Baseer Maroof, LCSW · Raleigh, NC · Adults 21+
The model of the soul
One soul, four aspects. Tap to explore.
Four aspects, four lenses
Tap a part, then switch lenses.
The four aspects of the soul
Tap rūḥ, qalb, ‘aql or nafs. Use the buttons to see each one in the tradition, in Rothman’s model, in therapy, and when it hurts.
A visual reading of the ideas for reflection, not an official diagram.
The lenses side by side
ClassicalLife force; the subtle, knowing self; breathed into the human (15:29)
In therapyMeaning, purpose, connection, values
ClassicalThe real person, that perceives and turns; “hearts by which to reason” (22:46)
In therapyEmotion, insight, the felt sense
ClassicalKnowledge and the faculty of knowing; close to wisdom
In therapyThoughts, beliefs, appraisals
ClassicalThe drives of appetite and anger; also the self itself
In therapyUrges, habits, behavior, self-talk
Where does it live?
Six everyday sentences.
Where does it live?
Read each one and tap the aspect it seems to come from. There’s no wrong answer; these overlap.
The nafs can grow
Three states named in the Qur’an.
- Commandingal-nafs al-ammāra · Yūsuf 12:53
- Reproachingal-nafs al-lawwāma · al-Qiyāmah 75:2
- At peaceal-nafs al-muṭma’inna · al-Fajr 89:27–28
Read the verses
Indeed, the soul is a persistent enjoiner of evil, except those upon which my Lord has mercy.
Yūsuf 12:53, the commanding self (al-nafs al-ammāra)
And I swear by the reproaching soul.
al-Qiyāmah 75:2, the self-reproaching self (al-nafs al-lawwāma)
O reassured soul, return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him].
al-Fajr 89:27–28, the self at peace (al-nafs al-muṭma’inna)
English: Sahih International.
And [by] the soul and He who proportioned it, and inspired it [with discernment of] its wickedness and its righteousness. He has succeeded who purifies it, and he has failed who instills it [with corruption].
al-Shams 91:7–10 (Sahih International)
The soul is described as able to tell good from bad, and as something that can be cleansed and grown. In therapy language: change is possible, and it comes through practice, not self-hatred.
One soul, not four parts
Tap to open.
Al-Ghazālī’s two meaningsBodily and subtle
In The Marvels of the Heart, al-Ghazālī takes each word in turn. The heart is a lump of flesh in the chest, and it is also the subtle, knowing self. Rūḥ is the body’s life force, and it is also that knowing self. Nafs can mean our drives of appetite and anger, and it can also mean the self itself. ‘Aql is knowledge, and the faculty that knows. The subtle meanings, he says, are different names for one reality seen from different sides. (al-Ghazālī, Book 21)
Rothman’s modelThe heart at the center
Dr. Abdallah Rothman and Adrian Coyle interviewed scholars and clinicians to build a model of the soul for therapy. The heart sits at the center. The rūḥ draws upward toward Allah; the nafs pulls toward the worldly; the ‘aql discerns. A person also has a fiṭrah, an original, sound nature. (Rothman & Coyle 2018; Rothman 2021)
[Adhere to] the fiṭrah of Allāh upon which He has created [all] people.
Qur’an, al-Rūm 30:30 (Sahih International)
Khalil Center’s elementsAnother map
TIIP, the model used at Khalil Center, works with four elements of the person: ‘aql (cognition), nafs (behavioral inclinations), rūḥ (spirit) and iḥsās (emotion). It is a reminder that different clinicians carve up the same soul a little differently. (Keshavarzi et al. 2021)
A caution about mappingBridges, not equals
It is tempting to say nafs = behavior, ‘aql = thoughts, qalb = emotion, rūḥ = values. The overlap helps, but these are not the same things. The tradition’s words carry moral and spiritual meaning that psychology’s categories don’t. Use the map as a bridge, not a dictionary.
A gentle note: education, not rulings or diagnosis
These pages are education, written to be welcoming whether you practice, are questioning, or simply curious. They are not religious rulings (fatwas) and not a diagnosis. For questions of what is permitted or required, ask a qualified scholar. For your health, see a licensed clinician. Often the best care involves both.
Sources
All sources, linked9 references⌄
- Rothman A, Coyle A. Toward a framework for علم النفس الإسلامي and psychotherapy: an إسلامي model of the soul. Journal of Religion and Health 2018;57:1731–1744. doi.org/10.1007/s10943-018-0651-x
- Rothman A. Developing a Model of علم النفس الإسلامي and Psychotherapy: إسلامي Theology and Contemporary Understandings of Psychology. Routledge, 2021. doi.org/10.4324/9781003104377
- al-Ghazālī. The Marvels of the Heart (Book 21 of the Iḥyā’ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn). Translated by W. J. Skellie. Fons Vitae, 2010. search.worldcat.org/search?q=Marvels+of+the+Heart+Skellie
- Keshavarzi H, Khan F, Ali B, Awaad R (eds). Applying إسلامي Principles to Clinical Mental Health Care: Introducing Traditional إسلاميًا Integrated Psychotherapy. Routledge, 2021. doi.org/10.4324/9781003043331
- Qur’an, al-Ḥijr 15:29 (the breath of rūḥ). quran.com/15/29
- Qur’an, al-Ḥajj 22:46 (hearts by which to reason). quran.com/22/46
- Qur’an, al-Rūm 30:30 (fiṭrah). quran.com/30/30
- Qur’an, Yūsuf 12:53; al-Qiyāmah 75:2; al-Fajr 89:27–28 (the three named states of the nafs). quran.com/12/53
- Qur’an, al-Shams 91:7–10. English: Sahih International. quran.com/91/7
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