Deal of all Life Times (Part-2)- Nafs

As promised, we’ll talk about what is nafs today. I am going to very briefly discuss how nafs has been described in the Quran in sha Allah. I want to focus on what we are supposed to do with that knowledge and how we can apply the wisdom to our own daily lives to be eligible for a successful contract with Allah SWT (discussed in detail here ICYMI).

What is Nafs?

The word ‘nafs’ appears 295 times in the Quran, therefore, we know it is of utmost importance. That’s part of why I wanted to give the topic due regard and discuss it independently and not as part of the previous post.

We have all heard of ‘nafs’ since our school days where it was introduced as this villainous character in our story that is going to lead us astray and eventually cause our downfall. But is this all that there’s to it?...as it turns out, it’s not.

It’s not as straightforward.

There are at least three different types of ‘nafs’ described in the Quran by Allah SWT:

1.     Nafs Al- Ammarah

وَمَآ أُبَرِّئُ نَفْسِىٓ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلنَّفْسَ لَأَمَّارَةٌۢ بِٱلسُّوٓءِ إِلَّا مَا رَحِمَ رَبِّىٓ ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ

And I do not seek to free myself from blame, for indeed the nafs is ever inclined to evil, except those shown mercy by my Lord. Surely my Lord is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Yusuf-53)

This is a dialogue from Hazrat Yusuf (A.S.) who addresses the side of nafs that we are most familiar with. The part of human self that is inclined to do evil, except for those whom Allah SWT guides and has mercy upon.

Statements like ‘you are perfect the way you are’, ‘do what makes you happy, ‘you only live once (YOLO)’ or ‘live like there’s no tomorrow’, ‘I am the way I am’ etc. place the human as this all-knowing and perfect being who is not answerable to anyone but should place his/her own desires at the top.

This hyper-individualistic model of self is what we see rampant in today’s world- led by internet psychology, social media influencers and entertainment industries such as Hollywood and Bollywood where the mantra over and over again is ‘you don’t owe anyone anything’, ‘you do you’, ‘love is supreme’, ‘love knows no bounds’, ‘all you need is love’, ‘everyone has a right to love whomever they want’, ‘I’m living my best life’ etc.

Did you know that this is one of the fundamental ideologies for satanists, black magicians, oculists?

In fact, one of the most famous wicked men- Aleister Crowley, in his book says:

“There is no law beyond Do what thou (you) wilt. Love is the law, love under will.”

Isn’t it purely and simply submitting to the needs of the nafs al-ammarah?

Lets resolve to at least be aware of what is at stake here next time you choose to entertain yourself with the seemingly innocent content, as sin is a slippery slope leading to the only unforgivable sin-shirk. Getting used to minor sins slowly but surely desensitizes us to them even being sins at all and that’s when evil forces push you towards major sins.

May Allah SWT protect us from our nafs al-ammarah and all evil forces from their harm and deciet taking over us and may He keep us steadfast on Iman. Aameen.

2.     Nafs- Al-Lawwamah:

وَلَآ أُقْسِمُ بِٱلنَّفْسِ ٱللَّوَّامَةِ ٢

And I do swear by the self-reproaching soul! (Al-Qiyyamah, 2)

Allah SWT is swearing by the nafs-al-lawwamah in Quran which corresponds to the stage of nafs when we become self-aware of our shortcomings, fragility and imperfections. A move- up from treating oneself as the centre of universe and focusing solely on immediate gratification as THE purpose of life.

وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِۦ وَنَهَى ٱلنَّفْسَ عَنِ ٱلْهَوَىٰ ٤٠

But as for he who feared the position of his Lord and prevented the soul from [unlawful] inclination (Al-Naziyat, 40)

Scholars say that this is the state that most Muslims live in. We believe in Allah SWT and His message, try to do the right thing, recognize when we sin, feel ashamed of them and repent for our wrongdoings. The frequency and intensity of our imans and relationship with Allah SWT varies not only from person to person but also for each individual at different times in our lives.

