Session 1: Defining Crisis and Finding Meaning in Challenge (60 Minutes)

Theme: Shifting the narrative from ”why me?” to understanding life’s inevitable challenges as catalysts for inner growth and strength.

0–5 min – Introduction
Instructor and participant introductions, course goals, and setting a safe and confidential space.
Faith-based concept: respectful engagement and conduct (Adab).

5–15 min – Stress vs. Trauma
Psychological definitions of stress and trauma (big T vs. little t), the spectrum of stress responses, and emotional injury.
Faith-based concept: differentiating emotional pain from spiritual purification and unavoidable trials.

15–25 min – The Inevitability of Trials
Understanding that hardship is an unavoidable part of human existence and a universal experience. Emphasizing the normalizing of struggle.
Faith-based concept: Divinely-ordained tests (Musibah and Fitnah).

25–40 min – Finding Purpose in Pain
Exploring the potential for immense inner reward (Ajr) and personal growth gained through enduring pain with intentional patience.
Faith-based concept: purification of character and sins through suffering (Kaffarah).

Time: 40–50 min – Topic: Coping vs. Healing

Description and key concepts: Identifying common, short-term coping mechanisms versus the long-term, restorative process of true healing.

Faith-based integration: The need for Tawbah (turning back) and self-reflection to move past spiritual confusion.

Time: 50–60 min – Topic: Q&A and Homework

Description and key concepts: Open Q&A. Journaling prompt: Identify one physical sensation you associate with distress, and one spiritual/faith text (verse, prayer, quote) you find grounding.

Faith-based integration: Actionable self-monitoring practice.

Session 2: The Body’s Alarm System and the Window of Tolerance (60 Minutes)

Theme: Understanding how trauma impacts the nervous system and learning to navigate the critical zone of emotional regulation.

Time: 0–10 minutes
Topic: Recap and check-in
Description and key concepts: Review of Session 1 concepts and brief check-in on homework.
Faith-based integration: (none specified)

Time: 10–25 minutes
Topic: The nervous system response
Description and key concepts: A simplified look at the autonomic nervous system (ANS): sympathetic response (hyperarousal, fight, flight) and parasympathetic response (hypoarousal, freeze).
Faith-based integration: The importance of the qalb (heart, center of intellect) as the center of perception and processing.

Time: 25–40 minutes
Topic: The window of tolerance
Description and key concepts: Introducing the concept of the window of tolerance as the optimal zone for functioning and regulating emotions. Discussing hyperarousal and hypoarousal states outside the window.
Faith-based integration: Mapping the psychological state onto the spiritual goal: the nafs al-mutma’innah (the tranquil soul) operates primarily within the window.

Time: 40–50 minutes
Topic: Cultivating sakinah (inner peace)
Description and key concepts: Defining sakinah as the spiritual and emotional state achieved by a regulated nervous system and a tranquil self.
Faith-based integration: The ultimate reward is to return to the Creator in a state of deep, lasting peace (Quran 89:27–30).

Time: 50–60 minutes
Topic: Q&A and homework
Description and key concepts: Q&A. Homework: For the next week, track three times you felt pushed outside your window of tolerance (too hyper or too hypo) and what spiritual reminder or sensory anchor you used to try to return.
Faith-based integration: Practice of self-awareness (muraqabah) and regulation.

Session 3: Processing Loss and Cultivating Active Resilience (60 minutes)

Theme: Healing involves acknowledging grief and cultivating active, spiritual strength to move through pain.

Time: 0–10 minutes
Topic: Recap and review
Description and key concepts: Discussion on the window of tolerance and states of arousal.
Faith-based integration: (none specified)

Time: 10–25 minutes
Topic: Grief as a human response
Description and key concepts: Validating the pain of emotional loss and grief (huzn). Accepting natural emotional responses without spiritual condemnation.
Faith-based integration: Prophetic examples of healthy grief and validation (for example, Prophet Muhammad’s tears, Prophet Yaqub’s sorrow).

Time: 25–40 minutes
Topic: Active patience (sabr)
Description and key concepts: Defining sabr not as passive resignation, but as a proactive, conscious choice to remain steadfast and disciplined in the face of emotional difficulty.
Faith-based integration: Three dimensions of sabr: steadfastness in commitment, discipline in abstaining from harm, and perseverance in the face of calamity.

