This is the chapter one from the book “Islamic Personality”
The human personality in every man consists of his Aqliyyah (mentality) and his Nafsiyyah (disposition). His physical characteristics and all other aspects have no bearing on his personality – these are only superficial. It would be pointless for anyone to think that such aspects have any relevance or bearing upon the makeup of the human personality. This is because man has a discerning mind, and it is his behaviour that indicates his progression or decline in life’s affairs. As man’s conduct in this life is driven by the concepts he holds, thus his behaviour is closely linked with his concepts. Human conduct relates to those actions performed by man to satisfy his instincts and organic needs. He therefore acts in accordance with the inclinations (moyool) that he holds towards satisfaction of these instincts. Consequently his concepts (mafaheem) and inclinations (moyool) are the backbone of his personality. One may ask questions such as “What are these concepts? What makes them? What are their results? What are these inclinations? What causes them, and what effect do they have?” These can be answered as follows.
Concepts are the meanings of thoughts, and not of statements. A statement denotes a meaning that may or may not exist in reality. For example when the poet says, “there is amongst men some who, when attacked, are found to be robust and sturdy, but when you throw a truthful argument at one of them, he instantly flees the fight worn out.”
The meaning conveyed by the poet does exist in reality and can be understood through sensory perception, though understanding this meaning requires enlightened thought. However when the poet says, “they wondered, does he indeed penetrate two horsemen with one strike of his spear and find this not a grand act?” and he answered by saying, “if his spear was one mile long, the same length of horsemen he would penetrate with his strike.”
The denotation of these lines is non-existent in reality. The warrior praised in this verse never penetrated two horsemen with his spear in one strike, no one asked the question answered by the poet, and the warrior is incapable of penetrating a mile of horsemen with a single strike of his spear. The meaning of these sentences and their component words are explained. On the other hand, the meaning of thought is as follows: if the meaning denoted by the statement exists in reality and can be deduced through sensory perception or if perceived by the mind as something sensed and thus believed in, then we can say this meaning is a concept for the person who senses it or the person who visualises it and believes in it. It is not a concept for anyone who does not sense or visualise this meaning, although such a person may understand the meaning of the sentence that has been said. Accordingly, a person must perceive discourse in an intellectual manner, whether it be written or spoken word. That is, he must understand the meaning of sentences just as those sentences express that meaning, not as the producer of these sentences or what he wants the sentences to mean. At the same time, the person must comprehend the reality of that meaning in such a manner that he can readily identify this reality so that the meaning becomes a concept. Concepts are those meanings whose reality can be understood by the mind, whether it be a tangible reality existing beyond the limits of the mind or a reality accepted as existing outside the mind, provided this acceptance is based on tangible reality. Apart from these ideas, the meanings of words and sentences are not called concepts; they are mere information.
Concepts are formed by the association of reality with information or vice-versa, and as a result of the crystallisation of this formation according to the criterion against which information and reality are measured when this association occurs. So concepts are formed according to the person’s understanding of the reality and the information when he links them together, i.e. according to his comprehension of them. Thus a person acquires the mentality for understanding words and sentences, comprehends the meanings and their reality, and then makes a judgement on this reality. The mentality is the tool used for understanding things; meaning it is the mode for linking reality with information; this being done by measuring it against one standard or a number of specific standards. From this stem different types of mentalities, such as the Islamic mentality, the Communist mentality, the Capitalist mentality, the anarchist mentality or a monotonous mentality. Thus it can be said these concepts determine the conduct of man towards the comprehended reality. They also determine his position in terms of inclining towards the reality or turning away from it. In addition they provide him with a particular inclination and a specific taste.
The inclinations are the desires that motivate man to seek satisfaction alongside the concepts he holds about those objects he believes that will provide satisfaction of his desires. These inclinations are borne out of the vital energy that pushes man to satisfy his instincts and organic needs, and the link between this energy and his concepts. It is these inclinations that constitute man’s Nafsiyyah (disposition or behaviour). The Nafsiyyah is the method for satisfying man’s instincts and organic needs i.e. the manner in which the desire or drive to satisfy these needs are combined with the concepts. It is a combination of the relationship (inside each human being) between his desires and his concepts about life, and the concepts he holds about those material objects that will satisfy his instincts and organic needs.
The Shaksiyyah (personality) is composed of the Aqliyyah (mentality) and Nafsiyyah (behaviour). Although the capacity for comprehension is innate and definitely existent within every human being, the development of the Aqliyyah and the Nafsiyyah comes from man himself. The existence of a standard against which information and reality are evaluated before being linked is what clarifies the meaning so that it becomes a concept; and the combination that occurs between man’s desires or drives and the concepts he holds about these is what crystallises the desire so that it becomes an inclination. Thus the criterion against which man measures information and reality before being linked is the most important factor that affects the development of the Shaksiyyah. If the criterion according to which the Aqliyyah is formed is the same as that according to which the Nafsiyyah is formed, then man will hold a particular Shaksiyyah. However if the criterion for Aqliyyah differs from the criterion for the Nafsiyyah, it follows that this man’s mentality will be different from his disposition or behaviour. This man would then measure his inclinations against deep-rooted criteria that he holds, thus linking his desires with concepts other than those which have formed his Aqliyyah. The result is that he develops a Shaksiyyah that lacks distinctiveness, is full of contradiction and discrepancy, and is a human being whose thoughts are different from his inclinations. He understands words and sentences, and comprehends events in a manner different from his inclination towards things.
Consequently, the formation and treatment of the Shaksiyyah can only be achieved through establishing a single standard for both the Aqliyyah and the Nafsiyyah. The standard against which man measures information and reality when he links them together should be the same standard basis according to which his drives and concepts are associated. The result of this is the formation of a unique and distinctive Shaksiyyah.
