Sufistic and psychological interpretation of self examination in his thought of Kharis al-Muhâsibî

Haris al-Muhasibi (d. 243/857), lived during a time when the Islamic thought system was taking shape in the third century. He was the founder of the Baghdad School, which was established in the city of Baghdad and was prominent in topics such as the distinction between exterior and interior, monotheism, and love of God, as well as the determination of states and levels. He was a thinker who looked critically at some of the ideas of his time, presented his own views, and invited people to truth through an inward journey towards truth. Al-Muhasibi is considered the first psychologist in Sunni Islam and his psychological analyses in his works marked a turning point in Islamic thought. Muhasibi, not only advocated for the external struggle against one's desires and whims but also established a meticulous method of spiritual training by constantly subjecting every thought that comes to the heart to a psychological analysis. He played an important role in the development of Sufism as a doctrine and based his thoughts and concepts on the Qur'an and the Sunnah. He assigned a psychological meaning to the self, which is the inward experience of human beings and affects both the worldly and afterlife and contributes to their spiritual and physical well-being. Instead of killing the self, he emphasized the need to constantly subject it to self-examination and keep it under surveillance in order to fight against desires and whims. For Muhasibi, recognizing the self, which is the path to leading a physically and psychologically healthy life while experiencing mental turmoil with questions about existence, and then examining oneself and directing one's thoughts and life, is a means to attain God's pleasure. By observing both oneself and society, he identified both personal and social problems with deep analysis using a Socratic and dialectical method, much like a doctor, and provided treatments with the knowledge and wisdom he possessed. In this study, the period in which Muhasibi lived, his biography, the concept of self and self-examination are analyzed from various perspectives. The necessity of self-examination in detecting moral shortcomings both from a Sufi and psychological perspective and its impact on human psychology are also examined.