by Azza Thabassum Mansoor
Regardless of the number of contributions and the generous number of studies conducted, psychology is a discipline that holds a negative reputation for being stagnant. Like other disciplines, psychology enthusiasts are engaged in identifying theoretical gaps. However, what we ought to question is the philosophy upon which the whole discipline of psychology is built. This is exactly where Islamic Psychology marks its significance. It has enabled the study of the human psyche to escape the loop it was trapped in—a loop in which individuals facing mental health issues in the modern secular world come to a psychologist trained in a modern secular discipline. It is Islamic psychology that has the potential to break the loop through its epistemology based on divine revelation and God-centred philosophy, creating the possibility of an imagination beyond modern sensibilities, further enhanced by its close engagement with the human psyche. Islamic psychology challenges and critically engages with Western psychology at the foundational level from different aspects like the mind-body binary, the cause-and-effect principle of modern science, and the neglect of spirituality, among others.
Islamic psychology is challenging the mind-body duality, a major binary that conventional psychological theories have been limited by. In its place, the discussion of Islamic psychology is not the physical, biological mind, but rather the dynamic soul that is in a complex relation with the heart, the reason and the spirit. The structure for an Islamic psychologist to consider combines the nafs (soul), the qalb (heart), the aql (reason), and the ruh (spirit). In Ghazali’s ‘Ihya-Ulum Ud-Din’, his description of these elements alone demonstrates how a multi-dimensional view of the psyche is presented. Firstly, the heart, the Qalb, is where the intellect resides. The heart is the subtle, tenuous substance that “perceives and knows and experiences.” Secondly, the spirit, the Ruh, is perceived as the carrier of life in our body. “Life is like the light that falls upon the walls; the spirit is like the lamp.” Thirdly, the soul, the Nafs, is the residing place of anger and appetence and, hence, is told as the essence of man which is further divided into ‘the soul at rest’ (Nafs al Muthm’ainah), ‘the upbraiding soul’ (Nafs al Lawamma), and ‘the soul that commands evil’ (Nafs al Ammarathu Bil-Su’). Lastly, the intellect, the Aql, whose seat is the heart, the part that perceives knowledge. The interplay of these elements is what determines the state of the psyche.
Another major aspect of modern science that Islamic psychology has freed itself from is the cause-and-effect relationship, in which each mental issue is attributed to a single aspect or past event as the cause. Psychology, in this sense, can be said to have been particularly reductionistic in its approach towards mental issues. The conception of Islamic psychology has to offer is that which approaches the mental problems in a discursive manner, where multiple elements, including historical, environmental, and spiritual factors, take part in causing the ailment. In its conception, it is the distortion of the heart that causes the ailments. Once the heart is distorted, it will lose its ability to clearly discern reality, which will push the individual into perplexities; in contemporary psychological terms, it manifests as mental health issues. Now, the question of what causes the distortions shows the discursivity of the conception in Islamic psychology. The actions of the individual in the past and present regarding his control over his worldly desires will determine the state of his soul, which is primarily fourfold. Namely, Nafs Al Ammara Bil Su, which is the lowest of the four that is the most vulnerable to desires; Nafs Al Lawwama, the soul which is self-aware but is in a state of struggle between following and evading desires; Nafs Al Muthma’ina, the soul at rest or the state in which the soul has rid itself of blind following of desires; Nafs Ar Raddiyya/Nafs Al Mardiyya, which is the highest level of all. The more he acts upon his desires, the lower he will descend in the states of soul and the more distorted his heart will be, making the individual’s psyche prone to more mental ailments. A soul will alternate between states, ascending to higher levels through increased efforts to purify its soul and, similarly, descending to lower levels through negligent behaviour.
Above all, Islamic psychology has the potential to create an alternative imagination from the human disposition that modernity offers. The modern secular discourses hold philosophies that neglect the spiritual aspect of the human psyche. Nonetheless, it is a vital aspect that needs to be addressed. The individuals living in such a world order will feel incongruence but be unaware that it is the spiritual aspect that needs revitalising. Islamic psychology can pave the way for understanding that it is in the soul’s spiritual growth that each individual must focus and work to refine. It can open the doors to a transcendental paradigm where it is the Thazkiyath un Nafs,the purification of the soul, that has to be strived for, rather than being a materially productive human machine.
When viewed in a broader frame, given that dominant discourses of an era play a significant role in shaping sensibilities, it is not wrong to conclude that Islamic psychology is a discipline with a broader objective that ought to challenge existing secular sensibilities. The reductionistic viewing of human endeavour is what the modern secular worldview has led us to. The time demands an alternative imagination in which the implications and results of our actions extend beyond this physical world, and in which a human disposition administers the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the psyche and the moral aspects of his endeavours. The sense of preparing for a larger picture that extends beyond is what Islamic Psychology can contribute as an alternative to the modern secular framework.