Abstract

Psychologists consistently strive for accurate diagnoses and effective treatments. While many diagnostic structures, notably the DSM, are symptom-based, the rise of religious psychological approaches highlights the need for congruent, conceptual structures. This paper aimed to propose a Quran-based diagnostic framework for disorders and define diagnostic criteria for six types of depression within it.



Utilizing a specific content analysis methodology to study the Quran, the research focused on the concept of shākilah (personality) in relation to disorder. The findings were organized into four sections: exploring the semantics of shākilah in Surah al-Isrā’, defining shākilah of disorder as the core structure, introducing two models based on Surah al-Muzammil and Surah al-Insān, and finally, proposing a diagnostic structure for depressive disorder derived from the Surah al-Insān model.



The results demonstrated the feasibility of developing a diagnostic structure aligned with a Quranic theoretical foundation. This new framework is causation-based rather than symptom-based, yet it provides specific symptom sets for each depression type. This allows for identifying disorders with subtle visible symptoms and excluding cases with visible symptoms but no underlying cause, thereby enhancing the accuracy of assessment, diagnosis, and therapy. Furthermore, grounding theoretical bases in revealed texts offers a more stable understanding of disorders, minimizing radical shifts in the field.