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A MODEL OF ISLAMIC GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING

By: Anwar Sutoyo1

AbstractThis paper is based on a Ph.D dissertation2 at the Postgraduate School of

Indonesia Education University, Bandung in 2006. The research was motivated by the reality that the result of counseling in Indonesia has not been optimal. Developing human’s potential has not been carried out optimally. The solution to human’s problem has not been holistic and tends to be superficial. The unsatisfactory result of the guidance and counseling might be because the guidance and counseling service tends to be based on “empirical data” and “rational thought.” The information from God who creates human beings has been ignored. Therefore, the information is worth exploring to be further developed into “A Model of Islamic Guidance and Counseling” after it was examined by experts and its model was tested.

Key words: A Model of Islamic Guidance and Counseling, fitrah, tafsir maudhu’i

Introduction

There are many teenagers and adults who should have been able to behave

according to social, legal, and religious norms but they did not do so. Drinking, theft,

prostitution, robbery, rape (even happened to siblings, parents, or own children),

corruption, manipulation, sadistic murder committed by relatively educated people

indicates that the fitrah given by Allah to everyone since he/she was born does not

develop and function well.

Education and guidance have been conducted since thousands of years

ago. Their methods and techniques are regularly refined. However, the effort has

not produced the best result. Even worse, the human’s deviation from fitrah, which

is the root of tendency to a positive behavior grows larger. This failure is suspected

to be rooted from the knowledge limitation of experts about human’s fitrah and its

development model. As a result, a lot of education and guidance are based only on

empirical facts and human’s rational thought. Meanwhile, the information coming

from the Creator of human beings is paid little attention.

_________________1 A lecturer in the Department of Guidance and Counseling, Faculty of Education Science, Semarang

State University2 The original title is “A Model of Quranic Counseling to Develop Human Fitrah towards Kaffah

Characters”

Anwar Sutoyo A Model of Islamic Guidance and Counseling

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The ignorance of fitrah in the individual and social life causes a bad

consequence to those who did it. In addition, it causes a suffering and poverty to the

surrounding society who lives according to the fitrah. Natural disasters which killed

thousands of people and the outbreak of various diseases which could not be

handled medically indicates that there has been a warning from Allah to humans to

go back to their fitrah. Considering this, the first important step is to explore the

information about the “real essence of human being” according to its Creator. This

deals with the questions of Who is actually human being? What is human being

creation for? What is its fitrah? and How is the development model? Through the

answers to the questions it is expected that a model of “Islamic Guidance and

Counseling” can be developed.

In developing the model, some typical steps of model research were taken:

(1) Reviewing tafsir maudhu’i to obtain information of who human being is and what

its characteristics are. A hypothetical model was developed based on the study on

tafsir maudhu’I, (2) The developed model was then presented in a seminar

involving experts on guidance and counseling and experts on Islamic religion, (3) A

tentative guidance and counseling model was developed from the result of the

seminar. The model was then tried out in the field, and (4) A refinement was

conducted after the try out. Next, a definitive model was developed as presented

below.

The Essence of Human Being in the Quran

There are some terms used in the Quran for human being: (1) “basyar” used

for things related to visible physical aspects of human being in general, such as the

skin, hair, general physical appearance, biological needs, which are not distinctive

from one human being to the other. However, in some cases the word is also used

to refer to psychological aspects, such as human needs and limitation of ability, (2)

“Insan” used to refer to human being with all its aspects (its body and soul) and to

describe differences in the aspects of spirituals, faith, and behavior, and (3)

“dzuriyyah” used to describe the descendant and innate characteristics.


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Human being does not exist by itself, but there is one who creates it, that is

Allah SWT. Allah SWT is the Creator of the very first human being (when human

being model did not exist) and the present human being. Human beings are created

from the raw material of dirt, the essence of dirt, and nutfah. Human being creation

begins with a cell which turns into a clog, a flesh, and skeleton. The skeleton is

wrapped is flesh. As time goes by the cell turns into eyes, ears, nose, legs, hands,

blood, and heart–responsible for pumping the blood for the whole life, blood vessels

covering the whole body, lung, brain, and digestive organs. There is one human who

is directly created by Allah without involving any other party as what happened to the

creation of Adam (PBUH). Allah also involves other party in creating other human

beings as what happened to the creation of common human beings, except the

creation of Isa (PBUH) which only involves a mother without a father.

