic Psychology in the context of the globalized world. The
sociological, psychological, geopolitical and other factors that
impact the Ummah in the 21st century are radically different
from what the Ummah had to reckon with in the past. There
are quite a number of contemporary Muslim scholars now
striving to integrate 21st century needs to ensure the survival
and growth of the Ummah. For example, contemporary

scholars like Shaykh Abdallah bin Bayyh, Professors Yusuf
al-Qardawi, Tariq Ramadan, Robert D. Crane, (Faruq Abd
al-Haqq), Muhammad Ali Choudry and other contemporary
scholars have developed framework to incorporate Maqasid
al-Sharia in the development of Muslim Ummah in the 21st
century.
We would like to use the framework developed by these

great scholars in engaging with these principles of Islamic
Jurisprudence in the modern era making special reference
to Crane and Choudry as elaborated in three websites with
in-depth research in these area; http://www.cesj.org/,
http://www.peacefromharmony.org/ and http://www.
theamericanmuslim.org/.
The integration of Maqasid al-Sharia in Positive Islamic

Psychology model to achieve peace happiness and success
in the 21st century can be represented at the following four
levels of these Maqasid.
1) Primary Maqasid (Purpose)
The highest level of generalization consists of

purposive principles that cannot be reduced to still
higher principles other than justice as the highest
principles. These maqasid spell out the meaning of
justice by providing paradigms of thought to identify
still more specific sub-paradigms.
2) Secondary Hajjiyat (Goals)
The next highest level of generalizations consists of

a secondary level of goals that spell out the meaning
of their parent principles and, in turn, provide a
more specific paradigm for breaking each objective
down into still greater specificity.
3) Tertiary Tahsiniyyat (Objectives)
The third level of specificity consists of objectives

that spell out the meaning of their parent goal
and provide guidelines for specific programs of
actions. The tahsiniyyat come from the term
hasan, which means good and is often translated
as embellishments. Another less common but more
accurate term is takmiliyyat, which means from the
term “kamil” or “perfect” and means “to enhance the
higher purposes by perfecting them in application.”
4) Fourth level Amaliyyat (Program of actions)
The lowest level of guidance in spelling out the

meaning of justice and applying it in action is known
as “amaliyat” from the word ‘aml or action (plural).
Each such program, in turn, may be broken down
into individual projects.
Crane and Choudry succinctly illustrated the

integration of Maqasid al-Sharia for the 21st century
under eight headings:
Maqasid al-Shariah Covered
1. Respect for Divine Revelation (Haqq al-Din)
2. Respect for the Human Person (Haqq al-Nafs)
3. Respect for Family and Community (Haqq al-Nasl )
4. Respect for the Environment (Haqq al-Mahl)
5. Respect for Economic Justice (Haqq al-Mal)
6. Respect for Political Justice (Haqq al-Huriyyah)
7. Respect for Human Dignity (Haqq al-Karamah)
8. Respect for Knowledge (Haqq al-Ilm)

Positive Islamic Psychology model and methodology is

in consonance with the above Universal Principles of Human
Rights and Responsibilities.
The chart below as published in www.peacefromharmony.

org by Professor Crane illustrates the basis of Positive Islamic
Psychology Model within the framework of Maqasid al-Sharia
for the 21st century to achieve peace happiness and success
in the global community.
Universal Principles of Human Rights and

Responsibilities
1. Respect for Divine Revelation
PRIMARY SECONDARY TERTIARY ILLUSTRATIVE

(Maqasid- Pur-poses) (Hajjiyat- Goals) (Tahsiniyyat - ACTIONS
Objectives) (A’mal)
1. Respect Belief in one God Islam The Five Pillars of
for Divine Faith:
Revelation Arkan al Islam ……
- Declaration of
Faith (Shaha-
(Haqq al Din) (Pillars of Islam)…
datain)
Submission to the - Prayer (Salah)
Will of God, the first - Charity (Zakat)
level of faith.
- Fasting (Saum)
- Pilgrimage (Hajj)
Iman ‘Aqida or Belief in:
Existence of God
Arkan al Iman
(Tawhid)
(‘Aqida)
Angels (Mala’ika)
(Creedal Principles Divine Scriptures
of Faith) (Kutub)
Practicing pure faith All the Prophets

with sincerity in (Nabi, Rusul)
one’s heart, thus Day of Judgment
achieving the (Qiyama)
second level of faith.
Absolute Power of
God (Qadr)

Other Elements of
Iman:
- Loving Awe of God
(Taqwa)
- Love of God (Hubb)
- Reliance on God
(Tawakkul)
Ihsan Absorption of
oneself into the
Achieving perfection presence of God
in worship based (Fan’a)
on one’s personal
Eternal presence of
awareness of God’s
God (Baqa’a)
presence, love, and
compassion. The
Prophet Muhammad
said, ”[Ihsan is] to
worship God as
though you see Him,
and if you cannot
see Him, then
indeed He sees you”.
(Hadith of Gabriel.)
Freedom of Spiritual Purifi- Equality in human
Religion cation(Jihad al dignity
akbar)
Unity in Diversity Universal conditions
for salvation
Equality of prophets
Diversity of legal
systems:
- Maqasid shari’ah:
The objectives
of universal
principles of
Islamic law for all
communities;
- Minhaj shari’ah:
Methodology of
applying those
principles.
2. Respect for the Human Person

2. Respect for the Respect for the Personal spiritual
Human Person Human Soul renewal
(Haqq al Nafs) (Haqq al Nafs
and Haqq al Ruh)
Peace Making and Societal renewal
Peace Keeping (tajdid)
Peace through
justice (Jihad al
kabir)
Conflict resolution
Respect for Life Doctrine of the just Just Cause and
(Haqq al- Haya) war (limits on the Intent
use of violence to
Violence only in self
protect the human
defense
rights of self and
others) Legitimate authority
Last resort
(attempts at conflict
resolution must
precede use of
violence)
Probability of
success (realistic
assessment of
the threat and
consequences)
Benefits must
exceed the harm
Minimize civilian
casualties
Cessation of
hostilities on offer of
peace
Protection and
return of prisoners
of war
Avoidance of
vengeance after war

Duty to Protect the Recognizing that Abstinence
Unborn God provides for education to prevent
all. Recognizing the
pregnancy outside
rights of the
of wedlock
unborn.
Stressing the role Adoption
of marriage and
family
3. Respect for Family & Community

3. Respect for Personalism: A community Right to economic
Family & Every community with a common self determination
Community gets its meaning sense of the past,
Right to political self
and sovereignty common values in
determination
(Haqq al Nasl) from its individual the present and
members, each of common hopes for Right to
whom is subject the future, should International
to the ultimate have legal standing Recognition
sovereignty of God. in international
law.
Sacred Nature of Equal Rights Right to own
Marriage property
Right to choose a
spouse
Equal right to
divorce with
different procedures
Right to education
Right to work
Right to community
leadership
Equal access to a
Masjid
Equal Responsibility Equal responsibility
to care for the
elderly Equal
responsibility for
household chores
Separate Inheritance based
Responsibility on different
responsibilities by
gender

Women’s right to
retain and spend
own earnings
Women’s primary
right to custody
of young children
Women’s primary
responsibility
to nurture
young children
Men’s primary
responsibility to
provide for personal
and financial
security of the
family.
4. Respect for the Environment

4. Respect for the Stewardship of Conducting Implement
Environment creation (khilafa) Scientific conservation
(Haqq al Mahid) Study of Life policies:
Respecting the Creating Awareness Protect the

balance of all of the Issues atmosphere
that God has through
created Education Protect water
resources
Respecting the Conducting Cost-
Sacredness of Benefit Analysis
nature Protect the forest
Preserving Shaping Develop alternative

Ecological Environmental energy
Diversity Policy resources
Preserving Developing Develop organic

the Ecological Institutions farming (limiting
Balance (mizan) the use of harmful
Developing pesticides and
Environmental Laws chemical fertilizers)
Limit nuclear
weapons
Limit unsafe deep-
well drilling
Protect wildlife
5. Respect for Economic Justice

5. Respect for Personal Personal Ethics Avoid immoral
Economic Responsibilities economic activities
Justice (Fard ‘Ain) (bribery, unfair
(Haqq al Mal) trade practices,
gambling, sale of
alcohol, pork, etc.)
Concern for the Poor Charity for the poor
(Zakat and Sadaqa)
Interfaith and broad
community
volunteering
Respect the sacred Remove barriers in
nature of private access to capital
ownership of the credit
means of
Introduce pure
production.
credit based on
prospective future
Broaden capital wealth
ownership Tax reform
Two-tier monetary
policies
(elimination of
interest on self-
financing loans)
Capital
homesteading for
individuals and
for Community
Investment
Corporations and
Community Land
Banks
Provide a Safety Net Institution building
for the
Disadvantaged
Universal Health Institution building
Care
6. Respect for Political Justice

6. Respect for Responsibility Practice Virtue in Education to
Political of Leaders and Public Life develop an
Justice Followers to God awareness of God
(Haqq al (Khilafah) and virtue
Hurriyyah)
Participatory Open and Institution building
Political Democracy Responsive (broadly
Political System representative
(Shurah) parliaments)
Consensus Building Through the Six Leverage the
Among Community Estates: strengths of all
Leaders (Ijma) institutions to bring
Executive
out the best for the
Legislative good of all.
Judicial
Media
Think Tanks &
Foundations
Academia
Independent Equal Justice Under Institution building
Judiciary the Law (‘Adl)
Freedom of Policy formulation Institution building
movement,
residence, and
citizenship
7. Respect for Human Dignity

7. Respect for Gender Equity Right to own Build social
Human Dignity property consensus for
(Haqq al recognition, respect,
Rights to choose a
Karamah) and implementation
spouse
of these rights for
Equal right to women provided by
divorce with Islam more than
different procedures fourteen centuries
Right to education ago.
Right to work
Right to community
leadership

Equal legal right
to be a witness,
originally limited
for women in
commercial
transactions
Equal access to a
mosque
Respect for all Divine Revelation Institution building
of the Principles
Respect for the
of Islamic Law
Human Person
Family &
Community
Environmental
Justice
Economic Justice
Political Justice
Human Dignity
Knowledge
8. Respect for Knowledge

8. Respect for Duty to Seek Divine Apply the knowledge
Knowledge Knowledge Revelation(Wahy) through Ijtihad in
(Haqq al ‘Ilm) order to pursue the
good and provide
Natural Law (‘Ain al
the bad
Yaqin)
(al-‘amr bi al - ma’ruf
Rational Thought wa al-nahy 'an al -
(‘Ilm al Yaqin) munkar)
Freedom Policy formulation Legislation for
to Acquire regarding: implementation
Knowledge Freedom of Speech
Freedom of Press
Freedom of
Assembly
Duty to Share Outreach Policy and Teach by Example
Knowledge Planning to preserve Build Educational
and expand Institutions,
knowledge Protect Research Centers,
Internet Freedom and Think-Tanks
The above charts give a bare outline of the univer-sal

principles of normative Islamic jurisprudence, known as the
maqasid al shari’ah. The ethical framework of the guiding
principles in Islam is the good of the community, known as
maslaha mursala. These principles originate from human
reasoning in the form of induction from what Islamic
jurisprudents consider to be the three sources of knowledge,
often known as the ‘usul al fiqh or roots of legal maxims.
These are haqq al-yaqin, which is the sum of all the divine
revelation to all of the prophets throughout hu-man history,
‘ain al-yaqin, which is scientific observation of the material
world, and ‘ilm al-yaqin, which is the use of human reason to
understand the first two sources.
The above eight universal principles of human right

and responsibilities are very important for the development
of the Ummah in the 21st century. The societal structure of
the 21st century civilization will be extremely challenging and
can be hostile to Muslims and Islam throughout the world.
In this situation, the Muslim Ummah will be marginalized
and regressive and will be seen as the worst of humanity. We
do not wish that we will end up degraded and marginalized.
It is important for us to incorporate the guiding principles
of Maqasid al-Shariah with the Positive Islamic Psychology
model.
The principal objective of our Positive Islamic Psychology

model is to fulfill our role as God’s Khalifah on this Earth.
Our responsibility as the vicegerents of God on Earth is
very important for God’s cosmic plan. Our responsibility as
Khalifah on this Earth is to perfect oneself, to perfect the
society and to perfect the physical world of time and space.
Put simply, our true responsibilities as the Khalifah is to make
goodness prevail in our self, in the society and the physical
world. Thus, we have the responsibility to make our self good,
help others to be good and to make this physical world good,
beautiful and pleasing for all creatures and God.
More research in the integration of Maqasid al-Sharia

into the Positive Islamic Model needs to be done to ensure
that the Ummah play a leading a role in the 21st century
civilization to achieve universal justice, peace, happiness and
success for all of God’s creature in this Earth.
A World that is Truly Good
Once we have the answer as to why all the problems exist

in the world, we must find a solution. The solution is also
obvious! To remove all the terrible problems in the world, we
have to stop the wrong messages from being written onto the
consciousness of individuals and the collective consciousness
of world society. There is no other way! We cannot have a
society that receives wrong messages and not have these
terrible problems. If we have a society that writes only good
messages onto the consciousness of the whole of humanity
from the three sources of the environment, all of these terrible
problems will disappear.
ENVIRONMENT :
3 SOURCES

1. Physical
Learning History
PERCEPTION
No problems in
the world only
2. Social G G G G G good prevails
G G G G G
G G G G G
3. Inner Speech
G = Good
Diagram 16: Collective Consciousness of Humanity that has

Only Good Messages Written into the Mind of Individuals
Whatever is in the consciousness, it will determine

our every action – whether they are physical, verbal, or
thought actions. If we have bad messages written in our
consciousness, we will have bad physical actions, bad words,
and bad thoughts. But if we have good messages written in
our consciousness, we will have good physical actions, good
words, and good thoughts. It is as simple as that!
What is not so simple is how to get from the present

situation in the world, as illustrated in Diagram 15, where
most of the messages written into the consciousness are bad
and wrong to a virtually utopian situation as illustrated in
Diagram 16. Every good message is a message from God.
A good message is not only like “Be nice to others”, but

“2 plus 2 equals 4” is also a good message, which is from
God. However, “murder is ok,” or “2 plus 2 equals 5” is a bad
message. It is from the realm of the evil because it is not right
or good. Hence, everything that is good, right, positive, and
beneficial in the whole universe is a message from God. God
gives us the opportunity to have a right way of life. God has
revealed guidance on all aspects of our life on Earth – the right
personal and social behaviours, the right spiritual practices
and even the right way of doing business. Unfortunately, we
live in a world where we are not doing all the right things God
has instructed us to do. At risk of being labelled fanatical, I
believe the most poignant message that I have to convey is
that to have a world that is truly right, it has to be a right
Islamic World. Then we will have a world that will write only
good messages onto the consciousness of individuals and all
of humanity.
Conclusion
Positive Islamic Psychology model provides solutions for the

twenty first century societal problems that is in line with the
rightly understood and practice of Islam, since Islam which
God has perfected for us and given to us as our way of life, is
the perfect plan for the social engineering of a good and right
society. Through understanding Positive Islamic Psychology
model of learning and parenting, all parents and educators
can raise children in the right way. As a result, they are able
to create a right family, community, and ultimately, create a
right world. Hence, a world of right communities becomes an
ever more right Muslim world; and an ever more right Muslim
world creates ever more right communities that can live in
peace with all communities in 21st century regardless of their
ideologies or religions. To achieve this, we need to transform
the Muslim first, this transformation will form the basis for
the global peace, happiness and success in the modern world.
CHAPTER SIX
PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF POSITIVE ISLAMIC

PSYCHOLOGY I: APPLYING PIP IN OUR DAILY LIFE TO
ACHIEVE PEACE, HAPPINESS AND SUCCESS
Introduction to Practical Application of

Positive Islamic Psychology (PIP)
The scope for the application of Positive Islamic Psychology

(PIP) is vast. We can use Positive Islamic Psychology to
transform the Ummah and humanity at large. The current
socio-economic and psychological problems of modern
civilization need a new direction. Positive Islamic Psychology
can be one of the tools to help solve these problems.
There is a tremendous scope for the research and

practical application of PIP. For this reason, we encourage
all members of Muslim societies, mosques, universities and
Islamic institutions to further create new applications for PIP.
In the following five chapters, we will demonstrate some

of our research and findings in the practical application of
Positive Islamic Psychology. These are as follows:
Chapter: 6. Applying Positive Islamic Psychology in Our

Daily Life to Achieve Peace, Happiness and Success.
Chapter: 7. Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and

Positive Islamic Cognitive Behavior Therapy (Pi-CBT).
Chapter: 8. Manual for Parents in Shaping Excellent

Character of Children.
Chapter: 9. Handbook for Positive Change: The Khalifah

Circle Approach to Help Create a Just, Peaceful and
Happy World.
Chapter: 10. Integrating Permaculture with Positive

Islamic Psychology – The Khalifah Circle Way
Practical Application Of Positive Islamic Psychology I: Applying Pip In Our 349
Daily Life To Achieve Peace, Happiness And Success
A. Practicing Basic Principles of Islam as a Way of Life
Modern 21st century humanity has all the luxuries of life yet
fails to achieve peace, happiness and success in their true
sense. We are getting more disconnected with nature and Daily
Life to Achieve Peace, Happiness and Success our Creator.
Our ego is driven by material possessions and hedonistic
desire. We now know that material satisfaction is not enough
to guarantee happiness in this world. Every human being
yearns to have a peaceful, happy, and successful life.
We must begin to have a more balanced life based on

inner knowledge of our spiritual transcendent nature. Our
heart and our mind must be able to feel the presence of
the Sacred and the Divine. Once we are able to realize the
existence of God as a vital and living reality we will be able
to understand the ultimate truth. Our dormant spiritual,
emotional and mental selves can be directed by inner speech
to give us positive experiences that transcend material things.
Positive Islamic Psychology provides the pathway to heal

this world. This include directing our spiritual, emotional,
mental and physical (SEMP) self to achieve a balance that
can give us peace, happiness and success.
As Muslims, we can begin by practicing the principles and

practice of Islam as revealed by God to Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him). This process towards a psychological
balance, peace and happiness begins with understanding the
inner dimensions of Islam its belief system and rituals. Let us
discuss these factors so that we can apply them in our daily
lives.
The Pillars of Islam
Five tenants form the core of every true Muslim’s belief.They

are called “the five pillars of Islam”.
1. Inner Dimension of the Belief in One God (Tauhid)
Believe in one God demands absolute loyalty to God because

it is the ultimate spiritual basis of all life. Moreover, our loyalty
to God virtually amount to our loyalty to our own ideal nature
as the vicegerent of God on Earth. Believing in the Oneness
of God means to internalize the fact that there is nobody and
nothing above us, nobody to seek comfort in, expect mercy or
sustenance from, except from God alone.
Allah the Almighty has ninety-nine Divine Names (Asma

Ullah al-Husna) which represents different aspects and
attributes of His Majesty. Constant remembrance of these
attributes uplifts us above the mundane contingent realities
that surround us. A firm belief in the Shahada essentially
makes real to the believers that the contingent and transient
reality of Earthly life has no power over us.
The One Who Created us: Knowing our Creator

from Authentic sources gives life its true
meaning and happiness
The Beginning
There are no accidents in the universe. Scientists say the

universe had a beginning. It began with the “Big Bang” from
nothingness. Who caused the origin of the universe? It is God.
Knowing God
In Islam, knowing God is the key to real happiness in this

Life and in the Hereafter. We are incapable of knowing God
fully on our own. We can know God better from what God has
revealed about Himself in authentic sources. The authentic
description of God is found in The Quran, the exact Word of
God, in Arabic, revealed to His Final and Universal Prophet,

Muhammad (peace be upon him).
God’s Name
The Quran begins, “In The Name of Allah,” [Al-Qur’an 1:1],

God calls Himself “Allah” in The Quran. This Arabic Name is
the proper Name unique to The One and Only God. It has no
plural and is gender- free. Muslims all over the world call God
“Allah”. Indeed, everyone- regardless of language and belief-
may call God by His proper Name “Allah”. But they must say
only the truth about Allah which He Himself has revealed in
The Quran. Knowing Allah fills the hearts of Believers with
awe, love for Him, along with faith and hope. They know only
Allah is worthy of worship. They joyfully submit, as Muslims,
to His Will, earnestly seeking his Pleasure for their every
thought, word and deed.
Allah also calls Himself:
The Beneficent (Ar-Rahman)
The Merciful (Ar-Raheem)
The All- Loving (Al-Wadud)
The All- Knowing (Al-Aleem)
The All- Hearing (As-Samee)
The All- Seeing (Al-Baseer)
The All- Powerful (Al-Qaadir)

Who is Allah?
The Eternal Creator
“All Praise is for Allah, Lord of the Worlds”
Allah is Infinite, outside of space and time. He was not created.

He existed before Creation and will remain after its end.
“Allah is the Ever- Living, Self- Subsisting.”

(Al-Qur’an 2:255)
Things exist only by the Will of Allah. Allah is the

Originator of the universe.
“When Allah decrees any matter, He says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is”.
(Al-Qur’an, 2:117)
“To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the Earth,
and all that is therein, and it is He Who has power over all thi
ngs”
(Al-Qur’an 5:120)
“(Allah is) regulating and governing all things”.

(Al-Qur’an 10:3)
Allah is not God of only Muslims
He is the Creator and Sustainer of you and me, and everything

in the universe! Allah sent all Prophets, who include Adam,
Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (pbuh), to
convey the same Message of Islam:
“Worship none other than Allah.”

(Al-Qur’an 21:25)
Allah told Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to declare to all:
“Allah is our Lord and your Lord”.

(Al-Qur’an 42:15)
Where is Allah?
Allah is unseen Creator. Allah is unlike anything that the

human mind can imagine. He does not in any way resemble
His Creation.
“Nothing whatsoever is like Him”

(Al-Qur’an 42:11)
Allah exists without form or place. He is not in His

Creations or part of it. Is Allah distant from us? No, on the
contrary, we are never alone!
“He is with you wherever you may be. And Allah sees well all that
you do”.
(Al-Qur’an 57:4)
Allah Is Not …
An Human
No language can adequately describe Allah. Using pronouns

such as “He”, “Him”, and “We” is not intended to ascribe
human qualities to Allah. Islam does not humanize the
Creator, or attribute divinity to His Creations.
“No slumber can seize Him or sleep.… and He feels no fatigue in

guarding and preserving (the heavens and the Earth) for He is
the Most High, the Supreme.”
(Al-Qur’an 2:255)
“It is He Who feeds (all His Creation) but He is Himself not fed.”
(Al-Qur’an 6:14)
Not a team
Allah is not a “Supreme Being” heading a team of “minor

assistant gods”. Allah has no partners or associates, whether
equal, superior or subordinate. No “rival gods” compete with
Allah.
“(If there were many gods), behold, each god would have taken
away what we had created. And some would have lorded it over
others!”
(Al-Qur’an 23:91)
Allah’s Divine Attributes cannot be made into “sub-

gods” (or “goddesses”), for example, the “god of Fortune”
or the “goddess of Mercy”. Allah is the “Invisible” and the
“Indivisible”
Not a family’s person
Allah has no parents, child, siblings or spouse!
“And exalted is the Majesty of our Lord: He has taken neither a

wife nor a son.”
Al-Qur’an 72:3]
Not a Trinity
Allah warns us:
“They do disbelieve who say: ‘Allah is one of three in a Trinity,’ for

there is no God except One God.”
[Al-Qur’an 5:73]
Indeed, Prophet Jesus said:

“Worship Allah, my Lord and Your Lord.”

[Al-Qur’an 5:72]
One God, One Religion
Some claim, “One God but many Paths.” Would God teach
His Prophets different religions which have conflicting
descriptions of Himself? Times have changed, but the Creator
of Time is still the same! And so is the Religion He gave us.
“The Religion with Allah is Islam- Submission to His Will.”

(Al-Qur’an 3:19)
… The same Religion given to all Prophets.”

(Al-Qur’an 42:13)
“If anyone seeks a religion other than Islam, never will it be

accepted from him, and he will be loser in the Hereafter.”
(Al-Qur’an 3:85)
Muslims are respectful of other faiths because Allah has

given everyone freedom to choose.
“There is no compulsion Religion. Truth stands clear from error.”

(Al-Qur’an 2:256)
Worship Allah … the Right Way
Our Creator is also our Guide. Through Prophets and Revealed

Books, He teaches us the Right Way to worship Him:
Alone, without any partners or associates
Unseen, without images and idols
Direct, without worshipping intermediaries such as

prophets, angels, priests, saints- living or dead
Pure, without superstitions and assigning Allah’s

Perfect Attributes of Knowledge, Protection, Power
and others, to created things. These include stars,
tombs, spirits, fortune- tellers, trees, idols, animals,
amulets, good- luck charms and pieces of string
Follow Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) example
To worship Allah in the wrong way as well as to worship

false is the worst form of ignorance, ingratitude and injustice,
and the greatest sin. Their good works in this life will be
fruitless on the Day of Judgment in the Hereafter. Islam
teaches: Worship the Creator, not His Creations, or your
creations!
A Happy Ending
True happiness is attained when you know and fulfill the

purpose of your life. Allah says,
“I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship me”.
(Al-Qur’an 51:56)
Believers know that everything
“Belongs to Allah and will surely return to Him.”

(Al-Qur’an 2:56)
Only Allah knows the time- span of each creature and of

His entire creation. Believers strive their utmost to achieve a
good ending to this worldly life by adhering to Allah’s Guidance
in The Quran and following the Way of Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh). Certain of Accountability before Allah,
Believers pray for Allah’s Mercy on the Day of Judgment when He

will rule with Perfect justice.
[Al-Qur’an 21:47]
“Then whoever is saved from Hellfire and admitted into paradise

will be truly successful.”
(Al-Qur’an 3:185)
This is the truth from Allah. Know Allah better, read

The Quran, submit to Him and be a better person. Serve His
Creations, help make a better world. Live the Right Way of
Islam, be happy.
The End
“Everything will perish except Allah.” [Al-Qur’an 28:88] in the

end, Allah “fold up the heavens …” And just as He
“originated the first creation, He will produce a new one.”

(Al-Qur’an 21:104)
The Return
“Allah gives you Life, then causes you to die, then He will resurrect
you and assemble you for the day of Judgment.”
(Al-Qur’an 45:26)
The other part of the Shahada (Muhammad Rasulullah)

testifies to humanity’s special person in the created order.
God revealed the truth, the whole truth, to guide humanity
through one of its own kind showing mankind the road to
salvation and ascendance. This is the role of all prophets of
God, that truth is unchangeable and the message has been
constant through various revelations and prophets, though

its nature and emphasis have varied with the needs of a
particular era and society. The Prophethood of Muhammad
(peace be upon him) is the seal of all previous revelations
revealed to earlier prophets. His mission encompasses all the
messages that came before him.
The Final Prophet: Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
His Legacy of Truth, Justice & Peace continues

to inspire to a better world
The man & his message
“Muhammad is the messenger of God and the last of the

prophets.”
[33:40]
God (Allah) chose him to convey The Qur’an, His Final

Revelation and Guidance. Previous Prophets, who include
Abraham, Moses and Jesus (pbuh), were sent to guide only
their people. Muhammad (pbuh) was the universal Prophet
sent by Allah to all of mankind till the end of time.
Muslims do not worship or idolise Muhammad (pbuh).

He was not the founder of the religion of Islam. All Prophets
were Muslim who preached the Message of Islam in different
stages of history: “Worship only Allah, and avoid evil.” [16:36]
As the Final Prophet, Muhammad’s mission was to call

humanity back to Islam.
Why no Prophets after Muhammad?
Allah does what He wills. In His Infinite Wisdom, Allah

chose Muhammad (pbuh), an unlettered Arab man in 7th-
century Arabia, to be the seal of the prophets. Allah’s Qur’an
contains the complete Divine Guidance which is universally
applicable. Allah has guaranteed to preservethe Qur’an intact
in its original authentic from. Muhammad (pbuh) was the
“living Qur’an” – the perfect role-model to emulate in this life
and to prepare for the Hereafter. His life-example, known as
the Sunnah, provides the ideal example for implementing
the Qur’anic teachings for us and our society. The Sunnah
has been preserved in the Book of Traditions (called Hadith).
Through the Qur’an and Sunnah, Muhammad delivered the
message of Islam in its renewed, complete and perfected from
for all humanity, for all time.
The greatest Man
Born in 570 CE in Makkah (Mecca), Arabia, Muhammad

(pbuh) was an orphan. His prophetic mission began at age
40 years, till his death in 632 CE. Allah gave Muhammad
(pbuh) the greatest task- to convey the truth to all humanity.
However, he was not only a spiritual leader, but also a ruler,
reformer, peace-maker, commander and soldier, husband,
father, friend, and more. Always humble, he reminded his
followers: “I am only the Lord’s servant. So call me ‘the servant
of Allah and His Messenger’.”
A testimony to Muhammad’s greatness: His Prophethood

is part of Shahadah, the muslim’s Declaration of Faith:
“There is nothing worthy of worship except Allah, and Muhammad

is the (Final) Messenger of Allah.”
Note: A Prophet was a man appointed by Allah to receive

& convey Divine Revelation. A Messenger was a prophet sent
to deliver the message of Islam to a nation.
How he received Revelation
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) never told a lie. Since his youth, he

was known as “As-Sadiqul Ameen” which means “the Truthful
and Trustworthy.” None doubted his integrity. So believe
him. Muhammad (pbuh) said he received Revelation from
Allah in several ways, which included: direct communication
from Allah, revelation conveyed through Angel Gabriel, who
sometimes appeared to him in the form of a man. Through
Divine inspiration.
The Qur’an
Muhammad (pbuh) did not write The Qur’an, nor could he-
he was illiterate. The Qur’an is a miracle because its intact
preservation makes it “everlasting.” It can be seen, heard,
read and conveyed in its authentic form as it was revealed
more than 14 centuries ago. Muhammad (pbuh) taught us to
honour all Prophet He said:
“All Prophets are brothers; they have different mothers, but their
Religion is One.”
[Bukhari]
Muhammad and other prophets
Muhammad and Abraham: Muhammad (pbuh) was a direct

descendant of Abraham through his first son, Ishmael.
Muhammad (pbuh) instituted the rites of Hajj (pilgrimage) to
Makkah) which commemorate Abraham’s piety. He taught
Muslims to reaffirm, in every prayer, Allah’s blessings on
Abraham and his family, who include both Arabs and Jews.
Muhammad and Moses: Muhammad (pbuh) told his

followers:
“Do not say that I am superior to Prophet Moses.”

[Bukhari]
He also said: “If Moses was alive today, he would surely follow
me.”
[Ahmad]
Muhammad and Jesus: Muhammad (pbuh) said: “I am

the closest of all people to Jesus, son of Mary, for there was
no prophet sent between us.” [Bukhari] Thus, Jesus was
the second-last Prophet and the forerunner to Muhammad
(pbuh) who came 600 years after him.
The Qur’an states that the coming of the Final Prophet,

Muhammad (pbuh), was foretold in the original Torah of
Moses [7: 157] and in the original Gospel of Jesus. [61:6].
Earlier Divine Books are lost or altered. However, their present
–day versions still contain traces of Truth. Scholars who have
studied them have found numerous references that point to
Muhammad (pbuh), the “unlettered” Prophet.
What Muhammad gave Humanity
He gave us a living legacy of Truth & Dignity, Mercy & Morals,

Justice & Peace. Whoever follows it becomes a better person.
Any society that adopts it thrives harmoniously. Truth &
Dignity: Through the Qur’an, Muhammad (pbuh) brought
the truth from God about God, about the purpose of life,
Accountability in the Hereafter and how to attain Happiness
in this life and the next. Mercy & Morals: The Sunnah details
the excellent character, beautiful manners and noble morals
of Muhammad (pbuh). Allah says:
“We have not sent you, O Muhammad, except as a mercy to all

creatures.”
[21:107]
Following it, we attain inner peace with others, and also

with the environment.
Justice & Peace: As ruler of Madinah, Muhammad (pbuh)

established a model society based on freedom of religion,
justice, equality and human rights for all. This is a perfect
example for different races and religions to live together in
peace and harmony. Muhammad’s Legacy provides solutions
to the problems in our world, and thus, secures the peace
and happiness we all long for.
“Whoever obeys Muhammad obeys Allah.”

