The Three Faculties Within

Takeaways

1. 01

   The intellect is what sets us apart. Use it with care.

   We are not the strongest or the fastest of Allah's creation, but Allah taught Adam the names of all things,Q 2:31 and the intellect lets the human being surpass everything else He made. The same raw intelligence can become cunning or become a gift to your family, community and humanity. Even here in San Francisco, one engineer builds AI that serves harm and another builds something with a net benefit. Both use the mind God gave them. The direction is the choice.

2. 02

   There is an inner world, and the deen was sent to govern it.

   Outside us there is society, government and law. Inside the mind and the heart there is an entire realm at work in every moment, and it causes real damage when it is not regulated. The religion is not a flat list of do and don't. Behind every command is a reason, a faculty driving the behaviour, and a way to bring it under control. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said none of you truly believes until his desires follow what I have brought.Nawawi 41

3. 03

   Three faculties are competing inside you at all times.

   Imam al-Ghazali, in the Marvels of the Heart, names them. The irascible faculty governs anger and arrogance and is like a vicious dog: unleashed it destroys, trained it protects. The appetitive faculty governs base desire for food, drink, intoxicants and sex and is like a pig whose appetite has no limit. The rational faculty, the aql, is the governor. Knowledge lives in it, and its job is to direct the other two.

4. 04

   Many modern diseases of the heart come from these two.

   Addiction to wealth, fame, status, followers, even likes on a post, springs from the irascible faculty. Watered-down morality and relativism, where each person decides what is right, springs from the appetitive one. We do not believe morality is relative. Allah has laid out truth and falsehood in the Quran and through His Messenger. Muslims do not chase what the magazine rankings chase.

5. 05

   Let the faculties correct each other under the governor.

   When appetite runs wild, turn the anger inward: get upset at yourself, refuse the sin, end the illicit relationship. When anger runs wild, use appetite as an incentive: hold your tongue for a week and reward yourself with something you love. The trouble starts when the dog and the pig stage a coup over the one who is supposed to be in charge, which is exactly the state of the modern world.

6. 06

   Step one: diagnose the root cause.

   When you keep lashing out, the surface is anger but the root is usually burnout, exhaustion or strain at home. Do a real root-cause analysis. The Prophet, peace be upon him, was the best diagnostician: a man asked him for advice three times and each time he answered, do not get angry,Bukhari 6116 because he saw the man's actual problem. If you are angry standing, sit. If sitting, lie down.Abu Dawud 4782 Wash with cold water. Anger is a flame and it needs cooling.

7. 07

   Step two: learn the cure, and don't let your heart die.

   Every spiritual problem has an antidote taught by the Prophet, peace be upon him. Commit five to ten minutes a week, on the commute, to something with spiritual light in it instead of another tech podcast. Study purification of the heart, or the specific disease you struggle with. The heart needs nutrients like the body does. A heart that is never moved, never emotional before Allah, is a heart that is dying. The Prophet wept regularly, and Umar's tears left marks on his face.

8. 08

   Step three: stop relying on yourself. Ask Allah.

   This is the most potent step and the least practised. The one who relies on himself is left to himself. Turn the struggle into dua, a few times a week or every day if it is severe, and let yourself weep before Him. Allah asks: who answers the distressed one when he calls?Q 27:62 And He says the help of Allah is near.Q 2:214 It is here. We only have to ask for it, seek it and be aware of it. Govern the inner world and everything outside becomes easier.