From the day they were born to the day they die humans are not supposed

to have fun only. There are commands, prohibition, and laws that they have to obey.

There is a purpose behind it. Behind the purpose there is a wisdom or advantage of

a deed. There is a secret behind something which Allah ordained, which is not

always instantly understood by human3. The life of individuals and humans as a

whole will end at an unknown time. There will be a reckoning and judgment. This is

unlike the animals who after died are not held responsible for what they did during

their lifetime.

The human beings living in this world are not let just play and have fun.

There will be a time when they will be questioned about (1) how they spent their life,

(2) how they spent their young age, (3) how they obtained their wealth and how they

spent it, and (4) how they put their knowledge into practice. After that, they will be

judged by The Most Glorious for what they have done in the world. There is no

chance to lie because on that day their mouths are sealed up and then their

hands, legs, eyes, ears, hearts, even skins will bear witness to what they used

to do during their lifetime in the world (QS, 36: 65). There are duties humans

must accomplish, that is being the caliph of Allah on earth. The caliph is

________________3 QS, 3: 185, 4: 78, 21: 35


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promoted and dismissed by Allah to do duties according to His will and laws in the

field of expertise or authority according to what Allah gives to them. This does not

mean that Allah is not capable or places human as God. Not! The promotion is

meant to be a test and appreciation for human. Thus the essence of human’s duty

as the caliph of Allah on earth is to bear amanah (responsibility) according to what

Allah and His Messenger teach.

Created by God humans are equipped with “fitrah”, that is elements and

systems that Allah gives to every human. The elements include the body, soul, nafs,

and iman, where the fitrah of “believing in Allah” becomes the “foundation” and

“core” of the other three fitrahs. The potential of iman is seen as the “foundation” and

“core” because if somebody’s iman has developed and functioned well, the other

fitrahs (body, soul, and nafs) will also develop and function well.

The physical fitrah is a biological aspect which is prepared as a place for

the psychological fitrah, which has a developmental power to the biological process.

The power is termed living power (al-hayat). It will not cause any real action if it is

not powered by the psychological fitrah. The psychological fitrah is the essence of

human character and lies in the material and immateriality. It is more everlasting

than the physical fitrah. It is sacred and fights for spiritual dimensions. It can exist

and turn to a real action if it blends with the physical fitrah. The nafs fitrah is an

integrated blend of physical (biological) fitrah and soul fitrah (psychological). It has

three main components: heart, intelligence, and desire which interact with each

other and manifested in personality traits. The iman fitrah functions as a navigator

and controller to the other three fitrahs (physical, psychological, and nafs).

There are some characteristics of humans: (a) Created by Allah humans

consist of two inseparable components, body and divine soul (intelligence and

psychology) (QS, 38: 7). The body is a biological aspect prepared as a container of

the soul; (b) Since their early creation humans are equipped with “religious fitrah”

that is witnessing the oneness of Allah and obeying Him; (c) Created by

Allah, humans are equipped with an intelligence which enables them to

differentiate between the good and the evil; (d) Created by Allah, humans


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are equipped with feeling4 which enables them to know hidden and invisible things;

(e) Humans are not able to know for sure about what they are attempting or earning

in the future, yet they are obliged to make an effort; (f) Created by Allah, humans

are equipped with a conscience (fu’ad) and “qalb” which enables them to think about

things beyond the world of senses and its details. The conscience then takes

humans to general things and in turn produces general and holistic laws; (g) The

humans’ place before they were born is the fathers’ back bones. After they were

born until the due day5 their place is the earth. There is also a place to live before

they were born, that is the womb of the mother. After they were born at this world

and died their place is the grave before heading to the life in the heaven or hell; (h)

There are two angels who always follow every human in front and behind him/her in

turn. The angles guard humans under Allah’s order6. Humans are not totally able to

control and take care of themselves, because there are a lot of things beyond their

capability; (i) Humans are always watched by two angels who always record what

they do, be it the good or the evil. The record will be shown to the humans on the

Day of Judgment in the form of deed record book; (j) Every individual will receive a

judgment of what they did7. For those who are afraid of Allah and able to control

their lust their place are in the heaven.

