Scientific topics from sermons- lesson (197)- Islamic Psychology

The code of the topic:

In fact, most terminological words that are used in psychology and most of the laws thereof are, in one way or another, mentioned in Allah’s Divine Book, the Holy Quran.
One of the chapters of a book of psychology entitled “Islamic Psychology” speaks about types of the human psychic Self. This is expressed as “human types”. The book confirms that there are repeated and common types of the human Self. In His Holy Quran, however, our Lord, Allah, All-Mighty, shows the different types of the human Self. He, Glory to Him, makes clear that some types of the human Self are peaceful, others are reproaching, while others are pure and noble. There are a lot of Quranic Verses that describe such types of the human Self. For example, Allah, All-Mighty, says,
“O you, peaceful Self! Come back to your Lord: well-pleased and well-pleasing! Enter you among My (honored) slaves! And enter you My Paradise!”

[LXXXIX; 27-30]

Types of selves as mentioned in the Holy Quran:

1. The peaceful self:

The peaceful Self is that which knows its Lord and is at peace with Him. It is at peace with His Beautiful Divine Names and Attributes. It is at peace with His Promises and Threats. It is at peace with His Paradise. It is at peace with His Oneness. It is at peace with Islamic Monotheism, i.e. the fact that there is no god but Allah.
2. The pure innocent self:

There is another type of the human Self, namely the pure innocent Self, which is free from all kinds of impurity or defect, which is free from all kinds of lowly qualities, which gives what it has to give and takes what it has to take, without being unjust, arrogant, tyrannical, aggressive, or unfair to other fellow humans. In this context, Allah, All-Mighty, says,
“Have you killed a pure (innocent) self that killed none? You have indeed committed a dreadful thing!”

[XVIII; 74]

He, Most Gracious, also says,
“(I swear) By a self and Him (Allah), Who perfected it in proportion! Then, He (Allah) showed it what is wrong and what is right for it! Prosperous is he who purifies it, and failed has he who corrupts it.”

[XCI; 7-10]

Therefore, a pure innocent Self is that which is faultless and sinless, which does not envy or harbor feelings of grudge or hatred against anyone, which is never aggressive, tyrannical, or unjust towards other fellow humans, which never does wrong to anyone, which does not exceed proper bounds, which is generous and magnanimous, which is righteous and good-doing, which loves peace and hates aggression, and which hates tyranny and injustice. Such is the pure innocent Self as described in quite a few Verses of the Holy Quran.
3. The reproaching self:

The type of human Self that Allah, All-High, praises and speaks highly of is that of all true believers, namely the reproaching Self. In this context, Allah, All-Mighty, says,
“I swear by the Day of Resurrection. And I swear by the reproaching self.”

[LXXV; 1,2]

People of this type of Self are very careful in everything they do or say. They always reproach themselves, saying, “Is it lawful to utter such a word? It might be slander or calumny! It might be evil! It might anger Allah, All-Mighty! Is it lawful to do such thing? It might be sinful or unlawful!” In this context, Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), says:
“A person may utter a word that he finds nothing wrong with it, but he falls thereby seventy years in Hell-Fire.”

[Narrated by At-Tirmithi (2314), Al-Bukhari (6112), and Muslim (2988) on authority of Abu Hurairah]

The reproaching Self is highly praised by the Lord, Allah, Glory to Him. That is why a true believer should always reproach himself and watch his steps with his Lord, All-Mighty. A true believer should always question himself about the things that he does or says. He should always give himself a hard reckoning so that he may receive an easy reckoning from the Lord, All-Mighty, on the Day of Judgment. He should be very careful in expenditure of money, even of a penny. He should be very careful in his gazes and words. He should guard himself against committing any kind of spiritual or material transgression against the rights of others. Such is the reproaching Self mentioned in Allah’s Divine Book, the Holy Quran.
4. The envious self:

There is another type of the human Self, namely the envious Self, which is unconscious of Allah, All-Mighty, and is, therefore, involved in polytheism, which makes it envy other fellow humans. Allah, Glory to Him, addresses this issue:
“Many of the people of the Scripture wish that they could turn you away as disbelievers after you have believed - all out of envy from their own selves.”

[II; 109]

5. The sinful self and the self that provokes to evil:

There is also a sinful Self that commits things that Allah, All-High, has made unlawful. To this effect, Allah, Most Gracious, says,
“And whoever earns a sin, he earns it against his own Self.”

[IV; 111]

Another type of the human Self is that which provokes to evil. To this effect, the Quranic Verse goes,
“And I do not consider my own Self as being from blame. Verily, the (human) Self provokes to evil, except those that my Lord has mercy on.”

[XII; 53]

There are other types of the human Self such as: the unjust tyrannical Self, the treacherous Self, the abnormal Self, the arrogant haughty insolent Self, and the mean niggardly avaricious Self.
Ask yourself this question:

When a true believer reads Allah’s Book, the Holy Quran, coming across the different types of the human Self, he should ask himself a very serious question: “Which type of the human Self do I have: peaceful, pure, reproaching, envious, sinful, provoking to evil, tyrannical, insolent, unjust, treacherous, arrogant, or niggardly, …etc?” This is because it is part of psychology to describe different types of the human Self that are repeated everywhere and at all times.
Narrated Al-Hafith Muhammad bin Nasr Al-Marzawi that Al-Ahnaf bin Qais, one day, came across the Quranic Verse:
“Indeed, We have sent down to you a Book in which there is mention of your own Self. Will you not then understand?!”

[XI; 10]

So, he thought to himself: “Let me read Allah’s Book, the Holy Quran, so that I may find where I stand, who I am, and what I am like therein.”, for he knew that Allah’s Book, the Holy Quran, contains descriptions of all the different types of the human Self and that it shows people’s ranks and positions in Allah’s Sight. He wanted to search for the type of his own Self and his rank and position. Therefore, he opened the Holy Quran and began reading. While reading, he came across people who:
“…would sleep but little by night (invoking their Lord, Allah, and praying to Him with fear and hope). And in the hours before dawn, they would pray for forgiveness.”

[LI; 17,18],

people who:
“Their sides forsake their beds to invoke their Lord in fear and hope, and they spend (in charity in Allah’s Cause) out of what We have bestowed on them.” [XXXII; 16],

people who:
“…spend (in Allah’s Cause) in both prosperity and adversity, who repress anger, and who pardon people. And verily, Allah loves the good-doers.”

[III; 134]

and people who:
“…had homes and had adopted the Faith, love those who emigrate to them, and have no jealousy in their breasts for that which they have been given, and give them preference over themselves even though they were in need of that. And whosoever is saved from his own covetousness: such are they who will be the prosperous.”

[LIX; 9]

He stopped reading and said, “O Allah! I do not think that I belong to these people!” In other words, he did not find in himself the great qualities of such righteous devoted people. Then, he went on reading until he came across another type of people, namely those who:
“Truly, when it was said to them: ‘There is no god but Allah.’, they puffed themselves up with pride (i.e. denied it).”

[XXXVII; 35],

and those who:
“(When they are asked:)‘What has caused you to enter Hell?’ They will say, ‘We were not of those who used to perform prayers, nor did we use to feed the poor; and we used to talk falsehood with vain talkers; and we used to belie the Day of Recompense, until there came to us (death) that is certain.’ So, no intercession of intercessors will be of any use to them.”

[LXXIV; 42-48]

He stopped reading and said, “O Allah! I dissociate myself from such evil people!” Then, he went on reading until he came across a third type of people, namely those who:
“…have acknowledged their sins, and who have mixed a righteous deed with another evil one. Perhaps Allah will turn unto them in forgiveness. Surely, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”