A guide to the inner dimensions of the soul (part 1 the EGO)

Battle Against Your Nafs(Nafs means ego)

Praise is for Allah Almighty who is alone in possessing His most splendid Name, and is the Owner of unconquerable might. Praise be to Allah Almighty who is Unique having the highest names, the owner of tremendous might. Allah Almighty is One, without any partner or son, there is nothing like Him, He neither perishes nor ends, nothing will be except that He wills. We praise Allah Almighty, the Glorious Creator of the Universe, for His Magnificent bounties He has bestowed upon us.
We ask Him to send His blessings on the beloved and final prophet to mankind Muhammad (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam), whose intelligence and patience were greater than any of the creation of Allah Almighty. Allah Almighty purified him in both spirit and body and protected him from all imperfections and blemishes, and bestowed him with wisdom and judgement. May Allah Almighty send His blessings upon his family, his companions and all those who follow him with righteousness and sincerity until the last day.

Allah [Subhana Wa Ta’ala] mentions in Surah Zumar, O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

The Nafs is something that we all struggle with. No one can claim that they are free from the dangers and effects of the Nafs. We are in a constant battle. We fall into the traps of Shaytaan and end up sinning leading us to lose hope in Allah and then despairing in His Bountiful Mercy. But before this state of Imaan reaches us, it is of utmost importance that we understand exactly who we are battling with and what the purpose of our battle is. A warrior does not go to battle without knowing his enemies strengths and weaknesses.

Imam Ghazali [Rahimahullah], the great Mujaddid explains in his Ihya Ulum id Din that The Nafs itself has two meanings. The first being passion or the lower self. This type of Nafs is known as Nafs ul Ammara. Every evil act, greed, anger, lust, envy etc stems from this type of Nafs. The Ulama consider it to be an unrefined state, the lowest dimension of a mans existence, an animalistic nature within us that commands to wrongdoing. Although there are 2 meanings to the Nafs, The Nafs has 7 progressive stages of which Nafs ul Ammara is the lowest of them all. Sayyiduna Junayd al Baghdadi [Rahimahullah] said with regard to the Nafs, ‘The animal soul summons to dangers, assists enemies, pursues whims, and is to be suspected of every sort of wickedness.’

It is this Nafs ul Ammara that is to be considered our true enemy. An enemy whom we are in constant battle with, those who fall into the trap of this animalistic nature are described by Allah [Subhana Wa Ta’ala] to the like of a dog, where He says in Surah Furqan [Verse 43], ‘Have you seen the one who has taken his God as his own desire?’ And in Surah Ar’af [Verse 176], ‘If we Had willed, we could have elevated him thereby, but he adhered to the Earth and followed its desires. So his example is like that of a dog, if you chase him he pants, and if you leave him, he still pants. That is the example of the people who denied our signs.’

This Nafs ul Amaara always keeps us from good acts and from realising the truth. As long as we are under its control, it steers us constantly in the direction of evil, prompting us to behave in a manner that isn’t according to Sunnah. Becoming a slave to our nafs and its desires will ultimately lead us to pay no attention to Allah and His Beloved Messenger [Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam], and will in the end, result in a total state of heedlessness toward any sort of accountability on the Day of Judgment. It is this state of the nafs that many of us have struggled with for a long time and are today continuing in that struggle, with the intention of finding any sort of consistency in our practices.

This brings me onto the second meaning or type of the Nafs, which is the essence of our inner, the soul. I mentioned earlier that the Nafs has 7 progressive stages, this is the first progressive stage after the dead state of Nafs ul Ammara, and it is known as Nafs ul Lawwama. It is otherwise known as The Blaming Self. The Nafs is a single entity, but it improves gradually as one works on his reproachable self. We can only reach the full potential of Nafs ul Lawwama, once we hold ourselves accountable for every ounce of passion within our being. This is confirmed by Abu Hafs al Haddad [Rahimahullah]. He says, ‘Whoever does not suspect his ego at every moment, oppose it in all circumstances and drag it towards what it hates for all his days, has been fooled. Whoever looks at it expecting any good from it has caused his ruin. From this we know that Nafs ul Lawaama is no doubt an improved state but it is only the first step to the path of total tranquillity.