There are three possible causes of a disaster (problem) that happened to

humans: a) as a warning so that humans immediately return to the path ordained by

Allah (religion), (b) as a punishment to the violation of God’s laws, and (c) as a test

to improve somebody’s faith. A disaster may happen to anyone. It may happen to

the pious and the criminals. If a disaster happens to a pious, it serves as a test to the

faith. If the disaster happens to a criminal, it serves as a punishment from Allah.

Therefore, categorizing a disaster into a punishment, warning, or test from Allah can

be based on what the individual did in everyday life and how obedient he/she is to

the religious laws.

__________________4 M Quraish Shihab (2000, I: 99-100) considers feeling as one of knowledge tools, the word is also

translated as “knowing”, with a note that the knowledge is related to things in detail, hidden, and invisible. Feeling is also seen as the source of faith and good conduct. This is sensitivity to the surrounding.

5 QS, 7: 246 QS, 13: 117 QS, 20: 15, 74: 38


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People live on earth temporarily. There is the end of life, which is the death-

the complete separation between the body and soul. There are people whose souls

separate from their bodies temporarily. After that, the souls return to the body until

the day of complete separation comes. This happens to somebody who is sleeping.

There are also people whose souls and bodies separate completely. This happens to

people who die. After that, they are returned to the Most Creating. People do not

know for sure when they will die.

A Model of Islamic Guidance and Counseling

1. Definition

Islamic guidance and counseling is formulated as an attempt to help individuals

learn to develop fitrah and/or return to fitrah by empowering faith, intelligence, and

willingness given by Allah SWT to learn the laws of Allah and His Messenger so that

the individual’s fitrah develops correctly and firmly according to Allah’s laws.

The above definition shows that Islamic guidance and counseling is an activity

of “helping”. It is said to be helping because essentially it is the individual him/herself

who should live according to Allah’s law (right path) in order to be safe. Because a

counselors are in a position of helping, individuals must actively learn to understand

and practise the Islamic laws (the Quran and Sunah of the Messenger of Allah). At

the end, it is expected that the individuals will be safe and earn a true happiness in

the world and in the hereafter.

The party who gives help is a counselor who is a faithful, possesses thorough

understanding of Allah’s laws, and obey them. The help is mainly in the form of

encouragement and companionship in understanding and practising the Islamic laws.

By understanding and practising Islamic laws it is expected that the potential given by

Allah to individuals can develop optimally. At the end, it is expected that the

individuals become the slaves of Allah who are muttaqin, mukhlasin, mukhsinin, and

mutawakkilin; who stay away from the temptation of the evil, crimes, and are

wholehearted in worshipping Allah.

The assisted individuals are human beings-not animals who bear no

responsibility after their death. Individuals are seen as “the slaves of Allah” who have

to be always obedient to Him. Humans being are created not only for making fun.


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There are orders to be followed, prohibition to be avoided, and laws to be obeyed.

Therefore, in a guidance activity, the individuals should be made aware of who

actually they are, what laws they have to obey, what prohibition they have to avoid,

and what responsibility they have to bear during their life in the world. In learning to

understand themselves and understand Allah’s laws which they have to obey, it is not

unusual that they experience a failure. Consequently, they need a special help called

“counseling.”

The objective is to develop fitrah or return to fitrah. From this formulation it is

seen that the purpose of encouragement or mentoring is make the individuals

gradually able to develop fitrah and return to fitrah that Allah gives to them. The

above explanation also shows that Quranic guidance and counseling is not only

“developmental” but also “clinical” in nature. This means that in a Quranic counseling,

religious values (the Quran) is treated not only as a reference for developing fitrah

but also as a reference for solving individuals’ problem. Quranic counseling is

oriented not only to potential development but also assisting individuals to solve

matters which potentially damage the potential development (fitrah).

2. Goals

In line with the above explanation, the short term goal of guidance is for the

individuals to understand and obey the Quran. By achieving the short term goal it is

expected that the guided individuals have the right faith, and are gradually able to

improve the quality of their obedience to Allah. The obedience is manifested in the

obedience to Allah’s laws, responsibly for their duties, and obedience in worshipping

according to His rules. The long term goal is for the guided individuals to be able to

gradually turn into a kaffah characters with the characteristics presented in box 1.1.

The non kaffah character is presented in box 1-2. The final goal of the guidance is

that the guided individuals are safe and live happily in the world and in the hereafter.


