"With adversity comes ease": A qualitative study on Islamic theodicy and its use as a cognitive resource in situations of psychological suffering and in coping with stressful events by adherents of Islam

• Grant number: 25/08304-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2026
• End date: November 30, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Francisco Lotufo Neto
• Grantee: Sálua Omais
• Host Institution: Instituto de Psiquiatria Doutor Antonio Carlos Pacheco e Silva (IPq). Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP (HCFMUSP). Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Pain and suffering resulting from adverse circumstances and/or traumatic events are often intensified by catastrophic and pessimistic cognitive interpretations. These interpretations, in addition to generating feelings of helplessness and despair, may predispose individuals to disorders such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Religions, however, may offer frameworks of meaning to suffering and to phenomena that elude human logic, thereby facilitating the processes of acceptance, adaptation, and psychological resilience in times of crisis. Theodicy-a concept used in certain religious doctrines to explain the will and purposes of God-may serve as an important resource in this context. This project aims to explore selected hypotheses of Islamic theodicy concerning human suffering, analysing how the meanings and interpretations attributed to suffering within this framework may contribute cognitively to the development of resilience, particularly in situations of psychological distress and during the confrontation of stressful life events. Given that the investigation focuses on spiritual meanings and interpretations, a qualitative research methodology will be employed, and the study will be divided into three phases. In the first phase, a qualitative systematic review using the metasynthesis approach will be conducted to identify and synthesize the main findings in the literature on this subject. In the second phase, semi-structured audio-recorded interviews will be carried out with Muslim religious leaders, guided by a set of questions designed to explore the topic from an Is-lamic perspective. In the third phase, videos featuring international Islamic leaders published on social media platforms will be selected; their content will be transcribed, analyzed, and compared to the data obtained in the previous phases. Following transcription, the interview data will be analyzed using the thematic analysis technique as outlined by Braun and Clarke. The findings will subsequently be interpreted in comparison with the reviewed literature to support the final research report's development and prepare the work for submission to peer-reviewed journals in the field. (AU)