PSYCHOLOGY OF MOTIVATION FROM AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE
Alizi Alias
Department of Psychology
International Islamic University Malaysia
Jalan Gombak
53100 Kuala Lumpur
03-20565096
alizi@iiu.edu.my
Mohamad Zaki Samsudin
Department of Psychology
International Islamic University Malaysia
Jalan Gombak
53100 Kuala Lumpur
03-20564000, ext: 3047
szaki@iiu.edu.my
ABSTRACT: The objective of this paper is to provide an Islamic perspective on the psychology of motivation. 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 motivation starting with the basic motives that all human being has and ending with the influence of soul in human motivation. The basic motives discussed are hunger, thirst, sex, aggression, power, achievement, affiliation, exploration, and spiritual/religious motivation. Second, the paper will evaluate contemporary motivation theories from an Islamic perspective. The theories that will be discussed are instinct theory, drive-reduction theory, arousal theory, intrinsic/extrinsic motivation theory, and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The Islamic perspectives will include Qur’anic verses, Prophetic Hadiths, stories of the Prophets and Companions, and the work of early Muslim scholars using terms familiar to contemporary psychology. Direct comparisons will be made between Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and the Islamic concept of Maqasid Shar`iyyah (the objectives of the Islamic law). Third, the paper will outline a suggested integrated model of motivation from an Islamic perspective. Finally, the paper will illustrate the motivation of the Sahabahs to participate in Jihad, as an example of an Islamically oriented application of motivation principles in human behaviour. In the end, the paper intends to show that understanding the principles of motivation can lead us to appreciate more the oneness and greatness...