Refinement Notes Archive
Refinement in Proportion
Nafsychology is an educational, ethics-first project for psycho-spiritual refinement, using psychological typology as map-language under Islamic guardrails.
Refinement Notes is a monthly series, published on the last Thursday of each month. Each Note develops one practical clarification, boundary, or applied lens for psycho-spiritual refinement under Islamic guardrails. Some Notes lean primarily toward psychological typology; others foreground traditional Islamic teachings on refinement, held in governed dialogue with psychology.
The stance stays consistent: models remain provisional maps, resonances are noted only as limited analogies, and typological constructs are not equated with revealed categories. The aim remains the same: clearer language for self-observation that supports refinement in proportion.
Notes vary in emphasis by design; the lens stays consistent.
New to Nafsychology? Begin at Start Here.
Core Explainers
Core Explainers Evergreen reference pages: first principles, scope limits, and guardrails. They change slowly, so the monthly Notes can stay lean without re-laying foundations. Refinement Notes are dated and track the work’s living edge.
Core Explainer #1: Typology Without Personality Tests
Why Nafsychology offers no personality tests, automated typing, or scores, and what replaces them: slower observation, clear limits, and accountable language.
Core Explainer #2: Axes, Not Stacks
Why ranking metaphors and “function stacks” distort typology. A reframing of typology as tensions held in relationship, so self-knowledge serves proportion rather than performance.
Axes, Not Stacks: Typology as Tension, Not Ranking
Most typology culture teaches a ladder: higher, lower, better, worse. This Note reframes typology as axes of tension, where growth is not optimization but proportion: naming recurring imbalances, reducing ego-ranking, and making return to proportion more consistent under real-world triggers.
Why Nafsychology Offers No Personality Tests
Popular personality tests and quizzes promise quick clarity about “who we are,” but they also invite us to treat our psyche and Nafs as fixed and scored. Nafsychology takes a different path: no tests, no scores, and no “typing” the Nafs. This Refinement Note explores why we treat psychology as a lamp rather than a verdict, and what we gain when self-knowledge stays under revelation rather than a quiz result.