Many of us have come across a time where we may have promised Allah that we will no longer disobey Him or continue to act according to what our Nafs ul Amaara desires but what happens? We end up breaking our Taubah and questioning as to why we ever made any promises or even made Taubah in the first place. We may question ourselves but this itself is an improved state which is found only through Nafs ul Lawaama. When our souls were filled with passion, any sort of guilt or accountability, would have been a forgotten thing. But when one reaches Nafs ul Lawaama, one begins to blame themselves for his misdeeds and wrongdoings. Nafs ul Lawaama is divided into two pillars, the first being accountability of passions that go against the will of Allah, or in simple terms, to know and accept exactly what our faults are. The second pillar to Nafs ul Lawaama is to oppose that which we know our faults. This is where the real physical, spiritual and mental battle against the Nafs begins. DhuNun-al-Misri [Rahimahullah] once said, ‘The key to worship is reflection. The sign of attaining the mark is to oppose the ego and its desires. To oppose the ego is to abandon what it craves.’ This act of abandoning and abstaining is what truly hurts the Nafs and it is something that RasoolAllahi [SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam] himself commanded his followers to do. What else was the reason for Them beseeching Allah [Subhana Wa Ta’ala’s], and asking for protection from Allah from falling in the hands of the nafs for even a split second? Was the manifestation of the Beloved of Allah [SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam] not pure?

My dear brothers, The Beloved of Allah [SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam] is a walking talking living example of a perfected soul. However it is upon us to change our own states through what they taught us. No one will do it for us and we must begin with opposing and abstaining from that which our Nafs craves for. Allah [Subhana Wa Ta’ala] mentions in the Holy Qur’an in Surah Ra’ad, ‘Verily Allah will never change the condition of a people until they change it themselves.

Do you know, before we came to existence, before our souls were placed in our bodies, there was a spiritual world where our souls would meet each other in a pure form? The reason why we have a selective group of friends is due to this very fact. We become inclined towards certain friends in dunya because in the spiritual world, our souls were friends. It is narrated in Sahih Bukhari, that the Beloved of Allah [SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam] said, ‘The souls are like an army joined in the world of spirits whichever souls knew each other in that world are attracted towards each other in this world and whichever remained distant and indifferent, they are distant to each other.

Our true form, the pure form that once existed and still resides in all of us is the soul that existed in the spiritual world, and it is exactly that form that we must find again.

Bulleh Shah Kasoori [Rahimahullah] says,

He says, when Allah commanded for the creation to come to existence, His greatness merely said, Be! And everything came to be. We were once there too, when Allah asked us all, Am I not your Lord? The spirits were not deaf nor dumb and they answered, Indeed You Are our Lord, we worship You and we seek Your aid. Our true home was that home, but now we are trapped in these idols [our bodies], the Nafs has become filthy now, but its reality was never as such.

Now that we know our real origin, who our enemy is and what its weaknesses are, what steps do we need to take in order to defeat our ultimate enemy? The very first step to destroy our carnal desires and the passion that lies within us is to know and understand that the enemy we are fighting is no little one. A battle between two countries could go on for 10 to 15 years, but the battle between the Nafs and the Enlightened Soul is one that lasts an entire liftetime. From the very beginning of time we have been battling and opposing the spirit within us, so much so that we have forgotten our true form. Many people talk about living life for the moment, this is why we see this carefree manner in our brothers and sisters nowadays. Unfortunately, our passions are running wild and we can blame no one but ourselves.

To understand just how great our spiritual enemy is, we need to take a look at the lives of those who have worked hard on overcoming their Nafs. On one occasion, The Prophet [SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam] and His Blessed Companions returned from a battle. Upon return, the Beloved [SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam] said to his companions, ‘You have returned from a smaller battle to a greater one.’ The Companions asked, Ya RasoolAllahi [SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam], what can be a greater battle than than the one we have just fought?’ The Beloved of Allah [SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam] replied, ‘The battle against your Nafs.’

The Beloved [SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam] referred to the Battle of the Nafs as the Greater Jihad, and indeed it is, as it totally transforms a soul to that which the human intellect cannot comprehend.

