4. Taming the Beast within: Conquering the Hidden Evil Self

Written by Raheela Shahid & Taaha Ahmad

Ahmed was sitting in the car outside the office building, with shaking hands looking at the envelope with the top documents of the colleague that he had stolen. Again he had been overlooked in a promotion and fury had gripped him. And his inner voice nattered sugary excuses to him: “You need this. They will never be bothered. Just this once.” Taming the Beast. 1

But there was another voice, not so loud, but not the less imperative, which bade him forbear. At that time, Ahmed was undergoing what Islamic psychology has known about over fourteen hundred years, the age old struggle between our higher and lower selves.

This inner struggle is not only a metaphor of spiritual nature, but it also relies on the latest achievements of neuroscience and has much to say on the front of contemporary psychology. And how should we take on our most sinister desires? Well, by looking at the oldest understanding of Islam we can use the methods and knowledge of the oldest understanding of Islam to help us in both conquering our thoughts and understanding the place where we need to be at. 3

An Inner Demon Explained- Neuroscience Behind Our Demons

Recent brain imaging shows what Islamic scholars have been saying for centuries – we are hard-wired for internal war. Our emotional brain, the limbic system, is ruled by primal drives, it’s only worried about getting pleasure, avoiding pain, and instant gratification. So also, the prefrontal cortex signifies our sensible, moral decision making centre.

That moment when Ahmed experienced a moreish moment of vengefulness on contemplating betraying his colleague, his amygdala was spitting and chattering, firing in rapid succession to fill his body with stress chemicals. His prefrontal cortex , the voice of conscience , was fighting to maintain control. This neural tug-of-war occurs innumerable times every day, and most of it goes on without us knowing about it.

Matters of the scientific research on neuroplasticity prove the existence of the chance to strengthen or weaken these neuro pathways, depending on our decisions. Whenever Ahmed treats ethical options as a long-term benefit rather than using instant gratification, he is putting some rewiring on his brain as it regards making ethical judgment. On the other hand, when one repeatedly succumbs to impulses that are destructive, this results into strengthened patterns of neural pathways of such behaviors. 2

Taming the Beast

There is hyperactivity in the anterior cingulate cortex that monitors conflicts of various parts of your brain when faced with moral dilemmas. This is the reason why we experience that kind of physical discomfort whenever making a moral decision, this is that anxious feeling inside our chest when we know that we are thinking of something we should not.

This fight starts early as developmental psychology unveils. It is natural when children to behave selfishly before they can learn to be empathetic and self-controlled. The prefrontal cortex remains to develop even until the age of twenty, and that is why impulse control and moral reasoning are often faulty in young adults. Nevertheless, the development of morals continues beyond this and is a process throughout life that can be improved significantly close to old age with attention.

Islamic Insights: The Nafs and Our Spiritual Architecture

Within Islamic psychology, this inner conflict focuses on the notion of nafs that is commonly understood as self or soul. But what nafs contains is much more subtle than Western psychology is normally concerned with. It is our self-centered needs, that of a voice in our head telling us the reasons to be unwantedly hurtful.

The Quran has put the phenomenon in a beautiful way: “I do not exonerate myself. Verily a persistent enjoiner of evil is the soul, unless tranquillity be on those which my Lord wills – (12:53). In this verse, an absolute reality is recognised, our lower nature will always tend to lead our downward moral curve where the morality is permanently sacrificed.

The Islamic principals have divided the nafs into three levels:

Nafs al-Ammārah (The Commanding Self). This is our most primitive state, where desires rule without moral constraint. It is the voice urging him to thieve those documents, trumpeting he tales north himself whatever he may take.

Nafs al-Lawwama (The Self Rebuking Soul). Here, we begin developing moral awareness. After doing wrong, we feel guilty about them and begin to accept our errors. This is the conscience of Ahmed, which makes him feel uncomfortable regarding the idea of betrayal.

