قاعدة لا مشاحة في الاصطلاح واعتمادها في مجال علم النفس الإسلامي

Abstract

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May peace and blessings be upon the master of all creation, and upon his family, his companions, and those who follow them in righteousness until the Day of Judgment. To proceed:

Islamic psychology, as a compound term, by its wording and meaning indicates the consideration of Islam (the Qur’an and Sunnah, along with the recognized evidences derived from them) as one of the primary sources in dealing with the human self. The term “self” (nafs) encompasses thoughts, emotions, behaviors, values, and convictions. This is alongside what general or Western psychology has acknowledged as sources of knowledge such as reason, observation, and experimentation—while emphasizing the necessity of restricting experimental methods in accordance with the legitimate rights of individuals under Islamic law.

Since the qualifier “Islamic” obliges those who adopt it to rely upon established principles and foundational rules in understanding the terminology and expressions of the Divine Lawgiver in the Noble Qur’an and in the comprehensive sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon him), as authentically transmitted, it also requires a sound understanding of the Arabic language, its lexical meanings, and the contexts of its usage—an element of utmost importance.

Indeed, the Arab and Islamic world faces genuine difficulty in translating works of the human and social sciences from their original languages—English, French, Indian, Russian, and Chinese—without due consideration of the technical terminology and its semantic implications.