Hisab al-Nafs
Definition
Hisab al-nafs — the self's reckoning — is the broader category within which muhasaba sits: the entire practice of holding oneself accountable as a preparation for the divine accounting of the Day of Judgment. Al-Ghazali grounds this practice in the Quranic verse: 'Every soul will be shown what it has presented and what it has held back.' The one who performs regular hisab al-nafs is, in effect, rehearsing for the ultimate accounting — gradually developing the honest self-knowledge that will be required at the moment when all masks fall and only what is real remains.
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Ghazali and the scholars of his school.
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