Quran and Psychology: Nature of Human Being:

    Nature of Human-Being  

 In this article, you will learn about the nature of human beings according to Holy Quran and Psychology.

     Holy Quran describes the nature of human beings in the following terms:

·         Nafs

·         Ruh

·         Qalb

Nafs:

There are three main types of Nafs in Holy Quran:

·         Nafs-e-Ammara

·         Nafs-e-Lawama

·         Nafs-e-Mutmaina

Nafs-e-Ammara:

    Nafs-e-Ammara is the Nafs that commands or tell us to do evil. It attracts the wrong or bad things and forces humans to do evil. It focuses on pleasure feelings and motivates us to do any evil action that pleases us. Allah Talla says in Holy Quran:

Indeed the nafs that overwhelmingly commands a person to do sin (Surah e Yousaf: 53)

    Nafs-e-Ammara has a deep effect on our cognitive processes, it affects our cognition in a way that a person is unable to think correctly about what is right or wrong.

Nafs-e-Lawama:

    Nafs-e-Lawama is the second type of Nafs mentioned in the Holy Quran. Lawama means to have blame (mulamat of oneself). It feels guilt and shame when a person commits a sin or does a bad action. As mentioned in Holy Quran:

And I do call to witness the Nafs that blames (Surah e Qiyamah: 2)

    In this type, a person is fully aware of himself and critically observes all his actions. It is the middle state of nafs, it continuously goes on changing accepts, and rejects, good or bad.

Nafs-e-Mutmaina:

    Third type of Nafs is Nafs-e-Mutmaina. It means that the self is satisfied and at peace. It is the highest state of nafs. A person who totally submits to the will of Allah can achieve this state of nafs. He is satisfied with whatever Allah Almighty blessed him. The reward of this person is mentioned in the Quran:

O soul at peace, return to your Lord, well pleased and well-pleasing. Enter with My servants, enter My Garden (Surah e Fajr: 27-28)

Ruh:

    Ruh or Spirit is also a component of human nature. According to Muslim scholars that there is a connection between Ruh and Divine. It is also mentioned in Quran:

When I have made him and have breathed into him of My spirit, (I ordered the angles to) bow down, prostrating yourself before him (Surah e Hijr: 29)

    Spirits have a deep connection with the Divine even if one is unconscious of it. It depends on the individual that he recognizes this connection or not. It lies in the Fitrah of every human being. One can make this connection stronger and stronger by recognizing it and submitting to the will of Allah.

Qalb:

    Qalb is the third most important component of human nature. It is the place of spiritual knowledge. Qalb is more rational and deeper than the brain. It mediates between Nafs and Ruh.

Allah Talla mentioned in Quran:

Do they not travel through the land, so that their hearts may learn wisdom and their ears may learn to hear? Truly it is not their eyes, rather it is their hearts that are in their chests that are blind (Surah e Hajj: 46).

Also,

They have hearts wherewith they do not understand (Surah e Ara’af: 179)

Allah Talla gave Qalb the capacity to acquire the real knowledge known as Ilm-al-batin.

    All these components combine to form human nature. If an individual recognizes and struggles to make his connection strong with Allah Almighty then Allah will Bless Him with Nafs-e-Mutmaina and eternal rewards as well.