Adab al-Nafs
- Author died
- 320 AH
- Editions
- al-Dār al-Miṣrīyah al-Lubnānīyah
Adab al-Nafs (The Discipline of the Soul), also known as al-Riyada wa-adab al-nafs, is a treatise on spiritual training, ethics, and ascetic discipline by the Sufi scholar and traditionist al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi (d. c. 320 AH / 932 CE) .
Subject and Core Concepts
The treatise focuses on riyada (spiritual exercise or self-discipline) and the systematic restraint of the carnal soul (al-nafs), which is naturally inclined toward carnal desires (shahwat) and base passions (hawa) . al-Tirmidhi derives the concept of riyada linguistically from breaking or subduing (al-radd / al-kasr), explaining that just as a wild beast is broken and trained, the soul must be forcibly broken of its habitual pursuit of pleasure .
He illustrates the gradual disciplining of the soul through the analogy of weaning (fatm) an infant from breast milk: just as a child weaned from nursing turns toward various nourishing foods and forgets the breast, the soul, once weaned from worldly desires and introduced to the sweetness of divine proximity and certainty (yaqin), abandons its lower inclinations .
Method of Spiritual Training
The work outlines practical methods for training the bodily organs and purifying the inner state:
- Guarding the Seven Limbs: al-Tirmidhi emphasizes the necessity of restraining the seven physical limbs—speech, sight, hearing, hands, feet, the belly, and the private parts—even in permissible matters (al-halal) so that the appetite of the soul does not overreach into forbidden things (al-haram) . By weaning each limb from gratuitous action, both speech and silence, looking and lowering the gaze, become transformed into acts of devotion .
- Inward and Outward Piety: The author distinguishes between outward piety (taqwa al-zahir), which consists in guarding the limbs in relation to created beings and angels, and inward piety (taqwa al-batin), which requires relinquishing heedless joy and delight in worldly possessions, family, food, or status . He warns that unchecked worldly delight acts as a poison that deadens the heart and eclipses spiritual illumination .
- Remembrance of Death and Admonition: To subdue the lower soul and engender productive sorrow and grief, al-Tirmidhi recommends reflecting upon the deceased, visiting graveyards and prisons, and contemplating fierce blazes such as kilns and glass furnaces .
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