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Box 1-1

THE PROFILE OF AN INDIVIDUAL WHOSE FITRAH DEVELOPS WELL AND BECOMES A KAFFAH CHARACTER:

1. In the aqidah aspect, his/her faith to Allah, His Angels, His Messengers, His Holy Books, His preordainment (qadha and qadar), resurrection and the Day of Judgment, heaven and hell is firm and shows no doubt.

2. With regard to ibadah (mahdhoh )he/she: worships only Allah and not the others, focuses in their prayer, fasts, undertakes pilgrimage, struggles in the cause of Allah with his/her wealth and soul, is always aware that a part of his/her wealth is the right of the poor, always spends the wealth for zakat, infaq, and shadaqah; sleeps only a little because of doing tahajjud prayer, always remembers Allah, asks for His forgiveness, and submits to Him.

3. In the family relationship he/she: gets along well with his/her parents and extended family members, gets along with spouses well, looks after and finances his/her families with legal wealth, always makes his/her family life in line with the Islamic syari’at.

4. In terms of social relationship and akhlaq he/she: gets along with other people well, stays away from adultery, say something true, is always reliable, is fair, keeps his/her promise, is forgiving, puts others’ interests first, avoids useless things, likes to help others, asks others to do the righteous deeds and prevent others from the wrong deeds, always benefits their surroundings, and does not make any enemy and hurt others.

5. In the personal aspect he/she: is not arrogant, is touched when Allah’s name is recited, obeys when warned with Allah’s verses, is consistent with what they believe, has a strong will, is able to control their lust, is able to resist and control his/her anger.

6. With regard to practical and professional life, he/she sincerely works and perfects his/her work and works hard to make ends meet.


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Box 1-2

THE PROFILE OF AN INDIVIDUAL WHOSE FITRAH DOES NOT DEVELOP WELL AND HIS/HER PERSONALITY IS NOT KAFFAH:

1. In the aqidah aspect, his/her faith to Allah, His angels, His Messengers, His Holy Books, and His preordainment (qadah and qadar), resurrection and Day of Judgment, heaven and hell is not firm, even wrong.

2. With regard to ibadah he/she: worships not only Allah but something else, does not pray, does not fast, does not pay zakat, does not undertake pilgrimage, and does not struggle correctly and consistently, likes to practise things which he/she assumes to be an act of worship which is not based on religious laws, commits a lot of sins but does not feel guilty, does not ask for forgiveness, and does not improve his/her wrongdoings.

3. In terms of family relationship he/she: does not get along well with his/her parents and extended family, does not get along well with the spouses, does not look after and finance the family with legal wealth, and does not make his/her family life compliant with the Islamic syari’at.

4. In the social relationship and akhlak he/she: does not get along well with other people, likes to commit adultery, likes to lie, is not reliable, likes to revenge, is unfair, is egoistic, likes to do useless things, likes to spread a slander and enmity, does not benefit his/her surroundings.

5. In his/her personal aspect, he/she is arrogant. His/her heart is as hard as even harder than a rock. When Allah’s name is recited, he/she is not touched. When he/she is warned with Allah’s verses he/she is not obedient. He/she: does not submit to Allah, is not consistent with what he/she believes, has no strong will, is incapable of controlling lust, is incapable of resisting and controlling anger.

6. In terms of practical and personal life he/she: is not sincere in working, does not perfect his/her wok, is lazy, and does not work hard to obtain legal livelihood.


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In helping develop the individual’s fitrah, the main reference used is “Allah’s laws”,

which are the Holy Quran and the Messenger’s Sunah. The “Allah’s laws” are

chosen as a main reference for the reason that: (1) Allah is the Creator of human

beings. Indeed He knows more about humans’ strengths and weaknesses. To

manage the strengths and weaknesses He creates a manual in the form of the Holy

Book and the Sunah of His Messenger. (2) Allah who creates human beings with all

its potentials indeed knows more about its goal and benefit. Allah also knows how to

develop and function it. (3) The purpose of human creation is as the caliph and

worshipper. Worship must be done according to Allah’s laws. If humans’ behavior is

not guided by Allah’s laws, the worship value disappears, and (4) scientifically it is

recognized that the Holy Book has an absolute, universal, and eternal validity. If

counseling refers to the values contained in the Holy Book and the Messenger’s

Sunah, it is believed that the result would be optimal. However, in the Quranic

counseling it is not prohibited to use science references, as long as they do not

violate the religious laws.

