Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

Vol. 11 No. 1 (2026)
Special Issue: Faith-Informed Mental Wellbeing and Resilience

Special Issue: Faith-Informed Mental Wellbeing and Resilience

The Metaphysics of Emotion: Said Nursi’s Contribution to Positive Psychology

https://doi.org/10.55831/ajis.v11i1.1255

Published 07.04.2026

Abstract

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (d. 1960) is one of the most influential theologians of the modern Islamic world. Although he did not write a dedicated work on psychology or wellbeing, both themes are interwoven throughout his Magnum Opus, the Risale-i Nur (Epistle of Light). Having endured persecution, imprisonment, exile, and constant surveillance for approximately 35 years under Jacobin-style secularism, Nursi developed and practised a form of positive psychology not only in theory but also in his daily life. This positive psychology is reflected in his concept of nazar (positive outlook) and müspet hareket (positive action), which shaped his social relations even with oppressors and adversaries. In addition, Nursi formulated a methodology for regulating emotions. He argues that each person possesses thousands of emotions, each with two dimensions – figurative and real – and every emotion is inherently infinite and cannot be satisfied by finite objects. When emotions are not directed toward the purposes for which they were created, a human being cannot attain genuine or lasting happiness in the mind, soul, or heart. Nursi’s understanding of positive psychology is firmly grounded in Qur’anic metaphysics and traditional Islamic ethics. This article first offers a brief overview of positive psychology, which is discussed under the concept of husnu zann (positive thinking), ilmun nafs (carnal soul), ruh (soul), sa’adah (happiness), and qalb (heart). It then examines Nursi’s conception of positive psychology and its manifestation in his daily life. Finally, it explores how Nursi regulated and rationalised his emotions during the most challenging periods of his life.

Keywords

positive psychology, Islam and positive psychology, Said Nursi, regulating emotions, metaphysics of emotion

