Worldliness, understood as structural and epistemic dependence on transient worldly possessions and pleasures, constitutes a significant source of existential anxiety and inner insecurity. This study aims to identify the underlying cognitive-behavioral structure and transformation process of worldliness through a systematic analysis of Quranic verses. A directed qualitative content-analysis approach was employed, using core beliefs, conditional rules, and behavioral responses as a priori categories derived from the cognitive-behavioral model.
The findings indicate that the Quran conceptualizes the pathology of worldliness across three interconnected levels. At the core level, the cognitive distortion of ghurur (deception), manifested in absolutizing transient worldly realities, together with excessive reliance on wealth, generates fundamental insecurity. At the intermediate level, the conditional rule of ikhlad ila al-ard (clinging to the earth) contributes to behavioral inertia and diminished readiness for purposeful action. At the surface level, takathur (compulsive accumulation) and shuhh (parsimony and reluctance to give) reinforce and perpetuate the maladaptive cycle.
The extracted process-oriented model comprises three phases: epistemic assessment, cognitive restructuring, and monotheistic activation. Certainty regarding the Hereafter and the primacy of spiritual identity function as alternative beliefs, while charity and contentment facilitate behavioral change and disrupt maladaptive patterns. The model may provide an indigenous Quran-based conceptual framework for integrating religious resources into structured cognitive-behavioral interventions.