A Comparative Study of the Personality Traits of Ghazali and Freud

This research is a comparative study of traits of personality by Ghazali and Freud. Traits of personality to Ghazali are "al-nafs al-ammara, al-nafs al-lawwama and "al-nafs almutma'inna, " and according to Freud are: Id, ego and super-ego. Rooh, qalb (heart), and aql (mind) play a role in shaping the traits of personality. All of the traits of the personality work together in conscious, subconscious and unconscious mind. Ghazali and other Muslim philosophers and theologians were influenced by the basic sources of Islam, the Qur'än and the Sunnah. In their view the traits of personality, having roots in the Qur'än are irrefutable yet unverifiable. On the contrary Freud is an atheist, having a proud Jewish background gives a model of the opaque "parts of the personality." This model distinguishes him from all of the western psychologists. His parts of personality are found to be much similar to Ghazali's traits of personality. Freud's model lacks only al-nafs almutma'innah. His super-ego is comprised of both the conscience and the ideal self. Al-nafs al-lawwama is the conscience self, which is the part of the super-ego. This research will thematically and comparatively study the differences between the Ghazali's and Freud's traits of personality. Comparison of the traits of personality presented by Ghazali and Freud coming from two different back grounds: religion and atheism, makes this research unique. It may help the scholars to bring about more productive discussions in the field of psychology.