J Relig Health (2017) 56:507–520

DOI 10.1007/s10943-016-0246-3

ORIGINAL PAPER

Theories and Modules Applied in Islamic Counseling

Practices in Malaysia

Norazlina Zakaria1 · Noor Shakirah Mat Akhir2

Published online: 4 May 2016

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016

Abstract Some Malaysian scholars believe that the theoretical basis and models of
intervention in Islamic counseling practices in Malaysia are deficient and not eminently
identified. This study investigated and describes the nature of current Islamic counseling
practices including the theories and modules of Islamic counseling that are been practiced
in Malaysia. This qualitative research has employed data that mainly consist of texts
gathered from literatures and semi-structured interviews of 18 informants. It employed
grounded theory analysis, and the result shows that most of the practitioners had applied
integrated conventional counseling theories with Islamic rituals, references, interventions
and ethics. Some had also applied Islamic theories and modules formulated in Malaysia
such as iCBT, al-Ghazali counseling theories, Cognitive ad-Deen, KBJ, Prophetic Coun-
seling and Asma Allah al-Husna Counseling Therapy.

Keywords Counseling · Islam · Theories · Modules · Malaysia

Introduction

There have been vigorous attempts in Malaysia to insert religious values in counseling
practices starting from the 1990s until now, and the counselors have become much more
aware of the religious aspects found in the philosophy, moral values and code of ethics of
counseling (Abu Bakar 2009). Nevertheless, there is no study on the response of Malay-
sians’ generally and of counselors’ specifically, toward Islamic counseling that describes
the theories and modules practiced by Malaysian Muslim counselors.
Counseling has been professionally practiced in Malaysia since the 1960s, but Islamic
counseling has been around in Malaysia since the 1980s. However, when considering

& Norazlina Zakaria

iffahabdg@gmail.com
1
Kulliyah Usuluddin, Insaniah University College, 09300 Kuala Ketil, Baling, Kedah, Malaysia
2
School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Gelugor, Penang, Malaysia

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Islamic counseling in Malaysia, some scholars believe that it is deficient in distinguishing

theoretical basis and models of intervention in its practices. Although Islamic counseling
practitioners have declared that they are practicing Islamic counseling, the specific Islamic
counseling theories and procedures applied during the counseling sessions were not emi-
nently identified (Othman 1996). It is as if the current situation regarding Islamic
counseling in Malaysia is nebulous to the public. Thus, this research investigated these
problems by gathering data from prospective informants in order to reveal the phenomenon
that is actually occurring in the Islamic counseling ‘world’ in Malaysia.

Background

Islamic counseling began in Malaysia along with the awareness of Islamic Psychology that
was brought to this country by a Sudanese Muslim Psychologist named Malik Badri. His
paper entitled “Muslim Psychologists in the Lizard’s Hole” (1398H), which was presented
in Kuala Lumpur (1995) together with other literatures (Badri 1978, 1980, 1996, 2002),
had cultivated enthusiasm among Malaysian Muslim counselors to give some thought on
the Islamization of counseling (Abu Bakar 2009). Later, Malik Badri served as Professor of
Psychology at the Department of Psychology of the International Islamic University,
Malaysia, from June 1992 until July 1994, and was later re-appointed as professor at the
same university from 2007 until 2011. His presence in Malaysia and his continuous talks
on Islamization of knowledge, including psychology and psychotherapy, had inspired
Malaysian Muslim counseling scholars to evaluate the practice of mainstream counseling
according to the Islamic faith (aqidah) and Islamic legislation (syariah).
Another prominent figure who stroked the spark of Islamic counseling in Malaysia was
an Indonesian Islamic education scholar named Hasan Langgulung. He was appointed as
an Assistant Professor by University Malaya from 1971 until 1972, Dean of the Faculty of
Education in the National University of Malaysia, Head of the Education Department of
International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) in 1989 and senior professor at IIUM
in 2002. He wrote a book entitled “The Mental Health Theories” (1986), which discussed
mental health, psychology and counseling from an Islamic perspective.
In the 1990s, some scholars started to write books and publish journal articles on
Islamic counseling Salleh (1993), Abdul Manaf (1995, 1996, 2000), Wan Hussein @ Wan
Azmi Wan Abdul Kadir (1986) and Othman (1996). Most of these early publications about
Islamic counseling focused on the topic of human nature, relationship between Islamic
counseling and da’wah (Islamic preaching and missionary work), Islamic healing therapies
and critics on western theories and approaches in counseling. In the early part of 2000,
more and more Malaysian Muslim scholars emerged in the field of counseling and some
had carried out researches and written books on Islamic counseling such as (Sharif 2001;
Md. Noor 2002; Dakir 2003).
Later, some of these researchers shifted from the conceptual framework of Islamic
counseling to studies on theories and models in Islamic counseling. Sarmani (2003, 2005,
2008), Hamjah (2008) and Saper (2012) had tried to extract counseling theories or models
from profound Islamic literatures written by recognized scholars such as Al-Ghazāli.
Likewise, Baqutayan (2011) extracted the Quranic views to develop skills and techniques
in managing stress.
Ultimately, the most recent literatures on Islamic counseling in Malaysia were written
by Zainab et al. (2014) and Seghatoleslam et al. (2015). Zainab discussed the development

