Reconstructing Sama‘ as a Relational Psychospiritual Experience: A Phenomenological Study of Inner Peace and Musical Engagement
Intan Purnama Sari, Fikri Mahzumi, Nur Hidayat Wakhid Udin, Reda Ibrahim Abdelgalil
Journal of Islamic Studies and Civilization July 21, 2026 DOI: 10.61680/jisc.v4i1.79 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 12 |
| Population | Students of Sufism and Psychotherapy at UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya (12 purposively selected from 34 screened) |
| Key findings | Participants described inner peace as a shift from mental clutter, fatigue, confusion, or emotional intensity toward focus, lightness, calmness, and psychological order. The authors argue that music facilitated engagement while attention mediated the transformation, and that sama‘ is best understood as a relational psychospiritual experience shaped by subjective states, musical engagement, attention, and interpretation rather than by musical genre alone. |
Abstract
Although sama‘ is widely discussed as a Sufi practice, limited research explains how listeners themselves experience and construct inner peace through musical engagement. This study addresses this gap by examining sama‘ as a lived psychospiritual experience rather than as an inherent effect of Sufi music. Using Edmund Husserl’s transcendental phenomenology, the study screened 34 students of Sufism and Psychotherapy at UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya and purposively selected 12 participants for semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed through epoché, phenomenological reduction, eidetic variation, and synthesis of essences. Inner peace emerged through a transformation from mental clutter, fatigue, confusion, or emotional intensity toward greater focus, lightness, calmness, and psychological order. Music facilitated engagement, while attention mediated experiential transformation and meaning-making generated diverse spiritual orientations, including dhikr, tafakkur, tawakkul, and remembrance. Sama‘ is best understood as a relational psychospiritual experience shaped by subjective states, musical engagement, attention, and interpretation, rather than by musical genre alone.