Introduction: A Field Rich in Wisdom, Poor in Evidence
I want to begin with an uncomfortable truth.
Islamic psychology possesses one of the richest intellectual heritages of any approach to human flourishing. From Abu Zayd al-Balkhi's 9th-century descriptions of anxiety and depression—a millennium before Western psychology named these constructs—to the sophisticated soul-care models developed by scholars across the Islamic Golden Age, our tradition has never lacked for psychological insight.
And yet, when contemporary researchers conduct systematic reviews of Islamic psychology interventions—searching through decades of published literature—they find almost nothing that meets basic standards of clinical evidence.
This is not an attack on the field. This is a call to take our own work seriously enough to subject it to scrutiny.
Islamic psychology's credibility problem is not primarily theological or even practical—it is empirical. Until we address this void, we remain vulnerable to dismissal by the very institutions and professionals we seek to influence. More importantly, we cannot claim with confidence that what we do actually works.
What the Systematic Reviews Reveal
In 2025, Munawar and colleagues published a systematic review of Islamically modified cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) in Spirituality in Clinical Practice (Munawar et al., 2025). Their aim was to determine whether iCBT could be considered an "empirically supported treatment." They searched ten major databases, covering all published literature on the topic.
The findings were sobering. While the handful of available studies showed that Islamically modified interventions produced faster improvements in anxiety and depressive symptoms compared to secular approaches, the researchers concluded that the evidence base was too thin to designate iCBT as empirically supported. The studies that did exist were small, methodologically limited, and geographically narrow.
This was not an isolated finding. In the same year, Anlı's systematic review of positive psychology practices in Muslim communities—published in the Journal of Religion and Health—applied rigorous inclusion criteria to the literature from 2000 to 2024 (Anlı, 2025). Out of the initial pool of studies, only four met the criteria for inclusion. Sample sizes ranged from 10 to 60 participants. The author's recommendation was direct: the field urgently needs "thorough randomized controlled trials."
Perhaps most revealing is Elzamzamy and colleagues' 2024 scoping review of contemporary scholarship on classical Islamic psychology, published in the Journal of Muslim Mental Health (Elzamzamy et al., 2024). They reviewed 132 works across Arabic, English, and Turkish. The majority focused on historical and theoretical contributions—recovering the insights of al-Ghazali, Ibn Sina, al-Balkhi, and others. Far fewer attempted to translate these insights into testable clinical frameworks.
Islamic psychology excels at theory and struggles with evidence. The field produces rich conceptual frameworks rooted in centuries of scholarship, but almost none of these have been translated into testable clinical interventions with adequate empirical support.
Why This Gap Exists
I want to resist the temptation to blame external forces entirely. While structural barriers are real, we must also examine our own assumptions.
Structural Barriers
Three interrelated barriers have prevented the accumulation of clinical evidence:
These barriers compound each other. Without funding, there is no training infrastructure. Without trained researchers, there are no studies. Without studies in recognized databases, the field appears empty—and the cycle continues.
Epistemological Tensions
Beyond structural barriers lies a deeper tension. Some within the field question whether Western empirical methods are even appropriate for evaluating Islamic psychology.
This concern is not without merit. The randomized controlled trial emerged from a particular philosophical tradition—one that privileges quantification, isolates variables, and assumes that interventions can be standardized across contexts. Islamic psychology, rooted in a holistic understanding of the human being as body, soul, and spirit, may resist such reduction.
I take this concern seriously. And I also believe it can become an excuse.
— Imam Ali (A.S.), Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 147
The early Muslim scholars were not opposed to evidence. Imam Ali (A.S.) honours demonstrated competence. The Qur'an itself provides the clearest directive:
— Qur'an, 17:36
The Islamic intellectual tradition has always valued verification over assumption. The question is not whether to seek evidence, but what forms of evidence are appropriate and how we interpret them.
Why This Matters
For Clinical Credibility
Mental health professionals operate within systems that demand evidence. Insurance companies, regulatory bodies, and interdisciplinary colleagues all ask the same question: does this work?
When Islamic psychology cannot answer that question with rigorous data, it gets relegated to the margins—labeled "cultural accommodation" rather than recognized as a legitimate therapeutic orientation. Clinicians who integrate Islamic approaches into their practice may find themselves unable to articulate their effectiveness in terms their colleagues and institutions recognize.
