Contemporary Scholarship on Classical Islamic Psychology: A Scoping Review

Abstract

The Islamic classical scholarly tradition is replete with literature on a wide range of psychological themes. In recent decades, there has been a surge in the study and re-evaluation of this classical literature considering modern psychology. The purpose of this review is to typologize and examine the prevalent themes and approaches in this contemporary body of scholarship engaging with classical Islamic psychological literature, and to highlight gaps and limitations. This literature review utilized a flexible search strategy through various national and regional databases using a wide range of keywords. The study included a total of 132 works in three languages: Arabic, English, and Turkish. The identified works were screened for inclusion based on their relevance to psychology and their focus on classical Islamic works. These works were organized according to a thematic typology developed by the authors into three categories: broad overviews, theory-oriented works, and application-oriented works. The review indicated a significant diversified interest in classical literature in relation to modern approaches to psychology. However, contemporary scholarship included a notable “championing” attitude towards classical literature with less prevalence of empirical explorations and practical applications. Certain classical scholars and treatises received significantly more attention than others in recent decades. The paper concludes by offering future directions for research in this domain.