Abraham Harold Maslow enumerates a hierarchy of human needs, known as "Maslow's Pyramid" and the hierarchy of needs. This theory is one of the most credible and well-known theories regarding human needs. In this theory, needs must be satisfied sequentially and in a hierarchical manner in order to be able to turn toward transcendent needs.
In the present research, the types of needs presented in this pyramid are first examined and then analyzed with reference to the verses of the Holy Quran and the rulings of the explicit Sharia. The trajectory of this research is directed toward answering: What are human transcendent needs? And what are the points of divergence between the perspectives of Islam and the Quran and the aforementioned theory regarding the manner in which needs are satisfied? Finally, interesting results were obtained, which are: First; all types of human needs raised by Maslow are, in some way, approved by the sacred Sharia and endorsed by the Quran. Second; self-actualization from the perspective of Islam and Quran means returning to the authentic nature of seeking God and following the divine religion; therefore, needs consist of natural needs and innate needs, both of which possess their own special importance.
Most importantly; from the perspective of Islam and the Quran, human needs are not hierarchical and linear, and to prove this claim, counter-examples such as fasting, martyrdom, avoiding hypocrisy, and divine testing can be argued, which respectively stand in contrast and conflict with the following tiers: 1- physiological needs, 2- safety and other tiers of the pyramid, 3- the two tiers of love and esteem, and 4- the entire pyramid of the hierarchy of human needs.
And finally, many fundamental human needs have been ignored from Maslow's perspective. These include: the non-uniformity of human needs in different societies (developed, developing, and underdeveloped), the incorrectness of the premise that lower needs must be met to reach more transcendent needs, the neglect of the concept of trust in God and hope for the future, the self-sacrifice and martyrdom-seeking of individuals the bulk of whom were located at the most rudimentary stages of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the need for freedom-seeking, honesty, salvation, charity, self-sacrifice, justice-seeking, learning and wisdom, anti-oppression, needs for cognition and perception of phenomena, etc., each of which can be considered among fundamental human needs.