Al-Muhasibi:
Of particular note is his frequent mention of al-muhasaba al-nafs ie self or introspective examination, which is probably the source of his own name of muhasibi, meaning examiner. Muhasibi was known as one who strenuously took account of himself for every aspect of his life.
He wrote extensively on knowing oneself and the failings in one’s soul ma’rifat al-insan nafsahu as a way to purification. He also describes “self-evaluation” muraja’at al-nafs of the soul, or “inspection” mufatashat al-nafs and “scrutininsing the soul” tafaqqud al-nafs.
That this idea of self-examination is central to Muhasibi is seen when he writes “The basis of obedience is scrupulousness (al-wara’) and the basis of scrupulousness is ‘God consciousness’ al-taqwa; the basis of God consciousness isexamining the soul, and the basis of examining the soul is hope al-raja’ and fear al-khawf.”
It is also evident that for Muhasibi self-examination is virtually synonymous with combatting the soul, and both phrases are merely the most common of a cluster of related terms. Mortifying the soul is for the purpose of drawing near to and even returning to Allah SWT. Muhasibi’s frequent use of the idea of return shows the influence of NeoPlatonic thought on his work.
He writes often using this image and devotes awhole work to it- Wayfaring to God and the return to him Al-Qasd wa‘l-Ruju’ ila Allah. This idea of the soul’s return back to its source became a popular image in Sufi thought, being a key element in the writings of eg Rumi etc. Muhasibi is indeedseen as a master of wayfarers.
Muhasibi was skilled at Islamic law, and several of his terms have a legal basis, (eg contradicting the soul mukhalafat al-nafs) or refuting it, and these terms are used extensively in Muhasibi’s works. Picken argues that these terms are virtually synonymous with combatting the soul. Overall, this briefly highlights how well thought-out Muhasibi’s schema was, drawing on concepts from many domains of life. His teaching on struggling with the soul is highly complex and comprehensive.
Top 10 richest Malaysians in 2014: Malaysia now boasts a total of eighteen billionaires, up from fourteen a year ago! Let's now take a look at the ten of the richest locals in 2014. As many Malaysians are well aware of, our country is going through a period of lows; our currency, the Ringgit, is weakening, we are experiencing a slowing economy and a lackluster stock market. All these come together to affect those who are earning a regular salary. But all of it is probably nothing more than an extra shrug from the guys on this list – if at all. In fact, some of those on the Forbes’ Malaysia’s Richest Tycoon list (ie the richest Malaysians, as of March 2014) have seen their fortunes increase as well, due to shrewd business decisions (amongst other things) despite economic conditions. Malaysia now boasts a total of eighteen billionaires, up from fourteen a year ago! Let’s now take a look at the ten of the richest locals in 2014. Source: Forbes’ Malaysia’s 50 Richest List Number 10: ...
Comments