Constructing the Virtuous Self: Sufi Solutions to Spiritual Pathology in al-Sulamī's (325/937-412/1021) ʿUyūb al-Nafs wa Mudāwātuhā

Muhammad Ihza Fazrian

doi:10.21580/tos.v15i1.33513

Authors

Muhammad Ihza Fazrian Department of Turath Islam, Faculty of Islamic Studies, Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21580/tos.v15i1.33513

Keywords:

al-Sulamī, ʿUyūb al-Nafs wa-Mudāwātuhā, al-nafs, transformation, Sufi psychology

Abstract

The Sufi tradition addresses human beings holistically, encompassing both their physical (ẓāhir) and non-physical (bāṭin) dimensions. Central to this discourse is al-nafs. This study examines the conceptualization of al-nafs within the thought of the early Sufi figure Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī. Using qualitative document analysis and close reading, this study focuses on al-Sulamī's primary treatise, ʿUyūb al-Nafs wa Mudāwātuhā, supported by classical texts by earlier Sufis such as al-Muḥāsibī, al-Tustarī, al-Tirmidhī, and others, as well as contemporary scholarly literature on al-Sulamī and the Sufi tradition. The findings of this study indicate: (1) The structure of the text ʿUyūb is highly practical and pragmatic, akin to a technical guide intended for the general populace in transforming their al-nafs from a negative condition (ʿuyūb) to a positive one (mudāwāh). (2) The text contains al-Sulamī's core therapeutic ideas, which are systematically categorized into three core categories, namely thought control, action control, and integrated control. Each of these three categories operates in two directions, vertically between an individual and his God and horizontally between an individual and his fellow human beings.

Contribution: This study offers a novel framework of three controls for understanding al-Sulamī's concept of al-nafs transformation. By systematically conceptualizing this early Sufi framework, it bridges classical Islamic spiritual literature with character education and Islamic psychology based on the Sufi tradition.

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