[4:80]
“If you love Allah, follow him and Allah will love you”
[3:31]
Muhammad’s Legacy
Love & compassion:
“No one truly believes until he loves for his fellow-men what he
loves for himself.”
[Bukhari]
End Racism:
“All humanity is from Adam. There is no superiority of an Arab

over a non-Arab, nor a white man over a black man, and vice
versa, except in righteousness.”
[Tirmidhi]
Be Peace-makers:
“Better than prayer, fasting and charity is to remove internal

dissensions and to restore peace between contending parties for
dissensions ruin society.”
[Tirmidhi]
Protect Non-Muslims:
“Beware! On the Day of Judgment, I shall myself oppose anyone

who wrong a non-Muslim citizen of a Muslim state, or withhold
his right, overburdens him, or takes from him without his
consent.”
[Abu Dawud]
Honour Women:
“Men have right over women, and women have rights over men.
Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your
partners and helpers.”
[Tirmidhi]
Love Animals:
“A good deed done to an animal is like a good deed done to a

human being, while cruelty to animals is as bad as cruelty to
people.”
[Bukhari]
Go Green:
“If a Muslim plants a tree or sows a field, and then people,

animals and birds benefit from it, he has indeed given charity.”
[Bukhari]
Islam, as a systematic way of life, recognizes the

importance of tauhid, i.e. the faith in One God in strengthening
the bond of humanity and cementing our bond with God.
For this reason, Tauhid became the basis of Islamic

Ummah. To believe in the Oneness of Allah means to believe
in the oneness of existence, the oneness of the origins and
the end of all things in the universe. This belief is the central
principle in Islam. The concept of tawhid necessitates that
one must not associate partner with God in any form.
Associating partner with Him is the most grievous act one

can commit. As He makes it clear in the following verse:
“God forgives not that partner should be set up with Him, but
He forgives anything else to Whom He pleases; to set up partner
with God is to devise a sin most heinous indeed.”
(Al-Qur’an, 51: 51)
Full understanding of the concept of tawhid and living in

accordance with it will ensure internal equilibrium– spiritual,
emotional, mental and physical. Also, absolute faith in the
oneness of God, and acting on the basis of that faith will
ensure serenity, peace and happiness.
2. Prayers (Solat)
The five daily prayers are the means to maintain awareness

of our Creator. It helps us to get a clear mind. They also
help the believers to strengthen their determination through
prayer and the power of positive affirmation. Furthermore,
they provide the believers with powerful techniques that help
them to positively shape their experience of faith and reliance
in God.
The ritual prayer has an outer and inner dimension.

The former is the physical prayer that involves standing,
recitation of the Quran, bowing, prostrating, kneeling and
audibly repeating certain prayers. The inner dimensions of
prayer are of the realization of our need for God.
Through observing regular daily prayers, the level of our

emotional and spiritual strength is continually increased.
This shows that five daily prayers represent the strongest
way to keep on honouring and sharpening our SEMP to a
higher level.
Prayer must involve the heart as well as the body to

be complete. In other words, it cannot be just a mechanical
movement. The Prophet (peace be upon him) says:
“Ritual worship is possible only with a quiet heart”.
In the Qur’an, Allah the Almighty says,
Everyone has a direction towards which one turns, therefore,

emulate (one another) in good deeds. Wherever, you are, Allah
will bring all of you together; Allah has power over all things.
(Al-Qur’an, 2: 148)
Historical records have also shown that whenever the

Prophet was in difficult situation, he would hasten to prayer.
He would say to Bilal (a man whose responsibility was to say
the call to prayer), “O Bilal, Give us comfort with it.”
The prayers are performed in an identical manner by all

Muslims around the world. The prayers punctuate the life of
every Muslim, keeping one close to God, the Creator, and the
spiritual blessings flowing to all His creatures.
We are often surrounded by a hectic, superficial world

that emphasizes the external to the exclusion of our spiritual
connection with God. To stay on the straight path, we have to
constantly observe our prayers regularly. The Almighty says:
And establish regular prayer, for prayer protects from the

objectionable and the sinful.
(Al-Qur’an, 29: 45)
We are also often calmer, more peaceful, clear-headed

and more effective in whatever we do after observing our daily
prayers. Allah the Almighty says:
Once you have completed the prayer, go about your business

and ask for the assistance of God.
(Al-Qur’an, 62: 10)
3. Fasting (Sawm)
Allah the Almighty prescribed the devotional act of fasting

upon Muslims to control our overwhelming lusts and desires
of our evil self and align our SEMP towards God. Fasting as
a form of worship are common in most religions. In other
words, fasting was prescribed upon those before us. A study
of ancient religions shows that in the past the conditions and
etiquette of fasting were much stricter than they are in the
Islamic Shariah.
Fasting is unique among the devotional act of worship.

This uniqueness lies in its ability to train and reform our
inner self. By fasting, we are able to overcome greed, lust and
excessive desire of the physical things in life.
Like prayer, fasting has an outer and an inner dimension.

On the outer dimension, we refrain from food, drink, sex and
other sensual pleasures during the daylight hours. God says,
You may also eat and drink up to the brink of dawn, then resume
the fast until nightfall.
(Al-Qur’an, 2: 187)
On the inner dimension, fasting involves refraining from

greed, lust, envy, jealousy, backbiting: it means cleansing
the heart from everything that is illusory and not true.
Moreover, fasting reaffirms in our heart the core of our faith.
For the confession of unity, shahada, the first Pillar of Islam,
represents an affirmation of our surrender to the Creator.
Prayer, fasting, zakat and performing Hajj are the actions that
make the shahada concrete. There is an intimacy between the
Creator and the created who is fasting. God speaking through
His Messenger (peace be upon him) said,
Fasting is for Me and I will reward my servant who fast for Me.
(Hadith al-Qudsi)
Fasting is our best opportunity to cultivate that inner

dimension that will stay with us even after the outer dimension
of fasting is completed beyond Ramadan. Ramadan is all
about abstinence and reflection in order to cut one off from the
continual and devouring flux of carnal life. Fasting cleanses
the body, and energizes the soul. One feels lighter and more
comfortable inside.
Not only that, medical professionals have recognized

the physiological and psychological benefits of fasting. The
practice not only cleanses the system, but also induces self
discipline and empowers those who fast to have a greater
sense of confidence.
If we can conquer our most basic of desires – food and

drink, we can also conquer the secondary impulses to which
we often succumb without much thought. Fasting makes us
feel comfortable internally that strengthen our SEMP
4. Alms Giving (Zakat)
Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam, and it is usually

mentioned immediately after the prayer in the Qur’an. The
root meaning of the Arabic term Zakka suggests that it is a
means of purification and development.
The essence of Zakat is all about giving others with

no expectation of reward, publicity, or praise, and without
making the poor any less for accepting the gift. God the
Almighty says:
Those who spend their substance in the cause of God and follow
not up their gifts with reminders of their generosity or with
injury- for them their reward is with their Lord. On them, shall
be no fear nor shall they grieve. Kind words and the covering of
faults are better than charity followed by injury.
(Al-Qur’an, 2: 262-263)
Charity must be practiced anonymously, unless

otherwise necessary, and must be given with no expectation
of reciprocity. Charity does not just have to be material. It can
be kind words, good advice, relieving sorrow and discomfort,
and contributing to the welfare of fellow humans as an
individual or a collective effort.
Its significance lies in its application as a critical tool to

ascertain the extent to which an individual love his God. It
should be noted that Zakat and Tauhid are linked in some
ways. Tauhid, literally means to testify that there is no
deity that deserves to be worshipped but Almighty God and
Muhammad is His apostle. However, the complete fulfillment
of this obligation requires the affirmation of the Divine Unity
and readiness to sacrifice for the sake of God. There is little
value in mere verbal affirmation. The degree of love is tested
only by separating the lover from the things he loves.
Worldly goods are an object of love in everybody’s eyes,

being the means by which they enjoy the benefits of this
world. Material gains usually make a man feel more attached
to life and shy away from death. But those who affirm the
Divine Unity, fulfill their covenant and renounce excessive
worldly goods. They are ready to willingly give all they have
as charity.
We should not give away a tainted product as a gift

to someone because it is not acceptable in the sight of the
Almighty. Charity in the final analysis is a gift to God so it has
to be from something that we cherish. In other words, Charity
will only be rewarded if what is given is honourably earned
and valuable. That is the giver has to give what he values and
not something he intends to discard anyway, and only if one
happily gives it. Allah says:
“O you who believe! Give of the good things which you have
honorably earned, and of the fruits of the Earth which we have
produced for you, and do not even aim at giving anything which
is bad, in order that out of it you may give away something which
you yourself would not (want) to receive. And know that God is
free of all wants, and Worthy of all praise.”
(Al-Qur’an, 2: 267)
5. Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)
This is the fifth pillar of Islam that stipulates that every Muslim
who has the financial and physical capabilities is obliged to
make pilgrimage to Mecca once in his lifetime. The Qur’an
narrates that the Ka’aba (the Holy Mosque) in Mecca was
first built by Prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael (peace be
upon them). In fact, some of the rituals observed by Muslims
during the pilgrimage trace back to Prophet Abraham. In
practical terms, however, it was Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him) who explained to his Companions in detail how
the rituals are to be observed.
In Hajj, the rulers and ruled, the rich and the poor, the
strong and the weak are all similarly dressed and all stand as
perfect equals; the worldly distinctions are left behind.
We must understand here that even though Hajj

represents a physical ritual journey to Mecca, spiritually, it
is a journey of the heart to its Creator. For example, every
pilgrim must chant “labbayka-Allahumma labbayk” meaning
“Here I come, my Lord” as they go about the Hajj rituals. The
pilgrims have left behind all worldly concerns and possessions.
Even the dress, two pieces of unstitched cloths for males,
represents a readiness to leave this world at any moment.
After a pilgrimage well done, a person goes back “as pure as
the day he was born” with all his sins forgiven.
The above principles of the Islamic way of life can increase

our happiness and we can achieve peace, happiness and
success in this world and in the next realm of the hereafter.
B. Practical Application of Contemplation and Meditation

to Achieve Peace, Happiness and Success
A major aspect of all modern psychotherapies is that they

are not related to any metaphysical principles. The focus of
modern psychology has always been on individual memory
and on the analysis of behaviour patterns resulting from
early childhood without the incorporation of the nature of
the human self and its connection with God. Consequently,
modern psychology represents a non-religious imitation of
the traditional psychology based on non-spiritual doctrines
of who man is and how his needs are fulfilled purely at the
material level.
When the soul disconnects from God and strays from

the Straight Path, the spiritual body becomes imbalanced.
The only way for spiritual healing and salvation of the soul
is submission to God (Islam). While this is a well-known
fact, many people intentionally ignored it in their search for
happiness and peace of mind in worldly gains and short-lived
insignificant pursuits. People nourish their bodies physically,
by eating, drinking, bathing, working, learning and resting,
but they often forget to nourish their souls in the SEM domain
– they overlook the connection of the soul with its Creator,
and how it strives to gain God’s pleasure, compassion and
satisfaction. As a result, they suffer from psychological
and spiritual illnesses, such as hopelessness, aimlessness,
anxiety, insecurity, and fear. They lack equilibrium, harmony,
and inner peace within their lives, and only achieve superficial
material success.
The pursuit of worldly knowledge and the desire for ever

more sensual experience have led modern man away from the
traditional perspective and from the spiritual disciplines of
religions. However, it has also allowed modern man to reassess
and re-establish personal priority to be in contact with the
inner self and the spiritual world. This may be due to the fact
that the high-tech world we live in today has overpowered
the modern man with multiple experiences which he can

hardly process, much less internalize. Current research have
demonstrated that believing in God is the best coping strategy
for various life challenges and demands, be it in managing
daily hassles and discomforts or in dealing with life’s crises
and serious misfortunes. With more and more people
realizing the spiritual vacuum that exists within themselves,
they struggle to rebuild their faith and connections with God,
especially among the younger generations. They are finally
acknowledging that having a close-minded attitude and a
totally materialistic focus would only result in an imbalanced
and unhealthy body and soul.
Today, an increasing number of people are inclined

to the practice of meditation as a means of introspection,
exploration, spiritual discovery and as an “escape” from the
materialistic world. For many, meditation offers the silence
and the stillness that is the “one thing lacking” in today’s
enriching, yet hectic and overwhelming life experiences.
Man’s reason and the pursuit of worldly knowledge may lead
him beyond his literal and rational thinking into the realms of
thought that draws on the traditional wisdom made available
through revelation. As Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him) has said:
“Know thyself in order to know God.”
The relative sense of the distance between man and

God is in accordance with their spiritual capacity and level
of spiritual achievement and consciousness. The more the
believers can “remember” God through the spiritual disciplines
and practices, the closer they come to God.
Spirituality in Islam manifests at different levels and

degrees, i.e. the levels of being, levels of spirituality, levels
of enlightenment and human perfection. Allah says in the
Qur’an:
Such people are indeed true believers. They have high ranks with
their Lord.
(Al-Qur’an, 8: 4)
The levels of spirituality are reflected through degrees

of faith in the Divinity, through piety that distinguishes the
good from the bad. Through intense efforts and commitment,
and through the higher level of meditation, the human mind
can focus on deeper levels of consciousness.
Each of the five Earthly duties of Islam, especially the

shahadah, has the remembrance of God as its root and
source. By performing the five Islamic duties (arkan), a person
will be able to pull his mind away from the mundane affairs
of the world and focus his mind and heart on the one God
as the unifying and one Reality. The remembrance through
these five duties also provides the believer with the blessing
and the inner spiritual peace that is the root of his being. As
mentioned in the Qur’an:
Those who have believed and whose hearts have rest in the
remembrance of God. Verily, in the remembrance of God do
hearts find rest.
(Al-Qur’an, 13:28)
In a hadith, Prophet Muhammad said that the Muslims

should “meditate not on the Essence but on the Qualities of
God and on His Grace.”
Through prayers, Qur’anic recitation and the invocation

of the Names of God, man is able to realize his true identity
through the Supreme Identity. As Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him) said in a hadith qudsi:
My slave ceases not to draw nigh unto Me with devotions of his

free will until I love him; and when I love him, I am the hearing
with which he hears, and the sight with which he sees, and the
hand with which he grasps, and the foot on which he walks.
God confirms once and for all, time the real relationship
between the human and the Divine Being is one of complete
inseparability, a relationship that begins with the performance
of traditional spiritual practices, and ends in the consummate
unity (tawhid) with God.
There are three types of prayers in Islam:
the obligatory prayers – constitutes a ritual

ceremony in Islam
the private prayers – spills from the human heart as

a matter of spiritual instinct
special prayers practiced by the Prophet (the

Sunnah) – supplement and extend the canonical
prayers.
There are also higher gradations of spiritual

communication that are available to the aspiring soul:
supererogatory prayers (nawafil) – include the

prayer of tahajjud or night vigils
invocation (dhikr) of the Sacred Name
the practice of meditation on the qualities and

attributes identified through the 99 Names of Allah
in the Qur’an, attributes that are human reflections
in man of the divine aspects of God.
And celebrate the name of your God morning and evening, and
part of the night.
(Al-Qur’an, 76: 25)
i. Contemplation in Islam
Contemplation occupies a centre-stage in Islam. This is

because it provides an excellent opportunity to a person to
think deeply and connect with his God. To better understand
the role of contemplation and meditation in Islam we need
to approach the human psyche and its behaviour from an
open-minded Islamic perspective, combining traditional and
contemporary knowledge.
This approach was earlier adopted by Professor

Malik Badri in his book titled “Contemplation: An Islamic
Psychospiritual Study” (Al-Tafakkur min al-Mushahadah ila
al-Shuhud).
Contemplation can generally be described as a free

form of worship which is not limited by space or time, or
any obstacles, be it seen or unseen. Islamic contemplation
is different from other forms of thinking or transcendental
meditation as when Muslims contemplate the creation, the
self, and the laws of the Almighty therein, they excel over
other contemplators because they have higher incentives and
expectations from God.
While the words ‘meditation’, ‘contemplation‘, ‘reflection’,

and ‘cogitation’ seem to be the nearest terms available to
express the Islamic form of contemplation, or tafakkur in
Arabic, they do not give the term its true Islamic religious
dimension. In fact, using the term meditation to explain
tafakkur may be misleading. This is because the aim of
tafakkur is necessarily spiritual in nature as it is a refined
form of worshipping God by appreciating His creation in His
vast universe using the rational mind, emotion and spirit.
In Islamic contemplation, altered states of consciousness are
not an end in themselves, as the goal is a deeper insightful
knowledge of God as the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.
In other words, the real value of Islamic meditation lies in its
connection with the worship, remembrance and glorification
of the One God and pleading for His help.
Islamic contemplation can be categorized in four

interconnected stages:
a. In the first stage, knowledge of the contemplated

object comes through sensory perception directly,
or indirectly, i.e. through imagination. Such
information can be purely mental and often has no
relation to emotional or sentimental aspects.
b. The second stage of contemplation involves

fine appreciation, delicate feelings and powerful
passion. It starts when a person takes a closer look
at these data, inspecting their aesthetic aspects and
particular qualities. It is a shift from mere perception
to a state of wonder at the beauty, excellence,
vastness of structure, and miraculous appearance
of the perceived object. The believers who reach
this stage and appreciate the beauty of creation,
its magnitude and precision will be inevitably
drawn closer toward the Maker and Regulator,
and will begin to feel their own insignificance and
helplessness in comparison with all His signs in the
heavens and on the Earth.
c. In the third stage, the meditator crosses the boundary

between the created object of contemplation and its
Creator – carried away by feelings of submission to
and appreciation of the One because the meditator
realizes that there is nothing in existence but God
who created every existence of creations.
d. The fourth stage, the spiritual cognition, takes place

when the refined meditation in stage three is repeated
and reinforced with continual remembrance of God.
In this stage, the spiritual feelings associated with
deep contemplation become part of the worshipper’s
nature, and make him or her more loving toward
and fearful of God and His sublime Attributes.
These feelings, continually experienced, are beyond
verbal description.
Islamic contemplation is based on the progression

from meditating on the creation to its creator. It is a smooth
rational movement since the Islamic faith is uncorrupted by
any association of creatures or objects with the Almighty or
any polytheistic deviations. Atheists may contemplate the
immense beauty of the universe with the vague understanding
that it is ‘Mother Nature’ or the ‘Big Bang’ that brought it into
existence, or they may avoid the issue of how this world came
to be what it is altogether. They contemplate with emotional
passions, completely disregarding the rational issue of how
the universe was created.
Similarly, pagans or polytheists who believe that it is many

gods, fighting among themselves, who created everything,
will find it very difficult to meditate with their rational minds
and hearts since these may contradict each other. For this
reason, Westerners who wish to have a ‘mystical’ experience
are advised to avoid ‘reason-based form of worship’.
As for the practicing Muslims, their contemplation is a

spiritual practice in which all their cognitive and spiritual
faculties are activated in pursuit of the true cognizance of
the Almighty. It is not an irrational or emotional endeavour
to cure a disorder, nor a painful exercise in which the body is
tortured by standing for several days on one leg or sleeping
on beds or sharp nails. Islamic contemplation is a form of
worship that binds the heart with the mind, the rational with
the emotional, and the sensible with the passionate, so that
sober contemplators may be in a better spiritual state in
which their prayers, God willing, be more acceptable.
There are many verses in the Qur’an which urges us to

contemplate over God’s creations:
Do they not look at the she-camels, how they are created? And
at the heaven, how it is raised? And at the mountains, how they
are rooted and fixed firm? And at the Earth, how it is spread out?
(Al-Qur’an, 88: 17-20)
Verily, in the heavens and the Earth are signs for the believers.
And in your creation, and what He scattered [through the Earth]
of moving [living] creatures are signs for people who have faith
with certainty. And in the alternation of night and day, and the
provision [rain] that Allah sends down from the sky, and revives
therewith the Earth after its death, and in the turning about of
the winds [sometimes towards the east or north, and sometimes
towards the south or west, sometimes bringing glad tidings of
rain, and sometimes bringing the torment], are signs for a people
who understand.
(Al-Qur’an, 45: 3-5)
Say, travel in the land and see how [Allah] originated creation,
and then Allah will bring forth [resurrect] the creation of the
Hereafter [resurrection after death]. Verily, Allah is Able to do all
things.
(Al-Qur’an, 29: 20)
Though contemplating believers cannot decipher the

glorification of God by the universe, they feel the harmony
between their glorification and that of all other creatures. This
feeling becomes deeper with the continuation of contemplation
until it reaches spiritual sublimity and a sense of joy and
spiritual pleasure that is incomparable to any worldly bliss.
Describing this state of bliss, Ibn al-Qayyim says in Madarij
al-Salikin:
The contemplative believer who remembers God will begin to enjoy

solitude and places of seclusion where voices and movements
are hushed... There he will find strength of heart and will, and
he will no longer be worried or depressed... Then he will begin to
taste the sweetness of worship, of which he cannot have enough.
In it, he will find abundance of pleasure and comfort – more than
what he used to find in diversion and play, or in the satisfaction
of worldly desires... When he experiences this state, many of the
worldly concerns will disappear, as he is in a completely different
world from the rest of humanity.
What a difference there is between the practising Muslim

contemplators and those atheists and pagans who suffer
under numerous layers of darkness, who can reach but a
glimpse of these wonders through meditation in their quest
of what is beyond perception! It is as though the Qur’an was
referring to them when it says:
Whenever the lightning gives them light, they walk therein, and
whenever darkness falls around them, they stand still.
(Al-Qur’an, 2:20)
Islam fully integrates contemplation and the centering of

self into the matrix of life within the society. Beings, thoughts
and actions are interrelated and harmonize with one another.
Our thinking is the by-product of who we are in our being; our
actions are previewed in our thoughts and their consequences
are poured back into our being like waves rushing onto the
shore. Nonetheless, correct action depends on a correct way
of thinking, and correct thinking stems from a correct mode
of being. That is why Muslims seek help and sustenance from
God through spiritual acts of worship.
ii. Meditation in Islam
Meditation is a means for spiritual transcendence in getting

closer to God, to liberate the mind from superstitions, doubts
and any thoughts that lead to sin, and fill it instead with
certainty, love, compassion and purity. It is often used as a
powerful tool in stress management, self-improvement and
healing programs whereby it helps individuals to take control
of their emotional responses as well as of their thoughts and
actions.
Certainly, meditation inject happiness, psychological

calmness, clarity of mind, and intimacy into the heart of
meditator. Indeed, it is a therapeutic exercise that can relieve
suffering from his physical and psychological disorder. This
is because he knows that every atom in this universe glorifies

and praises the Almighty. The Qur’an states:
There is not a thing but celebrates His praise; but you [humans]
do not understand how they declare His glory.
(Al-Qur’an, 17:44)
For this reason, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon

him) said in a hadith:
An hour of meditation is better than sixty years of acts of worship.
In addition, meditation has the following benefits:
1) It teaches one about patience, surrender and love

for the Creator.
2) It is a powerful relaxation tool that heals the physical

body and enhances intellectual performance.
3) It helps one to be detached from daily struggles and

worldly distractions while relaxing and recharging
the mind.
4) Regular practice of meditation helps in controlling an

individual’s feelings and reactions, while regulating
and harmonizing internal body functions.
5) Meditation not only relaxes the mind and voluntary

muscles, but also the involuntary body structures
such as the digestive, cardiovascular and pulmonary
systems, leading to physical wellbeing and spiritual
transcendence.
6) Meditation also induces positive physiological

changes as it regulates breathing, harmonizes the
heartbeat, improves blood circulation and relaxes
the mind.
There are two forms of meditation in Islam, i.e.

contemplation and invocation. Meditation in the form of
contemplation is an important means of focusing oneself to
God, as it serves as a valuable source of spiritual enlightenment,
an incessant source of peace, gratefulness and gratitude for
God’s gifts and blessings. Reflecting upon God’s creations
provides one with a feeling of tranquillity and harmony; filling
the soul with relief and submission to the Creator. It gives
one a sense of security, warmth and protection.
Meditation induces a state of mindfulness that employs

the body, the breath, and the mind of the individual
through the unifying goal of focusing on a deeper individual
consciousness. The need to establish the profound link
between the body, the mind and the soul/spirit is through
the breath. In the explanation of the creation of man in the
Qur’an, Allah says,
And breathed into him of My Spirit.

(Al-Qur’an, 15: 29)
Breathing serves as the connective function between

the conscious and the unconscious planes, in both voluntary
and involuntary levels. It is the bodily function that is closest
to the mind because, while it is fundamentally involuntary,
it can be made into a voluntary, regulated and experienced
function that creates a relationship with the conscious mind
by being virtually directed by it. The first step in heightened
awareness within the meditative process is by consciously
following the breath in and out of the whole body. When the
body itself, through the breath, takes part in the meditative
experience, then consciousness will enter the entire body,
thereby creating a totality of experience that includes the
body, the mind and heart of the individual to embrace the
total self, and then by extension the immediate world and the
cosmic world.
Those who desire to extend their effort through more

intense forms of worship and praise, may opt for the second
form of meditation in Islam, which is invocation of the sacred
Name, or dhikr. The repetition of the first part of the profession
of faith, i.e. the shahadah is routinely practiced in certain
mystical circles, in conformity with the hadith of Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him): “the best invocation is ‘there
is no divinity but God’”. Although the invocation of the sacred
Name is a method that has been particularly distinguished
within the Islamic frame of reference, it is not exclusive to
Islam. The invocation of the name serves as a profound and
effective means of focusing the mind on the remembrance of
God.
Dhikr, translated as remembrance, implies recollection,

mindfulness, and repetition of the name through invocation.
While the shahadah is identified in the Qur’an as the absolute
essence of the doctrine; dhikr embraces all of the Islamic
spiritual practices and is the essence of the methodology of
the religion, “the greatest thing” (Al-Qur’an, 29: 45).
The remembrance of God through dhikr represents the

forgetting of the self and a neutralization of the ego which
encourages such forgetfulness. Invocation, therefore, focuses
the mind through a specific form of methodology that helps
a person remember who he is, namely a theomorphic being
made in the image of God, and reinforces man’s predilection
toward forgetfulness by encouraging the forgetfulness of who
man is not, namely a secularized and fully rational being
created as a mirror reflection of the human ego.
Meditation through the invocation of the Names of Allah is

called dhikr (remembrance of Allah). It can be practiced either
orally/verbally in a low tone or as an essential meditation of
the heart i.e. meditation from our inner speech. While the
names of God are many, the invocation par excellence is the
Name of Allah, the unqualified and unparalleled name of the
Divinity, the Supreme Name (al-ism al-a’zam), alternatively
called the Unique Name (al-ism al-mufrad) and the Name

of Majesty (ism al-jalalah). As the Sufis have said, “God is
present in His Name”.
Some of the benefits of meditation in the form of an

invocation:
1) It raises the level of human consciousness to the

threshold of the heavenly spheres, and ultimately,
the very presence of God. After a brief session
involving the invocation of the Sacred Name, the
invoker would bring the effects of this heightened
consciousness back into the world with him, altering
his perception and understanding of the world with
this overlay of divine remembrance.
2) It provides the ultimate means of discrimination

that permits the invoker to experience the spiritual
realities as a human reality.
3) It provides the invoker with spiritual energy and

blessings and grace, which gives the believer
with feelings of confidence, inner contentment,
tranquility, happiness and peace.
4) It provides the invoker with the truth of certainty (al-

haqq al-yaqin), which is the ultimate gift of heaven
which negates all doubt within the heart.
Prophet Muhammad has stressed the significance of

dhikr in a hadith:
“Shall I tell you the best of your deeds? The purest in the eyes of
your King, He whom you hold to be at the highest level, Whose
proximity is more beneficial than the act of giving gold and
silver or of meeting your enemy and striking him down or being
struck?” The Companions of the Prophet said, “Tell us.” The
Prophet answered, “It is the invocation of God the Most High.”
In another hadith, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon

him) said:
“There is a way of polishing everything and removing rust and

that which polishes the heart is the invocation of God.”
And finally:
“Men never assemble to invoke Allah without being surrounded

by angels and covered by Divine Blessings, and without peace
(sakinah) descending on them and Allah remembering them.”
The holy invocation of the Name Allah can be seen as

operative on three different levels:
1) The invocation of the tongue (dhikr al-lisan) – the

very gift of speech that distinguishes man from the
animals, the outward form of sound that verbalizes
the substance of the inner consciousness. It unites
all aspects of man to focus on none other than God
through the Name.
2) The invocation of the heart (dhikr al-qalb) – focuses

the mind and the consciousness on the human
center of the heart, through which flows the
knowledge and love of God.
3) The invocation from the very core of the heart, the

blessed center (dhikr al-sirr) – the human secret as
a reflection of the Divine Mystery.
Among the benefits of Dhikr-Allah:
1) It brings one closer to Allah, and He responds to his

calls.
Therefore remember Me [through prayer and glorification]. I will

remember you...”
(Al-Qur’an, 2: 152)
2) It dissolves distress and grief, relieves the anguished

heart and brings joy, happiness, tranquility and
serenity.
“... Verily in the rememberance of Allah do hearts find rest.”

(Al-Qur’an, 13: 28)
3) It repels evil and enlightens the heart, showing this

light as beauty and a glow on one’s face.
4) It strengthens the body by diverting the mind from

the source of anxiety, thus, giving the body the
chance to heal.
5) It revives and nourishes the heart and soul – a

remedy for cruelty and mercilessness.
Several hadith highlight the significance of God's

rememberance (dhikr-Allah). Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) said:
The example of the one who remembers Allah and the one who
does not is like the living one and the dead.
The merit of invocation has also been mentioned in the

Qur’an and hadith. In the Qur’an, Allah says:
And when My slaves ask you [O Muhammad] concerning Me, then

[answer them], I am, indeed, near [to them by My Knowledge]. I
respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me
[without any mediator or intercessor]. So let them obey Me and
believe in Me, so that they may be led aright.
(Al-Qur’an, 2: 186)
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “No Muslim

invokes with an invocation, as long as this invocation is not a
bad deed or to cut off one of his relatives, but Allah gives him
one of the following three: He promptly answers his invocation,
delays it for him until the Hereafter, or keeps Him away from
an equivalent evil.” They (the companions) said, “So we invoke

more.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Allah is the Most
Generous.
(Related by Tirmidhi and Ahmad)
The Manners of Invoking Allah
1) Be sincere to Allah.
2) Begin your invocation by praising and glorifying

Allah. Then pray for Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) at the beginning and at the end of your
invocation.
3) Be determined in your invocation and be sure that

Allah will answer it.
4) Be patient in your invocation and do not hurry.
5) Be sure your heart is aware during the invocation.
6) Lower your voice to a level between a whisper and

being edible.
7) Acknowledge your sin, ask Allah to forgive you,

acknowledge your Lord’s bounty upon you and
thank Him for it.
8) Supplicate and submit to Him.
9) You may supplicate to Allah by His magnificent

Names constantly to receive His blessings.
10) You should enjoin righteous deeds and forbid wrong

and evil deeds.
C. Basic Techniques that We Can Practise: Calm

Breathing Focus Technique and Asma al-Husna
This is the most basic form of meditation. It is done by

clearing and relaxing one’s mind from thinking about daily life
problems. It is normal for one to be interrupted by intruding
thoughts which prevents total concentration on the breathing.
When this happens, the person just need to refocus on his
breathing and allow himself to breathe naturally, without
trying to control the movements of his lungs.
The calm breathing focus technique may be practiced in

two ways:
1) While sitting in a quiet room, by closing the eyes

and visualizing anything which brings peace and
tranquility to the person.
2) In the open space, while looking at or surrounded

by beautiful scenery, e.g. the beach, waterfalls, or
green hills and so on, etc.
With regular practice, the calm breathing focus technique

brings the consciousness on one’s inner peace, escaping from
all materialistic interest and striving to overcome all tensions,
distractions and negative emotions. It also helps one to see
the world from a different point of view – free of any selfish
thoughts, increasing spiritual awareness of the beauty and
perfection of the creation and the Creator; teaching one to
simply let go and just be.
This technique may be performed as follows:
1) For five minutes, focus on your breathing – slowly

inhale and exhale while being aware of the air
entering and leaving your body.
2) Do not try to control, force your breathing, or adjust

its rhythm; just relax and allow it to harmonize on
its own.
Gradually, you may be able to increase your meditative

time and reach a clearer mental state more rapidly.
There are variations of the calm breathing techniques

for us to achieve higher level of cognitive awareness, sense of
peace and closeness to Allah the Almighty;
1. We can combine calm breathing with invocation. As

we breath in and out, we can also quietly recite an
invocation with a low voice which we can hardly
hear by moving our lips. In this technique, we first
focus our breathing as it is coming from the heart
(focused-heart breathing). As we slowly inhale and
exhale in slow rhythmic fashion, we can include
our invocation as in the examples below:
i. If we want to seek forgiveness from God we

can recite "astaghfirullah al-azim" as we breath
out.
ii. If we are in a state of fear and we want to

overcome our fear, then we can as we exhale
recite “Ya Allah Ya Hafiz” repeatedly, each time
we exhale for every breath in calm breathing.
iii. If we face financial difficulty and we are living

in poverty, we seek God’s help by reciting “Ya
Fattah Ya Razaak” repeatedly.
There are many variations to the above-mentioned

matter which we will be explained later in our list of Asma al-
Husna. A reciter should choose the relevant God’s name that
corresponds with the context and the relevant situation and
needs in our lives.
2. We can also use the same techniques as above only

that in this situation there should be no verbal
invocation. A recite should focus on reciting dhikr
that depends solely on inner speech/thought/
mind. In other words, a reciter does not have to use
his lips in making the recitation, he should rather
focus on inner meaning of dhikr i.e. inner recitation
from the heart.
Dhikr-Allah With Asma al-Husna
Dhikr-Allah is one of the easiest acts of worship and meditation

which works by increasing your concentration regardless of
the time or place. This is performed by choosing a word or
a small phrase which makes one feel good when saying it,
such as one of the Names of God, or a dhikr. This form of
meditation may either be passive, i.e. helps one in relaxing
and clearing the mind; or it may be active, i.e. helps one in
achieving a relaxed state of mind to solve daily problems, or
in directing one’s concentration to some new meaning the
person wants to add in his/her life. This may be in the form
of seeking for God’s guidance, health, or provision.
This technique may be performed as follows:
1) Sit in a relaxed position, keeping your eyes closed

and breathing freely and regularly through your
nostrils.
2) Each time you exhale, repeat your word or phrase.
3) While doing so, try to ignore any intruding thoughts

and concentrate only on your chosen word / phrase
/dhikr.
4) Just stay calm and relax, and focus on the words as

deeply and profoundly as you can, feel the meanings
behind each word you are saying and recognize the
energy and sacredness that they carry. Enjoy the

holy rhythm and shut your five senses to the outer
world.
5) Prayer beads may be used to help one in focusing.
However, it is better to use the fingers of your right hand

as how Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to do.
Some Hadith and Qur’anic verses related to the

significance of dhikr:
A man once came to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

asking him to specify an important Islamic ritual for him to
cling to. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
Keep your tongue moist from (repeating) Dhikr-Allah.”

