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

Special Issue: Faith-Informed Mental Wellbeing and Resilience

The QALB Model of the Self: A Qur'ānic Psychospiritual Framework

https://doi.org/10.55831/ajis.v11i1.1467

Published 11.04.2026

Zuleyha Keskin
Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation, Charles Sturt University, Australia

Abstract

This article proposes the QALB model (Qurʾānic Approach to the Living Being), a Qurʾān-centred framework for understanding the human self. Drawing upon Qurʾānic descriptions of the inner life, the model conceptualises the human being through the dynamic interaction of four interrelated faculties: rūḥ (spirit), the qalb (heart), nafs (self), and ʿaql (intellect). The framework is grounded in the epistemological primacy of revelation waḥy (revelation) and informed by tadabbur (reflective engagement with the Qurʾān), together with the concept of fiṭrah (innate nature) and the realities of lived human experience. Building on this foundation, the article outlines a Qurʾānic account of the dynamics of the self and examines the mechanisms through which inner transformation occurs. Practices emphasised in the Qurʾān such as dhikr (remembrance), tawakkul (trust), ṣabr (patience), shukr (gratitude), and duʿāʾ(supplication) are explored as processes that gradually bring the inner faculties into greater harmony through the qalb. The model ultimately situates the human being within a teleological orientation in which the cultivation of taqwā gives rise to the state of inner peace described in the Qurʾān as ṭumaʾnīnah. The QALB model offers a conceptual framework for understanding psychospiritual transformation within a coherent Qurʾānic anthropology.

Keywords

QALB model, Islamic psychology, inner peace, model of the self, Qur’ānic model, qalb

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