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Fathi Malkawi     
  
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Salisu Shehu

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S.M. Hasanuz Zaman    

Contribution of Islamic Thought to Modern Economics  
Misbah Oreibi    

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Muhammad Akram Khan

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Isma'il R. al Faruqi

Islamization of Knowledge: Background, Models and the Way Forward
Malam Sa'idu Sulaiman

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Counseling Values and Objectives: A Comparison of Western and Islamic Perspectives PDF Print E-mail

Mumtaz F. Jafari

Counseling has established itself as a helping profession with an academic base. Its development has been influenced largely by the socioeconomic, occupational, and technical changes found in western society as well as the various personal and social problems germane to its societal organization. Although emerging as a profession only during the twentieth century, its origins can be traced back to the post-Renaissance era. It therefore has a distinct orientation, identity, and focus. The existing body of knowledge and the relevant repertoire of counseling techniques and practices address the demands of western society within its socio-moral value structure. The question then arises as to whether adding the term "Islamic" to the available discipline of counseling carries any legitimacy at this stage.

This paper is an attempt to examine critically the evolutionary context of counseling, the value system in which it is immersed, and the objectives it endeavors to address. The framework used for this examination is the Islamic outlook on life and the associated objectives and values that Islam regards as determinants of human behavior. It is assumed that this comparative approach to the underlying perspectives, objectives, and values will explain the congruence or incongruence between the existing model(s) of counseling and any alternative Islamic model(s).

It must be realized that Islamizing the prevalent secular-materialistic counseling thanes and practices cannot be accomplished by merely affixing the label "Islamic." Thus this paper should not be seen as an attempt to present an alternative framework for contemporary counseling based on Islamic teachings, although such a model might be long overdue. It rather aspires to provide a critical examination of western counseling parameter in order to illustrate the contrast with the fundamental premises of Islamic ideology and practice. Counseling objectives, skills, and strategies need to be redefined through systematic research and theorization based on Islamic perspectives.