The ecopsychological, spiritual, physiological health and mood benefits of zikr meditation and nature for muslim university students

• Main Authors: Roslan, Samsilah, Ismail, Maznah, Zaremohzzabieh, Zeinab, Ahmad, Noorlila, Mohamad, Zulkifli, Jiun Ooi, Der, Ishak, Nur Akmal, Qamaruzzaman, Faridah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Human Resource Management Academic Research Society 2022
• Subjects: BPL Islamic education; L Education (General); LB Theory and practice of education; LB1050.9 Educational psychology
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/100619/7/100619_The%20ecopsychological%2C%20spiritual%2C%20physiological%20health.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/100619/; https://hrmars.com/papers_submitted/14784/the-ecopsychological-spiritual-physiological-health-and-mood-benefits-of-zikr-meditation-and-nature-for-muslim-university-students.pdf; http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v12-i9/14784

Muslim students' wellbeing is said to be impacted by zikr meditation because it fosters a sense of connection between the self and nature. Consequently, this study attempts to look into how zikr meditation and being in nature might help Muslim university students' ecopsychological, spiritual, physical, and mental wellbeing. Using the random selection method, this study assigned 160 Muslim university students to either (i) engage in zikr meditation or (ii) not engage in meditation in both green outdoor and indoor settings. Blood pressure and pulse rate were then measured to assess physiological responses; Results: The level of mood disturbances, heart rate, and systolic blood pressure are all significantly reduced by the combination of nature-zikr exposure. Spirituality score and the ecopsychology value score were both significantly greater in the meditation group than in the control group. Spending time outside is an effective way to increase spirituality and eco-psychological self- value, according to differences between pre-and post-test results. Although further research is needed to replicate these effects in other populations/environments, this study implies that Muslim university students gain significantly from zikr meditation and exposure to nature.