A Case Review of Body Research Studies in Theology: Approaches and Challenges

The physical (bodily) aspect of Man is amongst his critical existential dimensions that play important roles in the formation of identity and establishment of relationship with individuals and community. Despite this importance, this dimension is neglected in research, especially in anthropology and psychology. The grandeur of the soul, adoption of negative attitudes toward the body, instrumental assumptions about the body, exclusion from the truth of Man, and maximal dualism (between soul and body) have marginalized the importance of the physical aspect of Man. In the view of some Islamic thinkers, the body is a negative issue, a human antagonist, a barrier to the soul, and a devil issue that deters human perfection. However, some serious considerations are associated with these views. In the current research, these views are explained and analyzed critically and an approach based on Islamic wisdom and thought is presented. Accordingly, the body is a divine container and a twin to the soul for human perfection. Reformulation of this approach lays the grounds for a theoretical framework that explains the position of the body in the structure of human existence and scientific investigation of it.