Overthinking pada Generasi Z dalam Kerangka Psikologi Al-Qur’an: Distingsi antara Tafakkur, Waswas, dan Qalq

Mutiara Fahliza; Muhammad Hidayat; Siti Ismahani

doi:10.64691/mft2v764

Authors

Mutiara Fahliza Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara, Indonesia Author
Muhammad Hidayat Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara, Indonesia Author
Siti Ismahani Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara, Indonesia Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4398-9149

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.64691/mft2v764

Keywords:

Overthinking, Generation Z, Tafakkur, Waswas, Qalq

Abstract

The phenomenon of overthinking among Generation Z is intensifying alongside mounting academic, social, and digital pressures; however, modern psychological approaches often frame it merely as a cognitive symptom, overlooking deeper spiritual dimensions. This paper aims to establish conceptual distinctions between tafakkur, waswas, and qalq within the framework of Qur’anic psychology to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the mental dynamics of the contemporary generation. A qualitative, library-based approach was employed, utilizing the thematic exegesis mawḍūʻī method combined with semantic and conceptual analyses of key Qur’anic terms. The results reveal clear differentiations: tafakkur functions as constructive cognitive reflection directed toward meaning and wisdom; waswas emerges as a repetitive, irrational cognitive distortion that undermines self-integration; and qalq represents an affective manifestation—an inner restlessness rooted in an imbalance between cognition and spirituality. Together, these three form an interconnected spectrum of mental experiences, yet each possesses distinct epistemic and functional characteristics. These findings underscore the capacity of the Qur’anic psychological framework to provide a more holistic and integrative conceptual classification capable of bridging cognitive and affective dimensions in the understanding of overthinking, while simultaneously paving the way for the development of psychological intervention models grounded in Qur’anic values systematically and contextually.

References

‘Abbād, I. bin. (1994). al-Muḥīṭ fī al-Lugah (M. Ḥasan Al-Yāsīn, ed.). Beirūt: ‘Alim al-Kutb.

Al-Asfahānī, A. Q. A. al-Ḥusayn ibn M. al-R. (2009). al-Mufradāt fī Gharīb Al-Qur’ān (Ṣafwān ‘Adnān Dāwūd, ed.). Damaskus: Dār al-Qalam.

Babatunde, B. A., Fitrianto, I., Munandar, A., & Muhammad, N. (2025). Waswas in the quran: Insights and strategies for overcoming spiritual distractions. Amorti: Jurnal Studi Islam Interdisipliner, 4(3), 84–90. https://doi.org/10.59944/amorti.v4i3.468

Banks, J. B., & Welhaf, M. S. (2022). Individual differences in dimensions of mind wandering: the mediating role of emotional valence and intentionality. Psychological Research, 86(5), 1495–1517. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-021-01579-2

Barnea, U., Meyer, R. J., & Nave, G. (2023). The Effects of Content Ephemerality on Information Processing. Journal of Marketing Research, 60(4), 750–766. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222437221131047

Brady, W. J., & Crockett, M. J. (2024). Norm Psychology in the Digital Age: How Social Media Shapes the Cultural Evolution of Normativity. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 19(1), 62–64. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916231187395

Bravenboer, D. (2018). The unexpected benefits of reflection: a case study in university-business collaboration. Journal of Work-Applied Management, 10(1), 50–62. https://doi.org/10.1108/JWAM-01-2017-0002

Chachane, L., Jagtap, S., & Kamble, S. (2024). Assisting over thinkers to reframe cognitive processes. Journal of Engineering Education Transformations, 37(IS2), 783–788. https://doi.org/10.16920/jeet/2024/v37is2/24121

Challacombe, F. L., Bavetta, M., & DeGiorgio, S. (2019). Intrusive thoughts in perinatal obsessive-compulsive disorder. BMJ, l6574. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l6574

Dudek, I., & Polczyk, R. (2024). Memory distrust and suggestibility: A registered report. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 29(1), 100–123. https://doi.org/10.1111/lcrp.12249

