ABSTRACT
Islam’s heritage and socio-cultural-scientific achievements in a period in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 13th century is known as the Islamic Golden Age (c.786 ce to 1258 ce). This is an overview of the contributions of theologians, philosophers and physicians to the evolution and development of Islamic psychology through the classical Golden Age and beyond. In order to understand the contributions to the development of psychology, it is valuable to examine the different scholars’ perspectives from philosophy, medicine and theology. The philosophers were Al-Kindī, Ibn Miskawayh, Ibn Rushd and Al-Fārābī. The physicians were Al-Rāzī, Abū Zayd al-Balkhī and Ibn Sīnā. The theologians were al-Ghazâlî, Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim. Of course, there are many other scholars like Ibn Tufayl, Ibn Al-Ayn Zarbi, Ibn Bajjah, Al-Majusi, At-Tabari, Ibn Khaldun and others. There were others who may or may not have been directly related to the psychology field but who had a significant influence on the Islamisation of knowledge. These scholars include Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Sayyid Abul A’la Maududi, Syed Muhammad Al Naquib Bin Ali Al-Attas, Isma’il Raji Al-Faruqi Anis Ahmad and many others. The list would be incomplete without the names of contemporary scholars and authors including Malik Badri, Amber Haque, Aisha Utz, the “Malaysian Group” and others. It is evident that the history of Islamic psychology has been greatly influenced by many others Islamic scholars who have further established a foundation for contemporary Islamic academics and clinicians.