3. Guidance and Counseling Principles

Based on the study of thematic tafsir about human beings in the Quran’s

perspective, especially regarding with themes like (a) Allah who creates human

beings (the status and purpose of human creation), (b) the characteristics of human

beings, (c) the disaster happened to human beings, (d) developing human’s fitrah,

counseling principles are stated as follows:

a. Basic Principles of Counseling

1) Humans do not exist in the world by themselves but are created by Allah SWT.

There are laws and regulations of Allah (sunnatullah) which must apply to all

humans forever. Therefore, every human must accept Allah’s law submissively.

2) Humans are Allah’s slaves who must always worship Him throughout their life.

For that reason, it should be kept in mind that in guiding individuals, every activity

can have a worship value. So, it should be done in “Allah’s way” and is intended

to seek for Allah’s pleasure.


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3) Allah creates humans for bearing a responsibility in their respective fields

according to His laws (khalifah fil ardh). Therefore, in guiding individuals, it

should be kept in mind that there are Allah’s orders and prohibitions which

should be obeyed. This would be accounted for and be given judgment.

4) Since they were born, humans have been equipped with the fitrah of iman (faith).

Iman is very important for the humans’ safety in the world and in the hereafter.

Therefore, counseling should focus on helping individuals to look after and

nurture the iman.

5) In order to grow well and be firm, iman should be looked after by understanding

and obeying Allah’s laws. Therefore, guiding should be aimed at enabling

individuals to understand the Quran and practise it in the daily life.

6) Islam recognizes that there are human desires that need to be fulfilled. However,

its fulfillment is regulated with Allah’s laws.

7) Guidance should be aimed at enabling individuals to gradually guide themselves.

Since the main reference in the guidance is religious laws, individuals should be

helped to be able to gradually understand and practise religious laws correctly.

8) Islam teaches its followers to advise and help each other in goodness and piety.

This means that any activity of helping individuals which refer to Allah’s laws

belongs to ibadah (worship).

b. Principles Related to Counselors

1) Counselors are selected on the basis of level of faith, piety, and knowledge

about counseling and Islamic laws, skills, and education.

2) Counselors have a chance to help individuals to develop and or return to their

fitrah. However, it is understandable that the end result depends on “Allah’s will”8.

Therefore, the counselors should not be proud of themselves if they succeed or

be discouraged if they fail.

3) There is Allah’s law saying that counselors should be able to be a good role

model for the individuals they guide. It should be remembered that counseling is

not only about what is said but also what is done.

_______________8 QS, 64: 11


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4) Counselors have a limitation to see the gaib (unseen things)9. Therefore, in

guiding individuals there should be particular parts which are left to Allah.

5) Counselors should respect and keep the confidentiality10 of the individuals

they guide.

6) In referring to the Quran, counselors should use the expert’s interpretation.

7) In facing things the counselors are not sure of, they should ask for an advice or

leave them to others who are considered to be more expert. 11

c. Principles Related to the Guided Individuals

1) In guiding individuals the essence of “Laa ilaha illallah”, and the consequence of

“Asyhadu alla illaha illallah” should be reaffirmed.

2) The individuals’ private and whole life must end at an unknown time. Everyone

will be accounted for their deeds and be judged. In the guidance, individuals

should be reminded that they have to prepare themselves before die. They do

not have to be too upset if there is someone mean to them. There must be a

consequence for what he/she did.

3) Human’s intelligence and conscience is an important potential for the individuals’

healthy life. Therefore, the guidance should not ignore the individuals’

intelligence and conscience.

4) Humans do not exist by themselves, there is one who creates them, that is Allah

through parents. In the guidance, individuals should be reminded that they

should always be thankful to Allah SWT and respect and be obedient to their

parents.

5) Humans are created to be the caliph of Allah and to worship Him. Therefore,

during the guidance individuals should be reminded that they have to do their

duties according to Allah’s rules and worship only Allah throughout their lifetime.

6) Allah creates every part of human’s body with a purpose. Therefore, in the

guidance, individuals should be reminded that they have to guard and use them

according to Allah’s laws.