As is obvious from the following ayah, the knowledge of right and wrong is in-built in all of us:

وَنَفْسٍۢ وَمَا سَوَّىٰهَا ٧ فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَىٰهَا ٨

And by the soul and ˹the One˺ Who fashioned it. then with ˹the knowledge of˺ right and wrong inspired it! (Al-Shams, 7-8)

Remember the discussion on shaakila?

Among other things, shaakila arguably has the biggest role to play in determining the strength of our relationship with Allah SWT. Let’s remind ourselves to never stop exploring our shaakila (which keeps on changing as well with every experience) to make sure we are taking the sahih steps towards Allah’s mercy and acceptance.

3.     Nafs- Al- Mutma’innah:

يَـٰٓأَيَّتُهَا ٱلنَّفْسُ ٱلْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ ٢٧ ٱرْجِعِىٓ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةًۭ مَّرْضِيَّةًۭ ٢٨ فَٱدْخُلِى فِى عِبَـٰدِى ٢٩ وَٱدْخُلِى جَنَّتِى ٣٠

“O tranquil soul, Return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him], And enter among My [righteous] servants And enter My Paradise.” (Al-Fajr, 28-30)

I couldn’t hold myself back from sharing this whole part, not just the way nafs is being described here. I find these to be some of the most reassuring, soothing and beautiful verses of the Quran. I want you to give yourself a couple of minutes to feel these verses. It truly touches the soul and all we can do is be grateful to Allah SWT for these reassuring signs. How unimaginably wonderful indeed to be addressed like this. May we all experience it inShaAllah Aameen.

To summerize,

“When the self that incites to evil deeds (‘Ammarah) is ashamed of its doings, repents, corrects and becomes the reproaching self (Lawwamah), then, certainly great is the forgiveness of Allah - He will forgive. The word: رَحِیم (Rahim : Very-Merciful) indicates that a person who is blessed with a self at peace (Mutma'innah), that too is nothing but a result of the mercy of Allah. (Ma'arif al-Qur'an)”

So which one should we watch out for?

I say all three of them!

I’ll tell you why.

Nafs al-Ammarah is easy, it’ll surely take one to hell (astaghfirullah), but if we’re stuck in lawwamah, it’s not great either as awareness of our flaws is only a start towards self-improvement. If we continue to choose staying in that state for long, we’ll end up with one of two dilemmas:

1.      We’ll get comfortable with the negative self-belief and it becomes part of our identity which is extremely hard to break out of, or

2.      worse yet, we may end up slipping further into sin as we acknowledge that we are flawed and use that to justify weakness of character.

But what about Mutma’innah?...I’ll share this piece with you:

“The son of Imam Ahmed Ibn Hanbal, Abdullah bin Ahmed, said: "When death approached my father, I sat with him and in my hand was a scrap of cloth with which I wanted to tie his beard and he began to drift in and out of consciousness, then he opened his eyes and said, indicating with his hand:

‘No, not yet. No, not yet.’

And he repeated it three times. After the third repetition, I said to him: ‘Oh, my father! What is this thing which you have said at this time? You fall into unconsciousness so that we say that you have gone, then you return (to consciousness) and say: "No, not yet. No, not yet."’

He said to me:

‘Oh, my son! Do you not know?’

I said: ‘No’. He said:

‘Satan – may Allah's curse be upon him – stood before me, he lowered himself on his knuckles and said to me: "Oh, Ahmad! You have eluded/escaped me." But I replied: "No, not yet, not yet until I die!” (The biography of Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal by Salahuddin Ali Abdul Mawjood. Translated by Sameh Strauch).”