Time: 40–50 minutes
Topic: Practicing radical trust (tawakkul)
Description and key concepts: Moving beyond emotional crisis by cultivating tawakkul (absolute, active reliance on the Divine). Emphasizing the balance between personal effort and spiritual trust.
Faith-based integration: Action means doing one’s emotional and physical part (taking means) and then entrusting the outcome to the Creator.

Time: 50–60 minutes
Topic: Q&A and homework
Description and key concepts: Q&A. Homework: Write a deeply personal prayer (du’a) asking for strength in a current difficulty, focusing on the Divine attributes such as the All-Powerful and the Giver of Peace.
Faith-based integration: Connecting active sabr with intentional prayer.

Session 4: Processing Practice as Regulation Tools (60 minutes)

Theme: Utilizing core spiritual devotion—prayer, remembrance, and supplication—as neuro‑spiritual tools for grounding and self-soothing.

Time: 0–10 minutes
Topic: Recap and check-in
Description and key concepts: Review of active sabr and tawakkul.
Faith-based integration: (none specified)

Time: 10–25 minutes
Topic: Rhythmic remembrance (dhikr) for calming
Description and key concepts: Analyzing specific forms of rhythmic remembrance (mantra or affirmation) that neurologically aid in slowing the heart rate, grounding, and regulating breathing.
Faith-based integration: Focus on affirmations of strength, reliance, and praise (for example, la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah).

Time: 25–40 minutes
Topic: Structured prayer as a daily anchor
Description and key concepts: Focusing on concentration (khushu’) during formal, structured prayer. Using the ritual’s physical movements and fixed schedule as a grounding mechanism and daily commitment.
Faith-based integration: The therapeutic power of sujud (prostration) as a complete physical, mental, and spiritual surrender.

Time: 40–50 minutes
Topic: The healing power of social connection
Description and key concepts: Discussing the importance of safe social connection and trusted community (ukhuwwah) in the healing process and when to seek professional consultation (shura).
Faith-based integration: Refutation of isolation: emphasizing community support as a Divine command and noting that isolation often hinders healing.

Time: 50–60 minutes
Topic: Q&A and practice
Description and key concepts: Q&A. Guided practice of a 5‑minute rhythmic affirmation or remembrance exercise for regulation. Homework: Commit to performing 5 minutes of focused rhythmic remembrance daily.
Faith-based integration: Immediate application of skills.

Session 5: Integration, Purpose, and Post Traumatic Growth (60 minutes)

Theme: Moving from surviving to thriving by integrating the experience and strengthening one’s connection to the Divine (taqwa).

Time: 0–10 minutes
Topic: Recap and check-in
Description and key concepts: Review of the practical regulation tools.
Faith-based integration: (none specified)

Time: 10–25 minutes
Topic: Releasing spiritual guilt
Description and key concepts: Addressing feelings of shame, failure, or spiritual inadequacy that often accompany trauma. Releasing self‑blame through turning back to the Creator (tawbah).
Faith-based integration: Understanding tawbah as a renewal of connection, signifying the Creator’s vast mercy, not punishment.

Time: 25–40 minutes
Topic: Reclaiming your story
Description and key concepts: The psychological task of integrating the trauma: recognizing that the event is a part of one’s history but not the definition of the person.
Faith-based integration: Focus on husn al‑zann billah (having good expectation of the Creator) in shaping one’s future and narrative.

Time: 40–50 minutes
Topic: Post‑traumatic growth (taqwa)
Description and key concepts: Defining resilience and growth and how the experience can refine character, increase empathy, and deepen spiritual awareness.
Faith-based integration: Goal of utilizing trauma to strengthen taqwa (God‑consciousness) and ethical character (akhlaq).

Time: 50–60 minutes
Topic: Final reflections and resources
Description and key concepts: Final Q&A, course summary, and suggestions for next steps such as professional therapy, advanced study, and self‑care routines.
Faith-based integration: Making a final collective prayer for continued strength and healing.

Course Objectives:
Upon completion, participants will be able to:

1.      Define trauma and understand its impact on the body and mind.

2.     Frame their experience of suffering within a theological understanding of trials.

3.     Identify their personal window of tolerance and strategies for staying within it.

4.     Differentiate between passive endurance and active resilience (sabr).

5.     Utilize core spiritual practices (prayer and remembrance) as active methods for emotional and nervous system regulation.

6.     Cultivate tawakkul and a positive outlook (husn al‑zann billah) to promote lasting spiritual and emotional resilience.