_______________9 Even Rasululah himself was ordered to say that he (The Messenger of Allah PBUH) does not know

the gaib (QS, 6: 50, 11: 31) 10 QS, 49: 1211 QS, 61: 43, 21: 7


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7) The human innate characteristics are clean, pure, and inclined to the positive

things. Deviations occur because the individuals do not look after the

characteristics well, learn from the wrong environment, or because the

individuals are not able to resist from the satan’s temptations.

d. The Principles Related to a Counseling Service

1) There is a variation on individuals’ obligation and responsibility before Allah SWT

because of different ability and age. Therefore, in the guidance a suitable word

should be chosen (such as: “must”, “should”, “should not”, “ought not”, or “must

not”).

2) There are things that Allah creates instantly (kun fa yakun), but there are other

things which are created because of a particular reason. The humans’ duty is to

make an effort as best as possible and leave the end result to Allah.

3) There is a wisdom behind worship and laws determined by Allah for humans. The

humans’ duty is to accept what is determined by Allah submissively and obey it

according to His laws.

4) There is a wisdom behind things that humans disfavor. The humans’ duty is to

accept it submissively and correct themselves and seek for God’s guidance.

5) The disasters that occurred to individuals do not always mean a punishment.

They could be a warning or test from Allah to improve somebody’s piety.

6) To support human’s faith and loyalty to Allah, Allah equips humans with

potentials such as senses, heart, mind, feeling, and the Messengers who bring

the Holy Books.

7) If there are individuals violate Allah, the violation is actually temporary. At a

particular time, as normally occurs in an adverse situation, they will return to the

right fitrah and aqidah.

8) Human fitrah cannot develop because the human does not take care of and

nurture it by practising worship according to Allah’s rules.

9) Every individual and his/her family has a responsibility to guide every member of

the family to be easy to accept Allah’s guide.

10) The first thing that should be implanted to a child is the right “faith”, that is the

belief in the oneness of God.


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11) Counselors should not quickly judge somebody from his/her parents, because

even a child of a polytheist is also given a natural tendency to believe and do

righteous deeds.

12) Understanding and obeying the content of the Quran and the Messenger’s

sunnah well is the main key for maintaining and developing human’s fitrah.

13) People who always sharpen and take care of their soul with Allah’s law will

strengthen their faith and narrow down the chance of being tempted by the satan.

14) There is an internal factor which causes individuals to be easy to be misguided

by the satan: individual’s personal submission to seek for protection and listen to

the satan’s whisper which turns into criminal acts.

15) An individual is misguided because of Allah’s permission. It is Allah’s will and

wisdom to test humans through satan’s temptation.

16) An individual is able to reject satan’s temptation because of Allah’s will. It

happens because Allah has given potentials-intelligence and feelings-to humans

and has given a warning that satan is an obvious enemy.

17) Every evil deed a human does is because of the human’s weakness in facing

satan’s persuasion and temptation. If an observation shows that it happened

because of environmental factor, actually the environment is used by the satan

as an instrument.

18) The effect of an evil deed inflicts not only on the doer but also the people

surrounding him/her, not only in the world but also in the hereafter.

19) It is necessary to implant the right faith to children early, keep children away from

polytheism, and make every family member accustomed to practising worship

and do righteous deeds correctly and consistently.

20) Individuals must look after and develop their fitrah, making religious laws as a

main reference in every step.

21) In order to make religious laws as a reference in every step, every individual must

understand “Islamic laws” correctly and holistically, and seriously attempt to

practise them in everyday life.

22) Counselors should address the person they guide with a pleasant addressing

term.


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23) Someone’s testimony cannot be adequately used for judging somone’s belief.

The seriousness in realizing what he/she believes in everyday life should also be

taken into consideration.

4. Counseling Stages

The counseling with this model can be conducted with the following stages:

a. Ensuring individuals of the following matters (as necessary):

1) There are laws and regulations which apply to all humans as the creatures of

Allah (sunnatullah), such as: body organs, physical and psychological capacity

limit, livelihood, misery, the time of death, and the place where their life will

end. These all depend on Allah’s order.

2) Humans are Allah’s Slaves who always have to be submissive and obedient to

Him. There are Allah’s orders and prohibitions which have to be obeyed by all

humans throughout their life. On its due course, what was done in the world

must be accounted for.

3) The purpose of Allah in creating humans is for them to carry out responsibility

in their respective expertise according to Allah’s order (khalifah fil ardh) and

also to worship Him.

4) There is a fitrah that Allah gives to humans. Since they were born they were

equipped with the fitrah of faith and obedience to Him. The humans’ duty is to

look after, develop, and when found them away from the fitrah, return to it

immediately.

