Exploring Emotional Resilience and Coping Mechanisms in the Quran: A Tafsir-Based Psychological Study

Abstract

Emotional resilience and coping are essential topics in modern discourse on mental well-being and human adaptation to adversity. Although psychological literature provides valuable frameworks for comprehending resilience, such approaches frequently prioritize human cognition and emotional regulation, thereby neglecting moral, spiritual, and theological aspects. The Qur’an, within the Islamic faith, offers a profound and intricate exploration of human emotional experience, especially through its accounts of prophets and exemplary figures. Despite this, systematic academic analysis of emotional resilience and coping mechanisms grounded explicitly in Qur’anic narrative and classical tafsir remains limited. This thesis analyzes emotional resilience and coping strategies as presented in specific Qur’anic narratives, utilizing a tafsir-first epistemological framework supported by disciplined comparative analysis with psychological literature. Focusing on the narratives of Prophet Yusuf (AS), Prophet Ayyub (AS), Maryam (AS), Prophet Musa (AS), and Prophet Yunus (AS), the study explores how diverse forms of emotional adversity such as prolonged injustice, chronic suffering, acute fear, leadership difficulty, and emotional breakdown are portrayed and ethically navigated within the Qur’an. This study uses qualitative narrative analysis based on traditional tafsir to illustrate that the Qur'an does not portray emotional conflict as contrary to faith or moral integrity. Emotional resilience is a process rooted in ethical and theological principles, defined by moral restraint, relational trust in God, contextual responsiveness, and a willingness for restoration. Coping mechanisms in this perspective are seen not as mere strategies for emotional regulation, but as ethically driven responses influenced by accountability, humility, and faith in divine wisdom. Building on these findings, the thesis develops a Qur’anic Model of Emotional Resilience, which articulates key components of resilience derived exclusively from Qur’anic narrative rather than imposed through external theoretical frameworks. The research enhances Islamic studies by providing a systematic, narrative-driven exploration of emotional resilience rooted in tafsir, and contributes to interdisciplinary scholarship by illustrating a methodologically sound conversation between Islamic theology and psychology. The research confirms the Qur’an as a significant moral and emotional text that provides lasting insights on human resilience, vulnerability, and spiritual well-being.