That inspired soul (Nafs al-Mulhimah ). This represents our highest moral development, where doing good becomes natural and effortless. Rather than fighting temptation, we’re genuinely motivated by higher principles.

The Psychology of Moral Development

This is an Islamic model which goes hand in hand with the moral developmental model of Lawrence Kohlberg. The two traditions acknowledge the idea that ethical behavior is not instinctive; they are developed and practised.

Similar insights are the resonance of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT helps us to identify thought-destroying patterns and exchange them with more positive ones. Equally, the Islamic experience lays emphasis on continual self-observation (muraqaba) and the deliberate act of remembrance (dhikr) as a means of spiritual rectification.

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is no exception to this effect by displaying some very dramatic similarities to Islamic modes of emotional regulation. The concept of the wise mind eliminates the standoff between emotional and rational thinking in DBT, just as the Islamic direction signifies the establishment of the balance between heart and intellect. Both cultures instil the lesson that you do not have to be an angry person and destroy things.

The parallel is striking: both approaches recognize that changing behavior requires changing our internal dialogue. When Ahmed’s mind whispers justifications for unethical behavior, both CBT and Islamic psychology would teach him to:

Recognize the thought pattern without immediately acting
Challenge the underlying assumptions driving the temptation
Put positive thinking in place of destructive ones
Reinforce good behavior pattern by repeating positive behavior patterns and practicing.

Another relevant concept is being presented by Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and this is referred to as psychological flexibility. Instead of making an attempt to get rid of all negative thoughts and emotions, ACT helps us learn how to witness them without being in their grip. This is a reflection of the Islamic concept of admitting the nafs but not submitting yourself to his requests.

The Internal War: Understanding Our Divided Nature

This war that rages inside of us is not a design failure of a human being; it is an aspect that allows us to develop morally. In the absence of the ability both of good and evil, our decisions would have no significance. The struggle itself builds character and spiritual strength.
Neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga defines human beings as people with several converging and conflicting neural structures. We are not coherent individuals but a ring of various drives and motives. This scientific understanding validates what Islamic psychology has always taught: we containmultitudes, and conscious cultivation is necessary to align these various aspects of ourselves.

The Stroop Test in psychology demonstrates this internal conflict. When asked to name the color of words (like saying “red” when seeing the word “blue” written in red ink), we experience cognitive conflict. Our automatic reading response conflicts with our conscious intention. This simple test reveals the constant negotiation happening within our minds.

Similarly, moral temptation creates cognitive dissonance. Ahmed knows stealing is wrong, yet he feels justified in his anger. It is just this kind of psychological pressure that is referred to in Islamic teachings with more structured spiritual routines.

Prophetic wisdom: the Way to Reconciliation

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) gave realistic advice to end this inner fight. His teaching provides a radical morality development plan that sounds familiar to present day therapy.

The establishment of the connection between individual spiritual personal growth and social responsibility is expressed in the proverbial saying: “The believer does not eat himself full when his neighbor is hungry”. The real moral development does not simply mean overcoming the selfish desires, it is also the process of actively developing compassion.

2nd Saying

Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day then he/she should talk good or shut up is a clear and concise means of emotional control. Prior to expressing ourselves in anger or frustration, we wait and think that what we are about to say might make a positive impact. This is the reflection of modern mindfulness-based interventions.

The Prophet also said: “the strong individual is not the one who can bring a person to the ground. Like the saying goes: The strong man is who could be able to master himself when angry.” This reconstitution of what it means to be strong with an external power of domination to an internal skill of mastery, contest stories of culture telling me that power is demonstrated by the capacity to hurt others.

One more telling teaching reads: who is not merciful to others will not be treated mercifully. This forms a positive cycle in which compassion toward others, which comes out as natural, also develops self-compassion, which then prevents the self-criticizing vernacular, which may lead to destructive behavior.