Imam Ghazali [Rahimahullah], the Great Mujaddid himself says with regard to the Nafs, ‘“Never have I dealt with anything more difficult than my own soul, which sometimes helps me and sometimes opposes me.”

No doubt, defeating an enemy as great as the Nafs is tough, especially being that we live in an environment where temptations are all around us. But we have to start asking ourselves, if we’re not gaining consistency in our A’maal and falling weak every so often, where are we going wrong? The reason we experience this, is because we have nothing to work toward, no goals, no aspirations, many even practise deen as a timepass or because our parents tell us to. A child who studies at school, if asked what he aspires to be when he is older, will tell you he wants to become an astronaut, a lawyer, a doctor or a successful businessman and so on. But if you pose that same question to him and relate it to deen, He look at you as if you have just told him that he has been diagnosed with some sort of terminal illness. This is the state the Ummah is in today. No path to Allah is easy, there will always be obstacles and hurdles.

Mawlana Rumi [Rahimahullah] says, What sort of person says that he or she wants to be polished and pure but then complains about being handled roughly? This is reality brothers and sisters, a diamond doesn’t become a diamond just by being found, it starts off as a rock and goes through a vigorous amount of tests and only then does it come out shining. Its the same in our case, however in our case we seem to lack knowledge of how close the soul can be with Allah, and it is because of this lack of knowledge we tend to lose hope and give up whenever we do try and better ourselves. Kanz ul Huda has given a unique incentive to everyone, we don’t ask anyone to work for Jannah, but rather we ask others to work for the nearness of Allah and His Messenger [SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam]. This gives us something to work toward, and in the end, through our efforts in achieving this and purifying our souls, there is a guarantee from Allah that He will gift us His Jannah.

Imam Ghazali [Rahimahullah] tells us that Allah [Subhana Wa Ta’ala] has placed soldiers in the heart and the soul of every believer. He further explains that the limbs of the body, the five senses, free will, instinct and our emotive and intellective powers are among those soldiers. But they need to be tamed and equipped with the right tools. At the moment they are soldiers without a commander and without any sort of weapons or armour, and it is up to the believer to equip those soldiers with the tools needed to destroy the lower self.

Kanz ul Huda provides us with two unique defences against any attacks from the lower self. The first is the Shield of Taubah, as I explained at the beginning of the speech, there may have been many occasions in the past where we asked for Allah’s forgiveness, only to end up committing that same sin again. The reason why we lack consistency in Taubah or abstinence from sin, is because the manner in which we ask for forgiveness is not according to the principles of how one should beseech Allah’s Mercy. How often do we see brothers commiting sins openly only to then touch their earlobes and say Astaghfirullah and think that Taubah has been done? Even whilst looking at the opposite gender, we recite the same Kalaam. This is not how one should ask Allah for forgiveness. Kanz ul Huda has made it easy by giving us Taubah in a simple method that one can memorise within moments. P.R.A.N is an abbreviation that breaks down the 4 prerequisites of seeking Allah’s forgiveness. The first thing to keep in mind, if a sin takes place it is counted as one sin, we are humans, it is in our nature to make mistakes, however, when we wrong ourselves, and we then delay our Taubah it is regarded as another sin. The act of delaying Taubah counts as another sin, one should avoid this by immediately making Wudhu and preparing himself to speak to His Lord. P stands for past sin, for taubah to take place, the sin we are asking forgiveness for, must be one that took place in the past. Asking for forgiveness for an act that may occur in the future will be regarded as an act of Taqwa but Taubah will not be complete. R stands for remorse or regret, creating guilt in the heart is something that we sometimes naturally feel, but we should ask ourselves, If my parents were to know of the act I had just done, would I be ashamed? Allah [Subhana Wa Ta’ala] sees everything, how will I fare on the Day of Judgment when I will have to face Him and answer for all my wrongdoings? A stands for Allah, and the Taubah must be for His Sake and His Sake alone. We must make sure we are asking forgiveness from Allah because of His Greatness and Glory. If we are doing it to please others, or to avoid any sort of loss in rank in dunya then again this Taubah will be pointless. And lastly, N stands for Never to commit the sin again in the future, to make a form intention at the time of seeking forgiveness is a crucial part to remaining consistent in our practises. Shaytaan will attack us even at the time of Taubah. Once we have acted upon PRAN, Shaytaan knowing full well that Taubah is an act that is loved by Allah, will try to distance us by reminding us about the amount of times we have asked for Taubah and end up breaking it. We must fight back at this satanic whisper, and tell Shaytaan that if in the future, this sin or any other sin does take place, We will make Taubah according to PRAN. Even if that sin takes place 100 times in one day, we will not delay our Taubah and we will act upon PRAN. Insha’Allah with Allah’s help and the implementation of the correct method of Taubah, it will become a lot easier to repel our passions and desires.

