Enhancing Psychological Resilience through Expansion of the Chest: A Theoretical Analysis Based on Qur’anic and Hadith Teachings

Mohammadi Nejad, Farhad; Mohamadi Nejad Pashaki, Ahmad

doi:10.22054/rjqk.2026.90999.3246

Enhancing Psychological Resilience through Expansion of the Chest: A Theoretical Analysis Based on Qur’anic and Hadith Teachings

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Farhad Mohammadi nejad ¹

Ahmad Mohamadi Nejad Pashaki ²

¹ Department of Education, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

² Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.

10.22054/rjqk.2026.90999.3246

Abstract

A significant idea in the Qur'an and hadith is the expansion of the chest, which symbolizes inner openness, truth acceptance, and the ability to endure hardships. The expansion of the chest mentioned in Islamic teachings is not an emotional condition or a momentary sense of peace, but a deep spiritual and psychological capacity that can significantly improve the threshold of tolerance of the individual and promote resilience. The importance of resilience in the midst of individual and social stresses is undeniable. Therefore, analyzing the foundations and mechanisms behind expansion of the chest in the Qur’an and hadith provides a spiritual framework for strengthening human adaptive capacity. This research explains the epistemological underpinnings and causes that increase the growth of the chest in the Holy Qur'an and the narrations of Ahl al-Bayt (AS). It examines its function in building tolerance, patience and mental resilience. The research is based on primary sources comprising the verses of the Qur'an, the authoritative commentaries and the narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS) with a descriptive-analytical technique based on the conceptual analysis. The research begins with the identification of the idea of chest expansion and its epistemological bases. It investigates the cognitive and behavioral elements that contribute to the development of chest expansion and the relationship of this concept with patience and psychological resilience. The results show that the growth of expansion of the chest in Islamic teachings is based on cognitive and volitional elements. At the cognitive level, knowledge of divine unity, divine light, piety as a basis for discernment, and awareness of divine laws are among the most significant contributors to developing Expansion of the chest. At the volitional and behavioral levels, mechanisms such as supplication and seeking assistance from God, piety and moral determination, divine guidance and belief in the Hereafter, reflection on the Qur’an, and attention to the rewards of patience strengthen expansion of the chest and increase the tolerance threshold. Conversely, moral afflictions such as narrow-mindedness, hostility, fault-finding, and uncontrolled anger can diminish the capacity for expansion of the chest and resilience.

Keywords

Expansion of the Chest, Psychological Resilience, Holy Qur&‌‌‌rsquo

an, Islamic Narrations, Islamic Psychology

Subjects

Quran and Quranic teachings ,Quranic studies, comparative interpretation, Quranic doubts and Quranic language

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