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Contemplation: An Islamic Psychospiritual Study
Delving into the true meaning and experience of Islamic spirituality, based on a person’s awareness and recognition of his existence and place in Creation, Malik Badri reveals the limitations and contradictions of the current prevailing schools of psychology that deny the existence of the soul and perceive humans as mere machines acting on external stimuli. Combining the rich traditional Islamic wisdom with contemporary knowledge, the author advances a unique approach to the understanding of the human psyche and the self that gives a central position to meditation and contemplation as forms of worship in Islam. It is a book addressed to anyone who is interested in the Islamic approach towards the urgency felt by modern societies who are yearning for the rediscovery of the longforgotten and neglected spiritual aspects of their lives.
- GenresPsychologyIslam
136 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
41 people are currently reading
584 people want to read
About the author
Malik B. Badri
15books145followersMalik Babikr Badri Mohammed (16 February 1932 � 8 February 2021) was a Sudanese author and professor of psychology. He was the founder of the modern Islamic Psychology and published such influential books as The Dilemma of Muslim Psychologists and many others. He was sometimes affectionately called Baba Malik. He died on February 8, 2021, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He was the son of Babikr Bedri who had established the Ahfad University. He was married with 7 children.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
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December 9, 2016Buku ini wajar dibaca oleh sekalian kaum Melayu dan Islam. Pertamanya, sedikit sebanyak mampu meningkatkan semangat beragama terhadap Tuhan. Kedua, mampu menambahkan pengetahuan kita terhadap keindahan Perenungan-Tafakkur-Contemplation dalam kehidupan.
Saya boleh katakan, buku tulisan Dr. Badri ini bukanlah bacaan berat. Ia sebenarnya ditulis dalam Bahasa Arab berjudul Al-Tafakkur min al-Mushahadah ila al-Shuhud. Kemudian diterjemahkan kedalam Bahasa Inggeris. Walaupun isinya ringan, tetapi aspirasinya besar. Bagaimana kita mahu mengenepikan perihal spiritual, perihal kejiwaan, perihal hubungan berTuhan. Bagi kaum Muslimin, semua ini amatlah dekat dengan kita.
Jujur saya katakan, buku ini, walaupun tidak banyak, telah memberi impak yang kuat terhadap diri saya. Ia membuat saya fikir panjang. Saya terpaksa melihat semula ibadah-ibadah saya yang sebelum ini. Ia ibarat memberi roh semula kepada ibadah saya. It's rejunevate my soul!
Saya boleh katakan, buku tulisan Dr. Badri ini bukanlah bacaan berat. Ia sebenarnya ditulis dalam Bahasa Arab berjudul Al-Tafakkur min al-Mushahadah ila al-Shuhud. Kemudian diterjemahkan kedalam Bahasa Inggeris. Walaupun isinya ringan, tetapi aspirasinya besar. Bagaimana kita mahu mengenepikan perihal spiritual, perihal kejiwaan, perihal hubungan berTuhan. Bagi kaum Muslimin, semua ini amatlah dekat dengan kita.
Jujur saya katakan, buku ini, walaupun tidak banyak, telah memberi impak yang kuat terhadap diri saya. Ia membuat saya fikir panjang. Saya terpaksa melihat semula ibadah-ibadah saya yang sebelum ini. Ia ibarat memberi roh semula kepada ibadah saya. It's rejunevate my soul!
October 20, 2023
“a little science distances you from God but a lot of science brings you nearer to him�
A lovely easy read on psychology and contemplation is Islam vs the secular world.
A lovely easy read on psychology and contemplation is Islam vs the secular world.
September 5, 2013
"The world is expanding"- Alvy (Woody Allen), Annie Hall
"We have built the heavens with might and indeed We shall make them wider" (Quran 35:47)
This book is about the spiritual aspect to todays very fundamental religion; Islam.
It tries to frame the importance of Contemplation and differentiate the spirituality of Islamic beliefs in regards to meditative spirituality.
In Islam, contemplation is not submissions, but rather to invoke a sense of reflection to life, death and God. But due to the constraint of English as compared to the fluidity of the Arabic language the word Takaffur in relation to God's essence that the depth of its meaning gets lost in translation.
The book argues the Western development to Science and Psychology and try to remind Muslim practitioners how at one point in history, the Muslim World had developed civilization in contemplation to God rather than as a separate practice to enriching the soul.
The author feels that we need to reconcile The Soul and The Body to answer the plights of modern society and that when we adapt to the template of the Western societies we also inherit its social diseases; which stems from disassociating themselves for in depth spiritual
meaning to the allusive existential question of our stay on earth.
I found this book easy to read and interesting; aptly so reading during Ramadan, a month of spiritual contemplation.
I am in the opinion that, we need to reconcile all our knowledge and the diversity of difference so that we can all learn and enrich our understanding of living and being. As was proven in the Brilliant age of Islamic growth that the Old Scholars had studied sciences from India and Greek that we had prospered and progress.
In short, in great Contemplation as penned by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin,French Jesuit priest:"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience."
If people thought from this angle, maybe we'd become better humans.
"We have built the heavens with might and indeed We shall make them wider" (Quran 35:47)
This book is about the spiritual aspect to todays very fundamental religion; Islam.
It tries to frame the importance of Contemplation and differentiate the spirituality of Islamic beliefs in regards to meditative spirituality.
In Islam, contemplation is not submissions, but rather to invoke a sense of reflection to life, death and God. But due to the constraint of English as compared to the fluidity of the Arabic language the word Takaffur in relation to God's essence that the depth of its meaning gets lost in translation.
