Destiny and Mental Health: Reading Al Ghazali’s Tawakkal and Ibn Taymiyyah’s Ikhtiyar Through the Lens of Modern Psychology
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22373/jpi.v5i2.32419Keywords:
Tawakkal, Ikhtiyar, Al Ghazali, Ibn Taymiyyah, Islamic Psychology, Mental HealthAbstract
This article explores how classical Islamic concepts of destiny and human agency, as articulated in Al Ghazali’s concept of tawakkal and Ibn Taymiyyah’s concept of ikhtiyar, can be interpreted as psychospiritual resources for contemporary mental health. This study aims to clarify the theological and ethical meanings of tawakkal and ikhtiyar in their primary texts and to map their relevance to modern psychological frameworks related to coping, self-efficacy, and resilience. The research uses qualitative library research with a normative philosophical approach. Data were drawn from Al Ghazali’s Ihya Ulum al Din and Ibn Taymiyyah’s Majmu al Fatawa and were complemented by contemporary studies on religious coping and self-determination. Interpretative and hermeneutic analysis was used to synthesize arguments and translate them into a conceptual model relevant to mental health discourse. The analysis shows that Al Ghazali frames tawakkal as an active reliance on God after maximal effort that supports emotional stability and reduces excessive worry about outcomes. Ibn Taymiyyah positions ikhtiyar as responsible striving within divine decree that strengthens agency, autonomy, and self-efficacy while preventing fatalistic passivity. When integrated, tawakkal and ikhtiyar form a balanced psychospiritual coping pattern in which individuals pursue purposeful effort and then entrust results to God, thereby fostering resilience against anxiety, stress, and meaning related distress. This article proposes an integrative framework for Islamic counseling and character education through meaning making, structured striving, and reflective surrender as a sustainable model of mental well-being.
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