Courses
Classical Islamic scholarship has long emphasised the
intricate relationship between the heart (qalb) and the body (jawariḥ),
suggesting that one’s inner spiritual state and outward physical actions
mutually influence one another. The principle that bodily acts influence the
heart occupies a central place in classical Islamic thought. The 14th-century
scholar Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328) wrote, “What occurs in the body through words
and actions also affects what is in the heart; each of them influences the
other. But the heart is the origin and the body its branch. The branch draws
from its origin, and the origin is strengthened and stabilised through its
branch” (Majmuʿ al-Fatawa, 7/541). His student Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 1350)
elaborated this dynamic, asserting that physical obedience purifies the heart,
while sin and heedlessness darken it.
This reciprocal model challenges the reductionist view that morality or spirituality originates solely within the inner self. Instead, it proposes a cyclical process: the heart inspires righteous action, and those actions, in turn, refine and fortify the heart. The Qur’an itself echoes this concept: “O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you, that you may become righteous” (Q 2:183). Here, a bodily act-fasting-becomes a means for cultivating piety, demonstrating that physical discipline can transform the inner moral landscape.
Contemporary psychology increasingly affirms what these
scholars intuited centuries ago: cognition and emotion are not confined to the
brain but are embodied processes shaped by physical experience. Gallagher
(2023) describes cognition as “enactive”-arising through dynamic interactions
between body, environment, and consciousness. Recent educational and
neuroscientific research shows that bodily activity such as gesture, movement,
or sensory engagement enhances understanding and emotional regulation (Zeng et
al., 2024).
The parallels with Islamic teachings are striking. When a
believer engages the body in worship-standing, bowing, and prostrating-the act
itself becomes a form of embodied cognition, reinforcing humility, focus, and
devotion. Such rituals do not merely symbolise faith; they cultivate it. This
aligns with empirical findings that intentional physical postures can influence
emotional states, suggesting that bodily discipline, far from being a
peripheral aspect of spirituality, is essential to its development.
Modern clinical psychology offers further evidence through the theory of behavioural activation (BA), a intervention for ‘depression’ and emotional dysregulation. The central premise of BA is that deliberate engagement in meaningful activity-even when motivation is absent-can restore emotional vitality. Takagaki and Yokoyama (2024) found that avoidance behaviour among university students predicted greater depressive symptoms, while consistent engagement in purposeful actions mediated recovery. Similarly, Alber et al. (2023) demonstrated that online behavioural activation programs significantly reduced depressive symptoms across populations.
This modern framework mirrors Ibn Taymiyyah’s spiritual
psychology. Just as behavioural activation teaches that “doing” precedes
“feeling,” Ibn Taymiyyah asserted that bodily obedience nourishes and
strengthens the heart. The act of prayer, charity, or fasting can precede and
produce sincere emotion, not merely express it. Both traditions converge on the
insight that right action can generate right feeling-that discipline precedes
delight, and obedience cultivates inner peace.
Gaze Regulation and the Psychology of Attention
Ibn al-Qayyim dedicated an entire chapter to the effects of
ghaḍ al-naẓar (lowering the gaze) on the heart, describing how refraining from
forbidden sights “brings intimacy to the heart, strengthens it, and grants
insight.” Contemporary psychological research on gaze control supports these
claims. Han and Eckstein (2023) demonstrated that intentional control of eye
movements enhances inferential and attentional processes. Similarly, studies on
social anxiety reveal that gaze aversion and visual focus directly modulate
emotional arousal and self-regulation (University of Leiden, 2023).
In essence, how one directs physical attention-where one
looks-shapes internal experience. By consciously regulating gaze, individuals
practice attentional discipline, cultivating emotional composure and moral
awareness. Concept of spiritual firasah (insight) aligns with this: purified
perception arises not only from intellectual reflection but from embodied
restraint.
Taken together, these perspectives illustrate a profound
harmony between Islamic spiritual psychology and sound contemporary empirical
science. Both propose a bi-directional model of human transformation: the inner
self shapes bodily behaviour, and bodily behaviour refines the inner self.
Fasting, prayer, and gaze regulation, as described in Islamic texts, find
modern analogues in behavioural activation, mindfulness, and attentional
training.
Recent neuroscience and embodied cognition research further affirm that repeated physical actions can rewire neural pathways and emotional responses (Tang et al., 2023). This suggests that spiritual practices, far from being mere symbolic gestures, engage neurobiological systems that shape resilience, compassion, and self-control. The believer’s journey, then, becomes both a spiritual and physiological process-a feedback loop between action and heart.
References
Alber, C. S., Krämer, L. V., Rosar, S. M., & Mueller-Weinitschke, C. (2023). Internet-based behavioural activation for depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10251223/
Gallagher, S. (2023). Embodied and enactive approaches to
cognition. Cambridge University Press.
Han, N. X., & Eckstein, M. P. (2023). Inferential eye movement control while following dynamic gaze. eLife, 12, e83187. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.83187
Takagaki, K., & Yokoyama, S. (2024). Association between
the behavioural activation mechanism and depression severity: Focusing on
avoidance patterns of university students. Behavioural Sciences, 14(8), 713.
https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14080713
Tang, Y. Y., Posner, M. I., & Hölzel, B. K. (2023).
Mechanisms of mindfulness meditation and embodied cognition: From neural
plasticity to emotion regulation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 24(3), 210–223.
University of Leiden. (2023, April). Why avoid my gaze?
Gaze
behaviour and social anxiety.
https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2023/04/why-avoid-my-gaze
Zeng, X., Liu, Q., & Jia, H. (2024). Embodied cognition
in education: A meta-analytic review of sensorimotor learning. Educational
Psychology Review, 36(2), 219–242.
Ibn Taymiyyah, A. (n.d.). Majmuʿ al-Fatawa (Vol. 7, p. 541).
Ibn al-Qayyim, A. (n.d.). al-Wabil al-Ṣayyib min al-Kalim
al-Ṭayyib; al-Jawab al-Kafī li-man saʾala ʿan al-Dawaʾ al-Shafī.
Courses