(Tirmidhi, Ahmed, and Ibn Majah)
And remember Allah by your tongue and within yourself, humbly

and with fear, without loudness in words, in the mornings and in
the evenings, and do not be of those who are neglectful.”
(Al-Qur’an, 7: 205)
O you who believe! Let neither your property nor your children
divert you from the remembrance of Allah. And whosoever does
that, then they are the losers.”
(Al-Qur’an, 63: 9)
Chanting the dhikr aloud, or repeating it silently, both

offer great benefits to one’s heart and soul. The body absorbs
the energy generated from these holy words. Through their
frequencies, the whole system of the body is relaxed until it
reaches a stage of serenity and peace, releasing suppressed
anger, fear or resentment and reducing stress.
Modern research has shown that with regular practice

of deep meditation and reflection techniques, the brain falls
into a meditative level, i.e. when the brain activity is in the
frequency of between 7.5 to 13 Hz, creating an extremely
relaxed rhythm, yet a fully conscious level of awareness. In
this state, the mind is at its best learning state, optimum
creativity and inspirational potential. At this level, one would
be able to manage his stresses and negative emotions in the
best way.
Three requirements for performing Dhikr-Allah:
1) It should be performed with the intention of drawing

closer to Allah the Almighty.
2) It should be performed in abundance and repeatedly.
3) One should feel the words with the heart as well as

murmur them with the tongue; with perseverance
and persistence, so that the heart will feel them and
surrender to the Creator.
More Qur’anic verses relating to the second requirement

of performing dhikr:
And remember the name of Allah much [both with tongue and
mind], so that you may be successful.”
(Al-Qur’an, 8: 45)
O you who believe! Remember Allah often and much.

(Al-Qur’an, 33: 41)
As it is the nature of man to forget, neglect, lose focus

and get distracted from the main purpose of his creation,
divine remembrances through Dhikr-Allah performed a few
minutes on a daily basis will help one in restoring balance,
remembering his true goal, reorienting his life and setting
his priorities straight. As with any other forms of meditation,

Dhikr-Allah needs to be performed with total concentration
and absorption, so that they let one take charge of his
thoughts and restore control over his life.
Listed herewith are the list of the ninety nine beautiful

names of Allah i.e. Asma al-Husna, each of these names refers
to the perfect attribute of Allah. By meditating and invoking
the specific names/attribute of Allah, we are communicating
with God to achieve our closeness to God, as well as to receive
the gift of our invocation being fulfilled by God.
This list also includes appropriate names for specific

dhikr, as well as the meaning of each name. By reciting these
names we will get spiritual, emotional, mental and physical
(SEMP) benefits.
In practicing the dhikr of these divine names of Allah,

it is highly effective if we can limit it to one to three names
within one breath. This is because it might not be easy to
recite more than three names in one breath. Similarly, we
should also be specific in our invocation to fulfill our specific
needs according to our situation in life.
Please read through the list “Remembrance and dhikr

of Divine Names/Attributes of Allah”. Kindly choose the
appropriate name according to your need/situation. For
example,
1. If someone is in a stressful situation as a result of

the lost of love of the people around, he can recite
“Ya Wadud” to get the divine love of God or “Ya
Allah, Ya Wadud”.
2. If he needs to receive the gift of inner strength,

greatness, and success of life, he needs to recite
“Ya Allah Ya Azim” or just “Ya Azim”.
3. If he needs to attain success , greatness, success

and gratitude he should now include three names
of Allah; “Ya Allah,Ya Azim, Ya Shakur”, or just “Ya
Allah,Ya Shakur”.
4. If he needs to attain self-contentment/sufficiency,

he needs to recite “Ya Allah,Ya Sabur”or just “Ya
Sabur”.
5. If he needs to receive divine gift, he should be

reciting “ Ya Allah Ya Mu’uti” or just “Ya Mu’uti”.
Note: As a matter of fact, you can select your own combination of
Divine Names and make it your regular dhikr.
These Positive Islamic Psychology techniques in

contemplation, meditation, and invocation can be the basis
of our therapy for all psychological problems facing humanity
today. As modern human beings are living in the state of
fear, depression, anxiety, grief, enmity, hatred, despair and
the whole range of psychological disorders, this PIP approach
can be a solution to all the problems. Finally, we can achieve
peace, success and happiness in our lives.
Please read and practice the “Remembrance and Zikr of

the Divine/Attributes names of Allah” as your daily practice.
As highlighted earlier, you can choose the appropriate

Divine names according to your needs in facing the trial and
tribulations of life. By doing that, you will achieve peace,
happiness and success, God-willing.
Remembrance and Zikr of the Divine Names/

Attributes of Allah SWT
SEMP Benefits of
Divine Names
No Dzikr Meaning God Remembrance/
Attributes
Dzikr
1 Allah / Ya –Allah/ The Sacred and Remembrance and
Allah-hu proper Name of God Dhikr of Ya Allah /
‫الله‬ Allah-hu at any time
for all the benefits of
Allah all the 99 beautiful
attributes of Allah /
God.
2
‫ال َّر ْح َٰم ُن‬ Ya Rahman The Most
Compassionate
Receive compassion
from God and from all
His creations.
Ar-Raḥmān
3
‫ال َّر ِحي ُم‬ Ya-Raḥīm The Most Merciful Receive Mercy from
God and from all His
creations.
Ar-Raḥīm
4 Ya-Malik The Sovereign King Receive power to
‫الْ َملِ ُك‬ and Lord control our life and

influence others by
God’s grace.
Al-Malik
ُ ‫الْ ُق ُّد‬
‫وس‬
5 Ya-Quddus The Most Holy Receive the gift of
and Pure freedom from fear and
anxiety.
Al-Quddus
6
‫السالَ ُم‬
َّ
Ya-Salam The Ultimate
Source of Peace
Receive peace from
God and able to give
peace to others.
As-Salam
7
‫الْ ُم ْؤ ِم ُن‬ Ya-Mu’min Guarantor of
Faith,
Receive protection and
safety in our faith in
God.
Al-Mu'min
8
‫الْ ُم َه ْي ِم ُن‬ Ya-Muhaimin The Ultimate
Protector
Receive God’s
protection in every
critical situation in our
Al-Muhaimin life.
9
‫الْ َعزِي ُز‬ Ya-‘Aziz The Almighty Achieve victory over
those who unfairly
suppress us.
Al-'Aziz
SEMP Benefits of
Divine Names
Attributes
Dzikr
10
‫الْ َج َّبا ُر‬ Ya-Jabbar The Irresistible
Compeller
Receive protection to
stop those who intend
violence against us.
Al-Jabbar
11
‫الْ ُمتَك ِّ َُب‬ Ya-Mutakabbir The Supreme
Majestic
Receive God’s help to
reduce our ego and
self-greed.
Al- Mutakabbir
12 Ya-Khaliq The Creator Realize the greatness
‫الْ َخالِ ُق‬ of God who created
this universe with
complete balance and
Al-Khaliq
harmony.
13 Ya-Bari The Ultimate Realize the splendour
ُ‫الْ َبا ِرئ‬ Designer and
Evolver
of God’s creative
design in creating us,
the Universe, and all
Al-Bari
His creatures.
14
‫الْ ُم َص ِّو ُر‬ Ya-Muṣawwir The Ultimate
Fashioner and
Shaper
Receive the gift of
beauty, Uniqueness,
and understanding of
Musawwir perfection from God.
15
‫الْ َغفَّا ُر‬ Ya-Gaffar The Ever-
Forgiving
Receive constant
forgiveness from God
and blessed to become
Al-Gaffar a forgiving person.
16
‫الْ َق َّها ُر‬ Ya-Qahhar The All-
Dominating
Receive the power to
subdue all evil foes
and overcome tyranny
Al-Qahhar on Earth.
17 Ya-Wahhab The Ultimate Our request will be
ُ ‫الْ َو َّه‬
‫اب‬ Bestower fulfilled by God, The
Ultimate Bestower,
and we become a
Al-Wahhab
generous person.
18 Ya-Razzaq The Ultimate Receive constant
‫ال َّرز َُّاق‬ Provider sustenance from God
for ourselves, Family,
and all creatures in
Ar-Razzaq
the universe.
19 Ya-Fattah The Opener and Receive the gift
ُ َّ‫الْ َفت‬
‫اح‬ Solver of solving all our
problems in life and
open the door to total
Al-fattah success in this world
and the hereafter.
SEMP Benefits of
Divine Names
Attributes
Dzikr
20
‫اَلْ َعلِ ْي ُم‬ Ya-‘Alim The All-Knowing
Omniscient.
Receive the gift of
knowledge, wisdom,
and Divine light.
Al-Alim
21
‫الْقَاب ُِض‬ Ya-Qabiḍ The Constrictor,
The Straightener
Overcome all barriers
and contractions
that block our path
Al-Qabid towards the truth.
22
‫الْ َب ِاس ُط‬ Ya-Basit The Extender /
Expander
God open His gateway
and gives us ease,
relief, joy, and
Al-Basit abundance in life.
23 Ya-Khafiḍ
‫الْ َخا ِف ُض‬
The Abaser Receive the protection
from God and victory
against all abusive evil
doers.
Al-Khafid
24 Ya-Rafi’
‫ال َّرا ِف ُع‬
The Exalter Receive the gift of
being exalted by God
and achieving
greatness in life and
Ar-Rafi
hereafter.
25 Ya-Muizz The Giver of Receive honour and
‫الْ ُم ِع ُّز‬ Honour friendship from God
and from all His
creatures.
Al-Muizz
26 Ya-Mużil The Dishonourer Receive the

‫امل ُ ِذ ُّل‬ protection from God
against all harm by
dishonourable and
Al-Mudil
jealous people.
27
‫الس ِمي ُع‬
َّ
Ya-Sami’ The All-Hearing Receive the blessings
of God to hear and
understand all truth
As-sami easily.
28
‫الْ َب ِص ُري‬ Ya-Baṡir The All-Seeing Receive the blessings
of God for being able
to see and understand
Al-Basir the truth easily.
29 Ya-Hakam The Absolute Strengthen our trust
‫الْ َح َك ُم‬ Judge and
Arbitrator
in God’s perfect
judgment in all our
difficult situations in
Al-Hakam
life.
SEMP Benefits of
Divine Names
Attributes
Dzikr
30
‫الْ َع ْد ُل‬ Ya-‘Adl The Absolute
Just
Receive the gift of
justice from God and
overcome all injustices
Al-Adl in the world.
31 Ya-Laṭif The Subtle Receive the gift of
ُ ‫الل َِّط‬
‫يف‬ understanding the
subtle meanings of
every situation in life
Al-Latif and of the spiritual
realm.
32 Ya-Khabir The All-Aware Receive the gift
‫الْ َخ ِب ُري‬ of awareness

and intuition of
understanding the
Al-Khabir inner meanings of all
things.
33 Ya-Halim The All Forbearing Receive the gift of
‫الْ َحلِي ُم‬ and Gentle forgiveness towards
those who mistreat us
and avoid taking
Al-Halim
revenge.
34
‫الْ َع ِظي ُم‬ Ya-Aẓim The All-
Magnificent
Receive the gift of
inner strength and
greatness from God.
Al- A’zim
35 Ya-Gofur The All-Forgiving Receive continuous
‫الْ َغفُو ُر‬ Ya-Goffar

Ya-Gofir
forgiveness from God
and overcome our
evil ego and become
Al- Ghafur repentant, seeking
forgiveness from Allah.
36 Ya-Syakur The Ever- Become ever grateful
‫الشَّ كُو ُر‬ Appreciative and appreciative to
God who will open the
gate to all His bounties
Al- Shakur
to us.
37 Ya-Ali The All-Sublime Receive the gift of
ُّ ِ ‫الْ َع‬
‫ل‬ and Most High virtue and the sublime
gift of good destiny in
this world and the
Al- Ali hereafter.
38 Ya-Kabir The Most Great Receive the gift

‫الْ َك ِب ُري‬ of perfection and
greatness in faith and
life.
Al- Kabir
SEMP Benefits of
Divine Names
Attributes
Dzikr
39 Ya-hafiẓ The Absolute Receive the gift
‫الْ َح ِفي ُظ‬ Preserver to remember and
preserve God’s
revelation and way of
Al- Hafiz
life.
40 Ya-Muqit The All- Receive the gift of
Sustainer and sustenance and
‫املُقيِت‬ Nourisher nourishment
direct from God
by passing God’s
Al- Muqit
creations.
41 Ya-hasib The Absolute Receive the gift of good

‫يب‬ ِ ‫ال‬
ُ ‫ْحس‬ Accountant accounting all the
good deeds in our life
for a safe judgement
Al- Hisab
in the hereafter.
42 Ya-Jalil The All-Majestic Receive the gift of
‫الْ َجلِ ُيل‬ being majestic in life
and overcome those
evil-boasters.
Al- Jalil
43 Ya-Karim The Most Receive the gift of

Generous understanding the
‫الْ َكرِي ُم‬ infinite generosity
of God and becoming a
generous person in
Al- Karim
life.
44 Ya-raqib The Ever- Receive the gift that
ُ ‫ال َّر ِق‬

‫يب‬ Watchful God is ever watching
us and freedom from
fear from all evil
Al- Raqib oppressors.
ُ ‫الْ ُمج‬
‫ِيب‬
45 Ya-Mujib The All- Receive the gift
Responsive of our prayers and
needs being quickly
Al- Mujib given by God.
46
‫الْ َو ِاس ُع‬ Ya-Wasi The All-
Embracing
Receive the gift of the
all embracing love,
forgiveness, and
Al-Wasi generosity of God.
47 Ya-Hakim The Perfectly Receive the gift of
‫الْ َح ِكي ُم‬ Wise wisdom and knowledge
which keep a person’s
body, mind, and soul
Al- Hakim
alive.
SEMP Benefits of
Divine Names
Attributes
Dzikr
48 Ya-Wadud The Loving Receive the gift of total
‫الْ َو ُدو ُد‬ compassionate Divine
love and mercy, and
we become a kind
Al- Wadud
loving person.
49
‫الْ َمجِي ُد‬ Ya-Majid All-Glorious, The
Majestic
Receive the gift of
character and morality
with the virtues from
Al- Majid the All Glorious.
50
ُ‫الْ َبا ِعث‬ Ya-Ba’it The Resurrecter Receive a purified
heart and resurrected
to good eternal life.
Al- Ba’iths
51
‫الشَّ هِي ُد‬ Ya-Syahid The Witness Able to witness and
receive divine truth.
Al- Shahid
52 Ya-Haqq The Truth, The Receive protections
‫الْ َح ُّق‬ Reality from all falsehood in
life and become the
propagator of God’s
Al- Haqq
truth.
53
‫الْ َو ِك ُيل‬ Ya-Wakil The Trustee /
The Dependable
Receive the trust of
Allah s.w.t and become
a trusted servant
Al- Wakil of God.
54
‫الْ َقو ُِّي‬ Ya-Qawi The Strong Receive strength and
safeguard from the
devil, corrupt men
Al- Qawi and, all forms of evil.
55
‫الْ َم ِت ُني‬ Ya-Matin The Firm, The
Steadfast
Receive the strength
for us hold on to our
religion regardless of
Al- Matin difficulties.
56
‫الْ َو ِ ُّل‬ Ya-Wali The
Patron and
Helper
Receive Allah s.w.t’s
help through His
Divine light.
Al-Wali
57
‫الْ َح ِمي ُد‬ Ya-Hamid The All-
Praiseworthy
He who repeats this
Name will be loved and
praised by all
Al- hamid creatures.
58
‫الْ ُم ْح ِص‬ Ya-Muhṣi The Reckoner Receive honour from
God and become
aware of His every
Al- Muhsi deed.
SEMP Benefits of
Divine Names
Attributes
Dzikr
59
ُ‫الْ ُم ْب ِدئ‬ Ya-Mubdi The Originator/
The Initiator
Receive the secret
of the knowledge of
the Originator of this
Al- Mubdi universe.
60
‫الْ ُم ِعي ُد‬ Ya-Mu’id The Restorer
who Brings Back
All
Receive the secret
knowledge of
resurrection and
Al- Muid afterlife.
61
‫الْ ُم ْح ِي‬ Ya-Muhyi The Giver of Life Receive the keys and
ways in which one can
overcome the burden
Al- Muhyi of life.
62
ُ ‫اَلْ ُم ِم‬
‫يت‬ Ya- Mumit The Destroyer Receive a pure heart
that can overcome
enmity.
Al- Mumit
63
‫الْ َح ُّي‬ Ya-Hayy The Living Receive good long life
in the world and in the
eternal afterlife.
Al- Hayy
64
‫الْ َق ُّيو ُم‬ Ya-Qayyum The Subsisting,
The Guardian
Receive the intuition
and knowledge of
truth.
Al- Qayyum
65
‫الْ َوا ِج ُد‬ Ya-Wajid The Perceiver Receive the intuition
and knowledge of
truth.
Al- Wajid
66
‫ال َْم ِج ُد‬ Ya-Majid The Illustrious,
The Magnificent
Receive praise and
honour and realize the
Magnificent Creator.
Al- Majid
67
ِ ‫ال‬
‫ْواح ُد‬ Ya-Wahid The One, The
Unique
Receive the ability to
realize the oneness of
God, The Unique.
Al- Wahid
‫األَ َحـ ُد‬

68 Ya-Ahad The Unity, The Receive the realization
Indivisible in which all names
and attributes of Allah
are united and are
Al- Ahad
indivisible.
69 Ya-Ṣamad The Eternal / Receive the gift of
‫الص َم ُد‬
َّ The Absolute. independence from
God’s creatures
by relying on the
As-Samad
Almighty God.
SEMP Benefits of
Divine Names
Attributes
Dzikr
70 Ya-Qadir The Omnipotent Realize and witness
‫الْقَا ِد ُر‬ the truth that
everything is made
by the God the
Al- Qadir
Omnipotent.
71
‫الْ ُم ْقتَ ِد ُر‬ Ya-Muqtadir The Determiner,
The Dominant
Receive the secret
knowledge from God
on the nature of
Al- Muqtadir creation.
72
‫الْ ُم َق ِّد ُم‬ Ya-Muqaddim The Expediter,
He Who Brings
Forward
Receive an easy way to
achieve our vision and
good ambitions in life.
Al- Muqaddim
73 Ya-Mu’akhkhir The Delayer, He Receive the kindness
‫الْ ُم َؤ ِّخ ُر‬ Who Puts Far

Away
from God and
postponement of
punishment that will
Al- Mu’akhkhir motivate us to stop
sinful acts.
74
‫األ َّو ُل‬ Ya-Awwal The First, The
Beginning-less
Receive the awareness
of eternity and
endlessness of The
Al- Awwal Creator.
75 Ya-Akhir
ِ
The Last, The Receive the secret
‫اآلخ ُر‬ Endless of realizing the
beginning and the end
of everything in this
Al- Akhir
universe.
76
‫الظَّا ِه ُر‬ Ya-Ẓahir The Manifest,
The Evident, The
Outer
Receive the knowledge
of inner meaning of
outer things that we
Al- Zahir see in the world.
77
‫الْ َب ِاط ُن‬ Ya-Baṭin The Hidden, The
Unmanifest, The
Inner
Receive some
knowledge of God’s
hidden reality.
Al- Batin
78
‫الْ َو ِال‬ Ya-Wali The Protecting
Friend, The
Friendly Lord
Receive bounties and
protection from God,
The Ultimate Protector.
Al- Wali
79 Ya-Muta’ali The Supremely Receive from God
‫الْ ُمتَ َع ِال‬ Exalted, The
Most High
reward for continuous
consciousness,
remembrance, and
Al- Muta’ali
devotion to Allah.
SEMP Benefits of
Divine Names
Attributes
Dzikr
80
‫ال َ ُّْب‬ Ya-Barr The Good, The
Beneficent
Receive all the
qualities of good; both
material and spiritual
Al- Barr from Allah.
81
‫اب‬
ُ ‫التَّ َو‬
Ya-Tawwab The Ever
Returning, Ever
Relenting
Receive the power to
overcome the desires
of flesh, lies and other
Al- Tawwab worldly desires.
82
‫الْ ُم ْنتَ ِق ُم‬ Ya-Muntaqim The Avenger Receive protection
from revenge and from
our egotism which is
Al- Muntaqim our greatest enemy.
83
‫ال َع ُف ُّو‬ Ya-‘Afwu The Pardoner,
The Effacer, The
Forgiver
Receive true faith, love
of Allah s.w.t., and
pardon from our sins.
Al- Afu
84
ُ ‫ال َّر ُؤ‬
‫وف‬ Ya-Rauf The Kind, The
Pitying
Receive Allah
s.w.t’s kindness,
pity, mercy, and
Al- Rauf compassion.
85 Ya-Malik-ul-Mulk The Owner of all Those who
‫َمالِ ُك الْ ُمل ِْك‬ Sovereignty remember this
Divine Name
will have esteem
Malik-ul-Mulk
among people.
86
‫ذُوالْ َجالَ ِل‬ Ya-Dhūl-Jalāli wal-
'ikrām
The Lord of
Majesty and
Those who
repeat this
‫َواإلكْ َر ِ ُام‬ Generosity name many

times will be
given richness
Dhūl-Jalāli at all levels
wal-'ikrām
87
‫الْ ُمق ِْس ُط‬ Ya-Muqsiṭ The Equitable,
The Requiter
Those who repeat this
name will be free from
harm and become a
Al-Muqsiṭ perfect believer.
88
‫الْ َجا ِم ُع‬ Ya-Jami The Gatherer,
The Unifier
Understand the
hidden truth of the
heart in all aspects of
Al- Jāmi' life as a unified truth.
89
‫الْ َغ ِن ُّي‬ Ya-Ḡhanī The Rich, The
Independent
Receive fulfillment
of all our needs from
Allah s.w.t. and
Al- Ḡhanī become independent
SEMP Benefits of
Divine Names
Attributes
Dzikr
90 Ya-Muġnī The Enricher, Receive wealth in both
‫الْ ُم ْغ ِني‬ The Emancipator material and spiritual
life and the ability to
distribute wealth to
Al- Muḡhnī
others.
91
‫اَل َْمنِ ُع‬ Ya-Māni' The Withholder,
Defender
Receive protections
and defence by Allah
S.w.t against harmful
Al- Māni' evil schemes.
92
‫الضا ُّر‬
َّ Ya-Ḍārr The Distressor,
The Harmer, The
Afflicter
Receive the gift of
overcoming distress,
harm, and afflictions
Aḍ-Ḍārr caused by evil doers.
93
‫ال َّنا ِف ُع‬ Ya-Nāfi' The Propitious,
The Benefactor,
The Source of
Receive the goodness
and distribute the
beneficence of Allah
An-Nāfi' Good s.w.t to all.
94 Ya-An-nur The Light Receive the blessing
‫ال ُّنو ُر‬ of inner light and
the knowledge of the
ultimate truth from
An-Nūr
Allah s.w.t.
95
‫الْ َها ِدي‬ Ya-Hadi The Guide, The Way Those who repeat this
name will be guided to
receive spiritual gifts
Al- Hadi and knowledge.
96 Ya-Badi The Incomparable, Receive the knowledge
The Unattainable that Allah s.w.t
‫الْ َب ِدي ُع‬ is the Creator of

everything in His
essence, attribute, and
Al- Badī' actions which cannot
be attained by His
creatures.
97
‫اَلْ َبا ِقي‬ Ya-Baqi The Immutable,
Infinite, Everlasting
Receive the knowledge
of eternity and the gift
of everlasting eternal
Al- Baqi hereafter.
98 Ya-wariṡ The Heir, The Receive the secret of
ُ‫الْ َوارِث‬ Inheritor of All the name Inheritor
and receive Divine
wisdom to become
Al- warith
inheritor of the world.
SEMP Benefits of
Divine Names
Attributes
Dzikr
99 Ya-Rasyid The Guide to the Receive righteousness
‫ال َّر ِشي ُد‬ Right Path and reach at the right
path that leads to
submission to Allah’s
Al- Rashid
will.
100 Ya-Sabur The Timeless, Receive perfect
‫الص ُبو ُر‬

َّ
The Patient balance and
moderation in life and
overcome difficulties
As- Sabur in life through joyful
patient striving.
D. Practical Application of Inner Speech Dialogue

Technique (ISDT): Using Inner Speech Dialogue
Technique (ISDT) to achieve Peace, Happiness and
Success
We are all seeing the manifestation of the madness of our 21st

civilizatison so clearly today. In Positive Islamic Psychology,
we have to transform our selves at the SEMP level to achieve
our inner awakening. In trying to find peace, happiness and
success, we have to align our inner self with the need of every
other inhabitant on this Earth. In Islam, this is basically
the purpose of existence. Without this realignment, we will
still continue the unending struggle of 21st century full of
depression, unhappiness, meaningless in life and focusing
only on the physical pleasure of the world.
Muslim scholars over the centuries have been using

this technique to overcome their ego-driven selves (al-nafs al-
ammarah). We are taught to reflect, contemplate and meditate,
on aspects of our lives to ensure that we are on righteous
path (al-sirat al-mustaqim). This approach of inner dialogue
consists of daily contemplation, meditation and reflection.
For example,
1. In line with the hadith of the Prophet, all Muslims are

enjoined to contemplate and reflect over the action
had done during the day before they sleep. Upon
reflection, this gives them the opportunity to seek
God’s forgiveness for all the evils deeds and devilish
thoughts they might have committed during the
day. By using their inner speech and invocation,
they can meditate a way forward to become better
persons throughout their lives. By practicing this
inner speech dialogue, they are actually shaping
their SEMP domain to be align towards goodness
and in the process reduce their egoistic self (al-nafs
alammarah).
2. Muslims are also enjoined to continually reflect on

death, as the saying goes “die before you die” which
means to reflect on death before you actually face it.
We are to reflect the process of death stage by stage.
For example, at a point of our death, our soul will
be wrenched from our physical body by the angel of
death (Malak al-Maut). For the believers, the process
is super easy just like removing a feather floating
on water.
On the other hand, for the evil doers, the situation

will be terrible because their death will be painful
just like uprooting a big true with it roots clinging
to deeply in Earth. Their death will be painful and
horrible in the sense that they are deeply-rooted in
the physical world and see nothing beyond life on
Earth.
When they face the reality of the new spiritual world,

they feel very sad and regret the life they wasted
and evil they committed on Earth. Muslim scholars
also teach us to reflect on the process of life after
death and its various stages i.e. question in the
Grave by the Angels, new existence in the spiritual

realm called Al-Barzakh, resurrection of the Day of
Judgment and finally reaching our destination of
either Heaven or Hell based on the good or evil we
committed on Earth.
There are many examples in traditional Islamic practices

of using our inner speech to redirect and shape our lives
towards goodness. In Positive Islamic Psychology, we can call
this process Inner Speech Dialogue Technique (ISDT)
By using this technique, we can direct our inner self

to realize our meaning and purpose in life. ISDT technique
will slowly shape our perception towards realizing our true
purpose in life as the vicegerents of God on Earth. We only
have three duties; making our self good, helping others to
be good, and making this world good for all inhabitants and
pleasing to God.
We need to use our inner speech as described in the

earlier chapters. Basically, all of us have all kinds of positive
and negative thoughts throughout the days and in our lives.
ISDT techniques require us to be able to analyze these passing
thoughts and begin the process of inner dialogue to heal our
inner selves.
Let us illustrate with a few examples of how we can

analyse, realign and finally transform our inner speech using
ISDT technique to achieve authentic peace, happiness and
success.
Example 1:
Illustrates how Mr Ahmad uses ISDT to find his purpose and

meaning of life
Mr Ahmad : I don’t really know what I want in life. I am

just floating around like a zombie day by day
without any meaning and purpose in life. I
hate my job, but I must wake up every day
to go to work so that I can survive. This life
is hell…
Inner Speech : Can you do something to change your life?

Do you remember the times when you are
happy doing things that you like? Remember
when you are helping the poor, Rohingya
refugees in Cox Bazaar you feel so happy
doing this welfare work. Why think only
of yourself? At least, you have a home you
have your nice children and family and food
on the table…
Mr Ahmad : Yes! But now I feel so stressed because I

am worried for the future of my children’s
education. The world is getting worst every
day. I do not see a future for them...
Inner Speech : Why not begin to feel more positive and

appreciate with grace and satisfaction for
your existing condition? Your life is not that
bad. You can plan for a better future for
yourself, your family and the world if you
begin to act in a more positive manner. You
and your friends can do some small things
for the poor refugees like collecting old
clothes from family and friends and giving
those to them. They will be happy and you
too will be happy. Why not start tomorrow…
Mr Ahmad : Maybe that is a good idea for me to forget the

gloom and doom of this life. If I help others,
I am sure God will help me to make my life
more peaceful and happy….
Example 2.
Illustrates how Mr Anas overcome his matrimonial crises and

found happiness by appreciating the salient qualities of his
wife.
Mr Anas : What the hell is happening in my house?