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of Islamic counseling in Malaysia, but she did not mention anything pertaining to theories
or modules. Zayed mentioned about Quranic Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
(QREBT) as being one of the Islamic counseling models practiced in Malaysia, but he did
not elaborate on the theory. Finally, Seghatoleslam emphasized the role of taqwa (piety) in
Islamic psycho-spiritual therapy used on drug addicts in Malaysia.

Educational Institutions Promoting Islamic Counseling in Malaysia

Despite the spark in the 1970s, it was just at the end of the 1980s and 1990s that the
enthusiastic awareness was turned into action. In 1988, MARA Institute of Technology
became the first education institution to initiate a seminar on incorporating Islam into
counseling practices. Soon, the Faculty of Human Sciences in International Islamic
University of Malaysia (IIUM) introduced Islamic counseling syllabuses in. By early 2000,
Islamic counseling courses had been introduced as an elective course in most of the
counseling programs in Malaysian public universities. In addition, some programs in ilm
al-da‘wah (Science of Islamic Preaching and Missionary) had also incorporated Islamic
counseling courses in their syllabus. In 2004, Universiti Islam Malaysia (USIM)1 started to
offer Master’s Degree in Counseling with several Islamic counseling courses incorporated
into its syllabus.
After 2010, state-owned Islamic colleges such as Sultan Azlan Shah Islamic University
College (situated in Perak, Malaysia), Malacca Islamic University College (situated in
Malacca, Malaysia) and Insaniah University College (situated in Kedah, Malaysia) had
introduced diplomas and degrees in Islamic counseling. A few private Islamic colleges
such as Darul Hikmah College (situated in Selangor, Malaysia) and Islamic College of
Science and Technology (situated in Kelantan, Malaysia) also began to offer diplomas in
Islamic counseling. All the programs mentioned earlier were accredited by the Counselor’s
Board of Malaysia and the Malaysian Higher Education auditing body known as the
Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA). Nevertheless, among all the programs offered by
the state-owned and private colleges, only the Master’s of Counseling from an Islamic
Perspective from Insaniah University College had been honored with a professional
counselor’s license by the Counselor’s Board of Malaysia.

Association and Centers

There are just three Malaysian associations that support Islamic counseling, which are the
Association of Islamic Social Science founded in 2010, the Association of Muslim
Facilitators and Motivators established in 2011 and the Association of Syari’ie Counseling,
set up in 2012.
Dr. Nadiyah Elias, one of the prominent Islamic counseling practitioners in Malaysia,
had initiated the Association of Islamic Social Science. Nevertheless, this association did
not focus just on Islamic counseling but showed its interest in all other affairs in the Social
Sciences discipline.
Out of these three associations, the second association, which was a non-governmental
organization (NGO), was the most active in promoting Islamic counseling, although it had
lesser number of members compared to the latter. They held annual international con-
ferences on Islamic counseling and actively organized a series of workshops on the
Islamization of conventional counseling modules and therapies.

