Meditation and Religion: Buddhist Practice and Islamic Contemplative Analogues
Misykat al-Anwar Jurnal Kajian Islam dan Masyarakat January 31, 2026 Ahmad Nubail, Lazuardi Fadhlan Arrazy, Zul Fadhli Sultani et al.
Meditation has become a global trend, often promoted as a therapeutic intervention, shifting its public perception from a religious tradition to a medicalized tool. This paper examines meditation in Buddhism as its primary focus, using Islamic traditions, particularly Sufism, as a comparative perspective. By clarifying key terms and conceptual meanings, it identifies both convergences and divergences between Buddhist meditation and selected Islamic practices. It also addresses the claim that 'there is no meditation in Islam,' while acknowledging that the two religions are not treated as equivalent or interchangeable frameworks.