My wife and I are so disconnected that we
don’t have any joy at home anymore. Every
day, I have problems with my wife who has
stopped communicating with me.
Inner speech : You need to think positively on how to

address this problem.
Mr Anas : Oh, what can I do?. I have to think.
Inner speech : You may, for example, examine her two sides,
the good and the bad side. If she does not
communicate with you, you can sometimes
begin to talk to her every day when you come
back from work. You can also praise her for
the delicious food that she cooks for you.
You can ask her about the daily activities of
your children.
Mr Anas : That sounds like a good idea.
Inner speech : Recall your beautiful relationship with her

for the last 10 years. Maybe you are so
caught up with your office work that you do
not even have time for her. Also recall, how
in the past you used to have dinner with her
in a restaurant once month. Are you still as
loving as you were before?
Mr Anas : I need to change and be positive by following

the Islamic way of how the Prophet led a
happy family life. By doing this, I need to

have a psychological balance in my inner
speech which eventually can give peace
and happiness in my matrimonial life. This
practical application of positive thinking/
psychology is illustrated in the Quran where
Allah warned us against despising our wives
because if we hate our wives, it is quite
possible that you may hate something and
Allah the Almighty put abundant khair in it
(4: 19).
Inner speech : Can you explain this further?
Mr Anas : The khair mentioned in the verse could be

spiritual pleasure, such as happiness or
material pleasure which is wealth.
Inner speech : Is positive thinking doing anything to solve

this problem?
Mr Anas : Yes, because a husband’s positive attitude

of tolerance, forgiveness and gratitude can
yield positive results of resolving internal
conflicts and overcoming problems created
by domestic disharmony.
Similarly, we can find another practical

example in the life of the Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH), who has warned that a Muslim
should not despise his wives. If he abhors
her, he should think of her positive side
which he will find pleasing.
Inner speech : In Sya Allah I will change to be more positive

from today…
Example 3
Ms Rohana failed in her exams and found herself in a deep

depression for her failure and thought of committing suicide
because of family pressure. Her family members are all
professional and successful in their career.
Ms Rohana : Oh my God! How can I fail this important

university entrance examination? I worked
so hard for it. Am I that stupid? Why..? My
elder brother and sister are so successful
and completed their university degree with
first class honors. Now, they hold good jobs.
I feel like committing suicide because I am a
failure.
Inner speech : But ending one’s life is the gravest mistake

that one should never commit. Instead,
think positively. Think of other positive way
of overcoming your problem rather than
killing yourself.
Ms Rohana : Why am I so unsuccessful in life? I want to

end it.
Inner speech : Oh, why?
Ms Rohana : Because every single member of my

family is successful now and have made
accomplishments, but I am nowhere close
to achieving what they have achieved.
My future success lies with my good results

at school, but as it is now, the future is not
promising.
Inner speech : Oh, really?
Ms Rohana : Yes because I am failing every course and

this means I have to pay for the price of

failing later in my life. That is why I decide
to end my life now, to prevent this horrible
situation.
Ms Rohana : Oh, how can I do that?
Inner speech : Think of your failure as a challenge and

think of success as a destination which you
should work towards. Your failure at this
early stage does not really matter. In case
you don’t know, most successful people fail
many times before they become what they
are.
Ms Rohana : That sounds reasonable. Even Bill Gates,

the richest man on the planet, and Steve
Jobs, were university dropouts.
Inner speech : Think deeply and positively to find the

answer. Rather than being negative, think
about your skills in arts and design which
you enjoyed so much in school.
Ms Rohana : Ah ..! Now, I understand. I think I can be a

good graphic designer. I may not be good in
academic subjects but I always get “A” in my
Arts subjects.
Inner speech : Ah ..! If this is the case, then what can you
do about it? Why not start thinking of a
new career in graphic design? You do not
need to go to university. You only need to
get a diploma in graphic design which is all
practical work.
Ms Rohana : Now, I can see my way out. I can be a

successful graphic designer and open my
own company in the future. I think, I can
earn more money than all my siblings put

together.
Inner speech : This is a good approach. But why is this very

important now?
Ms Rohana : Oh! this is good inner speech, In sya Allah I

will change my attitude, be a better Muslim,
and develop positive thinking. And this
positive thinking reminded me that Allah
the Almighty enjoined us in the Qur’an to
work hard and He will be with us, and in
this case, our success is guaranteed. I can
find other examples in the life of the Prophet
where he and his companions demonstrated
practical example of overcoming problems in
life. They strove and faced the unbelievers to
spread Islam despite the challenges involved.
It was the result of their determination that
formed the basis for success of the prophet
and the spread of Islam in the world.
From the above dialogues, we can learn the ISDT

technique.
Each time we are confronted with negative and self-

defeating inner speeches, we can slowly transform the dialogue
towards a more positive inner speech. So long as we live, we
will always be confronted with all types of rambling thoughts
that affect our level of satisfaction, peace and happiness.
The way to change our inner speech is for us to

immediately counter negative inner speeches with positive
inner speeches. This process takes a long time because we
have to shape our inner speech to face many instances of
negativity in our lives. Try using ISDT and with the God’s
grace, you can overcome your problems in life and achieve
authentic peace, happiness and success.
We can also combine ISDT technique with the dzhikr

of Asma ul-Husna as mentioned earlier in this chapter. This
way we can guide our ISDT towards remembrance of the
Attributes of Allah the Almighty. This combined dhikr and
ISDT approach can be more effective in overcoming stress,
anguish, frustration and rambling thoughts that can be
negative. More experimentations and researches on this
combined technique will be useful in developing our future
Pi-CBT programs.
Integration of ISDT Technique with Islamic

Healing Techniques, Energy Healing Modalities
and Other Complimentary Therapies
We need to do further research to integrate ISDT techniques

with other healing modalities. As we have elaborated in this
book, the human self comprises of four or more domains;
i.e. the spiritual, emotional, mental and physical (SEMP)
domains. Islamic healing traditions have always been holistic
that integrates our SEMP domains to heal diseases and
achieve total wellness.
If we study from the prophetic authentic traditions, we

will find that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his companions
used Suratul Fatiha, the first chapter in the Quran, to affect
healing through reciting the Surah and blowing on their hands
and rubbing on their bodies or their patients for healing. The
Prophet, his companions and the Muslims still practice the
tradition of reciting three Quls (the last three chapters of
the Quran) and blowing on to their hands after reciting and
rubbing their whole bodies starting from the hand all the way
down to the legs.
Ironically, modern atheists and secularists will laugh at

such practices. However, modern science today has proven
that we are all energy beings at the fundamental level. If we
break down our physical body cells to molecules, to atom, to
subatomic particles, we will then end up with energy and its

manifestations as the basic building block of our existence.
We have explained this earlier through our discussion on
SEMP domains that integrates our physical body with our
spiritual body. Islamic holistic healing always integrate these
four SEMP domains to cure diseases and achieve wellness.
We can do research to integrate ISDT Techniques with

energy meridian techniques. For example, acupuncture/
acupressure. We know in Islamic and Chinese traditions, we
have the art of cupping/bloodletting on energy meridian of
the body to cure diseases. In the process of applying these
therapies, we can use our inner speech dialogue to accelerate
our one hundred trillion cells of our body to respond to the
signal from our inner speech. Our body cells will respond to the
energy input at spiritual, emotional and mental frequencies.
With positive ISDT, we can redirect the cells from disease to
homeostasis, wellness and finally, freedom from all diseases
that affects us.
In what follows, we will give three practical examples

of these integrated ISDT, energy meridian techniques, bio
herbal natural therapies and other holistic complimentary
therapies.
Example 1:
Overcoming and Healing Spiritual, Emotional, Mental

and Physical Diseases
All of us in the world, at some point, may have some diseases

or problems at spiritual, emotional, mental and physical
levels. The techniques below can be used for healing of all
diseases. You can try applying the following techniques to
self-heal your disease or problems at SEMP levels. Let us
apply this one example to overcome panic attacks and anxiety
disorders.
We know hundreds of millions of human beings today are

suffering from severe panic attacks and anxiety disorders. We
can integrate ISDT technique with CBT techniques as we will
elaborate later on chapter on Pi-CBT Technique to address
this problem. We can also experiment the integrated ISDT
with energy meridian and Islamic healing techniques. The
basic protocols for healing are as follows.
a. Start with reciting the Fatiha and the three Quls

and recite ya Allah ya Shafi’ a few times and then
blow them on to our hands and rub up our whole
body. When you recite these beautiful names of
Allah, you are spiritually connecting yourself to your
Creator who by His command, can completely heal
you. This healing may happen immediately or over
time depending on our sincerity and confidence in
God as the ultimate Healer.
b. As we are rubbing our whole body, we will continue

reciting “Ya Allah” and “Ya Shafi’” and tell your
inner speech using ISDT techniques: “with the grace
of God, I am healed ...I am healed ... I am healed”
many times. Using the above techniques, we are
integrating our SEMP communication with God by
reciting the Qur’an and calling upon God using His
beautiful names and attributes. Through this, we
are integrating our SEMP cells to be in alignment.
The one hundred trillion cells in our body will then
be in coherence to effect healing.
Example 2:
Healing of Pains, Like Back Pain, Migraine, Joint Pains

and Other Forms of Pain.
Millions of human beings are suffering from all kinds of

pains throughout their lives. We can use ISDT Technique and
integrate it with energy meridian modality, like acupressure.
For this reason, we encourage you to try these techniques to

overcome your pains, migraine, joint and whatever pains you
may have in your body.
a. Start with reciting the Fatiha and the three Quls

and recite “Ya Allah” “Ya Shafi’” a few times and
then blow them on to our hands and rub up our
whole body.
b. As we are rubbing our whole body, we will continue

reciting “Ya Allah” and “Ya Shafi’” and tell our inner
speech using ISDT techniques: “With the grace of
God, I am healed... I am healed ... I am healed…”
many times.
c. After rubbing, we can then start applying

acupressure technique at specific acupressure
points (you need to refer and know the specific
acupressure points. By applying the acupressure,
you simultaneously recite “ya Shafi’” while closing
your eyes and feel the healing at the specific part of
your body in which you are having the pain.
Using the above techniques, we can try to heal all kinds

of diseases that we have by redirecting your SEMP energy
given by God to heal the physical body. In Sya Allah, you will
find these techniques to be very effective.
Example 3:
Integrating ISDT Technique with Bio Herbal/Natural

Therapies to Heal all Diseases
In one of his authentic traditions, Prophet Muhammad says

that for every disease, there is a cure. It is, therefore, pertinent
to refer to traditional Islamic/bio herbal/natural therapies
and integrate it with ISDT Technique to achieve complete
healing.
We can apply the above integrated techniques for all

diseases at the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual
levels. The protocols for this approach are follows:
a. Refer to the above mentioned examples of therapies.

Repeat the protocols as mentioned above.
b. Find herbal remedies and prepare it according to

Islamic/Bio herbal protocols.
c. As we consume our bioherbal remedy we use our

inner speech dialogue by reciting “Ya Allah, Ya
Shafi’” or just “Ya Shafi’” and seek God’s help to
heal us. For example, if we have cancer we will start
drinking the herbal remedy at a specific time of the
day. Meanwhile, throughout the day we direct our
inner speech towards remembering and seeking
help from Allah reciting these two names, “Ya Allah,
Ya Shafi’” Who is the Ultimate Healer. In Sya Allah,
we can be healed even of diseases like cancer by
the will of God. Most importantly, we must have full
confidence in God, our Creator to heal us because
He can redirect all our one hundred trillion body
cells from being cancerous to becoming healthy
normal cells.
These are preliminary researches done by us to help in

integrating ISDT techniques with complimentary therapies to
help heal all diseases. Whatever disease that we have, it can
be healed by the will God. Our role therefore is to seek healing
of our disease by choosing (ikhtiyar), by applying integrated
techniques to achieve wellness. We are also researching and
experimenting the integration of these techniques with Positive
Islamic Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (Pi-CBT) techniques
which we will elaborate in the next chapter.
Having said that, we strongly advise all other Muslims

around the globe to experiment on integrating Islamic
traditional healing with ISDT and other complimentary
therapies. In Sha Allah, we will find the best modality that
can heal our disease and receive the blessings Allah.
CHAPTER SEVEN

PSYCHOLOGY II:
COGNITIVE BEHAVIOUR THERAPY (CBT) AND POSITIVE

ISLAMIC COGNITIVE BEHAVIOUR THERAPY (PI-CBT)
Practical Application Of Positive Islamic Psychology II: Cognitive Behaviour 419
Therapy (CBT) And Positive Islamic Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (Pi-CBT)
Introduction
There are many substantial researches in the field of psychology

throughout the world, especially in the top universities. One
of the most researched modality is Cognitive Behaviour
Therapy or CBT. CBT is now widely used in the treatment
of the whole range of psychological problems. Even though
it has demonstrated a significant rate of success, it is still
imperfect. This is essentially due to its secular materialistic
approach that denies the fundamental nature of the spiritual
domain in the human self.
This denial of the spiritual aspect of the human

nature limits the efficacy of CBT. The real key to success in
any behaviour therapy is to understand the nature of our
existence. Hence, it is very important for everyone to be always
asking himself some important questions such as “what is my
purpose in life”, “who I am”, and “where shall I go after death”
e.t.c. From the Islamic perspective, we are spiritual beings
temporarily experiencing a physical existence on Earth.
We have outlined the four basic principles of Positive

Islamic Psychology namely:
1) Understanding the Creator and the Created

Universe.
2) The Holistic Transcendent Nature of the Human

Self.
3) On being the Vicegerent of God in this Universe

(Khalifat al-Allah fil ard).
4) Holistic Principles of Human Behaviour and the

Laws of Learning.
Using the above four principles, we have developed the

Positive Islamic Psychology Model as outlined in Chapter 5.
In this chapter, we are providing the details of Cognitive

Behaviour Therapy (CBT) as the basic framework for us to
develop an Islamic version of CBT. We call this Pi-CBT. We
will use all the good outcomes, researches, practical tools
and application of CBT as the basis for this Pi-CBT model.
Both Muslim and Non-Muslim psychologists are

encouraged to expand the body of research in the field of Pi-
CBT. We also need to do qualitative and quantitative analysis
of Pi-CBT efficacy. This ongoing process can provide a better
and more holistic approach for the treatment of psychological
problems. We hope these expanded research and practical
application of Pi-CBT can result in better psychological
therapies, especially for those who profess the Muslim faith.
The Pi-CBT can also be used for others who believe in the
spirituality of the human self.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
A revolution in the field of mental health was initiated in

the early 1960s by Aaron T. Beck, MD, then an assistant
professor in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. Beck
identified distorted negative cognition (primarily thoughts
and beliefs) as a primary feature of depression and developed
a short-term treatment, one of whose primary targets was the
reality testing of patients’ depressed thinking. Beck further
developed a form of psychotherapy in the early 1960s that he
originally termed “Cognitive Therapy”. “Cognitive Therapy” is
now used synonymously as “Cognitive Behaviour Therapy” or
CBT.
In a nutshell, the CBT proposes that dysfunctional

thinking (which influences the patient’s mood and behaviour)
is common to all psychological disturbances. When people
learn to evaluate their thinking in a more realistic and adaptive
way, they experience improvement in their emotional state
and in their behaviour. For lasting improvement in patients’
mood and behaviour, Cognitive Therapists work at a deeper

level of cognition: patients’ basic beliefs about themselves,
their world, and other people. Modification of their underlying
dysfunctional belief produces more enduring change.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy has been extensively tested

since the first outcome study was published in 1977. At this
point, more than 500 outcome studies have demonstrated
the efficacy of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for a wide range
of psychiatric disorders, psychological problems, and medical
problems with psychological components.
Practical Application of Cognitive Behaviour

Therapy
(3) Medical
(2) Psychological Problems
(1) Psychiatric
Problems with
Disorders
Psychological
Components
Major depressive Couple problems Chronic back pain
disorder
Geriatric depression Family problems Sickle cell disease pain
Generalized anxiety Pathological gambling Migraine headaches
disorder
Geriatric anxiety Complicated grief Tinnitus
Panic disorder Caregiver distress Cancer pain
Agoraphobia Anger and hostility Somatoform disorders
Social phobia Irritable bowel
syndrome
Obsessive-compulsive Chronic fatigue
disorder syndrome
Conduct disorder Rheumatic disease

pain
Substance abuse Erectile dysfunction
Attention-deficit/ Insomnia
hyperactivity disorder
Health anxiety Obesity
(3) Medical
(2) Psychological Problems
(1) Psychiatric
Problems with
Disorders
Psychological
Components
Body dysmorphic Vulvodynia
disorder
Eating disorders Hypertension
Personality disorders Gulf War syndrome
Sex offenders
Habit disorders
Bipolar disorders (with
medication)
Schizophrenia (with
medication)
Source: Judith S. Beck (1995). Cognitive Behaviour Therapy:

Basics and Beyond.
There are 10 basic principles of Cognitive Behaviour

Therapy. They are as follows:
1) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is based on an ever-

evolving formulation of patients’ problems and
an individual conceptualization of each patient in
cognitive terms.
2) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy requires a sound

therapeutic alliance.
3) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy emphasizes

collaboration and active participation.
4) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is goal oriented and

problem focused.
5) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy initially emphasizes

the present.
6) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is educative, aims

to teach the patient to be her own therapist, and
emphasizes relapse prevention.
7) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy aims to be time

limited.
8) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy sessions are

structured.
9) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy teaches patients to

identify, evaluate, and respond to their dysfunctional
thoughts and beliefs.
10) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy uses a variety

of techniques to change thinking, mood, and
behaviour.
These basic principles apply to all patients. Therapy

does, however, vary considerably according to individual
patients, the nature of their difficulties, and their stage of life,
as well as their developmental and intellectual level, gender,
and cultural background. Treatment also varies depending
on patients’ goals, their ability to form a strong therapeutic
bond, their motivation to change, their previous experience
with therapy, and their preferences for treatment, among
other factors.
These above principles and approach are some examples

where we can integrate Pi-CBT to other effective psychological
treatments and modalities. In Pi-CBT, we essentially do not
reinvent the wheel. Rather, we use all the good modalities in
CBT and its related therapies.
Attached below are some current modalities in addition

to CBT. Pi-CBT uses all these modalities plus current
psychological treatments as well as Drug Therapy modalities.
Pi-CBT also uses realignment of our Spiritual, Emotional,
Mental and Physical Domain (SEMP). Indeed, there is need
for Muslim psychologists to make extensive research in Pi-

CBT. This research process will finally enable Pi-CBT to be
the most effective psychological therapy modality specifically
for Muslims and non-Muslims.
Pi-CBT can, and will, extensively use all Islamic

principles, way of life, prayers, invocations, contemplation,
meditation and all the techniques outlined in Chapter Six.
These include:
A. Practicing basic principles of Islam as a way of life.
B. Practical application of contemplation and

meditation to achieve peace, happiness and success.
C. Basic techniques that we can practise: Calm

Breathing Focus Technique and Asma al-Husna.
D. Practical application of Inner Speech Dialogue

Technique (ISDT).
Pi-CBT also uses all modalities including CBT and other

current psychological protocols and therapies listed below in
the tables.
Pi-CBT uses all new Islamic

Psychological
modalities including CBT and
Problems/
other
No. Phobias/
current psychological
Behavioural
treatments
Problems etc.
protocols/therapies as listed
1 Simple phobias Behaviour therapy, relaxation, and
coping-skills training
2 Social phobias Cognitive-behaviour therapy, relaxation, and
coping-skills training
3 Cognitive delays in Multisystem family-based early intervention
childhood development programmes including home visiting, child
stimulation, parent training and support,
conjoint parent- child sessions to promote secure
attachment.

Psychological
Problems/
other
No. Phobias/
Behavioural
treatments
Problems etc.
4 Adjustment problems Multisystem family-based and school-based early
in children with interventions, applied behavioural analysis,
autism/ ADHD/ structured learning principles, speech and
intellectualdisabilities/ language remedial therapy, behavioural parent
sensory disabilities/ training, family therapy, child management skills
behavioural problems training, social problem solving skills training,
drugs intervention
5 Teenage Peer-led school-based programmes involving
problems psycho education, coping skills training, problem
solving skills training, family therapy
6 Panic disorder and Cognitive-behaviour therapy with family support,
agoraphobia relaxation and coping-skills training
7 Obsessive compulsive Behaviour therapy with family support,

disorder relaxation and coping-skills training
8 Depression Cognitive therapy, social skills training and
interpersonal/marital therapy
9 Generalized anxiety Cognitive behaviour therapy, relaxation and
disorders coping-skills training
10 Post-traumatic stress Behaviour therapy, relaxation and
disorder coping-skills training
11 Schizophrenia; Multimodal treatment involving
bipolar mood psychiatric/drugs intervention, family
disorder therapy, cognitive behaviour therapy,
cognitive therapy and social skills
training
12 Alcohol / drug addiction Family-supported multimodal treatment involving
/ smoking problems family-based engagement of client in treatment,
detoxification, self-control training, social skills
training, stress management training and drugs
intervention
13 Psychosexual problems Sex therapy
14 Relationship problems Cognitive-behaviour therapy,psychoeducation and
problem-solving skills training
15 Bulimia Cognitive-behaviour therapy, psychoeducation and
problem-solving skills training
16 Anorexia Refeeding and psychodynamic psychotherapy

Psychological
Problems/
other
No. Phobias/
Behavioural
treatments
Problems etc.
17 Insomnia Multimodal treatment involving drugs
intervention, stimulus-control techniques, sleep
restriction, relaxation training, and challenging
thinking styles
18 Chronic pain Family-supported operant pain management,
management cognitive-behavioural treatment, psychoeducation,
relaxation and cognitive coping-skills training
19 Other psychological/ CBT and all other psychological modalities
social problems

In Pi-CBT, we will have to develop an approach that

emphasizes SEMP areas that are already elaborated in this
book. We need to make Pi-CBT the mainstream modality
for all psychological disorder. This will ensure the future
development of Pi-CBT as a unique therapy modality for
Muslims and others. We encourage further research by Muslim
psychologists to expand the depth of Pi-CBT framework and
format. This research encompasses:
1. Pi-CBT Spiritual wellness/healing modalities /

practices / methods /protocols etc.
2. Pi-CBT Emotional wellness/healing modalities /

practices / methods / protocols etc.
3. Pi-CBT Mental wellness/healing modalities /

4. Pi-CBT Physical wellness/healing modalities /

5. The combined SEMP Pi-CBT new modalities and

protocols.
The above four domains of our human self i.e. SEMP

must be approached in integrative manner. This integrative
approach results in Pi-CBT integrative SEMP modalities /
practices / methods / protocols. We are current at a very early
stage in our research on Pi-CBT. We hope for collaboration
and other research initiatives by all interested parties.
The following format/forms are some examples of

practical application of Pi-CBT in our therapy session. We
have to create a centralize Pi-CBT resource centre to collect,
store, disseminate all Pi-CBT research papers, protocols,
testimonials, format and other relevant materials examples
of some forms for Pi-CBT attached.
Example of form, 1
1. Pi-CBT: Seeking meaning and purpose in life Review

Technique
Define your meaning and purpose in life
Summarize your past experiences
Why are you in your current situation/problem/ psychological

dilemma?
What's the future that I want for myself/family/career, etc.

Example of Form 2
PIP Programs that I can do to shape my future to

achieve peace, happiness and success
S : Spiritual Programs
E : Emotional Programs
M : Mental Programs
P: Physical Programs
Example of form 3
Definition of Psychological/Challenges in Life etc

________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
Pi-CBT prescription Pi-CBT techniques,values,

by therapist principles to be implemented
in life
Summary of positive Daily Activities to be implemented in life

Example of Form 4
Using Inner Speech Dialogue Technique (ISDT)

Journal
Positive values to Journal of Dialogue and

practice using ISDT. using ISDT to transform
Examples of the themes below self i.e. from inner
speech to new behavior/
habits and way of life.
1. Gratitude (shukr)
2. Forgiveness (Maghfirah)
3. Repentance (tawbah)
4. Serenity/seeking peace (Sakina)
5. Love and compassion (al-Hubb

wa al-Hanan)
6. Patience (Sabr)
7. Reliance and confidence in
Allah (Tawakkul and Tawbah)
8. Developing good character/
personality (khuluq)
Above are some values that you can use. Be creative! Think of other
positive values you wish to develop & create your own journal form.
ADD YOUR ADDITIONAL VALUES
9
10
11
Example of Form 5
SHAPING POSITIVE VALUES TO ACHIEVE PEACE,

HAPPINESS AND SUCCESS
Positive values Journal of Dialogue using

ISDT to transform self. i.e.
from inner speech
1. Connecting with love and joy

with family, friends, and society
2. The joy of giving and helping
others
3. Acceptance of changes in life
4. Overcoming sadness, depression
and grief and challenges in life
5. The joy of being the vicegerent of
God on Earth
a) Making myself good
b) Helping others to be good
c) Making this world good and to
please God and all creatures on
Earth
ADD YOUR ADDITIONAL VALUES

6
7
8
Example of Form 6
Pi-CBT Islamic Spiritual Practices/Activities Diary
Thursday
Wednes-
Saturday
Monday
Tuesday
Sunday
Friday
day
Time
4 am/5 am
6 am
7 am
8 am
9 am
10 am
12 pm
1 pm
2 pm
4 pm
5 pm
7 pm
8 pm
10 pm
The Islamic spiritual practices consist of the ritual

such as prayers, fasting, zakat, invocation, contemplation,
reflection, good deeds/actions, etc. as outlined in this book.
Example of Form, 7
Pi-CBT SEMP 40 Days Habit Forming Diary
Status (OK/ Good Habits/Actions

Days Aspects
Not OK) Taken/Done
Spiritual
Emotional
Monday
Mental
Physical
Spiritual
Emotional
Tuesday
Mental
Physical
Spiritual
Emotional
Wednesday
Mental
Physical
Spiritual
Emotional
Thursday
Mental
Physical
Spiritual
Emotional
Friday
Mental
Physical
Spiritual
Emotional
Saturday
Mental
Physical
Spiritual
Emotional
Sunday
Mental
Physical
The SEMP 40-Days-Habits-Plan reviews our daily actions

at the SEMP levels. At each level, we review what we have
done and try to incorporate new good habits/behaviors/ etc.
Group Counselling Approach in Pi-CBT
Pi-CBT therapy can be delivered on a one-to-one basis.

This will be done by trained psychologist certified in Pi-
CBT methodology. This approach will take a long time in
developing the necessary human resource and expertise in
Pi-CBT. To resolve this issue, we can also develop practical
Pi-CBT using group counselling approach. We can conduct
short courses to certify qualified individuals to become Pi-
CBT group counsellors. This people need not be professional
psychologists but people with sufficient training in counselling
technique and basic Pi-CBT protocol.
There are many sound reasons for using a group

approach to problem solving or counselling in Pi-CBT. Some
are common to all groups; others pertain only to specific kinds
of groups. Two basic reasons for using the group approach to
almost any kind of group are for the efficiency and availability
of more resources or viewpoints in group settings. Bringing
together a group of people for a common cause saves time
and effort, thereby increasing efficiency. A group of people
can offer more viewpoints, and hence, more resources. Group
members often relate that one of the most helpful aspects
of their group is the variety of viewpoints expressed and
discussed.
When 2 people get together, it is possible they will possess

similar information, values, or ways of seeing the world. As
such, it may be difficult to generate new ideas or methods
of solving problems. On the other hand, in a group setting,
members usually will have a variety of opinions and ideas,
thus, making the experience interesting and closer to real life.
Support Groups in Pi-CBT
Support group is usually composed of 4 to 12 members

and meets monthly, weekly, or even twice weekly. In the
meetings, the members would share thoughts and feelings
about themselves. This hearing and listening to others
provide multiple viewpoints which serve as a basis for
examining issues and developing a feeling of commonality
among members. Support groups enable members to learn
that other people struggle with the same issues, feel similar
emotions, and think similar thoughts.
There are tremendous needs for helping those with

psychological problems in the Muslim world. Support groups
can be set up as part of the mosque/community activities.
We have to train future leaders so that they can lead in

the Pi-CBT group therapy sessions. Using the basic Pi-CBT
format can be the basis in group therapy sessions.
The Experience of Commonality / Universality
In a group setting, people often discover that they are not

alone. Other people might have similar thoughts and feelings
like theirs. Below are some examples of groups in which they
shared common experiences that can be helpful:
a) People/youth with drug/alcohol addiction and

other related problems.
b) Youth with addiction to online video games, online

pornography and other related problems.
c) c) Parents who have autism children ADHD/

learning difficulties sharing experiences on how
they are managing and parenting their children.
d) Family members of mentally ill patients share how

they are coping with the stresses and stigma from
the society.
e) Children of divorced parents talk about their

experiences and adjustment.
f) Elderly people confined to convalescent centers

support each other in their effort to cope with
loneliness and alienation.
g) Family members of cancer/chronically ill patients

find comfort in hearing that others are also
experiencing grief and struggling to carry on with
their lives.
h) Individuals with disabilities share their feelings and

fears about their disability.
i) Stay at home mothers seek comfort and friendship

with other housewives.
j) Recently divorced individuals and single mothers

discover how others are coping.
k) Troubled youth going through adolescence/

sexuality/ morality/religious issues, etc.
l) Victims of a natural disaster share feelings about

the loss of loved ones, loss of property, or their
sense of helplessness.
m) Burnout and stress management groups for

overworked employees, etc.
n) People suffering from AIDS and other related

chronic diseases.
o) Prisoners share their concerns about their loss of

freedom, upcoming release, or loneliness.
p) Many other socio-psychological problems that we

currently face.
The feeling of commonality is helpful and therapeutic

for most individuals and cannot develop in individual
counselling. Many people carry around fears they believe
to be unique to them. As group members grow comfortable
with one another and begin to take risks in sharing personal
concerns, thoughts, and feelings, they are often amazed that
others in the group have similar concerns. This provides a
sense of “we-ness” that is greatly reassuring.
Sense of Belonging
It is well-acknowledged that humans have a need to belong,

and this need can be satisfied by being part of a group.
Members will often identify with each other, feel accepted and
thus, feel part of a whole.
Skills Practice
Groups provide an arena for safe practice in such that the

members practice new skills and behaviours they have learned
in a supportive environment before trying them out in real life
contexts. This can be done through role-playing activities. The
range of new behaviours to explore is nearly limitless. Apart
from role playing, members may also experiment with new
behaviours while relating to one another during the session.
Feedback
Groups provide an opportunity for members to receive

feedback. In groups in which behaviour rehearsal is a major
component, the suggestions, reactions, and perceptions of
others can be valuable as members would have so many
chances to hear how others experience them. Often, members

would have the opportunity to hear both first impressions and
updated impressions. Feedback is generally more powerful
in a group setting than in an individual counselling session
as a single viewpoint may be repeatedly emphasised. This
is because clients often have an unrealistic perception of
themselves, thus, feedback from a group may help them in
expanding and altering their self-perceptions.
Vicarious Learning
In many kinds of groups, clients discuss issues that are very

meaningful to them. As such, they have the opportunity to
share and listen to others with similar concerns to their own.
A member may sit in silence and yet, learn a great deal by
watching how fellow members resolve their personal concerns.
The leader of a group should always be aware of the

vicarious learning aspects of groups. A member who appears
quiet may still be learning about him/herself as much as
those who participate actively in the group.
Real Life Approximation
As people are not islands, but rather they live in an environment

composed of others, groups come closer to replicating real life
than does one-to one therapy. While interacting with others,
people experience fear, anger, doubt, worry, and jealousy.
In the comparatively safe atmosphere of the group, those
same emotions can surface and be identified and, hopefully,
resolved. The group setting becomes a temporary substitute
for the community, family, work site, or organization in which
those feelings repeat themselves.
The social context of the group experience also helps in

a way that members are given the opportunity to discover
how people honestly react to them over a period of weeks or

months. In addition, they are exposed to a variety of human
behaviours and attitudes such as encouragement, support,
anger, confrontation, genuineness, rigidity, and etc. Being
exposed to these in a group environment enables one to learn
methods of relating and coping that may in turn carry over
into their everyday living.
Contracts and Commitments
The group can be a place to make important and helpful

commitments or contracts to work on specific, individual
concerns. A contract is essentially an oral or written statement
indicating what a member is willing to do either in or outside
of the group session. While such commitments are often
made in one-to-one situations, the motivation to honor them
seems to be stronger when they are made with a number
of people. In support groups, such as those which help
smokers, alcoholics and gamblers overcome their addiction
problems, members make at least an implied commitment
to stop smoking, drinking, or gambling; to make a certain
number of job contracts; or to practice assertiveness.
The combination of support subtle expectations and fear

of letting down the group if the commitment is broken is a
powerful motivator for behavioural change.
Practical Examples Combining CBT and Pi-CBT
The following two practical examples of using Cognitive

Behaviour Therapy (CBT) for the treatment of depression and
panic attack/anxiety are useful baseline for us to expand with
the Pi-CBT principles, values and approach as elucidated in
this book.
Practical Example 1: Using CBT/Pi-CBT to Overcome

Depression
Signs and symptoms of depression
A person may have severe depression if he/she feels depressed

nearly all the time, on most days, lose interest or pleasure in
routine activities. In addition, the person experiences five or
more of these symptoms over two weeks:
Loses or gains a significant amount of weight.
Feels excessively sleepy or unable to sleep on

virtually all days.
Markedly slow down and feels sluggish.
Lacks energy and feels tired.
Experience inappropriate guilt or feel worthless.
Loses concentration and faces difficulty in making

decisions.
Thinks about death or suicidal attempts
Depression may manifest in different types (e.g. unipolar

vs. bipolar/manic-depressive illness, postnatal depression,
seasonal affective disorder) and degrees of severity (e.g.
severe/major depression vs. mild/minor depression).
Depression is the emotional equivalent of “learned pain”

The brain gets so familiar with the feeling of misery that it no
longer responds to changing circumstances. It is locked into
negative feelings. What is needed is to “unlearn” the negative
feelings – by nudging the brain back to responding differently
or thinking new thoughts. New thoughts occur when new
neural pathways are formed between brain cells. If thoughts
are repeated these become permanent. Unlearning negative

thinking, therefore, involves building new thought pathways
and abandoning the old.
During the period of depression, brain cells which

produce feelings of pleasure fail to produce or respond to
the neurotransmitters that usually turn them on, and thus,
become “dead” to outside stimulation. Brain cells also die
off if they are not used, so a person who suffers a period of
intense sadness in childhood may lose some capacity to feel
happy later on in life.
It should be noted that depression can occur at any age

to anyone. Depression can also cause physical symptoms
in the absence of any psychological sign that a person is
feeling depressed. Some common physical or psychosomatic
symptoms associated with depression are backache, chest
pain, dizziness, general aches and pains, fatigue, indigestion,
joint pains, loss of libido, palpitations, weight gain or loss.
CBT suggests that how we think largely determines how

we feel. The focus on CBT is on thoughts, beliefs, assumptions
and perceptions – on everything affecting how we know and
interpret the world.
In depression, gloomy thoughts take over and we

interpret things in a negative way. These negative responses
cause depressed thinking and feelings which can become
self-perpetuating, leading to a vicious circle, locking you
into depression. Think negatively, and you will begin to feel
unhappy, sad or overwhelmed, and this may ultimately affect
how you behave. You may stop seeing your friends or other
things you enjoy. CBT aims to break this think-feel-behave
cycle.
Depressed
No
Do nothing energy to do
anything
Diagram 17: The Depression Cycle
Beck’s theory of depression includes three main

components:
a. Negative automatic thoughts
b. Depressive schemata
c. Logical errors in thinking
a. Negative automatic thoughts
These are thoughts or mental reflexes which just “pop into the
head” or “come out of the blue” without being in the forefront
of our minds. We may automatically accept them even if they
are distorted or irrational. One negative idea then amplifies
another. Beck describes depression
as “a cognitive triad”: one component can reinforce the

next:
A negative view of the self (“I’m a worthless”)
A negative view of the world (“This city is helpless”)
A negative view of the future (“There are no prospects

for me”)
b. Depressive schemata
Any negative or dysfunctional thoughts and feelings we develop

about ourselves early in life are reflected in schemata – the
building blocks of cognition. Schemata are sets of attitudes or
assumptions which shape our beliefs about others, ourselves
and the world. We have schemata about everything and none
are more important than those relating to “the self system”:
self-esteem, self-awareness, self-image, self-blame, etc.
The origin of our schemata will date back to our

childhood and the relationships we had with our parents,
family, classmates – and the other people who are prominent
in our life. They may change throughout life, but the old ones
never completely disappear, and may re-emerge as a result of
stress.
How do we interpret these relationships and what they

say about us? How do we put together the mental bricks
which make up our schemata?
We usually regard our schemata as statements of fact.