The soldiers within our being, now possess a shield in the form of PRAN, but what can we use to attack our nafs and cause it extreme discomfort? Kanz ul Huda gives us a spiritual weapon in the form of Tazkiyyah tul Quloob. Purification of the Heart. This is a 40 Day course which can be done in one’s own time. And the purpose of this Tazkiyyah course is to purify the heart through the closure of 7 gates. These 7 gates are entrances for Shaytaan, through which he influences our free will to in indulge in sin. Once we close these doors we can take our Nafs to the next level. We discussed Nafs ul Amaara [the lower self], Nafs ul Lawaama [the blameworthy self], this Tazkiyyah course once completed allows us to take our souls to another level. It will take us to Nafs ul Mutma’innah, the self which is completely at peace, the tranquil self. These people become favoured in Jannah, and the person who reaches it, gives up everything for the sake of Allah’s pleasure.

Sultan ul Awliya Sayyiduna Abdul Qadir al Jilani [Rahimahullah] is a prime example of a tranquil soul and even greater in the eyes of Allah. Once Ghaus e Azam was sleeping and it was coming near to the end of Salaatul Fajr. A cat came over to his side as he lay asleep, and began nudging them, until they awoke. Noticing the lateness of the time, they quickly offered their Salaah. When he had finished, he looked at the cat, and with his spiritual insight, he saw that the cat was actually an accomplice to Shaytaan. This puzzled the great saint, as to why a satan would wake him up for prayer. So he asked, "I can see you are a satan, but why on earth did you wake me up for the Fajr prayer?"

The cat answered him, "You are just as pious and clever as my fellow satans said you were. Since you've discovered me, I might as well tell you. I knew, that if you missed your obligatory prayer, you would have offered 100 Rakats as compensation, so I woke you up so you would only get the benefits of two."

Look at this example, brothers and sisters, Shaytaan himself comes and wakes a great saint for Fajr, think about all the alarm clocks we set just to get up for work oblivious to any prayer being missed. The tranquil self unlocks doors that one can only dream about. And what Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani [Rahimahullah] did in return was a further punishment to the devil. He ended up praying those 100 rakaat just so he could Shaytaan a little more.

It is clear that we find this state in the best of people. However we can see no greater example than the purest of pure souls, Sayyidul Mustafa al Mujtaba [SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam]. In order for us to completely destroy our desires we need to study the character of RasoolAllahi [SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam]. How RasoolAllahi [SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam would play with the children of Madinah, how they treated the Companions, how they would treat the poor, visit the sick, serve the animals, complete household chores, how they would smile, how they would spend time with their wives, their humility, their blessed gaze, their beautiful dress sense, his compassion for both friend and foe, his kindness to people of all backgrounds, the way they would reconcile two enemies, how he would never refuse an invitation. Brothers, I could go on forever talking about the beautiful character of the beloved of Allah [SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam], the point is, all our efforts, our Taubah, Tazkiyyah and struggle with the nafs is pointless without learning how RasoolAllahi [SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam] would deal with the struggles of the people in their time. His character, described by Sayyida Aisha [RaddiAllahu Anha] as a walking, talking Qur’an and it was evident that it was the character and the character alone that completely melted the Sahabas hearts. Not only the Sahabas but everything that existed in the time of RasoolAllahi [SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam] from the moon and the stars to the rocks and the insects and til today that perfect character lives on in the hearts of over a billion muslims all over the world. Ask that person who in the past would proudly walk the streets of Birmingham and then after studying the Seerah of the Beloved of Allah [SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam]. Ask that individual, in what state he or she travelled to the City of Madinah when the call came from the Beloved. When that call comes, you forget about your Job, your family, all your responsibilities, and whatever reputation you think you may have, all you think of is the state you are bringing to the Beloved of Allah [SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam]. Everything associated to him [SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam] becomes more precious to you then your life. Those who reach the tranquil self, their hearts become thirsty and nothing but the love of RasoolAllahi [Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam] can fill the heart to its full. This is why Aala Hazrat Faazil e Breilly [Rahimahullah], after walking the streets of Madinah barefoot, stepped on a thorn and having felt pain, they sat down, removed the thorn from their foot, placed it into his pocket and said, ‘O thorn of Madinah’s desert, what are you doing at my feet? Come here my beloved! Your Abode is in my heart!’

