A Qur'anic Study of Emotional Intelligence Based on the Views of Daniel Goleman

Using a scientific- Quranic approach, the present article examines emotional intelligence from the perspective of the American psychologist, Daniel Goleman, and the Holy Quran. To further enrich the discussion, it first deals with the equivalence of intelligence in the Quran and Arabic literature. Then, using a comparative-analytical method, it studies the components that Goleman has proposed for emotional intelligence in detail and compares them with the Quranic verses. The obtained result shows that in expressing the components, the Qur'an considers all the worldly, otherworldly, individual and social aspects of happiness, while Goleman has an individualistic view of man. Besides, the Qur'anic approach comprehensively regards all aspects of human personality and considers man as the representative of God, whereas in Goleman's materialistic view, man is a worldly and pleasure-seeking being. The Qur'an stated the transcendent components of the path of salvation for human beings centuries before the science of psychology was formed, and this is one of the scientific miracles of the Qur'an.