They produce core beliefs – which may be positive or negative.
Once activated, a negative core belief can produce a cognitive
shift away from the positive. What this means is that the
susceptible individual begins to distort incoming information
to fit into their negative schemata.
The aim of CBT is to challenge any false assumptions

and change an anxious self schema into a healthy one.
c. Logical errors in thinking
Beck described these categories:
Arbitrary inference: A conclusion reached on the

basis of insufficient evidence or no evidence at
all. E.g. Salim becomes convinced he won’t get his
promotion because his taxi to the interview is late.
Selective abstraction: A conclusion based on just one

of many factors. E.g. Salihah is a good conference
organizer. She runs a successful meeting, manages
to get many excellent speakers, good attendance
and running on time, but one speaker fails to turn
up and she blames herself for the “failure” of the
entire event.
Over-generalization: E.g. A PhD candidate was

criticized during his viva examination for a minor
mistake in the methodological section of his
research, but he feels that his whole research is a
total failure.
A motivational speaker wins critical acclaims, but

berates himself for making minor negative remarks
on the first night, although the audience hardly
notices it. He draws the conclusion that he is a
terrible motivator/speaker.
Magnification: E.g. Ahmad was a perfectionist who

feared that his entire routine was going to fall apart
because he had not jotted down a minor task in his
diary.
Such errors of thinking can spark a cognitive chain

reaction.
THOUGHTS
BEHAVIOUR FEELINGS &

& REACTIONS MOODS
Diagram 18: The Depressive Chain Reaction
What Makes CBT Different from Other

Therapies?
CBT relies on the patient playing an active role and developing

a collaborative relationship with the therapist to identify and
resolve a problem. Just like in a scientific study, the patient’s
negative thought become a scientific hypothesis or idea that
is tested by collection and evaluation of data.
Putting Theory into Practice for CBT and Pi-

CBT
Duration: A typical CBT/Pi-CBT programme may comprise

15 – 20 weekly sessions, perhaps twice weekly, initially in
the case of severe depression. A typical session lasts 50 – 60
minutes.
The session agenda: This is worked out at the start of each

session and may take ten minutes or so. The therapist will
ask what you want to discuss and set targets for the session.
Structure: Time will be allocated to specific issues. CBT/ Pi-

CBT tends to be highly structured to encourage a business-like,
problem-solving approach. The patient may do increasingly
more of the agenda setting and structuring sessions as they
get to know the routine.
Session target(s): Meeting targets is the major focus of each

session. This may involve breaking down a particular problem
into different components to see it in a new perspective.
Different approaches work for different people. Working out
what’s best for you may involve trial and error.
Homework: A vital part of CBT/Pi-CBT. Assignments may

include “reality testing” and keeping a diary to monitor mood
changes day by day. Reviewing homework is a routine part of
a session.
Feedback: The therapist may constantly seek feedback

throughout the sessions to check if the patient feels things
are going in the right direction. Feedback also reduces any
chance of the patient not speaking out if a session – as can
happen – makes them depressed or anxious. This is because
self-examination is not an easy process.
What Can I Expect From My Treatment?
There are many techniques used in CBT/Pi-CBT. Some are

used for treatment sessions, some for homework assignments,
and some for both. Most are aimed at modifying negative or
anxiety-provoking thoughts. Some of the techniques are as
follows:
1) Examining the Evidence for and against a Negative

Thought:
E.g. in a case of a patient feeling disliked by his boss,

this technique may involve asking questions such as,
“What was the evidence that I am disliked by my boss?”
“Was there another interpretation of the evidence?”
“Was there any evidence that I had done a bad job?”
“Was there anything wrong about feeling anxious in my

situation? Wasn’t it just a natural reaction?”
2) Reality Testing:
The therapist may encourage the patient to test the validity of

his negative thought by creating a reality chart which involved
the following stages:
Identifying the notion/hypothesis and rating it in

terms of belief (does he really believe in it?) on a
scale of one to a hundred.
Working out what it could predict (i.e. the end of a

relationship).
Revaluating his method of data collection, as well

as re-rating his original belief.
The patient might also be given a homework, whereby he

needed to collect evidence to test his fear/hypothesis. More
importantly, he would need to assess if there was any real
evidence that might point towards his hypothesis (negative
thought).
In cases where a person’s negative thoughts are justified

and when other people’s behaviour is not so easily modifiable,
another strategy would be needed and this could be the basis

of more traditional counselling.
3) Success Therapy / Graded Task Assignments:
As lack of energy in depressive illness can often lead to

inactivity, success therapy is designed to encourage routine
activities such as going to work, cooking, going for a walk,
shopping, playing a game, or watching TV. In this technique,
therapist and patient will agree targets for the week, graded
according to how long each one may take and how hard it
is. An initial “cooking target” may be something basic like
boiling an egg or toasting a piece of bread. New targets are set
as you achieve “success”. A therapist will probably challenge
a patient who says “I can’t do that”, and seek evidence of
their inability and ask them to compile an activity schedule.
Completing it may in itself encourage a patient to do more.
4) Activity Scheduling:
A person who is depressed usually stops engaging in activities

and as a result, their mood gets worse. Activity scheduling
seeks to reverse that process and enables you to log your
progress over a period of days, weeks or months. Looking
over your progress in written forms can be surprisingly
encouraging. Activity scheduling may involve Beck’s concept
of mastery and pleasure. The theory behind the concept is
that we all need to feel good about ourselves – and that we
need to have this feeling reinforced, e.g. by compliments,
passing an exam, etc. Such accomplishments or mastery can
be rated on a ten-point scale. Pleasure, referring to pleasant,
enjoyable feelings from a specific activity, could also be rated
on a ten-point scale.
5) Keeping a Diary:
This helps to log thoughts and feelings, and may involve

“thought catching” – you monitor your feelings and “catch”
the accompanying thoughts and record them in a “thought
diary”. This may pinpoint critical differences between absolute
negative thoughts and rational responses to a particular
event.
A behaviour diary can establish the link between feelings,

symptoms and behaviour, as well as help you to achieve your
“target behaviour” or goals.
Cognitive Rehearsal, Role Play and

“Alternative” Therapy
Negative thinking convinces people they can’t do certain

things. In cognitive rehearsal, they imagine themselves trying
“the impossible”. The therapist might take them through their
thought processes step by step, asking: “What would you be
thinking about at this time when faced with your particular
problem?” This can help to identify mental blocks.
In “alternative therapy”, the patient is asked to imagine

an alternative to a depressing situation. There may be several
alternative solutions to a particular problem. Alternative
therapy seeks to encourage the patient to view their
“alternatives” to being depressed, and help them see their
alternatives as potential realities.
In CBT, the patient and the therapist should decide

which activities are most suitable for the patient to attempt if
he/she is having difficulty getting motivated.
Additional notes about CBT/Pi-CBT
CBT/Pi-CBT works as well as antidepressants in

the treatment of depression of varying severity and
it may be more effective in the long term, i.e. in
preventing relapse.
Combining drugs and CBT/Pi-CBT is more effective

than using CBT/Pi-CBT alone.
CBT/Pi-CBT alone sometimes works better than

drugs alone.
CBT/Pi-CBT increases the time patients remain

well.
Through CBT/Pi-CBT, patients learn coping skills

which can be applied outside the therapy session,
hence, preventing a full episode of depression from
occurring. Furthermore, the changes made during
therapy bring about a permanent shift in a patient’s
cognitive style.
Patients with an active, rather than a passive style

of coping are more likely to benefit from CBT/Pi-
CBT.
Potential Problems with CBT/Pi-CBT
Some patients may not be used to writing, or feel

shy or embarrassed from lack of practice, or fear
of spelling mistakes. They may also think their
thoughts are too silly to write down.
Some patients insist that no thought goes through

their mind when they feel depressed or anxious.
Out of the blue, the emotion just overwhelms them.
Some patients “intellectualize” their problems,

describing them in great detail, without taking into
account their own or other people’s feelings. They
may block emotions, believing that expressing them
is “weak” or “unmanly”, or that they are “trivial”.
Some patients claim they “don’t need any more

therapy” and have been “feeling fine all week”. They
may be ashamed about needing help and fear for
their privacy.
The patient becomes dependent on the therapist

and is reluctant to stop treatment.
Depression and Drug Therapy
How Do Antidepressants Work?
Antidepressants work by inhibiting or blocking the processes

which lead to the destruction or removal of monoamines.
These are the neurotransmitters responsible for activating
brain cells which produce feelings of wellbeing.
There are two main categories of antidepressants:
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)
Monoamine reuptake inhibitors. These include

the tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), the selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), including
Prozac, and selective noradrenalin reuptake
inhibitors (SNRIs).
The MAOIs block the enzyme responsible for destroying

the monoamines, while the tricyclics and reuptake inhibitors
decrease the absorption or “reuptake” of the monoamines

into the cells from which they come. In other words, they
both achieve the same effect – keeping monoamines in the
synapse – in different ways.
While it is easy to assume that depression may be due to

low levels of available monoamines, and that the cure is to push
the levels up, this is not the case. Neurotransmitter levels may
be boosted within hours after a drug is taken, but something
else has to happen before the raised neurotransmitter levels
have an effect on someone’s mood. Nevertheless, nobody
knows what it is.
The “something else” – perhaps some reordering of

neuronal receptors or a change in cell structure takes time. As
such, antidepressant drugs do not start working immediately.
People tend to feel better within one or two weeks but it may
actually take longer to achieve a full antidepressant effect.
However, some side effects, which are not uncommon, may
kick in quickly.
A Cumulative Effect
Feeling worse than better at the start of treatment often leads

many people to give up the drugs before they have a chance
to do any good. Current evidence suggests that about half
to two-thirds of patients with moderate or severe illness get
relief from the first prescribed drug. The proportion goes up
to 60 – 80 per cent if patients try a second or third type if the
first does not work.
Successful treatment may mean trial and error. In

cases whereby patients do not respond well to a single
antidepressant, the doctor may suggest combination therapy
– combining two drugs working on different parts of the brain.
Why do People Say Antidepressants Don’t

Work?
There are several reasons why antidepressants do not in

general deliver the 75 – 90 per cent success rate that studies
suggest they could. Different types of drugs suit different
people. At least a quarter of patients will not respond to the
first one they take. At the present, there is no way of knowing
what will work for whom, so prescribing is a hit-and-miss
affair. Patients may be reluctant to try a second, or third drug,
if the first fails. Many people, initially suffer unpleasant side
effects, stopping their drugs before they have time to work
and deciding against trying another type. Moreover, family
doctors / GPs (not psychiatrists) are reported to prescribe
antidepressants at too low a dose, and for not long enough,
for them to become effective.
Common reasons for failing drugs:
a) Patients stopping treatment because they do not

know how long it takes for an antidepressant to
start working. Some people stop treatment after a
few days, assuming it is not working, especially if
the prescribed drugs cause troublesome side effects.
(Antidepressants commonly take three to four weeks
to start working).
b) Some patients suddenly stop treatment, believing

that they have been “cured” because their symptoms
have disappeared. While this means that the
treatment is working, it can also cause a relapse
or serious withdrawal symptoms. Therefore, it is
recommended that treatment is continued after
remission for at least four to six months. People with
recurrent depression need “maintenance therapy”,
usually, in reduced doses, for at least five years,
possibly indefinitely.
c) Genetic and environmental influences account for

wide variations in people’s individual responses to
drugs.
d) Inadequate dosing.
e) Inappropriate prescribing.
f) Lowering or upping the dose without proper doctor’s

advice.
g) Taking the medication at the wrong time or forgetting

to take it at all.
Side Effects
About one in four users of antidepressants are reported to

experience side effects. These side effects may take a couple
of weeks while waiting for the antidepressant to “kick in” and
may seem more distressing than the illness itself. Most side
effects are temporary, but some persist. These include:
Nausea, vomiting, indigestion, abdominal pain,

diarrhea, constipation, dry mouth, nervousness,
anxiety, headache, insomnia, tremor, dizziness,
lack of strength, drowsiness, visual disturbances,
sexual dysfunction.
Antidepressants may also affect driving and other

machinery-related tasks.
Are Antidepressants Addictive?
There is some controversy over whether or not antidepressants

are addictive. However, this is not true. A patient does not
need higher and higher doses to maintain the same effect
unless the depression “breaks through” the medicine. This
occurs when the dose is no longer high enough to work –

but this is more likely due to fluctuation of the underlying
condition than a tailing off of the drug’s efficacy.
Some people suffer a recurrence of depression after

stopping antidepressants, but this may be the original illness
reasserting itself. However, many antidepressants cause clear
withdrawal symptoms that are quite different from depression
or anxiety.
At least a third of patients coming off antidepressants

will be affected by “discontinuation syndrome” – symptoms
which occur when a patient stops taking a non-addictive
prescribed drug. Usually within five days of the last dose. The
symptoms may be completely new or similar to the illness.
Mild symptoms usually subside within a few days.
There also seems to be a link between increased suicidal

risk and the start of antidepressant therapy. However, the
current evidence is insufficient to confirm a causal association
between SSRIs and suicidal behaviour.
The Maudsley 2003 Prescribing Guidelines reported

that:
If antidepressant therapy is stopped immediately

on recovery, half of patients will experience a return
of their depressive symptoms.
The risk of a recurrence is anyway high.
In the case of recurrent depression, long term

treatment has been found to reduce the risk of
symptoms returning by about two thirds.
Antidepressants do not lose their effectiveness over

time.
They are not known to cause new long-term side

effects.
Stopping medication must not be done suddenly

because this can result in unpleasant effects.
Conclusion
To integrate Pi-CBT with the CBT protocols above to treat

depression is quite simple. The basic principles and
techniques of CBT are almost similar to Pi-CBT. The 3 areas
of Beck’s theory of depression i.e. negative automatic thought,
depressive schemata, and logical errors in thinking is a
useful reference point for Pi-CBT. Our approach in Pi-CBT
will encompasses the above 3 aspects plus the understanding
of the SEMP of the human self. It also includes our unique,
Inner Speech Dialogue Technique (ISDT) in Pi-CBT which can
more effectively overcome the depressive chain reaction in
CBT. Moreover, our ISDT technique can transform negative
thoughts to positive ones that will then create positive feeling
and mood which finally, result in positive behavior change in
the virtuous circle of self improvement.
There are advances in drug therapy in psychiatric and

psychological problems. These medical advances can be
integrated into our Pi-CBT methodology to make it more
effective in providing a holistic approach to healing. However,
all drug prescription for mental and psychiatric disorders can
only be prescribed by qualified psychiatrists/doctors. These
psychiatrists can be trained in Pi-CBT techniques/protocols.
By combining drug therapy and Pi-CBT, we can reduce the
drug usage and finally allow the patient with psychiatric and
psychological disorder to be drug-free in the long run. This is
our ultimate goal in having an all-inclusive, holistic approach
for Pi-CBT.
Practical Example 2: Using CBT/Pi-CBT to Overcome

Panic and Anxiety
Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety
An anxiety disorder may be indicated if a person has

experienced some of the following symptoms more often than
not during the past six months (when triggered by anxious
feelings):
Restlessness or feeling on edge
Tiring quickly
Inability to control feelings of anxiety
Difficulty concentrating or inability to focus on

anything
Short temper/frustration/irritability
Muscle tension
Disturbed sleep patterns (difficulty falling or staying

asleep or restless sleep)
If a person feels anxious most or all of the time, over a

prolonged period in the absence of any of the above additional
factors, this may also indicate the presence of an anxiety
disorder.
Panic attack: Sudden, intense fear and feelings of

impending doom, shortness of breath and chest pain.
Some Anxiety Disorders Include:
a. Agoraphobia: Avoidance of places or situations from

which escape might be difficult or embarrassing,
or in which help may not be available in the event
of a panic attack or panic-like symptoms; usually
accompanied by feelings of anxiety or depression.
b. Specific Phobia: Intense dread or fear of a particular

object or situation such as a snake, insects, the
sight of blood, flying or taking examinations. The
distinction between phobia and normal fear is that
the former is disproportionate to the danger. Many
people have mild phobias, which don’t significantly
affect their lives, but for some, phobias can be
severely disabling.
c. Social Phobia: Anxiety in public or performance

situations.
d. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders (OCD): Anxious,

repetitive thoughts and rituals beyond an individual’s
control. Obsessions may cause pronounced anxiety
and distress. Compulsive acts, like repeated hand
washing, door checking, etc. can have a reassuring,
comforting effect in the short term, but they are
often followed by intense anxiety.
e. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): reliving

extreme trauma like a major accident or war or
sexual assault can cause severe, emotion-numbing
anxiety. An existing anxiety or depressive disorder
may increase the risk of PTSD. Acute stress disorder
produces similar symptoms to post-traumatic stress
disorder in the aftermath of an extremely traumatic
event.
Risk Factors for Anxiety Disorder:
a. Repressed Feelings: e.g. pushing oneself from

thinking about negative/uncomfortable and
unpleasant feelings, avoiding arguments, avoiding
talking about embarrassing/ worrying things, etc.
b. Personality Types: including style of coping, social

support mechanism, exposure to stress.
c. Coping Style: including positive/negative thinking,

habits, addictions, etc.
d. Social support: including social contact,

neighborhoods, family, colleagues and friends, etc.
e. Family History: research suggests anxiety

disorders run in families and that fear is encoded
in our genes.
f. Stress: a major risk factor.
Stress
When the body responds to stress, fear and anxiety, it

automatically triggers a number of physical changes in
preparation to fight or flight. The body makes no distinction
between real and irrational, imagined fears. However, stress is
not all bad. Stress gives a sharp edge to our performance. The
body reacts to acute stress by releasing two types of chemical
messengers: hormones in the blood and neurotransmitters
in the brain. The primary stress hormone, cortisol, is very
important in marshaling systems throughout the body,
including the heart, lungs, blood circulation and immune
system. Other stress hormones include adrenaline and
noradrenaline.
Stress is essential for human survival. It alerts us to

danger, helps us to cope with the demands of daily life and
can sharpen our performance: Too little stress would result
in insufficient challenge to achieve a sense of personal
accomplishment.
When there is optimum level of stress, life is balanced

despite its ups and downs.
When there is too much stress, one would constantly

feel like he/she has to do too much every day, resulting in
permanent overdrive and emotional and physical exhaustion,
and finally, a burnout.
The Impact of Stressful Situations
Generally, people react to different situations differently.

While one particular situation may be stressful to one person,
another person may not feel stressed about it at all. In other
words, it is the way that a situation is perceived by the person
which affects how stressful the situation is for that person,
rather than the stressor itself. This is because different
people interpret situations and events that happen to them
differently. For people with anxiety disorders, they may have
more tendencies to jump to the wrong conclusions without
examining the evidence for their thoughts and feelings. While
negative feelings are sometimes justified, people with anxiety
disorders often have no real basis for their worry and fears.
According to Hans Selye, the physiological response

to stress takes place in three phases, called the General
Adaptation Syndrome (GAS): Refer to Diagram 21.
Selye Three Phases General Adaptation

Syndrome (GAS)
ALARM PHASE
• Heart rate increases to pump more oxygen rich blood to the brain.
• Breathing rate quickens to meet the demand for more oxygen.
• The blood is flooded with red blood cells to carry more oxygen into the
limbs and brain.
• Blood-clotting time shortens, making severe bleeding from any wounds
less likely.
• Muscles tighten to prepare the body for “fight or flight”.
• The liver provides fuel for quick energy by releasing sugar and fats into
the blood.
• Perspiration cools the body.
• Digestion stops to enable blood to be diverted to the brain and muscles
– where it is most needed.
RESISTANCE PHASE
• The body gets into a more or less balanced state and develops some
resistance to the stressor.
• The body works to ensure that all its different body systems – from
cardiovascular to skeletal – are working in harmony.
• This phase is of limited duration because its extra work uses vital energy
which may be needed for other physiological functions.
EXHAUSTION
• The body reserves will ultimately be exhausted if the “fight or flight”
reaction continues for too long.
Diagram 21 General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
Brain
Heart Lungs
Diagram 22 Relationship between the Brain, Heart and Lungs

Diagram 22 shows the experience of stress to be a

complex relationship between the mind and body. While
the brain registers fear, the lungs and heart react, making
breathing shallow and difficult, and the heart beat increases.
In panic attack sufferers, this can in turn produce more fear
– fear of a panic attack itself.
Causes of Anxiety
1) Misguided Thinking: This theory is based on

the idea that anxiety stems from negative or
dysfunctional thoughts and feelings. This, in turn,
affects behaviour.
2) Repressed Feelings: According to Freudian

psychoanalytic theory, feelings of anxiety may date
back to childhood – e.g. unresolved arguments with
parents which made a person think twice about
speaking out.
3) Biological Abnormalities: This theory advocates

the use of drugs to correct chemical imbalances in
the brain of an anxious person. Drugs can remove
the sharp edges of anxiety, but they can also cause
unwanted side effects.
Types of Anxiety Disorders
1) Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Persistent worry, typically moderate in intensity, which

may ebb and flow, but tend to occur on more days than
not. Patients describe themselves as being tense, nervous
and constantly on edge. They often fear that something
bad is about to happen, even though there is no reason
for it. There may be no obvious reason for worrying, but

it may result in worry about health, money, family or
work. GAD can be exacerbated by additional stressful
events, real or imagined. Simple domestic setbacks can
seem like a major disaster.
People with GAD may also suffer from other emotional

disorders, e.g. panic attacks, phobic disorders or
depression.
2) Panic Disorder
A panic attack is a sudden burst of unexplained severe

anxiety lasting from a couple of minutes to half an hour
or more. It is characterized by severe physical symptoms
and catastrophic thoughts such as: “I’m going to die”,
“I’m having a heart attack”, or “I’m losing control”,
etc. These irrational fears can seem very real because
of the accompanying physical symptoms, which may
include nausea, excessive sweating, feelings of tingling
or numbness, a pounding heart, a feeling of choking or
breathlessness and a churning stomach. The speed with
which a panic attack takes hold and the wide-ranging
nature of the symptoms adds to the overwhelming sense
of helplessness and despair. Attacks are often linked to a
specific place or activity, but they can also occur totally
out of the blue.
Many people prone to panic disorder also suffer from

major depression.
Risk Factors for Panic Attack May Include:
Family history
Unsupportive families
Over-protective parents
Exposure to shocking events or abuse
Trauma of an accident or disease
Specific patterns of thought
1) Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
OCD results in anxiety-provoking obsessions and

compulsive repetitive rituals to relieve the anxiety.
People with OCD know they are behaving oddly, but are
unable to stop. Common OCD related behaviours include
constant washing, counting and rearranging objects in a
particular order.
2) Specific Phobia
Irrational fears of certain objects or situations such

as snakes, blood, injections, the dentist, darkness,
etc. Many people with a specific phobia may have an
additional anxiety or mood disorder.
3) Agoraphobia (a specific type of phobia)
Anxiety about being in places or situations from which

escape may be embarrassing or difficult, e.g. in a crowd
or queue or on a bridge. A person suffering from a panic
attack may be at risk of developing agoraphobia.
4) Social Phobia
Persistent, chronic fear of being watched and judged by

others. Social phobia can be severely disabling as it can
interfere with routine activities and preclude speaking

or performing in public. The onset of social phobia often
occurs around adolescence, so a lifelong social phobia
could even stem from an embarrassing situation at
school.
Social phobia often occurs along with generalized anxiety

disorders, specific phobias and panic disorder.
5) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Reaction in the form of extreme stress to an event such

as a car accident or major disaster involving death or
threat of death or serious injury to the individual or
others. This may include flashbacks, nightmares, and
intrusive memories. The sufferer avoids thoughts which
remind them of the event and may become emotionally
numb and detached.
They may have difficulty staying awake or sleeping, or

concentrating, and they may be prone to angry outbursts and
irritability.
The basic ideas of CBT/Pi-CBT in relation to treating

anxiety disorders are:
The way we interpret and assess information (think

and feel) affects our behaviour.
Anxiety and depression promote negative thinking.
Identifying and changing negative thinking can

relieve anxiety.
Beck isolated certain characteristics of anxiety disorders:
Repetitive thoughts (“false alarms”) about danger:

the patient is preoccupied with a persistent
irrational flow of thoughts about impending danger.
Reduced capacity to process the fearful thoughts:

although the individual may know or suspect that
they are behaving in an irrational way, they cannot
weigh up or quell their anxiety-provoking thoughts.
Stimulus generalization: almost any sight or sound

or change is perceived as a threat. Albert Ellis called
this “catastrophizing” – the susceptible individual is
gripped by the fear of the worst possible outcome
in a particular scenario. While the anxiety if an
average person decreases as they adjust to a
stressful situation, the anxiety-prone individual
is increasingly worried. The latter is unable to
discriminate between the “safe” and the “not safe”.
In fact, physical processes take over very quickly –

which helps explain how panic attack grip sufferers
in moments.
Further
Shortness Anxiety,
shortness
of breath Panic
of breath
Shortness Breathing
Anxiety
of breath muscles
increases
increases tire
Diagram 23: Panic Attack Cycle

Diagram 23 shows that in panic attacks, mood disorder

is manifested as significant physical symptoms.
Some examples on the logical errors in thinking:
Errors arising from failure to accurately assess the

potential danger of a situation.
Errors resulting from thinking about the negative

and not the positive.
Over-generalizing – reaching a general conclusion

about a situation on the basis of one factor alone.
Schemata in anxiety disorders often relate to the need

to be in control, or to stay calm, or to be able to avoid
new situations. Research suggests that basic schemata lie
dormant during periods of remission. They may be reactivated
during times of stress by specific triggers. The “self-censor”
within the brain then applies them to an increasing number
of situations, resulting in more and more distorted thinking.
CBT/Pi-CBT Treatment for Anxiety
1. Time: Allow for up to 10 or more weekly sessions, each

lasting up to an hour.
1. Aims and Objectives: These are determined at the

start of each session and may take 10 minutes or
so. You will be asked what you want to talk about.
This is an important part of setting the agenda
and deciding targets. Time is allocated for specific
talking points and targets are set.
2. Style: CBT/Pi-CBT is designed to promote an

efficient, target-based approach, but there is no
magic formula. Different approaches work for
different people, working out what is best may
involve trial and error and breaking down anxiety-
related problems into different components which
can show problems in a new perspective.
3. Homework: This is a critically important part

of any CBT/ Pi-CBT program. Assignments may
include keeping an anxiety or panic diary and mood
monitoring. Homework is routinely reviewed.
4. Feedback: The therapist may seek constant

feedback to see how the client feels about the
session. This also reduces any risk of the client not
speaking out if the session makes them anxious or
depressed. At the same time, when someone who
tends to get overly anxious is asked the reasons for
their anxiety, it can often help them realize their
feelings are groundless. Sometimes, they may begin
to feel that they are not as anxious as their brain
would lead them to believe. In general, the complex
effects of CBT/Pi-CBT make it difficult to trace
the attainment of goals, but making and keeping
it to targets and constantly evaluating progress is
undertaken by patient and therapist together.
CBT/Pi-CBT Treatment Techniques for Anxiety
1) Examining the Evidence for and Against a Negative

Thought:
The therapist sets to challenge the patient’s belief by

asking questions such as:
“How do you know you are going to die when you have a
panic attack?”
“You haven’t died before, so how can you know what it

feels like?”
The patient would consider an alternative scenario and

ask herself:
“How much do I believe I am going to die when I am having

a panic attack, and how much do I believe it now?”
“Why do I misinterpret the feelings that lead to me thinking

I am going to die?”
“How can I control them if I have another attack?”
2) Reality Testing:
The therapist asks the patient to test the validity of his

fear (of panic attack) by:
Identifying it and rating it in terms of belief on a

scale of 1 to 100
Working out what it could predict
Devising a homework project to test out his fears
3) Success Therapy:
Setting targets to complete routine activities and thereby

encouraging new habits to form.
4) Keeping a Diary:
To help track the patient’s progress and the inevitable

ups and downs. Divide each daily entry into segments
to make it easier to complete. The timekeeper diary
records specific daily times and activities, relating them

to emotional states. After a session of CBT, rational
responses can be filled into the diary entries with the
help of a therapist.
A diary may also include rating activities, on a scale of

one to five, in terms of the pleasure they bring and the
extent to which they have been successfully completed, in
accordance with Beck’s concept of mastery and pleasure.
Alternatively, a simple thoughts and feelings diary may
involve “thought catching’. In this process, the patient
monitors his/ her feelings, “catch” the accompanying
thoughts and record as a “thought diary”.
5) Cognitive Rehearsal:
The exercise involves the role play of anxiety-provoking

activities with the help from a therapist. The patient
imagines himself/herself trying to do things he/she
fears are beyond him/her in order to help identify
mental blocks. The therapist might take them through
the role-play step by step, asking: “What would you be
thinking about at this time?”, “What did you fear most?”.
The therapist would ask the patient to write down these
negative automatic thoughts, identify the distortions
and think of an alternative rational response.
Rationalizing Responses (Example of

Homework)
Thought- Feelings Negative Rational re- Result

pro- thoughts sponse
voking
event
Presenting Anxiety, fear, I’m going to fail. It’s only natural Patient re-eval-
first lecture to concern to feel nervous. uates his belief
students rating – giving it
a zero-score.
I’ll lose my Job
and finish up It’s actually Belief rating:
on the dole. good to be ner- 0%
vous.
Tingkat
I’ll embarrass kepercayaan:
the family. It’ll keep me on 0%
my toes.
Belief rating:
90% My employers
think I can do it.
Examples of Thought Distortions and Possible
NEGATIVE DISTORTION RATIONAL

THOUGHT RESPONSE
I will tremble & Shaking. Negative of the self It’s only natural to feel
My mind will go blank nervous
The audience will laugh or I am a real in my field
feel sorry for me Negative view of the world
I will finish up getting Negative view of the future I am as good as the rest of
sacked the team
Anxiety and Drug Therapy
Drugs are regarded as a secondary, rather than a primary

treatment for anxiety disorders – as something to try if
other measures don’t work. For example, self-help groups,
tapes, leaflets, breathing exercises,cutting down on caffeine,
cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), and not using cigarettes

or alcohol as a prop.
Nonetheless, drug therapy has unquestionable benefits

in some cases – sometimes even lifesaving. The selective
serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) family of antidepressants
is now regarded as the first choice pharmacological treatment.
Tranquilizers are now prescribed much less frequently as
they are addictive if used for long periods. However, people
argue that because anxiety has a constructive role, removing
its sharp edges with medication can discourage people from
taking stock of their problems. But doctors have seen patients
who have benefited from anti-anxiety drug therapy.
Antidepressants and Anxiety Disorders
Antidepressants act on neurotransmitters (monoamines such

as serotonin) which play a key role in generating feelings of
well-being. They seem to work by inhibiting or blocking the
processes which lead to the destruction of monoamines or
their removal from the synapse, the gap between adjoining
nerve cells.
Anxiety and depression occur together in more than

half the cases. Nearly two thirds of patients with GAD also
suffer from depression. Antidepressants have been found
to be effective in treating anxiety-related symptoms such
as tension, irritability, and worry. Studies have found that
at least half of patients are much improved after 3 months
of antidepressant treatment. Although the benefits can be
dramatic and life transforming, they may not be sustained.
Why are Antidepressants Used to Treat Anxiety

