The effect of the holy Quran recitation and listening on anxiety, stress, and depression: A scoping review on outcomes

Abstract

Abstract Background and Aim Anxiety, stress, and depressive disorders as common mental health problems have adverse effects in different populations. Holy Quran recitation and listening can help reduce these disorders. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the Holy Quran on anxiety, stress, and depression. Materials and Methods To retrieve eligible studies, we searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. The articles were screened and chosen by three researchers. The selection of studies and the data extraction from the studies were done by three researchers using the data collection form based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Disagreements were resolved by consulting the third and fourth researchers. To report scoping review, we used the PRISMA cheklist. Results A total of 174 articles were retrieved from three databases and after removing irrelevant and repetitive articles, 15 articles were included in the current review. All studies were performed in Asia countries. Most studies have examined the effect of Holy Quran recitation and listening on anxiety (45%), stress (30%), and then depression (25%), respectively. The Beck Depression Inventory was the most widely used tool to evaluate the effect of Holy Quran recitation and listening on reducing anxiety, depression and stress. “Reducing the level of anxiety, stress, and depression” and “Simple, affordable, practical and cost‐effective treatment to reduce depression and anxiety” were the most important outcomes of holy Quran recitation. Conclusions Based on the results of this study, Quran recitation and listening can be applied as a useful nonpharmacological treatment to reduce anxiety, stress, and depression.

Keywords

• anxiety
• depression
• Holy Quran
• Quran recitation
• stress