1
A public Islamic Science University situated in Nilai, Malaysia.

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The Association of Syari’ie Counseling is an organization patronized by the Department

of Islamic Development (JAKIM), one of the government bodies overseeing Islamic affairs
in Malaysia and had its first annual general meeting in December 2013. This association
managed to draw the membership of more than 200 counselors who practice Islamic
counseling. Recently, this association had compiled an Islamic counseling manual called
“Manual Kaunseling Syar’ie” (Islamic or Syariah Compliant Counseling Manual), which
was published by JAKIM and distributed to all registered and non-registered counselors in
all offices under the Department of Islamic Affairs in Malaysia.
While discussing about centers that apply Islamic counseling, it was found that there
were counseling centers in 14 Islamic Governmental Departments (14 states in Malaysia),
two Islamic counseling Units at the Centre for Islamic Affairs in two public universities
(Universiti Utara Malaysia),2 & Universiti Sains Malaysia3 one Islamic counseling center
supervised by a mosque (Masjid As-Salam Puchong Counseling Centre), two professional
profit-based Islamic counseling centers (Hushim Motivational & Counseling Clinic and
Soul Cultivation Counseling Clinic) and a few counseling centers run by Islamic NGOs
(The Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (ABIM), IKRAM Malaysia).4 and HALUAN
Malaysia5
In spite of the abovementioned development in Islamic counseling in Malaysia, there
are still debates by the Malaysian Board of Counselors on whether Islamic counseling
really exists in Malaysia. One reason for these arguments is the deficiency in identifying
Islamic counseling theories or modules (Othman 2012). The researches or surveys con-
ducted in Malaysia to discover the reality of Islamic counseling practices in Malaysia are
very limited, thus the preceding arguments could not be answered satisfactorily. The
problems mentioned previously justify the reason for conducting this research, and
therefore, the quest to impart answers for those problems will be the aim of this study.

Research Objectives

This research aims to investigate the nature of current Islamic counseling practices in
Malaysia. The research has been designed to identify and describe the theories and
modules of Islamic counseling that are practiced in Malaysia, as perceived by a sample of
counseling practitioners.

Methodology

This research had relied predominantly on the qualitative research method. The qualitative
data comprised mainly texts gathered from literatures and interviews describing the views
and experiences of informants. The interview mode was utilized to collect the views of 18
informants related to the practice of Islamic counseling in Malaysia. The snowballing
technique was used to choose Muslim counselors (registered or non-registered) who had

2
Situated in Kedah, a northern state in Peninsular Malaysia. A public institution focusing on studies in
management.
3
Situated in Penang, a northern state in Peninsular Malaysia. A public institution focusing on studies in
pure and applied sciences.
4
A local non-governmental(NGO) organization, focusing on Islamic da’wah (preaching) and education.
5
A local NGO, focusing on Islamic da’wah (preaching).

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declared their practices to be Islamic, were members of the Malaysian Counseling Board
and were members of counselors’ associations. Their profiles are shown in Table 1.
The extensive in-depth interviews were conducted using two sets of questions, one that
used semi-structured questions and the other was an unstructured or open-ended interview.
The semi-structured questions were based on few prior assumptions regarding the topics
covered, which were later utilized to construct a list of potential questions. This research
employed grounded theory analysis. Data were analyzed into multiple and branching levels
of open coding consisting of the task to break down, examine, compare, conceptualize and
categorize the gathered data and interview transcripts. Patterns or meaning units within the
text delineated emerging themes and formed the findings of the study.