Disorders?
It is estimated that between 10 and 20 per cent of adults

visit their doctor each year with an anxiety or depressive
disorder. More than half of these are reported to have both
clinical depression and anxiety, and are at greater risk than
patients with just one or the other. They are more likely to
have a chronic condition, to take longer to recover and to
have a recurrence. Research has shown that early effective
drug therapy can reduce the risk of a long-term problem
developing. Although named antidepressants, this group of
drugs have many different pharmacological properties – some
of which help anxiety disorders.
Why Do Antidepressants Fail?
1) Inappropriate prescribing: Antidepressants are

designed to treat people with moderate or severe
problems. However, they are often prescribed for
people with mild problems, sometimes because of
lack of appropriate psychological therapies such as
CBT.
2) Side effects – These may occur within a short time

of starting treatment, before any therapeutic benefit
emerges. Most side effects don’t last long, but some
persist. Some patients who are unaware of this stop
treatment.
3) Not knowing how long it takes for an antidepressant

to work – it may take several weeks for an
antidepressant to achieve maximum benefit. Some
patients give up treatment before the benefits are
noticeable as they do not believe the medicine to be
working.
4) Giving up treatment when symptoms disappear,

without consulting a physician.
5) Forgetting to take medication.
6) Taking doses at the wrong time.
7) Wide variations in the genetic responses to drugs.
8) Lowering or upping the dose without seeking

medical advice.
9) A dose that is too high or too low.
Summary of CBT and Pi-CBT Combined

Approach
From the above two examples of depression and panic/anxiety

disorders, we can see the extensive depth of research and
practical applications of CBT/ Pi-CBT in overcoming panic
attack, anxiety and related psychological problems.
In the anxiety and panic disorder, the patient will have

intense feeling of fear, impending doom, chest pain, insomnia
and so on. These will result in continuous sense of frustration,
irritability and inability to focus on any positive aspect of
their life.
We believe that Pi-CBT approach is more holistic. Mainly,

problems and symptoms are result of negative inner speech
as elucidated in our PIP model.
The three input of Pi-CBT that shape our thought

processes are namely the physical environment, interpersonal
/social environment and inner speech. All these three aspects
are linked to SEMP nature of the human self. By using the
various Pi-CBT techniques, including ISDT techniques, we
can effectively provide a better solution to panic attack and
anxiety disorders. We believe that by understanding the

integrative nature of our human self. (i.e. Spiritual, Emotional,
Mental and Physical Domain), we can overcome most panic
and anxiety disorders. Refer to our chapter Applying Positive
Islamic Psychology in our daily lives to “Achieve, Peace,
Happiness and Success”to find the necessary protocols and
techniques that can heal most of panic, anxiety disorders and
related psychological problems.
Drug therapy used in healing panic and anxiety disorder

and related psychological problems is an expanding field.
There are many new drugs that have fewer side effects which
can be used to treat the above problems. These medical
advances can be integrated into our Pi-CBT methodology
to make it more effective in providing a holistic approach to
healing.
However, all drugs for mental and psychiatric disorders

can only be prescribed by qualified psychiatrists/ doctors.
These psychiatrists can be trained in Pi-CBT techniques/
protocols. By combining drug therapy and Pi-CBT, we can
reduce the drug usage and finally allow the patient with panic
and anxiety to be drug-free in the long run.
From the above, two examples of depression and panic/

anxiety disorder, we can seamlessly integrate CBT into Pi-CBT.
All the extensive research in CBT can be modified to make it
compatible with Pi-CBT. By taking these integrative combined
approaches, we can similarly tackle all other psychological/
psychiatric problems. In essence, Pi-CBT is an improvement
to all the good research and practical application of CBT
and all other techniques that have proven useful in modern
psychology.
Substantial Free Resources on CBT
There are number of free downloadable cognitive

behavioural therapy (CBT) worksheets, formulations, and
self-help resources. The most comprehensive is to be found at
www.psychologytools.org. These are free to use, to be given to
clients, to share, and are not to be sold. Go to these free web
CBT resources. Some examples of these resources available
are:
Blank formulations and format for CBT
Thought records format for CBT
Cognitive restructuring format for CBT
Diaries / data gathering format for CBT
Mechanisms (Maintaining processes) format for

CBT
Information sheets on psychological disorders

format for CBT
Techniques/procedures format for CBT
Useful tools format for CBT
Forgiveness tools format for CBT
Formulations for specific disorders format for CBT
Psychologytools.org also provides detailed protocol for

CBT. We can list a number of examples to show you the depth
of research and practical application of CBT for your reference
and further research.
Example 1:
Information Sheets and Worksheets for Bipolar Disorder
Information Worksheets Self-Help

Sheets Programme
What is bipolar disorder? Bipolar symptoms Overview of bipolar
Medication record disorder treatment
What causes bipolar options
disorder? Stress vulnerability
Self monitoring
Medications for bipolar Early warning signs
disorder Behavioural strategies
Plan of action
Psychosocial treatments for for managing depression
bipolar disorder Mood monitoring
Cognitive strategies for
Detecting early warning Symptom monitoring managing
signs
Behavioural activation depression
Mood and symptom
monitoring Weekly activity schedule Cognitive strategies
Vicious cycle of depression Weekly goals record for preventing mania
Behavioural activation Thoughts and emotions Behavioural strategies
Fun activities catalogue Thoughts diary for preventing mania
Improving how you feel Balance sheet Coping with stress
Thinking and feeling Organizing ideas list
Analysing your thinking Coping resources
Unhelpful thinking styles Problem solving
Cognitive changes in mania Self management plan
Preventing manic thinking Goal setting
Preventing mania
Organizing and prioritizing
Coping with stressful

events
Problem solving
Staying healthy

Example 2:
Information Sheets and Worksheets for Depression

Sheets Programme
What is depression ? sysmptoms of depression Overview of despression
What causes despression ? Behavioural activation Behavioural strategies for

managing depression
Psyhotherapy for depression weekly activity schedule
The thinking-feeling
Vicious cycle of depression weekly goals record connection
Behavioural activation Making the connection The ABC analysis
Fun activities catalogue Thought diary Unhelpful thinking styles
Improving how you feel Core beliefs worksheet Detective work and
disputation
Thinking and feeling Healthy Me
The end result
Analysing your thinking Goal setting (end of therapy)
Core beliefs
changing your thinking
Self management
Unhelpfull thinking styles
What area core belefs
Problem solving
Staying healthy
Grief and bereavement

Example 3:
Information Sheets and Worksheets for Generalized

Anxiety and Mindfulness

Sheets Programme
What is generalized anxiety Anxiety symptoms Overview of generalized
disorder? Record Anxiety
What is mindfulness? Breathing rate Overview of worrying

Mind fullness & Letting go Record Negative beliefs about
How worry works Worrying
Accepting uncertainty Monitoring relaxation
Behavioral experiments Situational exposure Positive beliefs about
Calming technique Diary worrying
Progressive muscle Postpone your worry
Relaxation Letting go with mind Challenging worrying
Postpone Your worry fullness Accepting uncertainty
Situational Exposure Accepting uncertainty Problem solving
Coping with stress Challenging Relaxation
Intolerance of uncertainty
Self-managemen
Example 4:
Information Sheets and Worksheets for Panic

Sheets Programme
What panic ? Breathing rate record Overview of panic
Biology and psychology of Anxiety symptoms record Mora about panic

panic
Monitoring relaxation Thie thinking-feeling
Vicious cycle of anxiety connection
Situational exposure diary
Calming technique The ABCs of thinking and
Internal exposure record feeling
Progressive muscle
relaxation Unhelpful thinking styles
Behavioral experiments Detective work and

disputation
Situational expores
Evaluation and balanced
Physical sensations and thinking
panic
Core beliefs
Coping with physical

alarms
The calming technique
Self management
Conclusion
We now have very substantial CBT worksheets formulations,

self-help resources, formats etc. These are wonderful science-
based tools in psychological therapy. Our hope is that one
day Pi-CBT can be developed by Muslim psychologists
throughout the world to help solve the psychological problem
of the Muslim Ummah, specifically and other human beings
in general.
Positive Islamic Psychology model can be adopted by the

21 century humanity to be the premier tools in overcoming
st
the huge psychological problem of the modern world. Later,

through our Khalifah Circle format, we will set up networks
of Muslim psychologists interested in furthering research
in Pi-CBT. Similarly, we will collaborate and create Pi-CBT
free resource similar to psychological tools provided by www.
psychologytools.org. This Pi-CBT website will be the most
comprehensive psychological research centre in the world, In
Sya Allah.
CHAPTER EIGHT

PSYCHOLOGY III:
MANUAL FOR PARENTS FOR SHAPING EXCELLENT

CHARACTER OF CHILDREN
Introduction
Children are a sacred trust given by Allah the Almighty to

parents as confirmed in the Qur’an
And know that your properties and your children are but a trial
and that Allah has with Him a great reward.
(Qur’an 8:28)
It is also narrated in authentic tradition of Prophet

Muhammad (PBUH) that every child is born in a state of purity
and cleanliness of heart without vicious inclinations. Based
on this, al-Imam Al-Ghazali proposed that a child is like an
uncut gemstone. The parent’s responsibility, therefore, is to
cut, shape, and polish their child’s nafs (soul) until it becomes
a glitteringly beautiful jewel, pleasing to Allah. Clearly, it is
the parents who determine whether their children will become
of fine character or not.
While it is every parents’ wish to raise their children to

become noble souls, who are good in every way, many of them
do not know how to achieve that goal in an effective manner.
There are two primary requirements in shaping the

character of a child:
1. Parents have to know how a child’s character or

personality is developed.
2. Parents must themselves possess right values that

will act as the basis for shaping their children’s
character. These right values are the traditional
values of Islamic character, and children must be
raised to understand their role as God’s vicegerents
on Earth (Khalifah of Allah).
Practical Application Of Positive Islamic Psychology III: Manual For Parents 485
For Shaping Excellent Character Of Children
By combining these two necessary aspects of character

development, parents will be able to shape their children to
be excellent individuals in this world and the next, In Sya
Allah.
The Procedure for Shaping Character
The primary factor that determines every person’s character

is their environment. The environment consists of three
aspects that will influence an individual’s character – the
physical environment, the social environment, and the inner
speech. The physical environment refers to the material world
around us. The social environment involves the interpersonal
communication that takes place in our daily lives. This
includes direct human interaction that takes place between 2
or more persons, or indirect human interaction which takes
place through man-made communication media, such as the
television, radio, and the internet, to name a few.
The inner speech refers to the things that we say to

ourselves with our thoughts and our feelings. It has an
important role in determining our individual actions. Inner
speech arises from the accumulated life experiences stored in
our Total Past Learning History (TPLH), and is a big factor in
how we perceive all things. The inner speech plays a special
role in our ability to differentiate between what is right and
what is wrong, and in exercising the free will granted to us
by God.
Additionally, the effect of the environmental factors is

coloured by the individual’s unique perception of his/her
environment. Perception interprets all information received
by our five senses and acts as a filter. This filter is not
objective, it is always coloured in some manner. As different
people would have unique experiences of physical and
social environment, inner speech, and ultimately, Total Past
Learning History (TPLH), every individual would then form
different perceptions. For example, a smoker may perceive

the act of smoking as something pleasurable, stylish, and
status enhancing; while a non-smoker may perceive smoking
as foul-smelling, endangering health, and a waste of money.
In other words, the same form of behaviour or situation
may be perceived differently by different people. As such,
parents need to help their children in developing an Islamic
perspective, so that they could see the world from an Islamic
point of view no matter what the circumstances may be.
Ultimately, the right perspective, i.e. an Islamic perspective
would help individuals in determining right from wrong, and
good from bad.
Diagram 24 illustrates the shaping of character as

influenced by the three environmental factors:
Physical
PERCEPTION
Environment
Total Past
Learning History (TPLH)
Social
Environment
Inner Speech
Diagram 24. The three factors of influence
A child’s character development depends on their

exposure to either positive or negative influences. All such
exposure, whether positive or negative, will be imprinted in
the child’s mind as part of their Total Past Learning History
(TPLH). The Total Past Learning History (TPLH) determines
a child’s character and behaviour, and is influenced by the
previously mentioned three environmental factors, of which
social interaction and inner speech are the most important.
Our Total Past Learning History (TPLH) will determine our

personality, thoughts, words, actions and everything else
about who and what we are. As it is our responsibility as
parents to mould positive characteristics/traits in our
children, we have to ensure that only positive messages are
written in our children’s Total Past Learning History (TPLH)
so that our children can become excellent individuals.
Directed Positive Influence
Directed Positive Influence means ensuring children are

rewarded every time they do something good or when they
refrain from doing something prohibited, as well as pointing
out their mistakes in a caring manner when they do something
wrong. In this way, children will be encouraged to do more
and more good things, and will leave the bad alone. They
will do this because they will come to love what is good and
despise what is bad.
To ensure that positive messages are written in children’s

Total Past Learning History (TPLH), parents have to practice
a procedure called the "Directed Positive Influence" in their
daily life. This can be done through the following ways:
1. By rewarding children for every positive (good)

action that they do.
2. By rewarding children for refraining from every

negative (bad) action.
3. By giving calm and gentle feedback about any wrong

that are done and clear instructions on the right
way to do things.
Rewarding children for doing something good does not

mean that we have to give them presents. Rewards can be
given in many forms, including paying attention to what
our children have to say/do, showing respect towards them,
praising them and giving them words of encouragement,

and expressing our appreciation to them by thanking them.
Rewards can also be in the form of mentioning the good deeds
performed by our children to others in front of them, showing
care and compassion in our words and actions towards them,
and by smiling and giving them a hug. We could also bring
our children along on walks or trips as a form of reward.
Material forms of reward, such as giving presents, should
only be done occasionally.
Most importantly, children must be taught to reward

themselves using their own inner speech. Inner speech
can influence someone’s actions in either a positive or
negative manner. It all depends on the Total Past Learning
History (TPLH) and that individual’s own perception of their
circumstances. Educating children from an early age to be
God’s vicegerent on Earth (Khalifah of Allah) will assist in
the development of positive inner speech. The following story
shows the importance of inner speech in determining the
decision and actions of a young man:
The Role of Inner Speech: The Story of Yusuf
Yusuf came from a small village and was

raised with lots of care, compassion and with
strong religious teachings. While waiting for his
final secondary examination results from high
school, he went to visit his aunt in Kuala Lumpur
(but this could happen in almost any big city in the
world), and was taken by his cousin to a birthday
party. This party involved only teenagers, and there
was loud rock music with dancing. Suddenly, a
group of young men brought out a carton of beer,
and started distributing beer cans to all who were
present. Yusuf was offered a can of beer which he
refused, but his new found friends kept on offering
it to him.
“Relax, man…. Just give it a taste. It’s not like

we’re gonna get drunk. We’ve all tried it before, and
nothing bad happened.”
Yusuf said to himself (with his inner speech),

“Alcohol is definitely haram, and I must be strong in
my stand on this. Let them call me old-fashioned if
they want, but I will not let this offer of temporary
pleasure shake my conviction. It doesn’t matter if
they will not befriend me. Perhaps, I should leave this
party. Even before this, I was already uncomfortable
with all the dancing and open flirting that’s going on
here.”
Yusuf persuaded his cousin - who himself did

not imagine that the party would be like this - to
leave with him. On the way home, Yusuf said to
himself with his thoughts, “I’m very happy with
myself for not being easily influenced away from
what I know is right. May Allah always keep me on
the straight path”
In the story above, Yusuf used positive inner speech in

two separate instances:
1. In assuring himself that he would not be pressured

by his peers into doing something wrong.
2. In rewarding himself in his mind after he had

successfully refrained from committing any
wrongdoings.
Laws of Learning
Just as Allah has made it His Law (Sunnatullah) that all

events, natural phenomena, and creatures should obey the
laws of physics, chemistry and biology, He has also made
it His Law (Sunnatullah) that a child’s character will be
developed according to the Laws of Learning. The Laws of
Learning explain how all learning takes place, including the
development of character.
Every action or trait, whether good or bad, is developed

through either the giving of reward or the applying of
punishment. Giving a reward after any action will increase
the likelihood that the action will be repeated in the future.
Both the frequency of the action, as well as the wholehearted
willingness to do that action, will increase. This principle
should be given much weight in the moulding of a child’s
character. On the other hand, applying punishment after any
action will decrease the likelihood of that action being repeated
in the future. However, besides having serious negative side
effects, punishment will often lose its effectiveness in the long
run. Therefore, reward will shape an individual’s positive
character much better than punishment.
The best process for shaping character is through small

rewarded steps that move progressively towards any goal (e.g.
attaining good character). This is called the “Shaping Process”.
Every small achievement should ideally be reinforced positively
through the giving of reward. This shaping process can be
made even more effective by helping our children learn to
reward themselves through their inner speech.
Diagram 25 below illustrates how shaping process takes

place.
OBJECTIVE
5
SMALL 4
STEPS
3
2 REWARD
Step 1
TIME
Diagram 25: Shaping Process
Shaping Process: Practical Example
The Objective: Your child is to keep his bedroom neat and

orderly. This objective can be achieved through the following
small steps (rather than requiring it all at once) that the child
is rewarded for performing:
Step 1: Towels are to be hung up to dry and dirty

clothes are to be put into a laundry basket; do not
allow clothes to be scattered on the floor.
Step 2: The bed is to be made up every morning and

the floor swept.
Step 3: Dust is wiped and the books are neatly

stacked on the desk.
Step 4: The room is decorated.

Finally, the whole room is always neat, clean, and
orderly.
When each step is successfully completed, the child

is given a reward in the form of words of encouragement,
appreciation, and occasionally, some little treat, such as an
ice-cream.
In the process of planning for the shaping of children’s

character, parents should discuss the goals they are working
toward with their children so that the goals may be clearly
understood and agreed upon. It is also important that
the whole family is involved in understanding the Laws of
Learning so that they can be shared and practiced together.
This is also to ensure that all parties give their cooperation
in helping to achieve the goals that have been agreed upon.
It is also important for parents to reinforce good

behaviours and traits through directed positive influence. In
doing so, parents have to realize that good behaviour does
not spontaneously happen but must be a continuous and
carefully planned part of family life. The continuous effort
to develop good character in your child must be carried out
through small rewarded steps (shaping) that lead towards the
final objective.
Applying the Shaping Process
We can see that by correctly applying the knowledge of the

Laws of Learning, a complex task that is seemingly impossible
in the beginning can be taught in small stages. Every action
that is followed by a reward will reinforce that action, and
result in it occurring more often in the future.
It is also important to note that a specific goal is needed

in every small step. Completing all the small goals in each
step will lead towards successfully attaining the final, larger
objective.
To apply the Laws of Learning to children, it is important

for parents to determine a suitable and specific objective for
the task/behaviour that you want to achieve. If the objective
or task is too complex, it has to be broken down into small
steps. A reward is given for every small step toward the goal
that occurs in each stage. Give a reward for every positive
act performed by your child that is a step along the path to
the positive objective they are working toward, and continue
doing this until that specific objective is achieved.
Children need lots attention from their parents. At every

moment, our children’s development is being shaped by their
environment, including what they are learning from their
parents. As such, it is important for parents to pay attention
to the positive/good behaviour that is exhibited by children.
Parents should not pay too much attention to the negative/
bad behaviours that are exhibited by children. Instead of
punishing the children, they should be gently reminded of
the better ways of doing things.
When this procedure is carried out carefully, we can

help our children achieve any positive goal, and the positive
traits learned will be permanently imprinted in our children,
In sha Allah.
Reward
There are many different forms of reward. These include

words of praise, words of encouragement, giving children
attention and acknowledgement for the good things that they
have done, and expressing your appreciation to children.
Rewards may also sometimes, but not too often, be in the
form of gifts or presents.
Rewards are best given immediately after any response

by your child that you consider to be good and that you
would like to see happen more often in the future. Therefore,
you should always pay attention to every good thing that
your children do. Reward may be given by telling your child,
with sincerity and gentleness, about the good things that
they have done. It is important that the child is told exactly
what is the good deed that he/she has done. It is good to use
different words of praise every time, and to avoid using the
same phrases over and over.
The following story is an example of how we can use

words of praise as a form of reward.
The Story of Omar and His Little Sister
A girl named Fatimah fell down while playing,

hurting her knee. She starts crying. Her brother,
Omar, saw her fall and immediately went to pick her
up and sooth her. The mother saw what happened
and told her son:
“Omar, you did such a good thing by helping

your sister. Mommy is so lucky to have a son who
loves his sister so much. Allah will reward you for
helping Fatimah like that.”
There are five things to note from the example above:
1. The mother tells her child that what he has done is

something good.
2. The mother explained exactly what that good thing

was.
3. The mother expressed that she was proud of her

son.
4. The mother took this opportunity to make her son

aware of how much he loves his sister.
5. The mother took this opportunity to foster the love

of Allah in her child by telling him how much Allah
loves those who do good.
Children Need Attention
Every child needs and seeks attention. Our children would

do almost anything to gain our attention. Given a choice, our
children would definitely want attention in a positive manner,
i.e. words of appreciation, praise, love, etc. When children
do not receive any attention from their parents, they would
do anything that they could to attract attention, even if the
attention given is negative in nature; for example, getting
scolded, punished, or even beaten. In other words, children
would rather be scolded than to receive no attention at all.
Unfortunately, parents frequently forget to express

their appreciation when their children are behaving well. For
example, some parents forget to acknowledge their teenage
son who does not smoke even when his peers do. Parents with
such child should acknowledge their son’s good behaviour
by telling him that they really appreciate it that he does not
smoke, and that he is strong enough to resist the negative
influence of his friends. This will help in encouraging the son
to stay away from smoking in the future.
In the eastern culture, specifically in the Malay culture,

parents seldom give acknowledgment when their child has
done something good. Parents would usually keep quiet,
giving no praise, and this sometimes causes children to feel
unappreciated. Parents always assume (wrongly) that their
children will understand - that when they keep quiet it means

that they are pleased, and are satisfied with their children’s
behaviour. On the other hand, when the children are caught
doing something wrong, parents are quick to scold them,
raising their voices at the children, and punishing them.
Indirectly, the children would assume that many things that
they do are not right, and that they might incur their parents’
anger no matter what they do. In the Malay culture (and
probably other cultures too), parents seldom or never praise
their children, especially after they have started schooling,
and this lack of praise gets even worse when the children
become teenagers. Sometimes, parents feel awkward and
embarrassed to tell their children that they appreciate them,
and how much they love them. This problem is compounded
by the fact that the vocabulary for expressing praise in the
Malay language (and perhaps other languages) is poorer
compared to that of the English language. To overcome this
problem, parents need to be creative and invent their own
phrases to express appreciation and give praise for their
children’s good behaviour or positive traits. These words of
appreciation and praise, after frequent expression, will come
to flow out naturally in due time. Parents need to remind
themselves to constantly praise their children, but praise
them only at the right time and only for the right reasons.
Parents must start to inculcate positive traits from birth

onwards. A growing child needs lots of love and tender loving
care. This will enable the child to develop trust and mutual
love for their parents. As the child begin to grow, they need
to be positively persuaded with love on being disciplined,
clean, good natured, loving, caring and all the positive traits
of a confident loving child. The show of temper and tantrum
behavior can be minimized, provided the child get positive
praise and feedback continuously as they grow.
The following story depicts an example of how good

behaviour is often ignored:
The Story of Ahmad at the Canteen
Ahmad, a kindergarten student, likes to yell and

disturb other kids, throwing his food around during
recess. One day, the teacher who was monitoring
the children scolded Ahmad with a raised voice.
The next day, Ahmad continued to behave

badly in the canteen, yelling, disturbing other kids,
and spilling his drink. The same teacher, losing her
temper, scolded and pinched him.
On the third day, Ahmad behaved very well

in the canteen during recess, neither yelling nor
disturbing his other schoolmates, and he finished
his meal politely - but, the same teacher who had
previously punished Ahmad ignored him as if she
didn’t even notice he was there.
Try to imagine how Ahmad would behave on the

fourth day. It is almost certain that Ahmad would
start yelling and behaving badly again because it
was only by behaving badly that he was able to gain
anyone’s attention, especially that of his teacher.
From the story, it is obvious that the teacher paid

attention to Ahmad’s negative behaviour but ignored him
when he behaved well. As Ahmad discovered that he will not be
acknowledged when he behaves well, he would likely behave
badly in the future so as to gain his teacher’s attention. This
kind of scenario is not uncommon in many homes. Therefore,
parents need to be constantly sensitive and observant, so that
their children get the acknowledgement that they deserve for
their positive behaviour. It is important to pay less attention
to children when they are behaving in a negative manner
than when they are doing something positive. In this way,
children are guided to always act in a positive manner, and

do not need to do negative things to get attention.
Punishment
Punishment is the most common method used by parents to

control their children. Although punishment often seems to be
an effective way to stop or reduce a child’s negative behaviour,
using it is not recommended as it has serious negative side
effects. Nevertheless, sometimes (but very rarely) applying
punishment is necessary when a child exceeds certain limits
of behaviour. Punishment generally causes more harm than
good and should only be used as a last resort after all other
positive approaches have failed, and the gain is considered to
be worth the harm that will be caused. Ideally, a child ought to
be raised using positive influence, which means giving many
more rewards than punishments. From an understanding of
the Islamic use of reward and punishment, a ratio of about
350 times (350:1) as much reward as punishment is ideally
recommended.
The Messenger of Allah, Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be

Upon Him) never scolded or raised his voice with children
when he was advising them. He was always gentle, kind-
hearted and tender with children; he never hit any child (or
woman) in his entire life. The Messenger of Allah (Peace Be
Upon Him) always practiced the concept of giving reward and
not punishment in the matter of raising children to be right
Muslim adults. A hadith from Sunan Abu Dawud relates:
A companion of the Prophet (peace be upon him) once said, ‘When

I was little, I loved to throw stones at date trees so that the date
fruit would fall down. One day, the Messenger of Allah (Peace Be
Upon Him) came upon me doing this and advised me to just pick
up the date fruit that had already fallen from the tree, and not
throw stones at the tree to make them fall. He then ruffled my
hair and invoked a blessing on me.
Punishment may be carried out in the form of doing

something to children that they do not like, e.g. by scolding or
hitting them; or by taking away something that they like, e.g.
forbidding them from watching TV. Most often, punishment
only satisfies the anger of the one doing the punishing, and
is not used to help children in learning right from wrong.
Punishment is only effective when children feel threatened by
it. As such, once the punishment no longer threatens them,
they will continue with their negative behaviour and they will
try to hide their negative actions to avoid getting punished. In
other words, they will still do the wrong things, but they will
hide it from their parents.
Children will also learn that punishment is the way to

get what they want and this will affect the way they interact
with other people. Consequently, children who grow up
with this concept will raise their children the same way. In
addition, punishment also causes children to feel anger and
hatred towards those who punish them. These are some of
the reasons why punishment is not effective when used to
shape positive traits.
While punishment is not recommended, this does not

mean that parents should be permissive with their children.
Being permissive means allowing children to do anything
they want, virtually without limits. Permissiveness is even
more harmful to a child’s positive development than the
use of punishment. Nevertheless, punishment is sometimes
necessary when there are no successful positive ways of
stopping or reducing serious negative behaviour.
Parents should not be paying too much attention to their

children’s bad behaviour lest it becomes a way for them to
get attention. When a child has done something wrong, it is
important that the parents explain to the child in a gentle
manner, how what they have done is wrong, and how that
behaviour has exceeded important limits. The parents should
also explain the harm that might have come from doing that
wrong thing. However, it may not always be necessary to

point out the child’s bad behaviour to him/her. Sometimes, it
is enough that the parents just explain to the child how much
they like the good behaviour that is the opposite of what they
did wrong. Nevertheless, when punishment is necessary, it is
important that the parents do not embarrass or shame their
child in public. It is best to advise children privately of what
they have done wrong, and to do so in a warm and caring
manner.
When good advice does not seem to affect any positive

change, parents may take the next step of denying their
children’s favourite activities. For example, if a child likes
to go cycling in the afternoon, he could be prohibited from
doing so for a week starting from the day he did wrong. The
parents should also explain to him why this is done. This is
an example of the second type of punishment i.e. taking away
from a child the opportunity to do something that he/she
likes doing.
If all else fails, and the child still persist in behaving

badly, physical punishment may be necessary. But parents
should remember that this is to be the absolute last resort,
and while it is allowed in Islam, it is not recommended. Among
the things that should be noted when administering physical
punishment are:
Parents must not hit their child when they are

angry. This is because anger causes us to exceed
the limits in administering punishment.
Caning is to be only symbolic and should not cause

pain or injury.
Before acting on physical punishment, parents/

caregiver must use the “Time-off” method to cool
down and think/apply a rational plan to shape the
child’s future behaviour.
Parents/caregiver can use a chair or a safe room for

the child as punishment rather than caning to treat
his/her misbehaviour.
Explain to the child the reasons for the punishment.
All things considered, punishment should be avoided

as much as possible, and love for your child should be
unconditional, although expressed at the most appropriate
times. Importantly, giving lots of sincere love will create a
harmonious family environment that will contribute to
healthier overall development for children.
Punishment versus Firmness
We need to be firm with our children. If we say something,

we need to stand by it and not waver. Our children need to
know that we are serious and that we will carry out what we
have said. But we must be realistic with what we expect from
our children. We should not be excessive in the matters on
which we wish to be firm. For example, to punish children
by totally banning them from watching the television or
totally forbidding them from going out with their friends are
considered excessive. We could instead use more realistic
approaches to be firm with them. For example, instead of
totally banning them from watching TV, they could be limited
to watching only one or two TV programmes. If they wish to
go out with their friends, they must first agree and promise to
pray at any available prayer room (surau) whenever it is time
for prayer, and they must be at home by 6.00 p.m.
While it is clear that educating children in a soft and

gentle manner has so much more advantages than chastising
or punishing them, this does not mean that parents should
be permissive and pamper their children without limits.
Permissiveness means parents let their children do whatever
they like. Children need to be told of what is right and what is
wrong. They should not be allowed to do whatever they like –

there must be limits to their freedom in everything that they
do. The younger the child is, the greater the limits to their
freedom should be, and parents need to explain these limits
clearly to their children.
The limits to every person’s freedom of action are

determined by Allah. Permissiveness will not only have a
negative effect on a child’s development, even more so than
administering punishment; it will also lead children towards
breaking the limits of freedom set out for us by Allah. As
such, parents should not pamper their children so much that
they avoid being firm, or afraid to point out their children’s
bad behaviour. Children raised permissively will grow up
doing whatever they feel like doing because they have never
learned the difference between what is right and what is
wrong. On a larger scale, raising children permissively will
result in a permissive society, which is characterised by free
mixing between sexes, moral decay, drug abuse, dishonesty,
and everything else that is concerned purely with pleasure
while ignoring that which Allah has made lawful for us.
Parents should never forget their responsibility to correct

their children’s wrong behaviour just because they love their
children so much. Forbid your children from doing wrong
things with gentle firmness. Your children need to know that
you really mean what you say. Sometimes, parents will be
permissive and are afraid to correct their children in fear that
they will be hated by them, but parents must remember that
this will only cause their children to do more wrong things.
The following story gives an example of how a bad behaviour
is shaped from a single wrong act.
The Story Of The Grandfather And His

Grandson
One day, a grandfather and his grandson

were on their way to the mosque. While resting
outside the mosque awaiting the call to prayer,
a small kitten approached the little boy. At first,
the little boy just pushed the kitten away with his
foot. He looked at his grandfather to find out his
reaction. The grandfather just smiled when seeing
his beloved grandchild push the kitten away with
his foot. The starving kitten approached the little
boy again, and this time the boy kicked at the
kitten. The grandfather, seeing this, just smiled at
his grandson again. When the kitten approached
for the third time, the little boy now tried to kick the
kitten as hard he could; but he missed the target
and fell down on his bottom.
This story illustrates how even bad acts can be caused

to happen more often by being rewarded. A bad act that is not
corrected immediately will only make the child brave enough
to do something worse, particularly if it is rewarded. Some
lessons that we can learn from the story:
1. The grandfather should have corrected his grandson

and forbidden him from hurting animals with gentle
words right from the start.
2. Because the grandfather loved his grandson so

much, he helped develop a negative trait in his
grandson even without realizing he was doing so.
3. It is generally true that if a child’s negative behaviour

is not corrected immediately, that behaviour will
become worse.
4. There are parents who will just smile if their young

child does something wrong. These parents do not
understand that this encourages their child to
repeat that wrong action again.
5. It would not be surprising if a child raised

permissively, without positive attention for their
good behaviour, and without firm guidelines as
to what is acceptable or unacceptable behaviour,
grew up to be self-centred, arrogant, rude and
disrespectful of his elders.
Islamic Character:
Man as Khalifah (God’s vicegerent)
The Concept of Khalifah
Allah created human beings with two roles – to be humble

servants who worship Allah, and to be Allah’s Representative,
or Khalifah on this Earth. In the Qur’an, Allah has said:
Remember when your Lord said to the angels ‘Verily I have

created a Khalifah on the Earth’… And He taught Adam the
names of all things…
(Al-Qur’an, 2: 30-31)
A Khalifah is someone who carries out his/her role as

the representative of Allah on Earth, carrying out the Will of
Allah using the powers and abilities Allah has in His Mercy
endowed us with. It is a special honour for us to be chosen as
Allah’s Khalifah. As a Khalifah of Allah, we must:
1. Make ourselves good - to be a Muslim who obeys

Allah’s injunctions.
2. Make a good society - establish a life for all that is

based on Islam, and which gains Allah’s pleasure.
3. Make the physical world around us good - to be a

garden paradise which will please Allah greatly.
The role of Khalifah of Allah is to be fulfillled by Jihad- by

striving towards everything good and avoiding all that is evil.
Jihad does not mean Holy War. Instead, it is a continuous
struggle to defeat our inner desires and to overcome the
influence of Satan, in order to attain Allah’s pleasure. Jihad
is to be carried out by commanding the right and forbidding
the wrong. This is best done through beautiful words and
wise actions.
We can build a world of Islam that is characterized by

everything that is good and beautiful if all Muslims educate
each future generation to fulfill their role as Allah’s Khalifah.
This role and responsibility of being Allah’s Khalifah has to
be effectively taught to our children from a very early age.
As such, every parent must fully understand the concept of
Khalifah and instil this pure and noble value in their children,
so that their children will come to clearly understand their
role as Allah’s Khalifah. Parents must help their children
understand that it is a great honour and privilege for us to be
chosen by Allah to be his representatives on Earth. Children
must come to understand that true victory in life means
success in defeating our wrong desires and overcoming the
evil influence of Satan, who is always tempting us in our
daily lives. We cannot afford to lose to Satan in the battle of
good against evil; we must continuously struggle against our
Earthly desires and want only what Allah has made right for
us.
In explaining the concept of Khalifah to very young

children, parents can tell them the following:
1. Before Allah created us, He created all other things.
2. Allah created the sun, the moon, the stars and the
Earth.
3. Allah created the air that we breathe and the water

that we drink.
4. Allah created all the plants and all the animals.
5. Allah created all this so that when He created Adam

(Peace Be Upon Him) and all of mankind, including
us, we would have a beautiful place to live.
6. Allah created us to be different from all other things

in His creation by giving us a wonderful and brilliant
mind to think with.
7. Allah made us special because He loves us very

much.
8. Allah made us special because He has a very

important task for us to perform.
9. Allah made us His Khalifah, and this means that it is

our responsibility to fully carry out His commands.
10. Allah knows better than anybody else, all that is

good and all that is bad.
11. Allah wants us to learn from Him and His Messengers

about what is good and what is bad.
12. Allah wants us to love everything good and keep

away from everything bad.
13. Allah wants every person to do lots of good things

and not do anything bad.
14. Allah wants mothers and fathers to help their

children understand what is good and what is bad.
15. Allah wants us to help other people close to us

understand what is good and what is bad.
16. Allah wants us to take good care of this world so

that it will always remain healthy and beautiful.
17. We feel very happy that Allah has chosen us to fulfill

this most important responsibility as His Khalifah.
18. Although we may sometimes feel that fulfilling this

awesome responsibility is difficult, we must always
remember that to be Allah’s Khalifah is the highest
honour and the greatest pleasure possible.
19. If we perform our work well as Khalifah of Allah,

this world will become a very special place for us, it
will become a paradise beyond our fondest dreams.
For adult children, parents can explain to them that:
1. As Allah’s Khalifah, it is important that we carry out

all our duties correctly; therefore, Allah has shown
us the right way to do all things.
2. Allah is Most Beneficent to us so that we can be His

successful Khalifah.
3. The way to fulfill our role as Allah’s Khalifah is

through Jihad.
4. Jihad means to do all that is good and to keep from

doing anything that is bad.
5. Allah loves all good deeds and dislikes all bad deeds.
6. Satan will oppose all things loved by Allah.

