The God Image Between Psychology and Sufism: An Integrative Framework for Islamic Psychology
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58344/locus.v5i4.5722Keywords:
image of God, psychology, Sufism, Islamic psychology, integrationAbstract
The image of God has significant implications for mental health and spiritual life. Despite its importance, scholarship on the God image remains largely dominated by Western Christian frameworks, with limited dialogue between psychological and Islamic-Sufi perspectives. This study addresses that gap through a comparative-integrative analysis of the concept, determinants, and mechanisms underlying the construction of the God image in contemporary psychology and Sufism. Using a library research method, selected classical and contemporary sources were examined through thematic comparative analysis to identify convergence, divergence, and complementarity between the two perspectives. The findings indicate three main points. First, both traditions understand the God image as a personal and relational experience of God that develops across the lifespan. Second, psychology explains the God image as shaped by early emotional attachment, psychological conditions, and sociocultural context, whereas Sufism views it as shaped by cognitive-spiritual capacity and divine disclosure. Third, although both traditions seek to foster a positive image of God, their approaches differ: psychology is oriented toward mental well-being, whereas Sufism is normative and transformative, through purification of the heart. The two perspectives are complementary, as psychology provides tools for assessing maladaptive God images, while Sufism offers guidance for reshaping them. This dialogue contributes to the development of Islamic psychology, particularly in formulating integrative theory and culturally sensitive psycho-spiritual interventions. Further empirical studies are needed to validate this integrative model, especially among Muslim populations in Indonesia.
References
Abu-Raiya, H., & Pargament, K. I. (2011). Empirically based psychology of Islam: Summary and critique of the literature. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 14(2), 93–115. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674670903426482
Al-Bukh?r?, M. I. (2001). ?a??? al-Bukh?r?. D?r ?awq al-Naj?h.
Al-Ghaz?l?, A. H. (1964). Maq?ad al-Asn? f? shar? ma??n? asm?? All?h al-?usn?. D?r al-Kutub al-?Ilmiyyah.
Al-Ghaz?l?, A. H. (1997). I?y?? ?ul?m al-d?n (Vols. I–IV). D?r al-Ma?rifah.
Al-Ghaz?l?, A. H. (2002). Mishk?t al-anw?r. D?r al-Kutub al-?Ilmiyyah.
Carroll, C., Booth, A., Leaviss, J., & Rick, J. (2013). "Best fit" framework synthesis: Refining the method. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 13(1), 37. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471- 2288-13-37
Cattani, A. (2015). Freud and religion: From Totem and Taboo to Moses and Monotheism
Chittick, W. C. (2005). Ibn ?Arab?: Heir to the prophets. Oneworld Publications.
Freud, S. (1927). The future of an illusion (W. D. Robson-Scott, Trans.). Hogarth Press.
Henrich, J., Heine, S. J., & Norenzayan, A. (2010). The weirdest people in the world? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 33(2–3), 61–83. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X0999152X
Hoffman, L. (2005). A developmental perspective on the God image. In R. H. Cox, B. Ervin-Cox, & L. Hoffman (Eds.), Spirituality and psychological health (pp. 129–147). Colorado School of Professional Psychology Press.
Hook, J. N. (2004). Diversity and the psychology of religion: Is psychology value-free? Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 23(3), 215–222.
Ibn ?Arab?, M. (1999). Al-Fut???t al-Makkiyyah (Vols. 1–4). D?r ??dir.
Jesson, J., Matheson, L., & Lacey, F. M. (2011). Doing your literature review: Traditional and systematic techniques. SAGE Publications.
Koenig, H. G., King, D. E., & Carson, V. B. (2012). Handbook of religion and health (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Lawrence, R. T. (1997). Measuring the image of God: The God Image Inventory and the God Image Scales. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 25(2), 214–226. https://doi.org/10.1177/009164719702500205
Lewis, H. D. (2021). Our experience of God. Routledge.
Lina, P., & Wijanarko, R. (2022). Faith in God as the source of goodness and religious moderation in Indonesia: A Christian moral perspective. International Journal of Indonesian Philosophy & Theology, 3(1), 40–52.
Moriarty, G. L., & Hoffman, L. (Eds.). (2007). God image handbook for spiritual counseling and psychotherapy: Research, theory, and practice. Haworth Pastoral Press
Rizzuto, A. M. (1979). The birth of the living God: A psychoanalytic study. University of Chicago Press.
Rizvi, M. A. K., & Hossain, M. Z. (2017). Relationship between religious belief and happiness: A systematic literature review. Journal of Religion and Health, 56(5), 1561–1582. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-016-0332-6
Rothman, A., & Coyle, A. (2018). Toward a framework for Islamic psychology and psychotherapy: An Islamic model of the soul. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 5(3), 177–194. https://doi.org/10.1037/scp0000170
Saroglu, V., & Munoz-Garcia, A. (2008). Individual differences in religion and spirituality: An issue of personality traits and/or values. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 47(1), 83–101. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2008.00393.x
Schaap-Jonker, H. (2018). The psychology of God image: Research, theory, and therapeutic implications. Brill.
Schaap-Jonker, H. (2023). The Questionnaire God Representations (QGR-34): Development and validation. Religions, 14(3), 412. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14030412
Skinner, R., & Tiliouine, H. (2015). Religion and wellbeing in Muslim majority countries. In L. Lambert & N. Pasha-Zaidi (Eds.), Positive psychology in the Middle East and North Africa (pp. 117–135). Springer.
Sulmasy, D. P. (2002). A biopsychosocial-spiritual model for the care of patients at the end of life. The Gerontologist, 42(Suppl. 3), 24–33. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/42.suppl_3.24
Utz, A. (2011). Psychology from the Islamic perspective. International Islamic Publishing House.
Worthington, E. L., Jr. (2011). Assessing and improving forgiveness, hope, and positive emotions. In R. Biswas-Diener (Ed.), Positive psychology as social change (pp. 227–251). Springer.
Tozer, A. W. (2022). The knowledge of the holy: The attributes of God: Their meaning in the Christian life.
Zinnbauer, B. J., & Pargament, K. I. (2005). Religiousness and spirituality. In R. F. Paloutzian & C. L. Park (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality (pp. 21–42). Guilford Press.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Rihab Said Aqil S
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC-BY-SA). that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
