Millions of people worldwide live with lupus, a chronic illness that causes fatigue, joint pain, skin rashes, and organ damage. Even when the disease is under control, many patients still struggle with anxiety and a poor sense of well-being. Now, a new study from Indonesia suggests that a simple spiritual practice—listening to the Quran—may help.
Researchers at Universitas Indonesia and Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital found that women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who listened to Surah Ar-Rahman for 15 minutes, twice a day, for 40 days reported significantly better quality of life and less anxiety. The study is the first of its kind to examine Quran recitation in lupus patients.
What Is Lupus?
Systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease. The body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissues. It affects mostly women of childbearing age. The global prevalence is about 43.7 per 100,000 people, meaning roughly 3.41 million individuals worldwide live with the condition.
Lupus can harm joints, skin, kidneys, blood, the heart, and the brain. Treatment has improved over the years, but patients often still face fatigue, sleep problems, and sexual dysfunction. Healthcare costs are also high—higher than for fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis.
Current treatments aim for remission and low disease activity. Yet quality of life remains a lower priority, even though it is significantly impaired. Many patients say they still feel unwell, even when their lab tests look better.
Why Quran Recitation?
Among Muslim patients, listening to Quran recitation is a common spiritual practice. Previous research shows that Quran recitation changes brain activity. It increases alpha and theta brain waves, which are linked to relaxation and meditation. Listening to Surah Ar-Rahman has been found to lower cortisol (a stress hormone), reduce stress markers, and lower inflammatory mediators.
Surah Ar-Rahman is a Makiyah surah with 78 verses. It is the most rhythmic surah in the Quran. Its message centers on Allah’s mercy and love for His servants. It teaches people to be grateful. Prior studies show it can reduce anxiety in patients having heart procedures, surgery, and dialysis. It also helps athletes, pregnant women, and cancer patients.
Beyond anxiety, listening to Quran recitation has been shown to reduce depression, ease cancer-related pain, and improve mental health and quality of life. However, until now, no study had looked at its effect on lupus patients.
How the Study Was Done
The study took place at the outpatient clinic of Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Jakarta in 2024. It was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov. The researchers followed strict ethical guidelines, including the Declaration of Helsinki.
Participants were women with lupus. They had to be 18 or older, Muslim, and have no hearing loss. Patients were excluded if they took more than 20 mg of steroids per day, used psychopharmaceuticals, could not read or write, or were pregnant.
A total of 69 patients were screened. Among them, 52 listened to Quran recitation less than once a week. Seventeen listened regularly. The control group had 35 patients with irregular listening habits. The intervention group had 34 patients—17 who already listened regularly and 17 who did not.
Two patients in the intervention group dropped out. One was hospitalized for a herpes infection, and another for severe fatigue. Two patients in the control group were excluded after becoming pregnant. In the end, 32 patients in the intervention group and 33 in the control group completed the study.
What Patients Did
Patients in the intervention group listened to Surah Ar-Rahman for 15 minutes, twice a day, for 40 days. They used an MP3 player with a standard recording by Freed Ghalib. The 40-day period was chosen because a previous study used 30 days, and researchers believed quality-of-life changes might need more time.
The timing was flexible. Patients could listen while doing other tasks or in a quiet, focused setting. They received daily reminders by phone call or direct message. They also recorded their daily compliance on forms. The control group kept their usual Quran listening or reading routines. Both groups continued their standard lupus treatment.
What Researchers Measured
Before and after the intervention, researchers measured quality of life, disease activity, anxiety, and depression.
Quality of life was measured with the LupusQoL questionnaire. This 34-item tool looks at eight areas: physical health, pain, planning, intimate relationships, burden to others, emotional health, body image, and fatigue. Scores range from 0 (worst) to 100 (best).
Disease activity was measured with MEX-SLEDAI, a simplified tool that leaves out immunologic tests. Higher scores mean more active disease.
Anxiety and depression were measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). It has two subscales—one for anxiety and one for depression. Higher scores mean more severe symptoms. The Indonesian version has been validated for lupus patients.
Quality of Life Improved
At the start, both groups had similar quality-of-life scores. After the intervention, the listening group scored much higher than the control group (82.33 vs. 73.47; p = 0.007).
Within the listening group, scores rose from 77.47 to 82.33 (p = 0.023). In the control group, scores fell from 78.34 to 73.47 (p = 0.007). In other words, the listening group improved while the control group got worse.
Subgroup analysis showed something important. Patients who already listened to Quran regularly before the study improved the most (79.78 to 85.57; p = 0.034). Those who did not listen regularly also improved, but the change was not statistically significant (74.85 to 78.66; p = 0.273).
