Development and Validation of Tawbah Scale Among Pakistani Muslims

Area of Science:

• Islamic Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Theology

Background:

• Tawbah (repentance) is central to Islamic theology but lacks empirical psychological research.
• Existing research does not adequately address the cultural context of Muslim populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a multidimensional Tawbah Scale (TS).
• To ground the scale in Islamic teachings and Pakistani Muslim culture.
• To provide an empirical framework for studying tawbah's psychological and spiritual dimensions.

Main Methods:

• Item pool generation through Qur'anic exegesis, focus groups, and interviews.
• Exploratory factor analysis (Study 1, N=535) to establish factorial structure.
• Confirmatory factor analysis (Study 2, N=1161) to confirm structure, reliability, and validity.

Main Results:

• A 36-item, six-dimensional Tawbah Scale was developed.
• The scale demonstrated strong model fit, reliability, and validity.
• Positive associations with divine forgiveness, afterlife beliefs, and spiritual well-being were found, distinct from religious scrupulosity.
• Measurement invariance across Sunni and non-Sunni Muslims confirmed cross-sectarian applicability.

Conclusions:

• The validated Tawbah Scale (TS) is a robust, indigenous measure for Islamic psychology.
• The scale provides an empirical framework for examining tawbah as a transformative spiritual and psychological process.
• This research bridges Islamic theology and empirical psychological study within a specific cultural context.