Results

Islamic Counseling Theories and Modules

After 18 snowballing semi-structured research interviews, it was concluded that Islamic

counseling in Malaysia could be divided into three main models, as predicted by one of the
respondents (a female registered counselor from Kedah, who is also a university lecturer in
counseling):
1. The modification model
2. The integrative model
3. The traditional model

The Modification Model

The respondent mentioned earlier had defined the modification model as a practice of
mainstream or conventional counseling (as promoted by the American Counseling Asso-
ciation) that has been adjusted with the adoption of Islamic values, ethics, interventions
and therapies, plus the exclusion of all ethics and practices that are not Islamic or Syariah
compliant.
All the respondents agreed that this is the most common model practiced by counselors
who had declared that their approach contains elements of Islamic counseling. Two of the
respondents (a female university lecturer in Education and, registered counselor from
Selangor, while the other a female university lecturer in Counseling and registered
counselor from Wilayah Persekutuan) had indicated that these counselors practiced various
conventional theories and counseling concepts such as Alderians, Rogerians, Ellis’,
Gestalts’ and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. However, some of them preferred the
Rogerian concept because they felt that it was intimate and contradicts less with Malaysian
Muslim culture and the process of counseling is parallel with the conventional style.
Based on the information from the respondents, it could be concluded that the modi-
fication was done in these aspects:

First: The Modification in the Introductory Disclosure Stage

In this process, the Islamic counselors will insert some Islamic rituals, such as greeting the
client with an Islamic greeting (Salam) and doing the Islamic repo of ‘al-ta’aruf’. The
counselors accustomed themselves to be sincere or ikhlas (i.e., performing the practices or

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helping their clients for the sake of the Allah SWT). They might ask clients to recite
Quranic verses, such as al-Fatihah, and recite the prayer or dua with them. If they are
going to practice Islamic counseling, they will also have to declare and get the client’s
consent, because some of their approaches might contradict conventional counseling
ethics. The counselors will also preserve Islamic ethical values related to man–woman
relationships, as counselors will prefer to entertain clients from the same sex as theirs.
However, if there is urgency and the client from the opposite sex needs professional
assistance, then these counselors will observe a strict ethical code. The code does not
permit touching the client, including handshakes, avoiding khulwah (i.e., being alone with
someone from the opposite sex) by having an inconspicuous counseling room (the coun-
seling room must be observable by others, normally through a transparent pane) and
limiting all forms of intimacy to a bare minimum.

Second: The Modification in the Exploration Stage

The philosophy and objective of counseling will be set up according to the Islamic theistic
faith and principles [i.e., the happiness should not just focus on worldly matters, but the
priority should be the ultimate happiness in the hereafter (akhirah)]. The concept of the
human being or client’s awareness of himself will be guided through the Islamic belief
reflected in the creation of humans and its purpose. The problems faced by clients will be
evaluated according to the principles of destiny (qada and qadar) and adversity (ibtila) that
is prevalent in the Islamic faith. The counselors, by utilizing all their psychological
knowledge and expertise, will have to advice the client to observe all Islamic principles
and laws and to be a good servant of Allah SWT. This is because according to Islam, this is
the main purpose of life and the solution to all human problems (the counselor might not be
directive, but he must creatively find a way of guiding the client to the righteous path,
because in Islam, giving advice is fard al-kifayah or compulsory).
Two respondents (a female registered counselor from Kedah, who is also a university
lecturer in counseling and a male registered counselor with the Department of Islamic
Affairs in Negeri Sembilan) emphasized that while exploring the client’s problems, the
counselor must be extra careful not to let the client reveal his sins, except when it is ultra-
necessary to help him solve his problems because revealing one’s sins to others is pro-
hibited in Islam. On the contrary, if the counselor decides that the sins are the root of the
client’s dilemma, then he will guide the client to repent toward Allah SWT and discuss
strategies for the self-improvement of the client, without directly delving into the sins.

Third: The Modification in Action Planning and Wrapping Up Stage

While planning solutions for problems or strategizing the enhancement strategy, the
counselor will also suggest some Islamic rituals and therapies to the client such as per-
forming prayers, tahajjud (midnight prayers), istikharah prayer (prayers to seek Allah’s
guidance in determining a choice) and zikr (Islamic chants) to cultivate tranquility and
equanimity. Two of the respondents [a male registered private counselor from Perak and a
male non-registered counselor from a counseling center (mosque) from Selangor] sug-
gested that counselors might do this together with the client. In fact, most of the
respondents said that they will always perform hajat prayers (a special prayer to seek
Allah’s blessings for a special need) to seek Allah’s help to relieve their clients of prob-
lems, because they believe that only Allah the Al-Mighty is the real Savior, and He is the
only One who could resolve the problems.