PDF

References

  1. Abdulkadir, Serdar. “Psikolojide Haset ve Kıskançlık” [Jealousy and Envy in Psychology]. Risale Haber. Accessed December 31, 2025. https://www.risalehaber.com/bilal-tanriverdi-psikolojide-haset-ve-kiskanclik-25642yy.htm.
  2. Conversano, Ciro, Alessandro Rotondo, Elena Lensi, Olivia Della Vista, Francesca Arpone and Mario Antonio Reda. “Optimism and its Impact on Mental and Physical Well-Being.” Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health 6 (2010): 25–29. https://doi.org/10.2174/1745017901006010025.
  3. Elias, Abu Amina. “Hadith on Hasad: Faith and Envy never Coexist in Heart.” November 2, 2012. Accessed April 4, 2026. https://www.abuaminaelias.com/dailyhadithonline/2012/11/02/iman-never-combined/.
  4. Halman, Talat S. “Turkish Humanism and the Poetry of Yunus Emre.” Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi 6, no. 10–11 (1968): 231–240. Accessed December 15, 2025. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/783236.
  5. Haque, Amber. “Psychology from Islamic Perspective: Contributions of Early Muslim Scholars and Challenges to Contemporary Muslim Psychologists.” Journal of Religion and Health 43 (2004): 357–77. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-004-4302-z.
  6. Keskin, Zuleyha. “Inner Peace in the Life of Said Nursi.” Australian Journal of Islamic Studies 4, no. 3 (2019): 52–66. https://doi.org/10.55831/ajis.v4i3.24.
  7. Lala, Ismail, and Reham Alwazzan. “Transcendental Happiness in the Thought of Ibn Sina and Ibn Arabi.” Religions 14 (2023): 729. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14060729.
  8. Mikulincer, Mario, and Phillip R. Shaver. “The Attachment Behavioral System in Adulthood: Activation, Psychodynamics, and Interpersonal Processes.” Psychological Inquiry 18, no. 3 (2007): 133–54.
  9. Nabil, Ahmad, M. F. M. Tahir, Nur Sakinah Thomas, and Hakan Gülerce. “Said Nursi’s Psycho-Spiritual Therapy for Psychological Reactions of Patients with Physical Illnesses.” IIUM Medical Journal Malaysia 18, no. 3 (2019): 180–86. https://doi.org/10.31436/imjm.v18i3.209.
  10. Nursi, Said. Al-Mathnawy al-Nuri: Seedbed of the Light. Translated by Huseyin Akarsu. Light, 2007.
  11. Nursi, Said. Damascus Sermon. Translated by Sukran Vahide. Sozler Nesriyat, 1996.
  12. Nursi, Said. Gleams. Translated by Huseyin Akarsu. Tugrah Books, 2008.
  13. Nursi, Said. The Letters. Translated by Hüseyin Akarsu. Light, 2007.
  14. Nursi, Said. The Rays Collection. Translated by Sukran Vahide. Accessed December 17, 2025. https://www.erisale.com/index.jsplocale=en#content.en.204.252.
  15. Nursi, Said. The Words. Translated by Huseyin Akarsu. The Light, 2005.
  16. Peterson, Christopher, and Martin E. P. Seligman. Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification. Oxford University Press, 2004.
  17. Al-Qushary. Lataif al-Isharat [Subtleties of the Allusions]. Accessed December 17, 2025. https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=3&tTafsirNo=108&tSoraNo=2&tAyahNo=155&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2.
  18. Rassool, Hussein. Islamic Psychology: Human Behaviour and Experience from an Islamic Perspective. Routledge, 2021.
  19. Rothman, Abdallah, Zeynep Betül Yücesoy, and Esra Yalçın. “Early Muslim Scholars’ Conceptions of Character Development and Contemporary Applications in Mental Health and Well-Being.” Journal of Muslim Mental Health 18, no. 1 (2024): 62–74.
  20. Seligman, Martin E. P. Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being. Free Press, 2011.
  21. Seligman, Martin E. P., and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. “Positive Psychology: An Introduction.” American Psychologist 55, no. 1 (2000): 5-14.
  22. Skinner, Rasjid. “An Islamic Approach to Psychology and Mental Health.” Mental Health, Religion & Culture 13, no. 6 (2010): 547–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2010.488441.
  23. Soleh, Achmad Khudori. “Al-Ghazali’s Concept of Happiness in the Alchemy of Happiness.” Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization 12, no. 2 (2002): 196–211.
  24. Soleh, Achmad Khudori, and M. Mufid. “The Meaning of Faqir in the Perspective of Sufism Imam Qusyairi An Naisaburi: Therapeutic Study of Stress Diseases.” International Journal of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences 7, no. 3 (2025): 1434–42.
  25. Sorularla Risale. “Guzel Goren Guzel Dusunur Guzel Dusunen Hayatindan Lezzet Alir Cumlesini Izah Eder Misiniz” [Can you Explain this Sentence “Those who see the Good in Things have Good Thoughts, and those who have Good Thoughts receive Pleasure from Life?”]. Accessed December 31, 2025. https://sorularlarisale.com/guzel-goren-guzel-dusunur-guzel-dusunen-hayatindan-lezzet-alir-cumlesini-izah-eder-misiniz.
  26. Yucel, Salih. “Purpose-Driven Life in Islam and Emotional Stability: Examining Said Nursi’s Perspective.” Australian Journal of Islamic Studies 9, no. 2 (2024): 19–36.
  27. Yucel, Salih. “Serving Islam Peacefully During the Aggression and Said Nursi’s Kalamisation of Positive Action for Social Harmony.” Australian Journal of Islamic Studies 3, no. 2 (2018): 53–67. https://doi.org/10.55831/ajis.v3i2.115.
  28. Yucel, Salih. “The Notion of ‘Husnu’l Zann’ or Positive Thinking in Islam.” International Journal of Humanities and Social Science 4, no. 6 (2014): 101–12.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.