Islamic psychology supports the behavior change based on the principle of tawbah (repentance) as a sophisticated behavior change model. Unlike mere regret, tawbah involves:

Awareness about the bad habit
Real regret of its effect
Commitment to change future behavior
Making amends where possible
Believing in the mercy of God and the ability of myself to develop

This is quite a similar procedure with the components of motivational interviews in addiction recovery and behavioral change interventions. Both strategies perceive that change must be sustainable, and it cannot be driven by coercion by external force.

Scientific and Spiritual Takeaways

Modern research validates many Islamic approaches to self-control:

Meditation and Prayer: Islam prayer (salah) and mindfulness meditation both access similar parts of the brain, the prefrontal cortex which activates, and the amygdala which relaxes. Frequent spiritual practice literally changes the wiring of our brains to more emotion control. Research of fMRI scans demonstrates that individuals who pray frequently possess higher connections in the brain regions that correlate with empathy and emotional perception.

Community support: Islamic focus on a community worship and the process of accountability reflects the results concerning the social support and behavior change. It is easier to compromise morally when you are isolated; it is difficult when you are a part of the community. Social contagion research shows that we naturally pick up the behavior and attitudes of like individuals without taking conscious action and moral development through spiritual community is an effective construct.

2nd Phase

Gratitude Practice: Islamic teachings show gratitude all the time as one of the fundamental elements. It has been found that gratitude practices lessen the stress, enhance mood, and heighten prosocial behavior. And since we are less prone to being entitled to what other people have when we are grateful; we are less entitled in this sense. Alex Korb, neuroscientist, discovered that gratitude has a positive feedback loop effect on the brain stimulating the reward circuits in the brain, thereby producing more dopamine in the brain.
Voluntary Deprivation: Islamic practices such as fasting (sawm), allows the voluntarily deprivation. The more well-known Stanford Marshmallow Experiment revealed children who managed to postpone gratification gave them better lives even decades later. The Islamic spiritual practices assist in this important skill through system trainings.

3rd Phase

Breath Awareness: The Islamic belief of mindfulness breathing (during prayer) coincides with the studies of vagal tone and parasympathetic system. When breathing slowly and deliberately, the relaxation response is excited and thoughtful judgment can be made more probable in stressful situations.

Forgiveness: In the Islamic religion forgiveness has a high psychological benefit. According to research by Dr. Everett Worthington, forgiveness lowers the stress chemicals, enhances immune response and elevates appreciation of life. Forgiveness is healthy and it helps us to be healthy both mentally and physically whereas holding grudges sickens us.

Your Journey: Questions for Reflection

As we conclude Ahmed’s story, he ultimately chose to return the documents and seek a constructive conversation with his supervisor about his career concerns. Consider your internal battles:

Who calls out in your mind when you have to make moral decision?
What can you do about your emotional responses to your statements of value?
What works as spiritual or psychological practices that expose your best self during trying times?
In what way are community support and accountability likely to bolster your ethics-choice capability?

The path taken to achieve the transition between nafs al-ammārah, to nafs al-mulhimah is not a journey that is achieved but an up-rooted one. The spiritual muscle is strengthened and added to our psychological and well being in every time that we do choose rather than operate under our lower bases.

Blending the spiritual Islamic practices and the present age therapeutic methods or pursuing this in a purely spiritual or therapeutic manner, the vital task still remains the same: to understand that we are divided; to fight to strengthen our moral judgmental abilities and grow instead of being gratified.

The monster inside is not our foe or a thing we should be afraid of: it is a tutor and a projector of challenges that would otherwise be absent to develop our morals. The actual success is not to get rid of dark impulses but to be able to transform them into wisdom, compassion, and strength.

Take Action Today

Are you willing to start an internal change process? The first thing to do this week is one small practice:

Pick one time a day, perhaps when you are feeling angry, jealous or tempted, to go with this thought: What would my highest self do in this moment?

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Comment your MITW journey to us below. What are the internal struggles and what have you been using to opt to the better side of you? 1