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During the wrap-up stage, the counselor will prescribe the clients some ‘homework’
including dua, zikr, prayers and other pertinent rituals (such as fasting, doing charita-
ble deeds or giving donations) to be performed by the clients at home with the last item in
the session being the recitation of the dua.

Fourth: The Modification in the Follow-Up Stage

Most of the respondents (counselors) stated that if they applied Islamic counseling tech-
niques, it would take a shorter time to wrap up their sessions. In fact, one of the
respondents (a male registered private counselor from Perak) said that after practicing
Islamic counseling, he could even settle his client’s problem in just one session lasting 1–
3 h. However, if the clients cannot resolve the problem in one session, a follow-up session
will be scheduled. Furthermore, these counselors do not stop to help the client just during
the counseling sessions, but they will also try their best to assist clients with other means of
assistance. One of the respondents (a registered private counselor from Wilayah
Persekutuan) said that he had taken one of his clients to perform umrah (minor pilgrimage)
in Mecca. The other respondent (a registered counselor, Professor and member of the
Malaysian Board of Counselors from Kedah) claimed that he had to go visit and consult the
client’s parents. Another respondent, a male registered school counselor in Perlis, stated
that he had an experience of dealing with the client’s boyfriend. All of them believed that it
is an obligation for the counselor to do the best in helping a Muslim client by exercising the
concept of Islamic brotherhood, as commanded by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Yet, they
are still obliged to observe the professional etiquette of a counselor and client.

The Integrative Models

According to a respondent (a female registered counselor from Kedah, who is also a

university lecturer in counseling), the integrative model in Islamic counseling is a technique
used to integrate the conventional techniques and the traditional Islamic techniques, pro-
vided that both disciplines respect their original identity and adhere to scientific methods.
Moreover, the scientific thought that was chosen must be parallel to the Islamic worldview.
The same respondent suggested that in order to formulate the integrative model, a
counselor must have ample knowledge in both disciplines (i.e., counseling and Islamic
studies). This means that he must be professionally trained to be a counselor and possess a
counselor’s license, plus a thorough knowledge on Islam, namely in the fields of al-Tawhid,
Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Tafseer, Hadith and Sirah, either formally or informally. In this type of
model, the philosophy, purpose and way of live, and the worldview of the counselor and
client must be cultivated according to Islamic teachings. This model is also a technique to
convey these teachings by utilizing the counseling technique and processes.
According to the views of the respondents, this research has uncovered, three models of this
kind, which are called the Cognitive al-Deen Counseling by Dr. Othman Mohammad, iCBT
(Islamic Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) formulated by Dr. Nadiya Elias and Kaunseling Bina
Jiwa (Soul Cultivating Counseling) formulated by Dr. Kamaruzzaman Jalaluddin.

Cognitive al-Deen Counseling

The Cognitive Ad-Din Psychology Theory was developed by Othman Mohamed in 2008
(Othman 2008). Othman discussed a lot on the concept of self and the philosophy of

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change according to the Quran and the Sunnah (the Prophetic traditions) as the foundation
of his counseling model.
The Cognitive Ad-Din approach focuses on the mind as an important element that
triggers the individual to act and change. In addition, this concept also focuses on the fitrah
(naturally good human instincts) and discusses how to control the nafs (desires) and qalb
(heart), which either trigger good or evil deeds. Othman proposed that in order to help a
client who is intend on changing but has difficulties that prevent him from doing so, the
counselor should trigger the client’s insight through cognitive means. Thus, counselors
should use counseling techniques including confrontation to help the client to start
thinking. In addition, counselors should also employ divine intervention such as repentance
to The Allah The Most Gracious, Most Merciful and The Almighty (Othman 2005).
Inspired by the Quranic and Prophetic techniques such as advising and promoting change,
Othman had suggested a few counseling strategies such as the conveying knowledge tech-
nique, mind and wisdom technique, narrative story telling technique, idiomatic, analogy and
metaphor technique, controlling technique, multitasking technique, systematic rational
imaging technique, easy shifting and conceptual shifting technique. All these techniques are
blended with prayer and repentance to Allah the Al-Mighty (Othman 2005).
This model had been tested in various settings such as when counseling teachers (Sipon,
2010), orphans (Madihie et al. 2011), and teenagers who are pregnant out-of-wedlock
(Sa’ad et al. 2013) and it has proved its efficacy.

