Ravanshenasi & Din

This research aims to explore the nature of "religious suffering" in the Holy Qur'an through a comparative study of the experiences of three prophets—Job, Jonah, and Jacob—in light of the perspectives of William James and Viktor Frankl. The central problem of the study is to elucidate the mechanisms of "meaning reconstruction" amidst existential crises and psychosomatic erosion. Utilizing a descriptive-analytical method with an interdisciplinary approach, the study aligns exegetical (tafsir) data with the constructs of existential psychology. The findings indicate that suffering in the Qur'anic model is a tri-dimensional process: first, the stage of "existential rupture," explained through James's concept of the "Sick Soul" in the experiences of Job and Jonah; second, the stage of "faith-based action" in the absence of objective evidence, which overlaps with James's "Will to Believe" and Frankl's "responsibility"; and third, the stage of "persistence of meaning in suspension," observed particularly in the narrative of Jacob. The results demonstrate that the Qur'anic model transcends reductive psychological approaches by elevating suffering from an intrapersonal state to a "sustained relational structure." In this paradigm, meaning is neither merely a product of the subject's interpretation nor a voluntary decision for palliation, but rather the result of continuous existence in relation to the Transcendent. This relationality preserves human existential integrity against collapse, even in the absence of immediate resolution (the state of Kazim).