Self-Knowledge and Its Role in Cultivating and Strengthening the Sense of Poverty and Need for God from the Perspective of the Holy Quran

Document Type : Scholary

Authors

1 Ph.D. Candidate in Comparative Exegesis, Bint al-Huda Higher Education Complex, Qum, Iran

2 Professor of Qum Seminary, Qum, Iran,

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Ethics and Education, Jāmiʿat al-Zhrā’, Qum, Iran

10.22034/qns.2025.20888.1117

Abstract

This research, using a descriptive-analytical method based on library studies and drawing upon verses from the Holy Quran and reliable religious sources, examines the role of self-knowledge in explaining the human sense of poverty and need for God as the Creator and ultimate cause of existence within the framework of Islamic teachings. The findings reveal that self-knowledge exposes human beings’ existential poverty in relation to God and identifies the true self—the divine soul—as immortal and bestowed by God, the source of fulfillment for all needs. Consequently, by granting primacy to the unseen realm, the soul, and one’s innate divine purity, one strengthens his connection with God and nurtures within oneself a profound sense of poverty and need for Him. Furthermore, by cultivating cognitive and spiritual stages of awareness, one reinforces the realization that he possesses nothing of his own and that God alone is his true refuge and source of strength. The results indicate that this sense of poverty and need for God enhances faith and spiritual connection with the Divine, ultimately leading to the attainment of “ḥayāt-i ṭayyibah” (good life).

Keywords

References

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The Quran: Contemporary Studies
Volume 4, Issue 11 - Serial Number 11
Fourth year, Number 11, Spring 2025
May 2025
Pages 126-149

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