5) The right faith is very important for life in the world and in the hereafter. The

humans’ duty of is to look after and nurture it by always studying and obeying

the religious laws.

6) Iman is not only spoken testification. Moreover, it is a testification with heart

and realizing what is believed in everyday life.

7) There is a wisdom behind a misery, worship, and laws decided by Allah for

humans. The humans’ duty is to accept submissively what is decided by Allah

for them and carry it out according to His laws.

8) It is an obligation to implant the right faith to children early, keep children away

from polytheism, make every family member accustomed to practising worship

and doing good deeds correctly and consistently.


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9) There is satan who always misguides humans from Allah’s way. In order to be

safe from satan’s persuasion and temptation, Allah has given humans

potentials: mind, feeling, and religious laws.

10) Humans have the right to make the best effort, but it should be kept in mind

that a part of his/her success depends on Allah’s will.

11) The counselors’ job is simply to help. The individuals should make the best

effort to live according to the religious law.

b. Encouraging and helping individuals to understand and practise religious

laws correctly

At this stage, the counselors remind the individuals that (1) in order to be safe

in the world and the hereafter they should make religious laws as a way of life. For

this, they must understand Islamic laws well and correctly; (2) because religious laws

are extensive, people need to set aside time and energy to study religion regularly by

making use of various resources and media.

The role of the counselors at this stage is as motivators and partners in

studying and practising religious laws. It is expected that individuals can guide

themsleves gradually. Because of the role, the counselors should first understand

and have even practised as much as possible what they understood about the

religious laws in their everyday life. From this stage, it can be seen that in order to be

independent, individuals should practise lifelong learning and lifewide learning.

Moroever, they should practise what they learned as a lifelong worship.

c. Encouraging and helping individuals to understand and practise iman,

islam, and ikhsan

Since iman is not only saying but also actualizing in everyday life by worshiping

(mahdhoh and ghairu mahdhoh), individuals should be encouraged and helped to

practise what they learned correctly and consistently. Counselors, therefore, should

encourage and help individuals understand the following matters and their

actualization in everyday life:


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a. The actualization of the pillars of iman in everyday life:

1) Worshiping only Allah and not the others

2) Worshiping with sincere intention, purely because of Allah

3) Leaving the result of efforts only to Allah

4) Believing that Allah has a spiritual creature called angel

5) Obeying what Allah teaches in the Quran

6) Obeying what the Messenger of Allah teaches

7) Submissively accepting Allah’s preordainment on them

8) Believing that there will be a Day of Judgment, and what humans did

during their life in the world will be judged

b. The actualization of the pillars of Islam in everyday life:

1) Staying away from any kind of polytheism

2) Practising the laws carried by the Messenger of Allah (PBUH)

3) Practising the obligatory and optional prayers correctly

4) Submissively spending some of their wealth for infaq, zakat, and or shadaqah.

5) Doing obligatory and optional fasting correctly

6) Undertaking a pilgrimage according to religious laws

c. The actualization of ikhsan in everyday life:

1) Keeping the tongue at all times (speaking well, talking only about useful topics,

not lying , not opposing one against the other, not gossiping)

2) Staying away from heart illness (suspicious, inciting, envious, arrogant,

revengeful, showing off, bad tempered)

3) Keeping away from dangerous deeds (smoking, wasting wealth, eating and

drinking excessively)

4) Keeping the health. In case of illness, they seek for medication and do not use

medication which is prohibited. They keep themselves from any deed that harms

their body and soul.

5) Attitude towards other Muslims: when meeting others they say greeting and

shake hand, show a pleasant face, respect, and care each other.


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6) Attitude towards parents (father and mother): always get along well, not

rebellious, speak softly, pray for the parents, and keep a good relationship with

parents’ close friends.

5. The Nuance of Counseling

The main role of the counselor in the counseling of this approach is as a

”warner”, somebody who warns the guided individuals in Allah’s way. It is said to be

warning because (a) basically individuals already have faith. If the faith of the

individuals does not grow, it is suspected that they do not look after the faith, forget to

fertilize it, or the faith caught diseases. As a result the faiths do not grow and function

well. (b) Allah has sent down His Messenger who brings the Holy Book as a way of

life. If there is an individual who confused or got lost, it is suspected that they have

not understood the guide. Therefore, the believer who has an expertise (counselor) is

obliged to warn them13.