7. Satan wants us to do all those things that are bad

and he dislikes us doing any good thing.
8. Jihad means battling Satan by abstaining from

doing bad deeds.
9. We are all warriors of Allah who do battle against

Satan.
10. Even young boys and girls are Allah’s warriors who
must battle against Satan.
11. We will win in our battle against Satan if we love

Allah and not do bad things.
12. Sometimes, Satan influences our thoughts and

tries to make us do bad things.
13. Satan can influence us to do bad deeds through our

actions, our speech, and our thoughts.
14. We must fight hard against Satan so that he will not

succeed in making us do bad things.
15. Allah wants us to only do good things, and because

we hope for Allah’s pleasure, we need to try very
hard to do good.
16. Satan will always tempt people to do bad things

and to rebel against Allah’s commands. Therefore,
we must strive to help other people stop obeying
Satan and doing bad things.
17. We must strive hard to be good ourselves so that we

can help to defeat Satan when he tries to influence
other people to do things that are wrong.
18. We must strive hard to become strong in our belief

and practice of Islam so that we cannot be influenced
by those people who obey Satan.
19. Satan will never stop trying to make us do bad

things, therefore, we must always be vigilant against
wrong influences, and always remember Allah.
20. We must restrain ourselves from doing bad things

no matter how small or trivial they may seem, this is
because if we do even small bad things, this means
that Satan will have won and we have lost in the
battle of good against evil.
21. If Satan wins by making us do small bad things, it

will become easier for him to make us do bad things
that are bigger in the future.
22. If we love Allah and we do what is good and right as

Allah has commanded, we will enter Paradise and
this is what every Muslim desires.
Conclusion
The application of Islamic values in raising our children is the

best way to encourage the development of positive character.
It is best to shape our children’s good character from an
early age, but it is still not too late to correct the character
of children of any age group. Children should be encouraged
to be well behaved through Directed Positive Influence. This
can be done by rewarding them immediately when they do
good, and gently admonishing them immediately when they
do wrong. Parents should also explain to them what they
have done wrong, and clarify why it should not be repeated.
In addition, children need to be educated to observe certain
limits in their freedom of action, as have been clearly set out
for us by Allah when He gave us Islam as our perfect plan for
a right life. In doing so, parents need to be firm but kind, and
consistent in encouraging positive values at every time and
in every place.
While the Laws of Learning seem simple and clear, the

application may vary in certain cases. For example, the way
parents handle problematic children may be different from
non-problematic children; and younger children are generally
treated differently than teenagers. The following are some
guidelines on how to manage these differences.
For problematic children, punishment at an early

stage might be needed to stop some bad behaviour, but
we must ensure that this punishment will not destroy the
good relationship between parent and child. The preferred
punishment is to deny the child something that they like.
As with any children, parents should try to never shout,
nag or hit children. At the same time, it is important to start
strengthening good behaviour, through Directed Positive
Influence by using reward. Gradually, more focus should
be given to strengthening good behaviour using reward, and
eventually, punishment can be discontinued. Parents should
also remember to always explain to children what the good
behaviours are that they want them to have, and what benefit
they will gain from those behaviours. It is also beneficial to
have warm, sincere and heart-to-heart conversations with
the children to help solve any problems.
As for the case with managing teenage children,

parents should try to be very close to them and to love them
unconditionally. Parents should not condemn or belittle their
teenage children, but value and respect them and show that
you care for them. As with other cases, parents need to clarify
the difference between right and wrong to their teenage
children, and to strengthen positive behaviour through
directed positive influence.
When children are young, we care much for them, and

show them many outward signs of our affection. When they
become teenagers, they still need our attention and many
outward signs of affection. Let us together increase our
Islamic faith, do good deeds and strive hard to educate our
children to be successful Khalifah of Allah. For our mutual

reflection, let’s give some thought to the following verses of
the Qur’an and hadith. Allah (SWT) says in the Qur’an:
O my son! Establish regular prayer, enjoin what is just, and forbid

what is wrong; and bear with patient constancy whatever betide
thee; for this is firmness (of purpose) in (the conduct of) affairs...
(Al-Qur’an, 31: 17)
Oh, you who believe! Save yourselves and your families from a
Fire whose fuel is men and stones…
(Al-Qur’an, 66: 6)
Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) said:
When someone dies, all his deeds will come to an end except in
three instances: charity, knowledge that is of benefit, and pious
children who will make supplications for him.
(Related by Muslim)
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), narrates:
The Messenger of Allah (May the peace and blessings of Allah

be upon him) kissed his little grandson, Hassan bin Ali. At that
moment, Aqra’ bin Habis who was sitting next to him said, “I have
ten children. I have not kissed any one of them.” The Messenger of
Allah (peace be upon him) looked at him, and then said: “Whoever
is not compassionate, nobody will feel compassion for him!”
(Related by Bukhari)
The Messenger of Allah (Peace Be Upon Him) said:
Every one of you is a leader. And every leader will be responsible

for his leadership. The Imam is a leader, responsible for his
leadership. The man is a leader in his family, responsible for
his leadership. The woman is a leader in her household, and
responsible for her leadership. Even the servant is a leader, given
charge of his master’s property, responsible for his leadership.
(Related by Bukhari and Muslim)
CHAPTER NINE

PSYCHOLOGY IV:
HANDBOOK FOR POSITIVE CHANGE:

THE KHALIFAH CIRCLE APPROACH TO HELP CREATE A
JUST, PEACEFUL AND HAPPY WORLD
Introduction
It is our firm belief that the unique social and historical

conditions of our time, combined with new knowledge in the
fields of science and technology, make it not only possible
but highly likely that within a generation or so we will have
a peaceful world where Muslims can fully and truly practice
Islam in a just, peaceful and happy world.
We would like to introduce an innovative plan on behalf

of Islam. It is called “Khalifah Circle” (you can create your
own name if you so wish). It is a concept rather than an
organization. As Muslims, we accept that there is no path
to a right and just world but Islam; therefore, we want to
do our utmost to bring rightly guided, committed belief and
dedicated practice of Islam back into every aspect of life for all
members of the Muslim Ummah. Of course, we also desire to
make Islam both acceptable and attractive to non-Muslims.
While many of our pious brothers and sisters are attempting,
both as individuals and within organizations, to achieve this
same worthy goal we will be using a new approach. We will
be using powerful new techniques of social influence and
sophisticated modern information technology to disseminate
the traditional knowledge of Islam. Our ultimate goal is a fully
and truly united Islamic world, contributing towards peace
and happiness for every human being in a just world.
The Positive Jihad
We call upon all Muslims to work with us in this positive Jihad

to make this world a much better place to live, according to
the Will of Allah. If we do nothing, the materialistic secular
influences of the Godless modern culture will rob us of our
Islamic values and make our lives increasingly meaningless.
Today, the evil powers of secular materialism are

attacking human beings everywhere. The world is growing
Practical Application Of Positive Islamic Psychology Iv: Handbook For Positive 515
Change: The Khalifah Circle Approach To Help Create A Just,
Peaceful And Happy World
more insane each day. In all societies across the world, we find
large increases in crime, violence, drug abuse, alcoholism,
prostitution, pornography, homosexuality, and many other
moral and social ills. Today, the environment is being
continually degraded, while the world’s poor nations and
peoples are being subjected to a degree of exploitation which
reduces their lives to extremes of poverty and humiliation.
For example, 50% of the global wealth is owned only by just
1 % of the greedy capitalist. The balance of 50% of the global
wealth is shared by the rest of the 7 billion people of the
world. This is unjust and not sustainable in the long term
and can lead to the destruction of our 21st century human
civilization.
Secular materialism creates in the minds of our

children atheistic thought, disrespect for parents and elders,
hopelessness for the future, disregard for knowledge, and love
of a debased animalistic lifestyle focused on only the crudest
pleasures of the flesh.
What is Khalifah Circle?
A Khalifah Circle is a small group of Muslims who

regularly gather together to better understand their role as
Khalifah of Allah:
a) Who desire to have love for Allah grow in their

hearts.
b) Who desire to live peacefully according to the Will of

Allah.
c) Who will be kind and caring toward other members

of their group, all of humanity and all creatures on
this good Earth.
d) Who are willing to work together to do simple self

projects and programs to improve the lives of all
humanity. These programs can be in developing
skills and education for the poor, charity schemes,

small business development and many other
programs as listed later in this chapter.
e) Who are willing to change the world towards a just

society and make it a better place where everyone
has their fair share of the wealth and play by the
same set of rules.
f) Who are willing to learn how modern science

supports the essential truths of Islam;
g) Who are willing to learn about an undeniable

scientific proof of the existence of God;
h) Who are willing to learn about how Allah created

His physical world (the universe and everything in
it) that is consistent both with all facts of modern
science and with our traditional Islamic beliefs of
Creation;
i) Who are willing to learn about the Laws of Learning

by which Allah directs all biological life, and allows
the children of Adam to direct themselves as His
Khalifah on Earth;
j) Who are willing to use this knowledge to raise their

children to become Muslims of excellent character;
k) Who are willing to share this knowledge with other

Muslims to improve our Ummah;
l) Who are willing to help create a fully and truly just,

peaceful and happy world for all.
Simple Step- By-Step Guide to Setting Up Khalifah Circles
a) The Khalifah Circles are so easy to set up, and are

very likely to succeed. It is hard to believe until
you actually try. Basically, you only need to decide
that you want to do this task for the sake of Allah,
and even if you don’t know very much about the
Khalifah Circles, and have no particular skills in
management or public speaking, you will be able to
set one up.
b) First, you learn a little about what it means to be a

Khalifah of Allah. Since Allah created you (and all
human beings) to be His Khalifah on Earth, this
most magnificent and wonderful of roles is easy to
understand.
c) As a Khalifah of Allah, you act as a representative

of Allah doing very important tasks for Him. You are
to carry out Allah’s Will, not your own; and with His
help.
d) Allah wants you to be responsible to do three things

as His Khalifah: make yourself good, help others
become good, and make the physical world good
(clean and beautiful) in a just world.
e) Having understood this concept, it is the time to get

some of your friends and relatives interested in also
learning to become a good Khalifah of Allah. When
there are a few of you working together, you have
successfully set up a Khalifah Circle.
f) Next, set times to meet as a group, and together

learn the techniques of acting rightly as a Khalifah
of Allah.
g) The three responsibilities of the Khalifah of Allah

are carried out by positive Jihad. Jihad does not
mean Holy War; Jihad means Holy Struggle – the

never ending battle of good versus evil.
h) Jihad in the Khalifah Circles is carried out by

commanding the right and forbidding the wrong.
We command ourselves and others to act according
to what Allah has decreed to be right, and we forbid
ourselves and others to do the things that Allah has
decreed to be wrong.
i) Of course, if we are going to be commanding the

right and forbidding the wrong, we must know
well what is right and what is wrong according to
the Will of Allah and act upon this. To adhere to
this very well according to the Will of Allah, means
you have developed high taqwa. If the taqwa of
the Khalifah Circles members is not yet high, then
you can improve by discussion, study and greater
practice of Islamic way of life and values.
j) Allah has told us the best way to command the

right and forbid the wrong. It is most effectively
done with beautiful words and wisdom, and without
harshness which causes bad feelings.
k) What this means is that any time you or members

of the Khalifah Circles do anything good or show
some positive characteristics those good things
should receive positive notice (warm and honest
praise) from the members of the circle.
l) Any positive acts or characteristics that are followed

by sincere praise will tend to happen more often in
the future, thereby, resulting in an increase in all
that is good.
m) Sometimes, you or members of the Khalifah Circle

may do things that are wrong or show negative
characteristics. The members of the circle have the

responsibility of finding kind and positive ways to
help correct anything that is wrong.
n) Any negative acts or characteristics that are

followed by kind, but honest, disapproval will tend
to happen less often in the future, thereby, resulting
in a decrease in all that is bad. While doing this,
remember to make sure nobody’s feelings are hurt
or you will not be so successful in decreasing the
things that are negative.
o) If you or members of the Khalifah Circles have

children, you should teach them the same things
you are learning and treat them the same way
Khalifah Circles members treat each other.
p) This means; explain to your children how they are

the Khalifah of Allah; explain to your children the
three responsibilities as a Khalifah of Allah (make
yourself good; help others become good; and make
the physical world good); remind your children often
in nice ways that they are the Khalifah of Allah;
give your children warm and loving praise for good
things that they do and for good characteristics that
they show; and set firm, reasonable rules for your
children and enforce those rules consistently with
kind discipline (without harshness).
q) By now, you will surely be seeing positive changes

in yourself and in other members of the Khalifah
Circles. Additionally, you are virtually guaranteed
to see positive changes in your children by the grace
of God.
r) As soon as you start seeing these expected positive

changes in yourself, other Khalifah Circles members
and in your children, you will begin to understand
the great power for positive change behind this

simple, easy to implement plan.
s) As you begin to understand the great power

for positive change behind this simple, easy to
implement plan and the improvement it makes in
your life, and in the lives of those you care for, you
will likely feel motivated to start sharing with others
information about the success available through
the use of the Khalifah Circles.
t) The more people in your local community who are

participating in the Khalifah Circles the more general
good you will see happening in your community,
and the less evil you will see happening in your
community.
u) Next, the more people in your local community who

are participating in Khalifah Circles and teaching
their children to be a good Khalifah of Allah, the
more children of good influence your children will
associate with.
v) As your community becomes more successful in its

belief and practice of right Islamic principles, and
more and more Muslims become good Khalifahs of
Allah, other communities will see how wonderful
this positive way of life is and Khalifah Circles will
start up in those other communities until the whole
nation becomes a nicer place to live.
w) When Muslims in other nations see the many

positive social changes occurring in nations whose
populations are living as good Khalifahs of Allah
they will want to learn about and share in those
positive social changes.
x) When non-Muslims see how much success

Muslims are having in solving the many terrible
social problems that they are also facing, and how

good life has become for Muslims who are living as
good Khalifah of Allah, they will begin to have good
feelings toward Islam and Muslims, and may even
want to become Muslims themselves.
y) By working together, we can help create a just,

peaceful and happy 21st century where all of
humanity have their fair share of the wealth
and resources of the world as given by Allah the
Almighty. This just world must be sustainable for
our future generations, as well as all species and
creatures on Earth. We all must live in a balanced
ecosystem to create a paradise on Earth full of peace
and happiness.
z) If we really make use of this plan of Khalifah

Circles to assist us to live our lives as good and
true Muslims who well understand and love their
role as a Khalifah of Allah, it really could help to
bring about a fully and truly Islamic world within a
generation or so.
How to Do Positive Jihad Through Khalifah

Circles
The Jihad in this millennium is the Jihad of knowledge and

is about influencing the minds of all human beings. We must
know how to fight this battle and what weapons to use. Islam
gives us the answer. This is not to be a Jihad of the sword, or
of guns, bombs and violence. Not only would that be wrong,
but also we would have no chance of success against the
military might of the Western world. Non-Muslims must know
they will never be harmed by this Jihad. This is to be a Jihad
fought only in the battlefield of the mind with weapons far
more powerful than any sword, gun, or bomb.
Using Positive Islamic Psychology (PIP) to

Create a Just, Peaceful and Happy World
Justice in its most general formulation entails practicing

moral duties or precepts that are associated for the purpose
of the common life. This entails acts of common good of all,
avoiding inflicting injury to one another, giving everyone what
he rightly deserve, as well as equal distribution of wealth,
position, status, rewards and punishments.
The issue of social justice is very important in Islam given

the fact that the religion stands for justice and fair play and
promote them. Moreover, Islam accords justice the foremost
importance after tawheed, and for this reason, the issue of
justice underlies the principles and fundamental teachings
of Islam.
It should be noted that justice in resources distribution

has always been the fundamental concern of Islam. In fact,
it was the first issue to be addressed by the prophet of Islam
who was sent by God to establish a fair and just society.
Islamic view of distributive justice entails the following

three elements;
1. To guarantee of fulfillment of the basic needs to all

human beings.
2. To ensure the equity of distribution of wealth.
3. To eliminate extreme inequalities in personal

income and wealth.
The issue of social justice and the fulfillment of the basic

needs formed the basis of Islamic economics. This theory
expound that the fulfillment of the basic needs of every human
being is guaranteed by Allah the Almighty. The Quran 18:46
clearly explains that:
There is no moving creature on Earth but its sustenance

dependeth on Allah.
(al-Quran, 18:46)
Similarly, Islam emphasizes and encourages giving

excess money for the reward in the life hereafter. This is
beautifully illustrated in the Quran;
Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east
or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in
Allah , the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets,
and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans,
the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing
slaves; [and who] establishes prayer and gives Zakah; [those
who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are
patient in poverty and hardship, and during battle. Those are the
ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous.
(al-Quran, 2: 177)
Similarly, in another verse Allah the Almighty says,
And spend in the way of Allah, and do not throw [yourselves]

with your [own] hands into destruction [by refraining]. And do
good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good.
(al-Quran, 2: 195)
Another relevant verse says:
And from their properties was [given] the right of the [needy]
petitioner and the deprived.
(al- Quran, 51: 19)
Islam discourages inequalities, and for this reason, it

prescribes Zakah to ensure moral justice, promote mutual
love and kindness, and prevent hatred among the members
of the society.
The concept of Zakah, therefore, exemplifies distributive

justice concerns. It is essentially needed to establish social
justice, Through Zakah a comprehensive guideline is given
on how to relieve poverty and how the wealth should be
distributed equally. The management of Zakah system in
Islam eradicates abject poverty which deprives human beings
from fulfillment of basic needs.
Creating a Just World in the 21st century
In the 21st century, the gap between the rich and the poor is
getting bigger. In many countries, 1% of the population owns
more than 80% of the wealth of the nation. This is unjust
and can lead to social upheaval. It is important for Muslims
to support the creation of a just global society in the 21st
century.
This can be achieved by applying the principles of

distributive justice that promotes equitable distribution of
wealth among all the members of society.
The basic assumptions of socio-economic justice in

the 21st century will have to take into account the impact of
technology on human work in the development of modern
civilization. Moreover, we have to overcome the systematic
political and moral flaws of national “full employment” policies
and how modern global economic order creates an ever-
expanding gap in economic power, opportunity and incomes
between the wealthy elite and poor people of the world.
In promoting the development of a just society, we

Muslims have to advance liberty and justice for every person
through equal opportunity and access to the means to become
a capital owner.
Muslims and non-Muslims as citizens of the world in the

21st century can be part of a growing global network of citizen-
activists, servant leaders and social entrepreneurs. While
they come from different backgrounds, countries and faiths,
they share a vision of human freedom and empowerment
based on universal moral principles. This just society is
based on universal core values and code of ethics common to
all religion.
Using the principles of Positive Islamic Psychology,

Muslims can conduct studies, teach and promote the concept of
the Just World. Applying the principles of economic and social
justice, we develop practical solutions to systemic problems
at the enterprise, community, national and global levels,
empowering directly every man and woman with the means
of acquiring productive capital as an independent source of
income. Design-scientist Buckman Fuller’s “Challenge” is to
make the world work for 100% of humanity in the shortest
possible time, through spontaneous cooperation, without
ecological offense, or anyone’s disadvantage.
It is against this background that we have to develop

plans to promote liberty and justice for every person through
equal opportunity for all. Similarly, we need to promote
understanding of the principles of economic and social justice
in a free market environment guided by the Golden Rule.
Using this approach, we can develop practical applications,
policy reforms and comprehensive strategies. We will work
with servant leaders, citizen-activists and other organizations
to build justice-based enterprises, communities and nations
of economically independent citizen-owners.
We will develop a framework for comprehensive reform

that enables every person to become owner of income-
producing capital. This can be done by lifting unjust barriers
to equal economic freedom, opportunity and power through
capital ownership as a fundamental human right. We will also
restructure our monetary, tax and other basic institutions
to create new money and interest-free credit to finance

broadly owned, sustainable, private-sector growth through
vehicles like Capital Homestead Accounts, Citizens Land
Banks, Homeowners Equity Corporations, and Justice-Based
Employee Stock Ownership Plan etc.
Primary Programs: Practical Action Plans and

Activities to Create and Promote a Just Global
Society in the 21st Century
There are many practical programs that we can do individually

in small Khalifah groups, community based groups as well as
programs at national and global levels. Some examples are;
a) Promoting a “Just World” ideology at all levels

starting from the family, local community, national
and right up to global initiatives.
b) Organizing programs and campaigns to eradicate

modern-day slavery and the evil of oppression such
as force labor, child labor, trans-border human
trafficking, sex slavery and prostitution.
c) Promoting fair minimum wage for labor in all

sectors of the economy throughout the world. A fair
minimum wage must be at an acceptable level for
the worker to live comfortably above the poverty line
and have decent wages and working conditions.
d) Organizing peaceful but forceful campaigns to

reduce the gap between the rich and the poor.
e) Promoting safe workplaces, occupational safety

and health initiatives as well as legislation for all
workers in the world.
f) Ensuring the accumulation of retirement fund

for all workers via Employee Retirement Fund,
Employee Provident Fund (EPF) etc. These funds

are contributed by the employer and employees to
be invested and given annual return through the
central fund management schemes organized by
the government or the private sector.
g) Working together with international organizations

and government to increase taxes on the rich.
Similarly, we can initiate campaigns to eliminate
Tax Havens throughout the world so that will be no
tax evasion by the super-rich.
h) Encouraging philanthropy among the rich people of

the world to help in poverty alleviation, disease
eradication, education for the poor and other
initiatives.
i) Creating Citizen Trust Fund/Equity Promotion

Fund to purchase companies or shares on behalf
of workers. By doing so, the workers will also partly
own the companies.
j) Promoting cooperative movement throughout the

world as an alternative to private capitalism.
k) Promoting a free/low cost universal health care for

all citizens of the world.
l) Promoting free universal education for all children

at primary, secondary and college levels throughout
the world.
m) Addressing the issue of the impeding global climate

change that affects particularly the poor countries
of the world.
n) Integrating Permaculture with Positive Islamic

Psychology – The Khalifah Circle Way. In a truly
and fully just world, we have to take care of all
creatures that share this good Earth with us. As

such, we have to take care of the environment to
ensure that all species on Earth are taken care of in
a balanced ecosystem. This program must be part
of our education system as well as the promotion of
a sustainable life-style.
o) Be creative. Think of new programs and many

more activities that promote the creation of a just,
peaceful and happy world in the 21st century.
Other Projects and Programs of Khalifah

Circles
Apart from our core program of creating a just world in

the 21st century, we also need to simultaneously work on
many other projects. Remember, Khalifah Circles are positive
Jihad, implemented to make this world a better world for
both Muslims and non-Muslims. As such, Khalifah Circles
can take projects into any area that will benefit the spiritual,
social, and economic well-being of all members of the society
to help create a just, peaceful and happy world.
Secondary Program: Examples of Other

Programs and Projects for Khalifah Circles
a) Development of each child’s positive potential.
b) Improvement in education and school systems,

especially, the Islamic school system, vocational
training/skills development centres.
c) Implementation of Khalifah Parenting methodology.
d) Family development programs.
e) Youth transformation projects.

f) Projects for empowering women/the poor/the

disabled, etc.
g) Clinics and community hospitals for the poor and

needy.
h) Holistic Healing Centres for counseling and healing

those with mental/social/psychological problems,
etc.
i) Social, economic, and educational projects for all

sectors of society, i.e. adult learning, study groups,
life-long learning, open universities, etc.
j) Entrepreneurship and small business development

and networking.
k) Social improvement programs for reduction of

crime, addiction, immorality, corruption and other
destructive social issues.
l) Environmental improvement programs, etc.
m) Other locally relevant projects, etc.
Spreading the Message of Islam Through the

Khalifah Circles Approach
Islam is the most positive, right and powerful message in

the world. Islam provides the solution to every problem that
presently exists or could ever exist. The ultimate power of
this positive message is a power of winning the hearts and
minds of every Muslim in the world. It also has the power
to influence and win over the world’s non-Muslims, because
it gives them a totally true understanding of the meaning of
life in this physical world, as well as a glorious future in the
spiritual world and the hereafter.
This moment in history is the age of information and

communication technology. We can spread this positive
message of Islam throughout the world in a very short period
of time. Every single effort toward a right Islamic world is
like a drop of rain that will flow to form rivers, which then
spread and reach out to become oceans. This is the power
of Islam that can be manifested through the Khalifah Circles
approach by the grace of God.
Who Can Participate in This Positive Jihad
Khalifah Circles are not an exclusive club or organization. We

encourage every Muslim individual in the world to network
and start Khalifah Circles in their own local areas, beginning
with their families and close friends.
We also encourage mosques, suraus, Muslim

organizations, clubs, companies, and government agencies
(where allowed) to start Khalifah Circles.
By networking together through Khalifah Circles, we

can then improve ourselves to become better Muslims, help
others to become better Muslims and help make the world a
better place for all.
General Plan
a) Our intention is to utilize the motivational and

educational potential of the Positive Islamic
Psychology (PIP) model and the traditional Islamic
concept of human beings as Khalifah of Allah by
forming Khalifah Circles worldwide. We will also
encourage wide use of the internet to empower and
unite the Ummah.
b) It is proposed that if any individual or group of any

size (up to and including all of human society) is
provided with a positive, accurate and motivational
world view (which is Islam understood scientifically
and objectively, in combination with traditional
interpretation) and a broad understanding of the
laws of learning by which our relationship with the
physical, social, and inner environments effects
our development, then there will naturally and
inevitably be resulting in those individuals or social
groups moving toward everything good and right.
c) To encourage the wide use of modern knowledge

and technology by Muslims on behalf of Islam.
d) Use powerful motivational techniques from the

social sciences to encourage Muslims to unite and
participate in Khalifah Circles to help bring about a
truly Islamic Ummah.
e) To show how modern science itself, and the

necessary logical implications of modern science,
have reached a point where they are consistent in
all ways with the revealed truths and essence of
Islam, including an undeniable scientific proof of
the existence of God.
f) To use Positive Islamic Psychology (PIP) model to

transform the world towards peace, happiness and
success. To achieve these goals, we will have to
strive to create a just world for all of humanity and
for all creations on Earth.
g) To work together with the many thousand Islamic

organizations throughout the world in this Holy
Struggle against the devastating power of the
onrushing wave of secular materialism poised
to crush our Islamic way of life. (NOTE: We will
acknowledge that there are within the Muslim

world a number of differences in opinions regarding
issues of Islamic belief and practice. While in no way
discounting the importance of some of these issues,
but fully realizing the effects of the dissension and
disunity this causes among the Ummah, we take the
position that during this critical period in human
history. When the influence of Shaitan is being
so widely and successfully spread throughout the
world, it is not the right time to focus our energies
on the resolution of these theological issues. Until
the battle against the forces of evil is resolved, and
a just and right Islamic Ummah established, we
will accept without negative comment all Muslims,
regardless of their varied beliefs and practices, as
our beloved brothers and sisters.
h) Khalifah Circles is not a movement or an organization,

but simply a loosely-structured worldwide network
of “like-minded” Muslims striving proactively to
achieve our goal in life to successfully fulfill our
responsibilities as Khalifahs of Allah.
i) Khalifah Circles will operate as an open source

format where all interested individuals or groups
can help spread the correct Islamic understanding
of our role as Khalifah of Allah.
j) The Khalifah Circles approach is deeply rooted in

the traditional beliefs and rituals of Islam. To ensure
that this Khalifah approach never becomes a sect or
a cult, we have to bear in mind the following.
Belief system: There is to be no additional

belief system in the Khalifah Circles apart from
the belief system revealed by Allah to his final
Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). We
lovingly follow the way of our beloved Prophet
through the Qur’an and sunnah.
Ritual: There are to be no additional rituals

in the Khalifah Circles approach beyond
those traditionally practiced in Islam. All the
basic rituals of Islam, such as prayer 5 times
each day, fasting, zakat and hajj will likely
be increasingly practiced by all members of
Khalifah Circles. Any additional ritual must
follow strictly the practice (sunnah) of our
beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon
Him).
There are no Sheikh / Pir / Cult Leader /