The book argues the Western development to Science and Psychology and try to remind Muslim practitioners how at one point in history, the Muslim World had developed civilization in contemplation to God rather than as a separate practice to enriching the soul.
The author feels that we need to reconcile The Soul and The Body to answer the plights of modern society and that when we adapt to the template of the Western societies we also inherit its social diseases; which stems from disassociating themselves for in depth spiritual
meaning to the allusive existential question of our stay on earth.
I found this book easy to read and interesting; aptly so reading during Ramadan, a month of spiritual contemplation.
I am in the opinion that, we need to reconcile all our knowledge and the diversity of difference so that we can all learn and enrich our understanding of living and being. As was proven in the Brilliant age of Islamic growth that the Old Scholars had studied sciences from India and Greek that we had prospered and progress.
In short, in great Contemplation as penned by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin,French Jesuit priest:"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience."
If people thought from this angle, maybe we'd become better humans.
December 5, 2021
Malik Badri is a Sundanese author, and the founder of modern Islamic psychology. In this book he begins by explaining the utter inadequacy of Western psychology, due to the failure to recognise a human being’s spiritual dimension. He writes about the West’s attempts at explaining the human being as a machine, about their failure to recognise the soul as an integral part of their being, about the refusal to look at the working of the human as anything beyond chemical reactions. The understanding of the human mind has become ‘machine-like� and unfortunately, Malik Badri writes, Muslims, being dependent on the West in many modern sciences, have let these ideas subtly seep into their own midst.
He then goes on to give a thorough explanation of how contemplation, particularly of God’s creations, can benefit a person mentally. He explains how secular meditation, although undoubtedly with its own benefits, can only go so far, and ultimately leaves the human being’s innate thirst for spiritual fulfilment unquenched. He writes about the factors that promote and impede an individual’s level of contemplation skills, and gives examples of how one can carry out contemplation -giving detailed descriptions of the miraculous working of creatures like birds, ants and locusts as a layout of how we could incorporate such thinking in our everyday lives. He encourages the reader to ponder on the creation of the heavens and the earth, and of our own origination. Ultimately, these are all practices to get closer to The Creator. The one who masters this will see Allah in everything, and will attain an awe of their Creator and a peace like no other.
This is heavy stuff and it reminds me of my own inadequacy, and how it’s only too easy to get caught up in the rat race of life so that we pass by marvellous things every day as if they were nothing. I could only hope to reach the level of sweet consciousness of Allah that Malik Badri speaks of. An incredibly incredibly enlightening read, and one that I must not forget.
He then goes on to give a thorough explanation of how contemplation, particularly of God’s creations, can benefit a person mentally. He explains how secular meditation, although undoubtedly with its own benefits, can only go so far, and ultimately leaves the human being’s innate thirst for spiritual fulfilment unquenched. He writes about the factors that promote and impede an individual’s level of contemplation skills, and gives examples of how one can carry out contemplation -giving detailed descriptions of the miraculous working of creatures like birds, ants and locusts as a layout of how we could incorporate such thinking in our everyday lives. He encourages the reader to ponder on the creation of the heavens and the earth, and of our own origination. Ultimately, these are all practices to get closer to The Creator. The one who masters this will see Allah in everything, and will attain an awe of their Creator and a peace like no other.
This is heavy stuff and it reminds me of my own inadequacy, and how it’s only too easy to get caught up in the rat race of life so that we pass by marvellous things every day as if they were nothing. I could only hope to reach the level of sweet consciousness of Allah that Malik Badri speaks of. An incredibly incredibly enlightening read, and one that I must not forget.
May 1, 2022
great book
Very insightful and a great stepping stone into Islamic psychology from differentiation of modern secular psychology
Highly recommend this book
Very insightful and a great stepping stone into Islamic psychology from differentiation of modern secular psychology
Highly recommend this book
May 21, 2019
Tefekkür konusunda gayet aydınlatıcı bir kitap olmuş. Günümüz bilimindeki düşünce sistemine, meditasyona ve tefekkür ile arasındaki benzerlik ile farklara, tefekkürün aşamalarına ve örneklerine değinmesi kitabın başlıca öne çıkan unsurları. Ben gayet beğendim.
May 24, 2018
Scientific approach for psychology can be vastly frustrating, as the needs of the mind/spirit/emotion may not be satisfied purely by physical or literal manners, but through contemplation, or more effectively, contemplation with conscious faith towards Him. This book provides a healthy discussion on how one may derive tranquillity and peace from contemplation, and highlights the importance of faith in achieving the desired state of contemplation.
March 30, 2025
This was absolutely fascinating and I learned so much. I loved how Badri reviewed the importance of Gestalt, specifically the inclusion of the spiritual aspect of life for improvement of the whole. I may not be Muslim, but the points made are relevant to anyone seeking wholeness. Badri also includes a lot of history to show how much of Western thought is influenced and rooted in the work of Arabs, especially when it comes to science and understanding of cognition.
November 18, 2017
Отличная книга, раскрывающая исламский взгляд на психологию, или психологический взгляд на ислам. Дан серьезный анализ психологической природы исламского размышления как одного из видов поклонения.
August 12, 2022
It took me over a year to read, but it's a quick, easy read. Flows very well. Very informative and useful. Will come back to this.
October 26, 2022
The first chapters of this book felt very insightful but the latter half seemed to make some generalizations that I found to be problematic.
October 23, 2024
Very insightful! Enlightening! Delight to read and will re-read. Enjoyed reading every chapter .
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June 9, 2015This is quite an excellent work! I'm actually reading it for the second time, now
January 10, 2019
Satuifying.
November 30, 2018
Difficult to understand
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