After a counselor gives a warning to his/her brother/sister who is unaware-the

counselor is no longer considered sinful. He/she does not need to be discouraged if

he/she is not successful, because a part of the result is based on (1) the

individual’s willingness to accept Allah’s guide, and (2) Allah’s permission.

Whoever believes in Allah and accept His laws, Allah will bless him/her with a lot of

blessings. In contrast, whoever turns away from Allah’s laws, Allah will torment

him/her with a great torment.

It can be seen that the role of a counselor is no more than a companion. A

companion is of course close to the one he/she accompanies. And a companion is

equal to the one he/she accompanies. The term “companion” means that the

position of a counselor is equal to the one he/she accompanies before Allah. The

only thing which differentiates their level is the level of their obidience to the religious

laws. The term companion also means that the relationship between the counselor

and the guided individual is close (like someone who is guiding by the hand) to other

__________________13 This idea refers to the Quran Surah Al-Ghasyiyah (88) Verse 21. In interpreting this verse, M.

Quraish Shihab (2003, xv: 236-37) explains that The Messenger of Allah himself is assigned only to give a warning, and is not supposed to force his wish. The Messenger of Allah is not their ruler, because the true ruler is Allah. For this reason, the Messenger of Allah is prohibited from forcing his wish even if it is useful for them.


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creatures of Allah who are equally responsible for advising and helping each other.

Considering that the essence of counseling in this approach is ”An effort to

help individuals learn to develop fitrah and or return to fitrah”, so helping individuals

are also done in the ways taught by Allah in the Quran Surah An-Nahl (16), Verse

125: (a) in a good manner, with the most correct reference or the reference which is

free from any error and brings the greatest benefit and goodness (bil hikmah), (b)

with words that touch the heart and lead to goodness (almau’idhah al-khasanah). To

make words touch the heart, a real example from the one saying it is necessary, and

(c) if discussion is required, the discussion should be carried out well, that is through

acceptable arguments.

Counseling should be conducted at holy places and places in which prayers

are often done such as mosque, mushalla, office, or home. If it is not possible,

counseling that includes an activity which is considered violating the religious laws

should be avoided. The places are chosen for counseling because in houses

where the name of Allah is recited (such as: mosque, mushalla, houses in which

prayers are done) there are Allah’s light, mercy, guidance, and true serenity14.

6. Evaluation

Evaluating the result of counseling can be conducted by observing the change of

actualization of the individuals’ iman, islam, and ikhsan in their everyday life.

However, looking at and evaluating someone’s faith is not easy15 because (a) there

are people who like to hide their good deeds to keep the purity of their intention, (b)

there are also people who physically worship Allah, but their real intention are not

surely known, (c) basically only Allah SWT knows the true quality of somebody’s

faith.

_________________14 This idea is based on the Quran Surah An-nur (24), Verses 34-35, and a Hadits “When a group of

people are gathering in one of Allah’s houses to recite the Quran and study it, serenity covers them, mercy covers them, and Allah mention them beside Him” (Narrated by Muslim from Abu Hurairah). Another hadits was also found, the Messenger of Allah once said, “If one of you normally prays in a mosque, he/she should give his/her home a portion of his/her prayer so that Allah lays goodness in his/her home because of the prayer. (Narrated by Ahmad and Muslim from Jabir r.a). According to Imam Ahmad and Imar r.a. The Messenger of Allah once said, “Somebody’s prayer in his/her home (the optional prayer) is as a light. If somebody likes, he/she can illuminate his/her home until it shines”

15 Although it is difficult to do, Allah shows its signs in the Quran (QS, 4: 162, 8: 2-4, 8: 74, 23: 1-11, and 49: 15).


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7. Follow-up

When counseling is considered sufficient temporarily and the result has been

revealed, a counselor can conduct a follow-up which can be preventive,

preservative, curative, and educative. The prevention and preservation are aimed at

preventing the development of iman, islam, and ikhsan individuals have achieved

from returning to the previous position. The cure is aimed at removing negative

effects which can damage the individuals’ iman, islam, and ikhsan. The development

is aimed at nurturing the individuals’ iman, islam, and ikhsan so that they flourish and

approach perfectness and avoiding any damage. For this purpose, counselors can

encourage the individuals to always study the religion and practise it in everyday life.

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