Muʿaqaba
Definition
Muʿaqaba is the practice of imposing an internal consequence on oneself when the muhasaba reveals a failure to keep one's spiritual commitments. Al-Ghazali recommends this as a way of training the lower self: just as a merchant who discovers a loss does not simply shrug and move on but determines the cause and takes corrective action, the spiritual practitioner who discovers in their evening muhasaba that they fell short imposes an additional act of worship, a period of fasting, or an extended period of dhikr as a gentle but firm internal penalty. The purpose is not self-punishment but the training of the soul to take its commitments seriously.
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Ghazali and the scholars of his school.
Appears in
1 book in the library
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