World Within
One of the fundamental
differences between modern
psychology and Islam in
evaluating the condition of man is
that Islam believes that all good and
bad lies in the heart (i.e. the heart of
the soul and not the physical heart).
Thus, the prophetic saying, “Listen,
in man there is an organ, if it is good
then the whole body is good and if
it is bad then the whole body is bad;
listen, it is the heart” (Bukhari; Fadl
Man Istabra’a). Purification of the heart
is thus essential to achieving closeness
to Allah and progressing spiritually.
Good spiritual health is productive
to a seeker’s personal well being,
achieving success in the Hereafter,
Spiritual
The base and vile traits in the inner self are called radha’il.
Hazrat Maulana Thanawi says:
The salik (seeker) should reform the radha’il by his
shaykh, one by one. When he rectifies one of these radhila
(s. radha’il; vile trait) and it has been brought under
control, then he may work on the next. He should not wait
for the extirpation of any trait as that is not possible. In
fact, there is much wisdom in its existence within (Anfas
Eesa; p. 137)
The salik is one who walks a path. In the terminology of
Tasawwuf, a salik is the one who goes to a shaykh seeking
reformation of the heart. He is called a salik because it as
though he walks to him. Tasawwuf is a tareeq (path, way)
and the salik is one who traverses along this path. The
shaykh is like a guide who leads him along the path and
instructs him on what course he should pursue and how
should he conduct himself. Hazrat says that the salik must
submit to the shaykh to correct his radha’il one by one.
For instance, if he has a short temper then anger is one of
the radha’il which must get treated. Suppose he is given
to hurting people when he gets angry and loses control
over himself. He then must inform his shaykh that he is
short tempered and gets angry which lead to many wrongs.
However, it should be understood that the treatment of the
shaykh will not cure him of his anger issues. In fact, even
after the treatment is over, he will lose his temper because
anger is an innate trait in every human. The benefit of the
treatment is that it will restrict him within the boundaries
of the Shari‘a.
Similarly, the radha’il in a man can be anger, sexual urge or
cowardice which are all innate. Allah has given man these
traits to use them correctly. If man were not to get angry
then how would he protect himself, his wife and children
and his property? If he does not get angry and others attack
him or his wife and children, then he would not he driven
by any emotion to protect himself and his family.
by Mufti Taqi Uthmani
and being a source of comfort and
support for other fellow humans.
Modern psychology is a science
that investigates mental processes
and behavior. It is less interested
in fixing the human condition and
more focused on experimenting
with philosophical theories (e.g. free
will vs determinism) and developing
the methods and constructs to reach
scientific conclusions pertaining to
those theories.
The field of Islam that specializes in
reforming the human condition and
purifying the heart from diseases
(like arrogance) that can spread and
cause untold harm to the diseased
and others is known as Tasawwuf
(also called Sufism, Suluk, Tariqat).
For example, an arrogant person
will always be conflicted by others’
indifference toward him/her and will
exploit the weaknesses of others to
empower him/herself.
This series of World Within are the
discourses of Mufti Taqi Uthmani
on the book Anfas Eesa, a collection
of sayings by the great shaykh of
Tasawwuf, Hakim of the Umma,
Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (d. 1943)
on reformation of the heart.
DISCOURSES (Part 1)
24 January - February 2020 | AL-MADINAH