This matters for the clients we serve. If Islamic psychology is genuinely therapeutic—and I believe it is—then our failure to document that effectiveness limits how many people can access it.
For Community Trust
Muslim communities are increasingly aware of mental health discourse. Many are seeking practitioners who understand their faith. But they are also, rightly, skeptical of claims that cannot be substantiated.
When we assert that Islamic practices promote healing without being able to point to evidence, we ask for trust on faith alone. For many, this is sufficient. But for others—particularly those navigating the intersection of religious tradition and contemporary science—it is not enough. And when they encounter practitioners who can offer evidence, they will understandably gravitate there.
For Intellectual Honesty
There is a final reason, and it may be the most important.
We do not actually know, with the confidence that rigorous research provides, whether many of our interventions work as we claim they do. We have clinical intuition, theological conviction, and centuries of tradition. These are not nothing. But they are also not the same as controlled observation.
It is possible that some of what we do is less effective than we believe. It is possible that some of it is more effective. Without evidence, we cannot distinguish between the two. And intellectual honesty requires that we acknowledge this.
— Imam Ali (A.S.), Letter 31 to Imam Hasan (A.S.), Nahj al-Balagha
Wishing that our interventions work is not the same as knowing that they do. If we take our tradition seriously, we must hold ourselves to the same standard of intellectual rigor that our scholars exemplified.
A Path Forward
I do not offer this critique from a position of detachment. I am a practitioner. I work with Shia Muslim clients. I integrate Islamic principles into clinical practice daily. And I believe we can do better.
1For Researchers
The field needs studies that meet basic methodological standards:
- Adequate sample sizes—studies with 10–60 participants cannot establish generalizable findings
- Control conditions that allow us to attribute outcomes to the intervention rather than the passage of time
- Standardized measures that enable comparison across studies
- Replication—single studies establish possibilities, replicated findings establish evidence
This does not mean abandoning qualitative research or indigenous methodologies. It means complementing them with approaches that the broader field recognizes.
2For Practitioners
Clinicians can contribute even without conducting formal research:
- Systematic case documentation—recording presenting concerns, interventions used, and outcomes observed
- Outcome tracking with standardized measures that generate aggregable data
- Collaboration with academic researchers who have methodological expertise
These practices bridge the gap between clinical insight and research rigor.
3For Institutions
Organizations serving Muslim communities—clinics, mosques, Islamic centers—can prioritize this work through funding pilot studies, creating research partnerships with universities, and cultivating institutional cultures that value evidence alongside tradition.
4For the Field
Perhaps most importantly, we need to shift how we talk about Islamic psychology's relationship to evidence. The choice is not between Western empiricism and Islamic authenticity. It is between knowing and hoping—and our tradition has always valued the former.
Conclusion: The Work Ahead
The empirical void is not a verdict on Islamic psychology's value. It is an invitation to demonstrate that value in terms the contemporary world can recognize—a call to move from assertion to evidence, from conviction to confirmation.
Islamic psychology stands at a crossroads.
We have inherited an intellectual tradition of extraordinary depth. From the classical scholars who first articulated models of the soul to the contemporary practitioners adapting these insights for clinical work, our field possesses resources that Western psychology is only beginning to recognize.
But inheritance alone is insufficient. The scholars we venerate did not merely receive knowledge—they tested it, refined it, and transmitted it with integrity. To honor their legacy, we must do the same.
The empirical void is not a verdict on Islamic psychology's value. It is an invitation to demonstrate that value in terms the contemporary world can recognize. It is a call to move from assertion to evidence, from conviction to confirmation.
This work will not be easy. It requires collaboration across disciplines, investment from institutions, and a willingness among practitioners to subject our intuitions to scrutiny. It requires humility—the acknowledgment that we may not yet know what we think we know.
But it is work worth doing. Because if Islamic psychology offers what I believe it does—genuine pathways to healing grounded in divine wisdom—then our clients, our communities, and our profession deserve to know it with confidence.
May our efforts be accepted, our intentions purified, and our work be of service to those who seek wholeness through both faith and healing.