Eckland, N. S., & Berenbaum, H. (2021). Emotional Awareness in Daily Life: Exploring Its Potential Role in Repetitive Thinking and Healthy Coping. Behavior Therapy, 52(2), 338–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2020.04.010

Flaherty, A., Katz, D., Chosak, A., Henry, M. E., Trinh, N.-H., Waldinger, R. J., & Cohen, J. N. (2022). Treatment of Overthinking: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Rumination and Obsession Spectrum. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 83(4), 21ct14543. https://doi.org/10.4088/JCP.21ct14543

Flynn, P. J., Bliese, P. D., Korsgaard, M. A., & Cannon, C. (2021). Tracking the Process of Resilience: How Emotional Stability and Experience Influence Exhaustion and Commitment Trajectories. Group & Organization Management, 46(4), 692–736. https://doi.org/10.1177/10596011211027676

Hasani, M., Zenoozian, S., Ahmadi, R., Khakpoor, S., Saberi, S., Pirzeh, R., & Saed, O. (2025). Evaluating the efficacy of rumination-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy in alleviating depression, negative affect, and rumination among patients with recurrent major depressive disorder: a randomized, multicenter clinical trial. BMC Psychiatry, 25(1), 626. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-07065-y

ʻĀsyūr, M. al-Ṭāhir I. (1985). al-Taḥrīr wa al-Tanwīr. Tunisia: al-Dār al-Tūnisiyyah.

Ibn Farīs, A. Ḥusayn A. (1979). Mu’jam Maqāyis al-Lughah. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr.

Ibn Kaṡīr, A. al-F. I. ibn ‘Umar. (2004). Tafsīr Al-Qur’ān al-‘Aẓīm. Riyadh: Dār Ibn al-Jawzī.

Khotimah, K., Taqwa, U. ‘alat, & Hanim, S. (2023). Tafakkur on Malik Badri’s View. Tasfiyah: Jurnal Pemikiran Islam, 7(2), 317–338. https://doi.org/10.21111/tasfiyah.v7i2.10495

Kitota, A. M. (2023). The Role of Al-Kawniyyat Verses in The Glorious Qur’an On Contemplation and Scientific Discoveries: The Neglected Treasures. Journal of Quranic Sciences and Research, 4(1), 10–15. https://doi.org/10.30880/jqsr.2023.04.01.002

Lala, I. (2023). The Qur’an and Emotional Well-being: Hope and Fear in the Qur’an. Pastoral Psychology, 72(2), 245–275. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-023-01060-4

Lincoln, T. M., Schulze, L., & Renneberg, B. (2022). The role of emotion regulation in the characterization, development and treatment of psychopathology. Nature Reviews Psychology, 1(5), 272–286. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-022-00040-4

Liu, H., Liu, W., Yoganathan, V., & Osburg, V.-S. (2021). COVID-19 information overload and generation Z’s social media discontinuance intention during the pandemic lockdown. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 166, 120600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.120600

Madison, A. A., Shrout, M. R., Wilson, S. J., Renna, M. E., Peng, J., Andridge, R., … Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (2025). “I’m Ready This Time”: Investigating physiological and emotional habituation to repetitive social stress. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 59(1), kaaf009. https://doi.org/10.1093/abm/kaaf009

Najm, A.-S. S. A. M., & Zekkoub, A. B. (2025). The Impact of Contemplation on the Noble Qur’?n in Shaping the Muslim Personality: An Analytical Study. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 15(4), 25192. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v15-i4/25192

Novoa-Echaurren, Á., Pavez, I., & Anabalón, M. E. (2025). Reflective Practice and Digital Technology Use in a University Context: A Qualitative Approach to Transformative Teaching. Education Sciences, 15(6), 643. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15060643

Nufus, D. H., Sururin, S., & Sodiq, A. (2023). Tafakkur: A Contemplation of Students’ Spiritual and Emotional Intelligence (in The Perspective of Sufism & Transpersonal Psychology). DAYAH: Journal of Islamic Education, 6(2), 264. https://doi.org/10.22373/jie.v6i2.18957