Kaunseling Bina Jiwa—KBJ (Soul Cultivating Counseling)

According to one respondent (a registered private counselor from Perlis), Soul Cultivating
Counseling or better known as KBJ, is an Islamic counseling model promoted by Jalaludin
(2006), which integrates conventional counseling processes with the Islamic approach. He
proposed a clinical Islamic counseling model that is based on Mohammedian Traditions
(Sunnah) and could help a client promptly, accurately, scientifically, therapeutically, empiri-
cally, with a fun, and non-stress technique. This model was inspired by Surah (chapter) al-
Fatihah, the first four verses of Surah al-Baqarah and Surah al-Alaq in the Quran. The
philosophy of a successful life was formulated from these verses and instigated the basis of
KBJ. Kamaruzzaman also mentioned that the four main qualities of prophets, i.e., Siddiq,
Amanah, Tabligh and Fathonah (Truthful, Trustworthy, Preach, and Wisdom) as qualities of an
ideal human being and the ideal characteristics of a counselor. He divided the soul into four
categories comprising the ‘leader’, ‘follower’, ‘opponent’ and ‘coward’, and used this theory to
enhance the client. He also applied al-Ghazali’s suggestion on determining the roots of a
problem (i.e., greed, blather, anger, envy, stingy, status anxiety, loving worldly life, pride, self-
conceit, and smug) as his philosophy of helping problematic clients (Jalaludin 2006).
The same respondent pointed out that although KBJ’s philosophies are based on Islamic
aspects, Kamaruzzaman was still committed toward the conventional counseling processes
(i.e., diagnostic, rationalization, developing, therapeutic intervention and evaluating stage).

iCBT (Islamic Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)

According to a respondent (a female registered counselor and a university lecturer in

counseling from Kedah), this model was formulated by Nadiyah Elias, but she has yet to
compile and publish her works. She was inspired by the Islamic traditional way of tar-
biyyah (educating), where a Muslim would be educated in a large group with the
fundamental teachings of Islam, and if there is any student who did not meet the standard

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requirement, only then will the teacher focus on educating him personally. It is also based
on the belief that the root of a Muslim’s problem is his contradiction with the Islamic
worldview and principles while leading his life.
According to Islamic Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (iCBT), the client first comes to a
counseling session and is introduced to the Islamic worldview pertinent to his problem.
The client has to be proactive and assess the way he leads his life using the Islamic
worldview measure that had been conveyed by the counselor. Some of the clients, after
hearing the worldview, managed to come out with solutions to their problems.
The second step is to place the client in a group counseling session, where he will
diagnose his own problems via group discussions. The group will discuss their previous
worldviews and determine what contradicted the Islamic worldview. For those who cannot
find a solution, only then will the counselor advise him to attend individual counseling
sessions. The individual counseling session will be conducted according to the CBT
conventional counseling style that observes Islamic worldview and principles.

The Traditional Models

The Traditional model is defined by one of the respondents (a female registered counselor
from Kedah, who is also a university lecturer in counseling) as a counseling model that was
extracted from the Quran, the Sunnah (the sayings, deeds and tacit approvals of Prophet
Muhammad PBUH) and literatures by Muslim scholars. The counselors will choose the
Quranic verses and the Sunnah (sayings, deeds and tacit approvals of Prophet Muhammad
PBUH) that are related to the counseling case and then formulate it into a model. They also
formulated models from prominent Muslim Scholars and Sufi literatures such as the works
of al-Ghazali, Ibn al-Miskawaih and Abd al-Qadir al-Jailani. Some of the counselors called
this type of counseling as Modern Tasawwuf (Islamic mysticism).
This research has discovered a few traditional counseling modules practiced in
Malaysia. They are Al-Ghazali’s models in counseling, Asma Allah al-Husna Counseling
Therapy and “Kaunseling Gaya Nabi” (Prophetic Style Counseling).