My final advice brothers and sisters is to not lose hope in the Mercy of Allah, no doubt His Mercy prevails His wrath. Keep asking for forgiveness and if we end up transgressing against our souls then do not delay your Taubah, immediately ask for forgiveness. Have faith in your Lord, the one who shows you compassion in every time of need. There will always be a struggle within us until our last moments but it is important that we persevere and take this battle to the next level gradually bettering ourselves. Do not forget that Allah [Subhana Wa Ta’ala] knows us better than we know ourselves, he knows what we can handle. He has given every believer the ability to work on his self, He assures us in the Holy Qur’an in Surah Baqarah, ‘Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear’. Everyone of us possesses the ability to As our Beloved Sayyidi Pir Saqib Shaami [Hafizahullah] says, If Shaytaan punches you once, don’t just fall and get knocked down, get back up and hit him back ten times harder. If Shaytaan influences your Nafs to sin, then make it incumbent upon yourself, to recite ten Duroods upon the Messenger of Allah [SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam], read 10 Nawaafil, kiss your mothers feet, serve the creation of Allah, do something! But do not take a punch from the devil, without giving him a fight. We must channel our hate for the devil and the lack of obedience from our Nafs into divine worship and work hard in achieving the nearness of Allah [Subhana Wa Ta’ala] and His Beloved [SallAllahu alayhi Wasallam].

Remember all the times you spent shedding tears at night, asking Allah for help, screaming at your lack of consistency, falling into depression at your state, losing hope after constantly promising Allah not to disobey Him. Remember those nights where you would beg for forgiveness and even then your Nafs would make you feel as if no one listens to your calls. Listen to this narration, brothers and sisters, and think about those nights you spent in the dark calling out to your Lord for help.

One day Sayyiduna Abu Ahmad bin Abi-l-Hawari [Rahimahullah] walked in Abu Sulayman crying. He asked him, ‘What makes you weep?’ Brothers and sisters listen to this heart melting example of Allah’s mercy and remember all those nights you spent in His Remembrance. Abu Ahmad Hawari walks in on Abu Sulayman and asks. Him, ‘What makes you weep?’ Abu Sulayman answered, ‘O Ahmad, why should I not weep?’ When the night has overspread, and eyes are closed, and every lover is alone with his Beloved, and the people of love stretch out their feet. Their tears flowing down their cheeks and trickling into their places of prayer, The Sublime One looks down and calls, ‘O Jibreel! By My Essence, those who delight in My Word, and rest in My Remembrance, certainly I watch over them in their seclusion, I hear their moans and see their weeping. Why do you not call to them O Jibreel, and say, ‘What is this weeping? Have you ever seen a Beloved who punished his lovers?” How could it be fitting for Me to punish a people who, when night conceals them, speak words of love to Me? I swear by Myself that when they reach me on the Day of Judgment I will reveal to them My Precious Face, so that they will look on Me and I will look on them.”

Allah does not want to punish us, he wants us to discover ourselves, but the key is that we do not give up. Keep striving brothers, there will come a time where we will reach that tranquil self, where we will no longer need to fight our lower self, because our hearts will be filled with divine light and we will possess that willpower to ward off any enemies just through the strength of our Imaan.

Listen to the words of Mawlana Rumi brothers and sisters, He says, “Be crumbled. So wild flowers will come up where you are. You have been stony for too many years. Try something different. Surrender.”