The structure of moral change in Harith al-Muhasibi's work al-Riaya

The great sufi Abu Abdullah al-Harith b. Asad al-Muhasibi al-Anazi, who lived in the 9th century, is considered as one of the first founders of Sunni Sufism. In his work ar-Riʿāyah li-ḥūqūq Allah, he discusses the importance of fulfilling the rights of Allah. Expressing significant views about the essence and conditions of obedience, al-Muhasibi illustrates the types of difficulties a pious servant may face, self-examination (muhasaba), and inner thoughts (khawatir) he may grapple with during this process in a suitable way to address the different statuses of the society. During this time, Al-Muhasibi especially criticized the groups who claimed to be Sufi. Despite the fact that they pursued an ascetic (zuhd) life at first, after a while they began to follow their egos (nafs). Al-Muhasibi's account deals with the manifestations of moral weakness. Furthermore, he discusses the manifestations of moral weakness in detail. Therefore, it is possible to examine the meaning of positive and negative moral change in ar-Riʿāyah through analyzing the essence of nafs and its qualities, the spiritual diseases, and how the relationship between action and intention effect morality. Examining the structure of the moral change offers important perspectives on human ontology and the purpose of creation. This thesis, which deals with spiritual ascent and descent, is important in terms of considering the stages that the person has gone through and the characteristics of these stages.