Al-Ghazali’s6 Models in Counseling

Sarmani (2005), Hamjah (2008) and Saper (2012) had used al-Ghazali’s concept of taz-
kiyah al-nafs (purification of the soul) to formulate this counseling method. This method
used al-Ghazali’s views to develop the counseling technique such as cultivating close
rapport with clients, identifying root causes of problems and applying three methods of
treatments, which are combating desire, exercising the soul and recalling it. This method
incorporated counseling as one of the da‘wah (Islamic preaching) strategies (Hamjah
2008).

Asma Allah al-Husna Counseling Therapy

This therapy was introduced by Professor Wan Maseri Wan Mohd and is based on the zikr
(chanting) of 99 holy names of Allah the All-Mighty. The basics of this model is to guide
the client to commit absolutely to Allah the All-Mighty and to understand how his situation

6
Abū Hāmid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazālı̄ (c. 1058–1111) also known as al-Ghazali or Algazel
to the Western world, was a Muslim theologian, philosopher, jurist, and Sufi (mystic).

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or problem is related to the supremacy, influence, wish and the prudence of Allah the All-
Mighty (Wan Mohd 2013).
As mentioned by a respondent (a male, registered school counselor from Kedah), the
counselor will elaborate the meaning of certain holy names of Allah the All-Mighty and
recite the dua by ruminating these names that corresponds to the problem faced by the
client. Then the client will be given some ‘homework’ in the form of chanting particular
names prescribed by the counselor.

“Kaunseling Gaya Nabi” (Prophetic Style Counseling)

A respondent (a female non-registered counselor and a university lecturer in Education

from Wilayah Persekutuan) explained that the establishment of this model was inspired by
how Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had succeeded in educating the Sahabah (his com-
panions). A linguistic psychologist named Ainon Mohd, assisted by an education lecturer
Wan Mazwati Wan Yusoff, had developed a team to study interpersonal communication
and psychological aspects found in Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) traditions. They had
researched more than five thousand Hadiths in Sahih Bukhori and had concluded a few
counseling methods:
1. The human behavior is based on what one determines his future to be. Therefore, the
counselor should not investigate what had happened in the client’s past, or the factors
or motives that had triggered the client’s behavior/problem (as what is done in some
Western counseling methods). On the contrary, the counselor should discuss what the
client would do in the future and refrain from posing the “why” question to his clients.
2. Contradictory to conventional counseling, it is concluded based on the Hadith that the
counselor should hear-out the client but is not obliged to empathize with the client, and
not to encourage the client to convey his sins, weaknesses or whatever that is not
related to the problem.
3. In order to ease the client’s emotions, the counselor is encouraged to give positive
remarks related to the problem.
4. The counselor should not investigate the client’s background; instead, he should focus
on the client during the session.
5. The counselor should advice the client with suggestions to resolve his problems,
suggest alternatives for the client and act on behalf of the client.
6. The counseling session should be brief and not prolonged.
7. The counselor should not lecture the client.
8. The counselor should not ask the client to stop his behavior, instead he should offer
alternatives for change or repentance from his sins.
9. The counselor should use Quranic verses or the Hadith when advising the client and
not express his own ideas or opinions without these references.
10. The counselor should not condemn the undesired behavior, but instead indicate the
right pathway.
11. To clients who have committed sinful acts or wrongdoings because of their ignorance,
the counselor should explain the rules and laws, from the civil and religious aspects.
12. The counselor is encouraged to praise the clients’ good deeds.
13. The counselor should only counsel when the client requires it.
The same respondent claimed that his team had faced a lot of criticism and debate
because many of their conclusions had challenged conventional counseling procedures and
ethics.

