THE QURANIC CONCEPT OF SHUKAR (GRATITUDE) AND ITS CONVERGENCE WITH POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Abstract

Gratitude has emerged, over the past two decades, as one of the most extensively researched constructs in positive psychology, with empirical work consistently linking it to elevated subjective well-being, reduced depressive symptomatology, strengthened relationships, and improved physical health. This article presents the Quranic concept of Shukr alongside the foundational empirical literature on gratitude in positive psychology and identifies both substantial convergence and a critical theological distinction between the two traditions. The article begins by defining gratitude as a psychological construct and positive psychology as a scientific discipline, before examining the Quranic treatment of Shukr through multiple verses and an authenticated Hadith. It then reviews the core empirical mechanisms through which gratitude is theorized to support well-being, drawing on the foundational studies of Emmons and McCullough (2003), Froh, Sefick, and Emmons (2008), Wood, Froh, and Geraghty (2010), and Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, and Schkade (2005). The article argues that where positive psychology treats gratitude as a self-regulated cognitive-emotional practice whose object is often left conceptually unspecified, the Quran anchors Shukr in a permanent, relational, and theologically defined object of gratitude, Allah, a structure that directly addresses limitations gratitude researchers have themselves identified regarding the durability and circumstantial dependence of secular gratitude interventions.