Orben, A., Meier, A., Dalgleish, T., & Blakemore, S.-J. (2024). Mechanisms linking social media use to adolescent mental health vulnerability. Nature Reviews Psychology, 3(6), 407–423. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-024-00307-y

Organization, W. H. (2022). World Mental Health Report: Transforming Mental Health for All. Geneva. Diambil dari https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240049338

Paterson, R. (2024). The Early Modern Attack on Teleology and the Politics of Contemporary Psychology: Intellectual Roots of Current Dilemmas. Human Arenas, 7(1), 15–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42087-021-00259-2

Plater, L., Nyman, S., Joubran, S., & Al-Aidroos, N. (2023). Repetition enhances the effects of activated long-term memory. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 76(3), 621–631. https://doi.org/10.1177/17470218221095755

Rahman, M. Z. A., Razali, Z. A., & Najid, M. H. M. (2023). Socratic Questioning Sebagai Solusi Masalah Waswas: Pendekatan Hadis Terpilih: Socratic Questioning as A Solution to Waswas Issues: A Selected Hadith Approach. Journal Of Hadith Studies, 8(1), 90–100. https://doi.org/10.33102/johs.v8i1.229

Rahmania, P., Surahman, C., Sumarna, E., & Batula, A. W. (2025). Menggali Makna Tafakkur Dalam QS. Al-A’raf Ayat 176. Tazkir: Jurnal Penelitian Ilmu-ilmu Sosial dan Keislaman, 11(2), 266–282. https://doi.org/10.24952/tazkir.v11i2.18561

Riviati, N., & Indra, B. (2024). Reading Holy Quran Associated With Better Cognitive Function in Older Adults: A Systematic Review. Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, 10. https://doi.org/10.1177/23337214241239219

Roberts, T., & Osler, L. (2024). Social Doubt. Journal of the American Philosophical Association, 10(1), 46–63. https://doi.org/10.1017/apa.2022.40

Seibert, S. A. (2021). Problem-based learning: A strategy to foster generation Z’s critical thinking and perseverance. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 16(1), 85–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2020.09.002

Shihab, M. Q. (2010). Tafsir al-Mishbah: Pesan, Kesan dan Keserasian Al-Qur’an. Jakarta: Lentera Hati.

Sommerfeldt, S. L., Schaefer, S. M., Brauer, M., Ryff, C. D., & Davidson, R. J. (2019). Individual Differences in the Association Between Subjective Stress and Heart Rate Are Related to Psychological and Physical Well-Being. Psychological Science, 30(7), 1016–1029. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797619849555

Taylor, M. M., & Snyder, H. R. (2021). Repetitive Negative Thinking Shared Across Rumination and Worry Predicts Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 43(4), 904–915. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-021-09898-9

Troiano, E., Oberländer, L., & Klinger, R. (2023). Dimensional Modeling of Emotions in Text with Appraisal Theories: Corpus Creation, Annotation Reliability, and Prediction. Computational Linguistics, 49(1), 1–72. https://doi.org/10.1162/coli_a_00461

Wahdi, A. E., Wilopo, S. A., & Erskine, H. E. (2023). The Prevalence of Adolescent Mental Disorders in Indonesia: An Analysis of Indonesia – National Mental Health Survey (I-NAMHS). Journal of Adolescent Health, 72(3), S70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.11.143

Watkins, E. R., & Roberts, H. (2020). Reflecting on rumination: Consequences, causes, mechanisms and treatment of rumination. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 127, 103573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2020.103573

Zaini, M., & Fauziah, M. (2024). In-depth Exploration of ‘Tafakkur’ Through the Spirit of Quranic Verses. TAFSE: Journal of Qur’anic Studies, 9(1), 109. https://doi.org/10.22373/tafse.v9i1.22572

Zhang, Y., He, W., & Peng, L. (2022). How Perceived Pressure Affects Users’ Social Media Fatigue Behavior: A Case on WeChat. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 62(2), 337–348. https://doi.org/10.1080/08874417.2020.1824596