Alizi Alias

Department of Psychology

International Islamic University Malaysia

Jalan Gombak

53100 Kuala Lumpur

03-20565096

alizi@iiu.edu.my

Hariyati Shahrima Abdul Majid (Dr.)

Department of Psychology

International Islamic University Malaysia

Jalan Gombak

53100 Kuala Lumpur

03-20565146

hari_iium@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

The objective of this paper is to provide an Islamic perspective on the psychology of learning.  This is a theoretical paper based on reviews of past secondary sources of Islamic and psychology literature.  First, the paper will provide an Islamic overview on the concept of learning which are divided into two sources: directly from God (ilahiyyah) and through human experience (insaniyyah). God sources can be in a form of revelation (wahy), inspiration (ilham), and true dream (ru’ya sadiqah).  Human experiences can be in a form of conditioning, observation, and cognition.  Second, the paper will evaluate the contemporary learning theories from an Islamic perspective.  The theories that will be discussed are classical conditioning theory, operant conditioning theory, observational learning theory, and insight learning theory.  The Islamic perspectives will include Qur’anic verses, Prophetic Hadiths, stories of the Prophets and Companions, and the work of early Muslim scholars such as Ibn Sina and al-Ghazali using terms familiar to contemporary psychology.  Third, the paper will suggest an integrated model of learning from an Islamic perspective which includes the element of soul as an important variable.  Finally, based on the integrated model, the paper will describe an Islamically-oriented application of learning principles in the area of clinical psychology particularly the problem of alcoholism during the Prophet era.  In the end, the paper intends to show that understanding the principles of learning can leads us to appreciate more the oneness and greatness of Allah and helps us fulfil our role as his servant (`ibadah role) in a better way.  In addition, the paper also intend to show that applying the principles of learning can help us fulfil our role as the vicegerent of Allah (khilafah role) by improving the effectiveness of our da`wah (propagating Islam) and tarbiyyah (educational training).    

Paper presented at the 3rd International Seminar on Learning and Motivation (10-12 September 2005)  organised by Faculty of Cognitive Sciences & Education
Universiti Utara Malaysia at City Bayview Hotel, Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia 

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