Let’s recall who Imam Ahmed Ibn Hanbal was:

He has been given the title of Shaikh-ul-Islam (outstanding scholars of the Islamic sciences) for his unmatched contributions to Hadith, Tafseer, Fiqh (i.e. Islamic jurisprudence) and history. He went to extreme lengths to learn hadith and verify the same to record only the most authentic ones in his most famous book Al Musnad. His scholarly work has inspired and taught the likes of Imam Bukhari, Imam Muslim, Iman Abu Dawood, Imam At Tirmidi, and Imam An Nasai.

But his stature is not solely based on his significant scholarly contributions. The strength of his iman and his unwavering stance against the trial (fitnah) of Mutazilaism (philosophical rationalism) is a lesson of its kind from history. Despite being subjected to severe torture and being imprisoned for numerous years, demanding from him to declare his support for this new concept, by caliphs of his time, Imam Hanbal didn’t yield. For his open opposition of the state’s officially declared ideology and labelling it an innovation in deen, he was barred from preaching and teaching during these years. It is said that he compiled most of his works during this time and continued his firm stance for the sake of our deen. May Allah have mercy on his soul and may he be raised in his ranks in Jannah, Aameen.

This level of iman and unwavering strength wasn’t prone to the fraudulent and cunning ways of satan. He led his whole life in service of Islam, fighting the mightiest worldly powers for the sake of purity of religion for the generations to come (you and I) but shaitan didn’t give up on his mission to lead him astray.

With Mutma’innah, we need to be very carful of satan’s deceitful ways because he doesn’t give-up, never, not even on one’s death bed. For a Muslim to commit the atrocity of becoming arrogant at the time of death after leading a virtuous life may bear consequences that we cannot imagine nor can we afford.

Let’s reflect on what chance do we stand if we are not cautious and keep strengthening our faith in Allah through dua and tawbah, for He is the most Merciful to His servants and only He can save us from all evil.

Another extreme hazard associated with nafs al-mutma’innah is by mistaking a state of naivety, calm and rest in this world for nafs al- mutma’innah. Are we peaceful because we never strived to learn what Allah wants from us and what the pre-requisites to earn Allah’s mercy are, as detailed in Quran and Sunnah of Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.W.W.)? Despite the knowledge literally being at our fingertips and nothing in our shaakila stopping us from getting it, if we never truly strive in Allah’s path, while we seem to find time to learn everything else, that is not a state of nafs al-mutma’innah but actually nafs al-ammarah.

May Allah keep us steadfast on His path and make us one of the Mutma’innah nufoos, inShaAllah, Aameen.

Let’s bind it together to see how do we give up nafs to seek Allah’s approval in light of ayah:

وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَشْرِى نَفْسَهُ ٱبْتِغَآءَ مَرْضَاتِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ رَءُوفٌۢ بِٱلْعِبَادِ

And of the people is he who sells himself, seeking means to the approval of Allah. And Allah is kind to [His] servants. (Al Baqarah, 207)

Striving against nafs has been called the greater jihad by our beloved Prophet S.A.W.W. The discussion above may be helpful to partially clarify why.

To sell your nafs means you:

1.      Surrender your will and ego to Allah completely

2.      Accept his supreme authority and understand what you have been given is not arbitrary. You have been assigned a special purpose that only you have the capacity to fulfil.

3.      Seek Allah’s help, guidance and mercy regularly and repeatedly through all means available.

4.      Never miss the obligations and incorporate zikr, dua and other non-obligatory virtues in your routine

Believe me, it’s the easiest thing you’ll do that will transform your life and hereafter. It doesn’t sound easy but you know what makes it easy? Allah’s has declared “Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship” (Al Baqarah, 185). And when Allah wills to make anything easy, who has any power whatsoever to change it?

It’s not a one-time thing but a process- a way of life.

What better time to take the first sahih step and practice this way of life than the month of Quran- Ramadan. Alhamdolillah we have been blessed with another Ramadan. Let’s make this one even more special for ourselves and lets strive for Allah’s acceptance with all our hearts so that we may become among the ones who will be called nafs al-mutma’innah in the hereafter inshaAllah.

Fi Amaan Allah