Which Areas Improved Most?
Looking at specific domains, two areas stood out. Physical health improved significantly in the listening group compared to the control group (p < 0.001). Burden to others also improved significantly (p = 0.003).
Other areas—pain, emotional health, and fatigue—showed trends toward improvement, but these were not statistically significant. The researchers say a larger sample or longer study might detect these benefits.
Anxiety Dropped Significantly
The control group showed no significant changes in disease activity, anxiety, or depression. The listening group, however, saw a significant drop in anxiety (p = 0.030). Depression also dropped, but the change was not statistically significant (p = 0.060).
The researchers suggest that the improvement in quality of life may be linked to the reduction in anxiety. Previous studies show that anxiety is common in lupus patients—about 40% experience it. Anxiety is also a known predictor of poor quality of life in lupus.
Disease Activity Stayed Stable
Importantly, the intervention did not change lupus disease activity. This means the benefits on quality of life and anxiety happened without altering the underlying disease. Patients felt better and calmer, even though their disease markers stayed the same.
This finding matters because it shows that quality of life and disease activity are related but separate. A patient can feel better even when lab tests do not change. The study supports the idea that treating the whole person—not just the disease—is important.
Quality of Life Scores Before and After (Higher = Better)
| Group | Before | After | Change | Did It Improve? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control Group (no new listening) | 78.34 | 73.47 | -4.87 | No, it dropped |
| Intervention Group (listened daily) | 77.47 | 82.33 | +4.86 | Yes, significant |
| Regular Listeners (already listened before) | 79.78 | 85.57 | +5.79 | Yes, significant |
| Irregular Listeners (new to listening) | 74.85 | 78.66 | +3.81 | Yes, but not significant |
What Other Research Says
The research team points to other studies. One found that Quran recitation reduced inflammatory markers like IL-6, CRP, and ESR. Another found it lowered heart rate and improved muscle relaxation. Many clinical trials and meta-analyses support its benefits for pain, anxiety, and depression.
Ghiasi et al. reported that listening to Quran recitation can be a useful non-drug treatment for anxiety. Moulaei et al. reviewed 15 studies, mostly from Asian countries. They concluded that Quran recitation and listening can reduce anxiety, stress, and depression.
Stress is common in lupus and is linked to depression, fatigue, and disease flares. Patterson et al. found that patients whose stress increased had worse disease activity and more symptoms. DeQuattro et al. found that boosting positive psychosocial factors may reduce stress and improve outcomes.
Which Parts of Life Improved?
| Life Domain | Control Group | Intervention Group | Significant? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Health | Worsened | Improved | Yes |
| Burden to Others | Worsened | Improved | Yes |
| Pain | No change | Slight improvement | No |
| Emotional Health | No change | Slight improvement | No |
| Fatigue | No change | Slight improvement | No |
| Planning | No change | No change | No |
| Intimate Relationships | No change | No change | No |
| Body Image | No change | No change | No |
Anxiety and Depression Levels
| Category | Control Group Before | Control Group After | Intervention Group Before | Intervention Group After |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal (no anxiety) | 28 women (84.8%) | 25 women (75.8%) | 21 women (65.6%) | Improved |
| Borderline anxiety | 3 women (9.1%) | 3 women (9.1%) | 9 women (28.1%) | Improved |
| Abnormal anxiety | 2 women (6.1%) | 5 women (15.2%) | 1 woman (3.1%) | Improved |
| Normal (no depression) | 31 women (93.9%) | 26 women (78.8%) | 28 women (87.5%) | No significant change |
| Borderline depression | 2 women (6.1%) | 7 women (21.2%) | 3 women (9.4%) | No significant change |
What This Means for Patients and Families
For patients, this study offers a simple, low-cost practice. Listening to Surah Ar-Rahman for 15 minutes, twice a day, needs only a phone or MP3 player and a quiet space. It can be done while resting, cooking, or lying down.
For families and caregivers, the findings suggest that supporting a loved one’s spiritual practice may have real benefits. It can improve their quality of life and emotional health. This fits with growing research on spirituality in chronic disease care.
For healthcare providers, the study supports adding spiritually sensitive, culturally relevant practices to standard care. In Indonesia, where most people are Muslim, recommending Quran recitation may be both acceptable and effective.
Conclusion
Listening to Quran recitation significantly improved quality of life for lupus patients. It also reduced anxiety. The benefits were strongest in patients who already listened regularly. Physical health and burden to others improved the most. Disease activity stayed stable.
As the first study of its kind, these findings open the door for larger, longer trials. For now, the message is hopeful: a simple spiritual practice may help people with lupus live better, feel calmer, and carry their burdens more lightly.
