Positive Psychology and the Concept of Happiness in Islam: An Integration between Al-Ghazaliʿs Ihyāʿ ʿUlūm al-Dīn and Modern Psychological Theory

Abstract

The question of happiness — its nature, sources, and conditions — stands at the intersection of philosophy, theology, and psychology. In the Islamic intellectual tradition, the most sophisticated treatment of this question is found in the work of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058–1111 CE), whose encyclopaedic Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din (Revivification of the Religious Sciences) devotes substantial attention to the concept of sa'adah (happiness) and its relationship to the purification and cultivation of the human soul. Contemporary positive psychology — inaugurated by Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) and developed through models including Seligman's PERMA, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and Frankl's logotherapy — has produced an extensive empirical and theoretical literature on human flourishing. This study conducts a systematic interdisciplinary analysis integrating Al-Ghazali's concept of sa'adah with these four major positive psychology frameworks, examining convergences, divergences, and the possibilities for theoretical synthesis. Drawing on a systematic literature review of 64 classical and contemporary sources (2018–2025), the study identifies eight maqamat al-sa'adah (stations of happiness) in Al-Ghazali's framework — 'ilm (divine knowledge), akhlaq (moral virtue), mujahadah (spiritual struggle), tawakkul (trust in God), sabr (patience), mahabbah (love of God), zuhd (detachment), and shukr (gratitude) — and demonstrates that each has measurable parallels in empirical positive psychology research. Five areas of substantial convergence are identified: the centrality of meaning and purpose, the role of virtue and character strengths, the importance of social bonds, the value of gratitude practices, and the necessity of resilience through hardship. Three fundamental divergences are also identified: the theocentric grounding of Islamic happiness, its eschatological orientation, and its integration of the spiritual dimension as structurally indispensable rather than optional. The study proposes the concept of Integrated Theocentric Wellbeing (ITW) as a synthesis framework that preserves Islamic psychology's metaphysical commitments while engaging productively with the empirical insights of modern positive psychology.

Keywords: Islamic positive psychology; sa'adah; Al-Ghazali; Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din; PERMA model; logotherapy; wellbeing; happiness; fithrah; tazkiyah