Self-Struggle and its Impact on Moral Refinement between the Philosophical and Sufism Approaches

Abstract

    The study aims to combat the moral ailments and deviations that afflict the soul, or more precisely, the deviation from the state of balance. It also seeks to clarify a set of devotions and actions that enable a person to struggle against oneself and then provide effective treatment so that the soul submits to good and abstains from its evils, becoming an intellectual essence similar to the realm of truth, thus reaching the level of perfection sought by both the philosopher and the Sufi. The study also aims to establish a principle that man is capable of struggling against oneself to elevate to higher levels, which is intellectual contemplation. In this study, the descriptive, analytical, and comparative method was used to explore some of the heritage of philosophers and Sufis, and to present the thoughts  related to this study primarily, and to show verses and hadiths. the study concluded with several conclusions, most notably: the human being is in dire need of knowing oneself and delving into its depths to struggle and refine it and bring it back to the right path, and this can only be achieved through self-struggle, which is both internal and external. Both types have an educational and constructive role for humans. The study also attempted to prove that self-struggle does not mean deprivation of divine blessings and the elimination of legitimate material tendencies, but rather means limiting them and taking control. It reached the conclusion that the philosophers’ approach differs from the Sufis' approach in some parts of the study.