An Gratitude Programme Based on Islamic Teaching for the Well-Being of Emerging Adults

The intervention was developed following the Medical Research Council framework fordeveloping and evaluating complex interventions (Skywington et al, 2021). Developmentdrew on a systematic literature review and 2 qualitative studies and interviews. First,with Islamic scholars, which produced a model of shukr covering its theocentricfoundation, its expression through heart, tongue, and limbs, its unconditional character,the virtue surrounding it, the humility it produces, and its social outworking. Second,the interviews with practitioners experienced in delivering psychological interventions,which produced design and safeguarding requirements.Existing gratitude interventions show modest effects, and three limitations recur:gratitude directed at other people can produce a sense of indebtedness rather thanappreciation; gratitude exercises perform poorly for people who are currently distressedbecause the exercise depends on identifying benefits; and interventions transportedwithout cultural adaptation lose effect, particularly when adaptation stays at thesurface rather than the emerging population's own framework for making sense of events.The intervention addresses each of these: gratitude is directed towards Allah, whorequires no repayment in kind; shukr is paired with Sabr (patience), which makesgratitude practicable during hardship rather than only after benefit. The daily practiceis attached to an existing routine to support habit formation, and content is drawn fromQuranic text and prophetic narration rather than from a single scholarly tradition.The intervention structure: 26 journal entries across 4 weeks, which are accompanied byprerecorded videos (presenting the same teaching and prompt as the workbook) and fivefacilitated group live sessions delivered online.The first session proceeds before day 1of journal entries; the remaining sessions fall roughly at the end of each week. Week 3addresses gratitude during hardship and includes content on adversity, unansweredprayers, and difficult relationships. Participants are informed which days are therebefore a week begins and may skip any day without explanation.Safeguards include explicit exclusion of abusive relationships from the content ondifficult people, wording that does not require disclosure of private matters, ananonymous well‐being check administered roughly mid‐intervention, and a defined supportand escalation procedures.