Reconceptualizing Islamic Psychospiritual Counseling: A Qalbun-Centered Approach to Mental Health from Al-Ghazālī’s Perspective

Abstract

This study addresses the need for an Islamic psychospiritual counseling model that integrates spiritual, psychological, and moral dimensions based on an Islamic conception of human nature. It aims to reconstruct a psychospiritual counseling model through a Qalbun-Centered approach grounded in the thought of Imam al-Ghazālī. Using qualitative library research, the study examines Al-Ghazālī’s major works, particularly Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din and Kimiyā’ al-Sa‘ādah, alongside relevant scholarly literature. The findings indicate that al-qalb functions as the center of human consciousness, morality, and spirituality, while psychological disturbances may emerge from imbalances among al-qalb, al-nafs, al-‘aql, and al-ruh. Based on these insights, the study proposes a holistic Qalbun-Centered counseling model structured around tazkiyat al-nafs, encompassing takhalli, tahalli, and tajalli to facilitate psychospiritual well-being. The study contributes a conceptually integrated Islamic counseling framework that extends conventional psychological approaches by positioning spiritual purification and the transformation of the qalb as core mechanisms of counseling. The model has implications for the development of culturally and religiously responsive counseling practices, as well as for future empirical research on Islamic psychospiritual interventions.