It’s time to translate the Quranic words, Nafs & Qalb as referring to Mind & Intelligence

Abstract

Studying the field of psychology in combination with religion has become a significant trend. Traditionally, Muslim philosophers, theologians, and mystics had been studying Psychology from an Islamic perspective under the label of ‘al-ilm-un-nafs’ i.e. knowledge of the soul. Their understanding of ‘nafs’ is mostly related to ‘soul’ or ‘spirit’. Recent Muslim scholars have re-invented the same wheel and have tried to merely promote the prominent Muslim philosophers instead of converting their work into modern understandings. Sticking with the translation of ‘nafs’ as soul or spirit has made several verses of Quran difficult to understand in modern psychological perspective. Since the subjects of psyche and intellect are within the domain of psychology in our times, this current study analyzed the content, context, and the psychological themes of the Quranic terms ‘nafs’, ‘rooh’, ‘aql’, ‘qalb’, and ‘foaad’ in 420 verses. This study established that the term ‘nafs’ in Quran is mostly used for ‘psyche’ i.e. mind and self. The terms ‘qalb’, ‘aql’, and ‘foaad’ are all used to relate to‘intelligence’. The current study is highly significant in its scope as none of the earlier or later Muslim scholars translated the word ‘nafs’ as ‘mind’, which is the best suited alternative in our times and can allow Muslims to understand Quran in a more convenient and updated way.