Sufi psychology

There are three central ideas in Sufi Islamic psychology, which are the Nafs (self, ego or psyche), the Qalb (heart) and the Ruh (spirit).

This tripartition forms the foundation of later, more complicated systems; it is found as early as the Koranic commentary by Ja'far al-Sadiq.

Each of these spiritual centers has its own functions, and Amr al-Makkī has summed up some of the early Sufi ideas in a myth:God created the hearts seven thousand years before the bodies and kept them in the station of proximity to Himself and He created the spirits seven thousand years before the hearts and kept them in the garden of intimate fellowship (uns) with Himself, and the consciences—the innermost part—He created seven thousand years before the spirits and kept them in the degree of union (waṣl) with Himself.

The body occupied itself with prayer, the heart attained to love, the spirit arrived at proximity to its Lord, and the innermost part found rest in union with Him.

[1]"Nafs" (self or ego) is the aspect of the psyche that can be viewed along a continuum, and has the potential of functioning from the grossest to the highest level.

The self at its lowest level refers to our negative traits and tendencies, controlled by emotions, desires and its gratification.

The goal is to develop the strengths and to achieve a balance between these levels, not forgoing the lower ones to focus only on the higher ones.

Lataif are special organs of perception in Sufi spiritual psychology, subtle human capacities for experience and action.

The lataif (plural) in their totality are understood to make up the human "subtle body", known as the Jism Latif' [7] Realizing (or activating or awakening or "illuminating") the experience of the individual lataif (and thereby the Jism Latif as a whole) is considered by some Sufi orders to be a central part of the comprehensive spiritual development that produces the Sufi ideal of a Complete Man (Al-Insān al-Kāmil).

In particular, when reason denies intuitive knowledge and ‘‘blinds the eye of the heart’’, it becomes the target of strong criticism from Sufism.

This stands in stark contrast to the Aristotelian and contemporary western emphasis on logical reasoning as the highest human faculty, which should rule the whole personality.

The ego can impede the actualization of the spiritual potential of the heart if not controlled by the divine aspects of the personality.