Group President / Great Leader / Founder etc.
in the Khalifah Circle. We are all equal in the
sight of Allah. We lead by example for Allah
alone and not for power, wealth, influence or
praise.
The Khalifah Circle is not a formal Organisation

but is based on people’s power to organize and
change the world. There is no membership fee,
no entry requirements, no compulsion and no
brainwashing.
We can conduct Khalifah circles and networking

joint programs/conferences etc at local,
national and international levels to promote
a just, peaceful and happy world in the 21st
century.
Cooperation, Synergy and Working Together for

a Just World
In undertaking Khalifah Circles projects/programs, we

should network with as many individuals and organizations
as possible. We must operate with a global mindset.
a) We should network with Muslim individuals and

organizations to help one another to achieve the
goal of reforming this world into a fully and truly
Islamic world. Even though we may sometimes have
differences of opinion with other Muslims, these
differences should not be allowed to hinder us from
working together.
b) Khalifah Circles can also work with non-Muslim

individuals, organizations, NGOs and societies
as long as these organizations can accept and
cooperate to achieve global justice and peace.
c) Our primary focus is to create a just world in the 21st

century. This should be on mutual respect basis.
We can work on common projects, such as tackling
universal issues of poverty, crime prevention,
drug, alcohol rehabilitation, moral development
and other projects which can help bring about the
development of a right, civil and moral society for
all. We can work together to create a peaceful and
happy world for all in the 21st century.
Discussion Approach to Developing Action Projects
a) There must always be discussion (syura) concerning

every Khalifah Circle program and project.
b) The discussions must always be positive and

constructive.
c) There is no place for arguments and disputes over

who is right and who is wrong.
d) There should be a very clear focus on what is being

discussed, and a positive and constructive plan to
achieve any goal.
e) Every member in Khalifah Circles should ask

themselves:
What can I contribute?
How can the idea or contribution be turned

into action?
How can we implement these positive ideas on

the short term, mid-term and long term basis
for success?
How to Achieve our Goals as Khalifah on Earth
a) We must take a successive series of small rewarding

steps (called the shaping process) to actively improve
our lives, our projects, our ideas, and our future.
b) These small steps must be done consistently,

thoroughly, and effectively. Each Khalifah Circle
must try to do their task through small rewarding
steps and successfully complete the task within a
set time frame.
c) Each Khalifah Circle will need to:
i. Develop Discipline: To strive for success and

be on time – be punctual even in executing
small projects.
ii. Be Confident: Since we are all Khalifahs of

Allah, be confident that whatever good deeds/
projects we attempt will be blessed by Allah.
With Allah’s help all good things are possible.
iii. Be Cooperative: We must help each other to

improve ourselves as we work to make our
projects successful. By achieving some positive
result, we will all get the satisfaction from the
success of project.
iv. Be in Control: We expect all members of Khalifah

Circles to be able to develop a simple project control
management system to track small projects. A
simple format can be as follows.
v. Be Contributors: Each and every one of us can

contribute in small ways or large ways. Each and
every one of us should think positively about how
to make the projects we do be successful. Be sure
to never take on an attitude of weakness such as,
“I don’t know what to do”, or, “I have no power to
do this” because this would cause us to think and
act negatively, thereby, increasing the chance of
failure.
vi. Be True:
Be tolerant of other people.
Do not criticize. Listen to the views of others,

and consider alternatives.
Reduce laziness, sloppiness and unreliability

–those are all un-Islamic characteristics.
Do not take offense easily.
vii. Continue Striving all the Time. Allah created us

to forever strive in our practice of Islam, and He
gave us Islam as our way of life, so we should:
Not be passive, but be positively assertive.
Not be helpless and depending on luck for

success.
Not give up easily if things do not immediately

work out the way we hoped.
Be a Muslim who never stops striving, if we never

stop striving we will eventually succeed, and by
doing so, we are participating in positive Jihad to
make this world a much better place to live for all.
viii. Be Respectful and Loving: In Khalifah Circles,

we must respect, love, and care about each other.
We are equal in the sight of Allah. We should work
together in a kind and respectful manner.
What to Do in Khalifah Circles Meeting
a) Ritual: Have weekly, bi-monthly or monthly

meetings as required. Every meeting should follow
the rituals of Islam. It is suggested that you start
with recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah and du’a to get
the help and blessing of Allah.
b) Time: Khalifah Circles meetings should be short

and meaningful. There must be a specific goal and
direction which will be decided by members through
brain storming and consensus. List of projects and
programs can be added as, and where required.
c) The following format and agenda is suggested:
(i) Recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah – 3 minutes
(ii) Building relationship (taaruf) – 5 minutes
(iii)
Discussion/brainstorming and project
identification – 15 minutes
(iv) Progress report of existing programs – 15

minutes.
(v) Overcoming problems and challenges and

setting targets for next task/project – 20
minutes
(vi) Closing with Surah Al-‘Asr and short du’a – 2

minutes
(Total 60 minutes of meeting)
d) Reporting of Progress and Achievement: There is

no need to report your progress and achievement to
anybody except to Allah. However, if you wish your
project to be adopted by other Khalifah Circles, you
can post it in our website and promote it to other
Khalifah Circles worldwide.
Ensuring Success of Khalifah Circles

Programmes and Projects
All members of Khalifah Circles should strive with dedication

to ensure their projects are successful. Apart from hard work,
dedication and working together, all Khalifah Circles members
should be trained in basic project management, control, and
implementation skills. We should use basic management
tools which have been used successfully in transforming
multi-national companies to achieve world class standards.
Khalifah Circles headquarters can provide many types

of management training on a seminar basis, on-line or via in-
house training program. Skill areas that should be developed
by all Khalifah Circles’ members are:
a) Good working Knowledge of Positive Islamic

Psychology (PIP).
b) Basic QCC – Quality Control Circles ideas/format

used by global companies.
c) Basic project management skills.
d) Brainstorming and creative problem solving skills.

e) Group dynamics and team building.
f) Other management skills that can ensure successful

project implementation and control.
These tools will enable Khalifah Circles to achieve great

success in their programs and projects to help bring about a
truly Islamic world.
Future Programs to Promote Positive Islamic

Psychology to the World
We intend to implement a strategy/plan to Dakwah and

promote Positive Islamic Psychology to the world. Some of
this strategic programs are:
To upgrade our official website :www.Islamic-world.

net to promote Positive Islamic Psychology (PIP).
To create a back-link for the official website using

word press, blogger and other platforms.
Creating a global network with other Dakwah

organization throughout the world.
Joining online Dakwah, and Islamic awareness

forums
Conducting Positive Islamic Psychology Certification

Program.
Provide PIP training and consultancy service to

individuals, corporate bodies and government
throughout world.
Jointly develop accreditation programs at degree,

postgraduate and doctorate levels with reputable
universities.
Develop a university to train full-fledged Positive

Islamic Psychologists for the future development of
the Ummah in the 21st century.
Self Development and Continuing Education

For Members of Khalifah Circles
As Muslims, we should strive to be the most knowledgeable

Ummah on Earth. We should strive to master not only the
knowledge of Islam, i.e. Qur’an and the Sunnah, but also to
master all areas of science and technology.
We strongly encourage all members of Khalifah Circles

to make knowledge the central focus of their life. Members
should put aside some time every day for self-improvement
through learning opportunities.
Khalifah Circles headquarters will provide learning

materials not only on Islam, but also on science, technology,
skills development and other training materials to help
develop the Ummah, Insya-Allah.
Conclusion
This is the second version of our handbook to promote Khalifah

Circles worldwide. Please remember to consider all proposals
made in this handbook on how to run Khalifah Circles as
only suggestions. You may well come up with better ideas
and ways to run your Khalifah Circles than what we have
suggested. We welcome your ideas on how to improve or to
help make this project even more successful.
The Khalifah method, which is based on traditional

Islamic belief and practice, understood objectively and
scientifically, is an idea so powerful that if practiced to its
maximum has the potential to solve most of the world’s
problems in a generation or so, and ultimately bring about a
virtual paradise on Earth, Insya-Allah.
CHAPTER TEN

PSYCHOLOGY V:
INTEGRATING PERMACULTURE WITH POSITIVE ISLAMIC

PSYCHOLOGY – THE KHALIFAH CIRCLE WAY
Practical Application Of Positive Islamic Psychology V: Integrating 543
Permaculture With Positive Islamic Psychology – The Khalifah Circle Way
Introduction
If we look around at our planet Earth through the eyes of

intelligent visitors from another world, they would assess the
condition of the world today as destructive and insane. 99%
of our problems come from destructive economic activities
that has the potential to cause the destruction of this Earth.
Our unlimited greed, self-interest and exploitation of people
and resources will make our planet inhabitable for all of us.
At this point, humanity will completely disappear as a species
on Earth.
Today, massive climate change and the destruction of

the global environment is impacting the future of more than
2 billion poor inhabitants in third world countries. Massive
famines are now occurring more frequently and if we do not
change our way of life in a sustainable way, we are all doomed
to suffer collectively in about 100 years’ time.
We need to progress though permaculture to save the

world’s food production. With the adoption of permaculture
globally, we will have no need for industrial monoculture-
agriculture in the present form. Conventional chemical
based farming is obviously and certainly unsustainable and
will never be sustainable to feed the growing global human
population.
The 1.7 billion Muslim inhabitants of the world today

will have to lead others through the application of our Islamic
principles of life as the Vicegerents of God (on being Khalifah of
Allah) on Earth. We will implement globally the permaculture
way of food production to achieve sufficiency in food for all
of humanity. In Sya Allah, we will lead the world to ensure
the bio-diversity of nature and the survival of all life forms on
Earth.
Permaculture
Permaculture is a system of agricultural and social design

principles centered on simulating or directly utilizing the
patterns and features observed in natural ecosystems. The
term “permaculture” (as a systematic method) was first
coined by David Holmgren, then a graduate student, and
his professor, Bill Mollison, in 1978. The word permaculture
originally referred to “permanent agriculture”, but was
expanded to stand also for “permanent culture”, as it was
understood that social aspects were integral to a truly
sustainable system as inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka’s
natural farming philosophy.
It has many branches that include, but are not limited

to ecological design, ecological engineering, environmental
design, construction and integrated water resources
management that develops sustainable architecture,
regenerative and self maintained habitat and agricultural
systems modeled from natural ecosystems.
Mollison has said: “Permaculture” is a philosophy

of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted
and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and
thoughtless labor; and of looking at plants and animals in
all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single
product system.”
Permaculture in Islamic Civilization
During the long glorious period of Islamic civilization, we have

developed permaculture in its totality for over eight hundred
years. Muslim agriculturalists developed holistic systems
of integrating water resources, agriculture, forestry, animal
husbandry, sustainable township development to create a
wonderful holistic green civilization. Our Islamic civilization
in Andalusia is a great example of permaculture in action. We
created large permaculture gardens, farms, domestic animal

zones and forest reserves that resulted in greening of the whole
of Andalusia. It was a beautiful, sustainable and a happy
place to live for all its inhabitants. Muslims have been able
to create “heaven on Earth” throughout the eight hundred
years of Muslim civilization from Andalusia to Baghdad, and
throughout Asia. In Sya Allah, we will be able to recreate this
wonderful “heaven on Earth” in the 21st century through our
permaculture initiative – the Khalifah Circle way.
The leading figure in permaculture today is Geoff

Lawton, a Muslim revert. He and his team at the permaculture
Institute of Australia are striving positively to train thousands
of permaculture enthusiasts and specialists. They are
also implementing permaculture projects throughout the
world. Now, millions of people are aware of the potential of
permaculture to improve our way of life. We can produce
abundance of food on a holistic sustainable basis for all of
humanity. By developing the Islamic permaculture way of life,
we will be able to reverse the impact of climate change and
avoid the looming catastrophic destruction of planet Earth.
Three Core Tenets of Permaculture
Care for the Earth: Provision for all life systems to continue
and multiply. This is the first principle, because without a
healthy Earth, humans cannot flourish.
Care for the people: Provision for people to access those

resources necessary for their existence.
Return of surplus: Reinvesting surpluses back into the system

to provide for the first two ethics. This includes returning
waste back into the system to recycle into usefulness. The
third ethic is sometimes referred to as “Fair Permaculture
design emphasizes patterns of landscape, function, and
species assemblies. It determines where these elements
should be placed so they can provide maximum benefit to

the local environment. The central concept of permaculture
is maximizing useful connections between components
and synergy of the final design. The focus of permaculture,
therefore, is not on each separate element, but rather on the
relationships created among elements by the way they are
placed together; the whole becoming greater than the sum of
its parts. Permaculture design, therefore, seeks to minimize
waste, human labor, and energy input by building systems
with maximal benefits between design elements to achieve a
high level of synergy. Permaculture designs evolve over time
by taking into account these relationships and elements and
can become extremely complex systems that produce a high
density of food and materials with minimal input.
Design Principles of Permaculture
The design principles which are the conceptual foundation

of permaculture were derived from the science of systems
ecology and study of preindustrial examples of sustainable
land use. Permaculture draws from several disciplines
including organic farming, agroforestry, integrated farming,
sustainable development, and applied ecology. Permaculture
has been applied most commonly to the design of housing
and landscaping, integrating techniques such as agroforestry,
natural building, and rainwater harvesting within the context
of permaculture design principles and theory.
These are the twelve permaculture design principles

articulated by David Holmgren in his Permaculture: Principles
and Pathways Beyond Sustainability:
1. Observe and interact: By taking time to engage

with nature, we can design solutions that suit our
particular situation.
2. Catch and store energy: By developing systems that

collect resources at peak abundance, we can use
them in times of need.
3. Obtain a yield: Ensure that you are getting truly

useful rewards as part of the work that you are
doing.
4. Apply self regulation and accept feedback: We need

to discourage inappropriate activity to ensure that
systems can continue to function well.
5. Use and value renewable resources and services:

Make the best use of nature’s abundance to reduce
our consumptive behavior and dependence on
nonrenewable resources.
6. Produce no waste: By valuing and making use of all

the resources that are available to us, nothing goes
to waste.
7. Design from patterns to details: By stepping back,

we can observe patterns in nature and society.
These can form the backbone of our designs, with
the details filled in as we go.
8. Integrate rather than segregate: By putting the right

things in the right place, relationships develop
between those things and they work together to
support each other.
9. Use small and slow solutions: Small and slow

systems are easier to maintain than big ones,
making better use of local resources and producing
more sustainable outcomes.
10. Use and value diversity: Diversity reduces

vulnerability to a variety of threats and takes
advantage of the unique nature of the environment

in which it resides.
11. Use edges and value the marginal: The interface

between things is where the most interesting events
take place. These are often the most valuable,
diverse and productive elements in the system.
12. Creatively use and respond to change: We can have

a positive impact on inevitable change by carefully
observing, and then intervening at the right time.
Zones in Permaculture
Zones are a way of intelligently organizing design elements in

a human environment on the basis of the frequency of human
use and plant or animal needs. Frequently manipulated or
harvested elements of the design are located close to the
house in Zones 1 and 2. Less frequently used or manipulated
elements, and elements that benefit from isolation (such as
wild species) are farther away. Zones are about positioning
things appropriately, and are numbered from 0 to 5.
Zone 0
The house or home center. Here permaculture principles

would be applied in terms of aiming to reduce energy and water
needs, harnessing natural resources, such as sunlight, and
generally creating a harmonious, sustainable environment to
live and work.
Zone 1
The zone nearest to the house, the location for those elements
in the system that require frequent attention, or that need to
be visited often, such as salad crops, herb plants, soft fruits
like strawberries or raspberries, greenhouse and cold frames,
propagation area, worm compost bin for kitchen waste, etc.
Raised beds are often used in Zone 1 in urban areas.
Zone 2
This area is used for siting perennial plants that require less
frequent maintenance, such as occasional weed control or
pruning, including currant bushes and orchards, pumpkins,
sweet potato, etc. This would also be a good place for beehives,
larger scale composting bins, and so on.
Zone 3
The area where main crops are grown, both for domestic
use and for trade purposes. After establishment, care and
maintenance required are fairly minimal (provided mulches
and similar things are used), such as watering or weed control
maybe once a week.
Zone 4
A semi-wild area. This zone is mainly used for forage and

collecting wild food, as well as production of timber for
construction or firewood.
Zone 5
A wilderness area. There is no human intervention in Zone 5

apart from the observation of natural ecosystems and cycles.
Through this zone, we build up a natural reserve of bacteria,
moulds and insects that can aid the zones above it.
People and Permaculture
Permaculture uses observation of nature to create regenerative

systems. The place where this has been most visible has
been on the landscape. There has been a growing awareness
though that, firstly, there is the need to pay more attention to
the people care ethic, as it is often the dynamics of people that
can interfere with projects, and secondly, that the principles

of permaculture can be used as effectively to create vibrant,
healthy and productive people and communities as they have
been in landscapes.
Using Modern Technology in Permaculture
They are numerous beneficial modern technologies that can

be integrated with permaculture. These include:
Energy generation using solar energy, wind power,

mini-hydro, bio-gas generation etc.
Modern satellite mapping technology.
Laser beam technology for accurate measurement

of distance, space and contour mapping.
Microelectronics control technology for water

management, irrigation, automation and sensor
technology for farming, agriculture and animal
management etc.
Drone technology for contour mapping, spraying

of natural nutrients, non-toxic natural biological
insecticide etc.
Robotic technology to assist in improving the

productivity and cost effectiveness of permaculture.
Other technologies that can integrated

permaculture i.e.biotechnology,chemistry,physics
,bio-engineering etc. to make permaculture more
productive than modern monoculture.
Implementing Permaculture through Khalifah

Circle
We urgently need to develop large numbers of activists and

Khalifah Circles throughout the world. The proposed approach
can vary from country to country. However, generally, we can
implement permaculture at 5 levels.
Level 1: Khalifah Circle activists to provide awareness,

training and implementation of permaculture at family
level, i.e. to include Khalifah ideology of being good
i.e. making ourselves good via the permaculture way.
Implementating family based permaculture gardens and
food production initiatives, including small scale free
range chickens for eggs and chicken meat etc.

training and implementation of permaculture at village/
community level. At this level, the villagers are trained to
implementation of permaculture at village/community
level, individually and collectively. A village/community
level-2 master plan will be drawn up to set consensus, as
well as to ensure sustainable village level ecology. Also
to develop a “Fair-Share” system to share the results of
increased abundance for all villagers.

training and implementation at district/provincial
level. At level 3, many village level permaculture farms
are already in production. Level-3 large permaculture
farms at district/provincial level are then created via
cooperatives, crowd funding and government assisted
funding.

training and implementation on countrywide basis to
fully implement permaculture at national level. At level
4, the country can showcase the increased production of
food for all the inhabitants/citizens of the country using

permaculture as a way of life.
Level 5: Khalifah Circle activists to develop global use of

permaculture to ensure sustainably of food production,
as well as reduce the impact of climate change. In Sya
Allah, we will then be able to create a world that is just,
peaceful and full of happiness for all humanity and all of
God’s creatures on Earth.
Conclusion
This is a challenge for all Muslims in the world today to lead

in developing and implementing permaculture individually,
regionally and globally. Let us be the new leaders of
permaculture to create a new, just and peaceful civilization
that will be sustainable for generations to come, In Sya Allah.
Resources 553
Resources:
www.Geoff Lawton.com
External links
Permaculture for agroecology: design, movement, practice,and

worldview systematic review of the permaculture
literature, from the perspective of agroecology.
The Permaculture Research Institute (http://www.

permaculturenews.org/) – Permaculture Forums,
Courses, Information, News and Worldwide Reports.
The Worldwide Permaculture Network (http://www.

permacultureglobal.com/) – Database of permaculture
people and projects worldwide.
The Permaculture Association (http://www.permaculture

org.uk/), UK.
The 15 pamphlets based on the 1981 Permaculture

Design Course given by Bill Mollison (http://
www bettertimesinfo.org/pdc_all.pdf) (cofounder of
permaculture) all in 1 PDF file.
David Holmgren’s web site (http://www.holmgren.com. au/)

(cofounder of permaculture)
Ethics and principles of permaculture (http://www.

permacultureprinciples.com/) (Holmgren’s)
554 POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY
Permaculture a Beginners Guide (http://www.spiralseed

co.uk/permaculture)–a ‘pictorial walkthrough’
Permaculture – Sustainability and sustainable development

(http://www.save.me/permacultureandh orticulture/)
Urban Permaculture Design (http://www.

urbanpermaculturedesign.com/) – a city lot with over a
hundred perennial edible varieties. Permaculture land
acquisition discussion.
A quarter acre suburban property in Eugene, Oregon

(http://www.suburbanpermaculture.org/) – grass to
garden, reclaim automobile space, elevated/edible
landscape, rain water catchment, passive solar design,
education
The Permaculture Activist (http://www

permacultureactivist.net/) is a coevolving quarterly
produced by a dedicated handful of entirely parttime
folks
Permaculture Commons (http://permaculturecommons.

org/) is a collection of permaculture material under free
licenses.Retrieved from “https://en.wikipedia.org/w/
index.php?tit le=Permaculture&oldid=721603850”
Categories: Permaculture Permaculture concepts

Sustainability Environmental design
Sustainable environmental design Sustainable agriculture

Sustainable gardening
A TRANSCENDENT MODEL TO ACHIEVE PEACE, HAPPINESS

AND SUCCESS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
EPILOGUE
556 POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY Epilogue
Epilogue
Throughout the writing of this book certain questions keep

coming to our minds; the most important is how to find
the appropriate words or phrases to write about the most
profound of human aspiration.
This aspiration is to create a world that is just, peaceful

and full of happiness for all humanity and all creatures on
this good Earth. This aspiration is not only for ourselves, but
for the future destiny of this civilization in the 21st century.
As we see the turmoil and insanity of this civilization,

we know deep in our hearts that we are destined towards self
destruction. Our destructive focus on secular materialism
will finally end with the end of our own within the next
hundred years. This is not only our conclusion but something
acknowledged by most intellectuals and experts in various
fields such as climatologists, biologists, environmentalists,
sociologists, psychologists and other intellectuals.
It is with deep sense of humility that we promote the

idea of Positive Islamic Psychology (PIP) to the world. We pray
to Allah the Almighty to bestow upon us His Divine love,
grace, mercy and guidance. May He also give us the courage
and resilience to pursue the way of truth? Hopefully, our
collective journey can redirect humanity toward the path of
enlightenment, perfection and create a new heaven on Earth.
This is our natural inheritance to create a just, peaceful and
happy world for all.
Positive Islamic Psychology (PIP) answers the paramount

questions of knowing the meaning and purpose of our life.
Our true primary purpose of life is to seek peace, happiness
and success.
The superficial 21st century global lifestyle of secular

materialism cannot, and will not be able to give us real peace,
Epilogue 557
happiness and success. We have to know our inner purpose

in life while not forgetting our outer purpose of our existence
on this physical plane. Our inner purpose is to know our
Creator and to know that we are His vicegerents on Earth.
The basic principle of Positive Islamic Psychology is to make
ourselves good, helping others to be good, and making the
world good and to please God and all of His creation. Indeed,
this is the real purpose of our existence on Earth.
By sharing this understanding of Positive Islamic

Psychology we can help you and others in this world to realise
this inner purpose and strive to live in this inner alignment
upon us which we will then have a foundation for achieving
thorough peace, happiness and success. This journey of life
for all of us will not be easy. However, if we believe in the
Divine love, grace, mercy and guidance, and through hard
work and struggle and determination, In Sya Allah, we will
see the transformation of this world towards peace, happiness
and success.
We must shift our consciousness towards the awakening

of our sacred selves. We are not merely physical beings living
in a purely physical world, we are spiritual beings living and
having experience towards perfection in a physical realm. This
is the awakening that with the grace of God, we will be able
to move away from meaninglessness in life. In this process
of awakening, we shall be able to realize the grandeur of our
Creator and the beauty of His creation which is our outer
purpose. This awakening will resonate with our innermost
fitrah (intrinsic nature of our being), as imprinted by God in
our spiritual self.
We witness the madness of the 21st century civilization

manifested in negative Inner Speech that finally resulted in
the fragmented, unhappy and unjust world. Let us now begin
by living in the Spirit of Tawhid (the concept of oneness of
God) and the interconnectedness of all existence.
558 POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY Epilogue
This interconnectedness of our spiritual, emotional,

mental and physical self, towards all creatures and in the
universe will finally lead us to the Source, the one and only
Creator, Allah the Almighty.
May Allah the Almighty shower us with Divine love,

grace, mercy and guidance and accept our humble work.
We also seek that Allah the All-Loving shower His love and
blessings on us, our readers and the practitioners of Positive
Islamic Psychology till the end of time.
We ask you, O’ God, the Most Merciful and Most Forgiving

to pardon us for any of our thoughts or statements that is
untrue. We ask you, O’ God, to clean our hearts from the
disease of arrogance, self-aggrandizement, egotism and pride.
Let us pray to the Lord of the Universe who sent the final
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as a mercy to all the worlds.
Peace and blessings of Allah SWT be upon our beloved

Prophet Muhammad SAW who received the Divine light and
transmitted this light to all of humanity until the end of time.
Ameen!
Online Certification Life Coach Training Program 559
ONLINE CERTIFICATION LIFE COACH

TRAINING PROGRAM
OBJECTIVES:
1. Provide training programs to certify PIP Life Coaches

throughout the world
2. Set up a pool of PIP Life Coaches as volunteers to

transform the Ummah
3. Help create a flourishing Muslim Ummah
BENEFITS:
1. Transform yourself: attain Peace, Happiness &

Success in this life and the hereafter
2. Become a certified PIP Life Coach
3. Build a career as a PIP Life Coach
4. Help the Ummah: Conduct programs for parents,

schools, institutes & communities
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
1. Any person interested in dakwah
2. University students
3. Youth Activists
4. NGO Activists
5. Parents
6. Teachers
7. Care givers
8. Coaches
9. Corporate Trainers
10. Psychologists
11. Managers
12. Counselors
REQUIREMENTS FOR ONLINE CERTIFICATION

LIFE COACH TRAINING PROGRAM:
1. Purchase the PIP handbook, either hardcopy /

softcopy
Hardcopy: USD 30, Softcopy online purchase:

USD 10 per copy
Study the PIP handbook as per the training

program content at your own pace and time
2. There are 4 areas of specialization as provided

below;
a). a). Certified Coach for Children & Family

Achievers (CCCFA)
b). Certified Coach for Youth Achieers (CCYA)
c). Certified Coach in Community Development

(CCCD)
d). Certified Coach in Islamic Psychology

Counseling (CCIPC)
3. Select one (1) of the above mentioned topics as your

area of specialization.
Example, CCFA / CCCD / CCYA / CCIPC.
4. Select 30 videos from our YouTube channel (Islamic

Psychology PIP) which are related to your chosen
Topics-There are 589 videos. You can also view
other YouTube Channels at;
Islamic Psychology PIP - 600 + Videos
Islamic Motivation PIP -169 videos
Islamic Coaching PIP - 200+ videos
Islamic Mentoring PIP - 22 videos
Islamic Counseling PIP - 332 Videos
Ruqyah IIH - 69 videos
5. Based on the topics and videos that you have been

selected as for your field/s of specialization. Next,
prepare your assignments / projects according to
the topics and videos that you have chosen.
6. The assignment or project at least 30 slides

summary in power point presentation form.
7. You are required to do 1 /2 practicum / practical

actual project with your client or group or family
member. Show proof via pictures and video or
YouTube.
8. Submit your assignment / project to our office

through email / whatsaapp.
9. Your assignment / project Power point slides and

practicum will be checked by Life Coach Mentor.
Life Coach Mentor will provide feedback to your

assignment / project and practicum.
10. Upon completion, Khalifah Education Foundation

and Positive Islamic Psychology Centre will be
awarded you PIP Life Coach Certification. Sample
of certificate will be attached / uploaded in our
website: www.islamicpsychology.net.
You can also visit our website and email at;
1. www.islamicpsychology.net
2. islamicpsychology17@gmail.com
REQUIREMENTS FOR ONLINE CERTIFICATION

LIFE COACH TRAINING PROGRAM:
1. Purchase the PIP handbook, either hardcopy /

softcopy
• Hardcopy: USD 30, Softcopy online purchase: USD

10 per copy
• Study the PIP handbook as per the training program

content at your own pace and time
2. There are 4 areas of specialization as provided

below;
a). Certified Coach specialization: Children &

Family Achievers (CCFA)
b). Certified Coach for Youth Achievers (CCYA)

(CCCD)
d). Certified Coach in Islamic Psychology

Counseling (CCIPC)
3. Select one (1) of the above mentioned topics as your

area of specialization.
Example, CCFA / CCCD / CCYA / CCIPC.
4. Select 30 videos from our YouTube channel (Islamic

Psychology PIP) which are related to your chosen
Topics-There are 589 videos. You can also view
other YouTube Channels at;
Islamic Psychology PIP - 600 Videos
Islamic Motivation PIP - 169 videos
Islamic Coaching PIP - 200+ videos
Islamic Mentoring PIP - 22 videos
Islamic Counseling PIP - 300+ Videos
Ruqyah IIH - 69 videos
5. Based on the topics and videos that you have been

selected as for your field/s of specialization. Next,
prepare your assignments / projects according to
the topics and videos that you have chosen.
6. The assignment or project at least 30 slides

summary in power point presentation form.
7. You are required to do 1 /2 practicum / practical

actual project with your client or group or family
member. Show proof via pictures and video or
YouTube.
8. Submit your assignment / project to our office

through email / whatsaapp.
9. Your assignment / project Power point slides and

practicum will be checked by Life Coach Mentor.
Life Coach Mentor will provide feedback to your
assignment / project and practicum.
10. Upon completion, Khalifah Education Foundation

and Positive Islamic Psychology Centre will be
awarded you PIP Life Coach Certification. Sample
of certificate will be attached / uploaded in our
website: www.islamicpsychology.net.
You can also visit our website and email at;
1. www.islamicpsychology.net
2. islamicpsychology17@gmail.com
FLOW CHART

There are 4 areas of specialization as provided below;
a). Certified Coach specialization in children &

Family Achievers (CCFA)
b). Certified Coach for Youth Achievers (CCYA)

(CCCD)
d). Certified Coach in Islamic Psychology Counseling

(CCIPC)
Select one (1) of the above mentioned topics as your area

of specialization. Example, CCFA / CCFA / CCYA / CCIPC.
Select 30 videos from our YouTube channel (Islamic

Psychology PIP) which are related to your chosen Topics-
There are 589 videos. You can also view other YouTube
Channels at:
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POSITIVE ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY:

A TRANSCENDENT MODEL TO ACHIEVE PEACE,

A TRANSCENDENT MODEL TO ACHIEVE PEACE,

Khalifah Education Foundation &

© Khalifah Education Foundation &

All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced,

The book Positive Islamic Psychology: A Transcendent Model to Achieve

Khalifah Education Foundation (433502-X)

Positive Islamic Psychology Centre

ISBN No: 978-967-14074-0-0

Fine-Tuning of Biological Information in Living Matter 47

The Roles of Khalifah of God 136

Reward and Punishment 196

Differences in Inherent Human Potential, Tendencies

B. Practical Application of Contemplation and

Additional notes about CBT / Pi-CBT 451

The Role of Inner Speech: The Story of Yusuf 488

Spreading the Message of Islam Through the Khalifah

THE IMPORTANCE OF PROMOTING POSITIVE

1. This is the first Positive Islamic Psychology

2. Prof. Muhammad Al-Mahdi Jenkins’ deep research

3. This book is the result of 40 years of research done

4. By integrating modern psychology with traditional

5. Through his research, the late Prof. Jenkins

6. Please view our websites:

a. Islamic Psychology PIP

b. Islamic Motivation PIP

c. Islamic Coaching PIP

d. Islamic Mentoring PIP

e. Islamic Counseling PIP

I have been a friend and an admirer of the late Professor

Many Muslim psychologists speak and write on the

doing what is correct rather than the usually followed way of

As he was diligently working, joining days with nights to

Allah Ta’ala rewarded this great pioneer by seeing his

Centre who completed his writing. It took 601 pages to

Positive Psychology together with a manual for parents

If there is any criticism that I wish to mention, it would

All praise and gratitude belong to Allah, the Almighty

To my late Mother Madam Waznah and My Late father

Azimullah who brought me up with great difficulties yet

To my dearest beloved wife, Fatimabibi, with whom

To my beloved sister Fatimah who sacrificed her personal

To my beloved children; Safiyyah, Aisha, Syazana,

Mohammad, Azizi, Anis, and my grandchildren;

To all my brothers, Ekram, Rasheed, Ahmad and Aslam

To my friend, mentor and co-author; the late Professor

To my co-trustees of Khalifah Institute; Professor Dr.

To my late teachers, Ustadh Pak Maan, Ustadh Haji

To all our research assistants who put hearts and

Abdul Razak Ricardo, Umar, Qamarul, Abdul Mutallib,

and guide them towards practical implementation of Positive

To all my friends and office staff especially brothers Rosli,

To Professor Dr Malik Badri, the world renowned and

May we all implement the principles of Positive Islamic

Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Azimullah,

All praise be to God, the Lord of the universe, May He add

In essence, psychology is the study of the human self