Developing critical thinking skills in Muslims in light of the Holy Quran

-, Ahmed Jassim Mohammed Awad

doi:10.34278/aujis.2026.192231

	Developing critical thinking skills in Muslims in light of the Holy Quran
Anbar University Journal of Islamic Sciences
Article 7, Volume 17, Issue 3, September 2026, Pages 1816-1869 PDF (9.62 M)
DOI: 10.34278/aujis.2026.192231
Author
Ahmed Jassim Mohammed Awad -
General Directorate of Anbar Education
Abstract
Critical thinking is one of the fundamental pillars that the Holy Qur’an has given great attention to, as it has presented an integrated approach to developing the Muslim mind and freeing it from imitation. This research aims to reveal the Qur’anic approach to building critical thinking and developing its skills among Muslims, starting from the main problem of the weakness of these skills among some groups of Muslims in contemporary reality. Despite the fact that the Holy Qur’an contains an integrated approach to stimulating the mind, contemplation and reflection, the researcher adopted the descriptive analytical approach in extrapolating the Qur’anic verses and understanding their implications on the subject of critical thinking, and then identifying the controls and objectives of critical thinking. Then she spoke about the most important skills and methods for developing critical thinking in the Holy Quran. The researcher reached a number of conclusions, most notably: The Holy Qur’an presents an integrated conception of critical thinking as a mental process governed by the rules of revelation, aimed at distinguishing truth from falsehood and reaching certainty. The Qur’an employed effective educational methods in developing these skills, namely: questioning, role-playing, storytelling, observation, and contemplation. The researcher recommends the need to strengthen specialized studies in this field, and to benefit from the Qur’anic approach in developing educational programs to develop critical thinking, and to prepare standardized measurement tools based on religious texts.
Keywords
Development; critical thinking; the Holy Quran

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