Comparative Theology (Mar 2015)
Inclination of the soul toward obscenity in the human life from viewpoint of the Quran and School of the analytical psychology
Abstract
The human being sometimes inclines toward the goodness and beauty, and sometimes toward the obscenity. So, Allah in the Quran has reminded man of dangers and wicked thoughts of the soul, and has described “al-Nafsul Ammāra” (commanding soul) as a source of the souls` inclination toward the obscenity which is quite deceptive. It has also been mentioned that self-scrutiny would act as cause for attaining the way of life recommended by Quran. One of the duties of the psychology is to elaborate on the sources of the souls` inclination toward obscenity and the factors that deviating the human life. One of the psychological schools that especially studies this issue is the School of analytical psychology. Among psychologists of this school, viewpoints of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung need to be compared with the Islamic-Quranic viewpoint. This article firstly tries to clarify the concept of the soul and its characteristics, and then explains the process through which “al-Nafsul Ammāra”, influences. It also describes the origin of the soul's tendency toward obscenity from Freuds` viewpoint and satanic influences from viewpoint of Carl Jung comparing them with the Quranic attitude. The origin of inclination of the soul toward the obscenity is called “al-Nafsul Ammāra” based in the Quranic text while according to the Frauds` theory it is called ID. From the Quranic viewpoint, “al-Nafsul Ammāra” that is affected by the internal negative tendencies of the soul (Haway-e Nafs) and external invisible stimuli(Satan) commands the human and leads him to the obscenity. So the Quran introduces the Satan as the enemy of the human being that brings about his decadence. The Quran presents the human being a practical plan for struggling against the Satan. Analytical psychology of Jung also emphasizes the role of the satanic influences on the human tendency toward the obscenity and considers struggling with the Satan as a way for freedom and sublimation of the human.