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Conclusion

The literature studies and semi-structured interviews involving 18 informants who par-
ticipated in this study had revealed the current situation and much new and significant
information pertaining to not just the milieu but also the theories and modules of Islamic
counseling practices in Malaysia. During the investigation aimed at discovering the the-
ories and models of Islamic counseling practiced in Malaysia, an ironic situation transpired
that astonished the researcher and practitioners themselves. Although the number of
Islamic counseling practitioners in Malaysia was very limited but surprisingly, they did not
know each other except for just a few of them because there was no active organization
collating the Islamic counseling practitioners, except after the year 2010 onwards.
Even though there are just three associations related to Islamic counseling in Malaysia,
with seven academic institutions offering Islamic counseling studies and just 22 Malaysian
counseling centers applying Islamic counseling approaches, it could be concluded that the
development of Islamic counseling in Malaysia is on the right track. The progression might
not be expeditious enough, but compared to the last two decades, the current attempts and
efforts made by the Muslim counselors are applausive.
In terms of theories and modules, this research had discovered seven domestic Islamic
counseling Modules that were developed by Malaysian Muslim counselors, which could be
divided into modification, integrative and traditional approaches or models. Among these
tree models, the modification approach has been practiced extensively compared to the
other two due to its simplicity in mastering the model by Muslim counselor .
Finally, it could be concluded that the development of Islamic counseling in Malaysia
has moved from lingering about the arguments concerning its originality phase (Zayed
2014) to the development of theories and modules phase. These findings answer the
research premise and disclose that Islamic counseling has its own distinctive identity
compared to mainstream secular counseling. There are Muslim counselors who are very
optimistic and eager to promote Islamic counseling among Malaysians, especially among
the Muslim community. Thus, they are determined and steadfast not to look back, but
intend to face the challenges in order to survive and pave the way toward achieving their
aspirations in upholding Islamic counseling at par with mainstream counseling.

Recommendations

It is suggested that future studies apply focus group methodology to collect views of
prominent Islamic counseling practitioners regarding issues on Islamic counseling in
Malaysia. This is intended to form a mature discussion, argument or debate that could
produce resourceful data and a fruitful outcome. Secondly, this research is about the
counselors’ views; therefore, research on the public or the Malaysian community’s per-
ception toward Islamic counseling and its practices in Malaysia is highly recommended, as
it could equilibrate and evaluate the result of this research.

Appendix

See Table 1.

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Table 1 Respondent’s profile

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Respondent’s codes Gender Age (range) Counseling qualification Type of practice State

Counselor 1 Female 50–60 Registered counselor University lecturer in Counseling Kedah

Counselor 2 Male 70–80 Registered counselor Private counselor Perak
Counselor 3 Male 40–50 Registered counselor and Member of Counselor at Department of Islamic Affairs Wilayah Persekutuan
Malaysian Counselor Board
Counselor 4 Female 40–50 Registered counselor Associate Professor in Counseling Selangor
Counselor 5 Male 40–50 Registered counselor University lecturer in Counseling Perak
Counselor 6 Male 70–80 Registered counselor and member of Professor in Counseling Kedah
Malaysian Counselor Board
Counselor 7 Male 50–60 Registered counselor, member of Malaysian Associate Professor in Counseling Perak
Counselor Board and committee member
of Association of Malaysian Counselors
Counselor 8 Male 60–70 Registered counselor, committee member of Private practitioner Perak
Association of Malaysian Counselors
Counselor 9 Male 60–70 Registered counselor Private practitioner Wilayah Persekutuan
Counselor 10 Male 60–70 Non-registered counselor Counselor in a mosque counseling center Selangor
Counselor 11 Male 50–60 Registered counselor, School counselor Perlis
Counselor 12 Female 40–50 Registered counselor University Lecturer in Counseling Selangor
Counselor 13 Female 40–50 Non-registered counselor University Lecturer in Education Selangor
Counselor 14 Female 50–60 Registered counselor University Lecturer in Counseling Wilayah Persekutuan
Counselor 15 Female 40–50 Registered counselor Professor in Counseling Johor
Counselor 16 Male 50–60 Registered counselor Counselor at Department of Islamic Affairs Negeri Sembilan
Counselor 17 Male 40–50 Registered counselor School counselor Kedah
Counselor 18 Female 50–60 Non-registered counselor Counselor at university Islamic center Penang
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