YOUR WORST ENEMY IN THE MONTH OF RAMADAN

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REMEMBER SHAYTAN IS ''LOCKED UP'' IN THE MONTH OF RAMADAN, SO YOUR NAFS IS YOUR WORST ENEMY IN THIS BLESSED MONTH..................

The Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said in a tradition narrated by al-Bayhaqi , "Your worst enemy is your nafs within you." In another tradition he, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is reported to have said, " We now return from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad, the jihad against the nafs". Another hadith, about which Imam Nawawi expressed reservations and which Imam al-Mawardi in his Adab al-dunya wa al-din argues is sound at least in its meaning, says, " He who knows himself knows his Lord."

The person who knows and comes to realize the essential weakness, insignificance, powerlessness and impermanence of himself (his nafs) will realize and know the Strength, Greatness, Power and Permanence of Allah, the Most High. In other words one of the paths to knowledge of Allah, the Most High, is honest self-reflection and knowledge of the self (nafs). If this is true then the converse is equally true. The individual who is ignorant of himself (his nafs) will be ignorant of Allah, the Most High. These traditions and meanings are adequate proof of the importance of acquiring a good working knowledge of the nafs, its nature and ways of curing its illnesses.

In the Quran Allah, the Most High says, "O peaceful nafs (al-nafs al-mutma’innah) return to your Lord, satisfied and satisfied with. Enter into my jannah enter together with my slaves". In another verse Allah, the Most High, revealed that Zulaykhah said, " Surely it is the nafs (al-nafs al-ammarah bi al-su’) that commands with evil". In Surat al-Qiyamah Allah, the Most High, says, "Verily I swear by the the day of judgment and verily I swear by the reproaching self (al-nafs al-lawwamah)."

Taken together these verses show the different phases and modes of the nafs. At one level of development it is completely at peace and at another level it is fiery, passionate and inciting. It drives one to cross the boundaries of good. In the other verse Allah, Most High swears by the reproaching nafs or the conscience as we would say today. We know that Allah, the Most High, in some instances swears by certain things to underline its importance. In this surah the Day of Judgment and the conscience is mentioned together and both of these realities we know play key roles in the process of moral and ethical transformation.

What then is the nafs? Opinions have differed on this crucial issue. A good working definition is given by Shaykh al-Kurdi, he says:

Know that the nafs is a divine subtlety and it is the ruh (human spirit) before it entered and became connected to the body. And Allah, the Most High, created the spirits before the physical bodies during which time it was near and close to Allah, the Most High. When He ordered them to connect and be associated with the physical body they perceived the world and became veiled from the Divine Presence as a result of attachment to the physical world…

To clarify all of this we have to bear in mind the following points. Everyone of us have basically two sides to him or herself. On the one hand is the physical body, which forms the subject of modern medicine, and on the other hand there is the non-physical side which psychologists and others attempt to understand. Our non-physical self we know as our emotions, our thoughts and feelings, our passions and desires even our complexes. These non-physical elements we collectively refer to as our "self".

The earlier and later scholars of tassawuf used the term’s al-nafs al-insani (human soul) to refer to our emotional and rational nature and the term al-nafs al-hayawani (vital or animal soul) to refer to the element that animates the body and gives it perception. The vital soul is also the source according to them of our passions and physical drives like hunger, anger and sex. Now the "nafs" according to al-Kurdi includes or comprises of both of these dimensions. It is one integral entity also called the "ruh" or spirit when it is still in its pure state prior to creation. Once the "ruh" enters the body and gives it life it acquires a new character. It aquires an outer dimension called the vital soul (al-nafs al-hayawani) and an inner dimension called human soul (al-nafs al-insani). Now as a result of these changes the "ruh" is now called the "nafs".

As a footnote we must bear in mind that the word "qalb" or heart, is also often used to refer to our inner selves or our emotions, rationality and beyond. The word "nafs" or self, is also often used to refer specifically to the outer vital soul or our passions and desires.

In all of this it crucial to understand that our passions and our desires, our thoughts and emotions, if kept unchecked and undisciplined and unpurified, are the most important source of sin. Our thoughts and emotions can reach great and noble heights only if we are able to free them from the incessant fire of our drives and passions. When we are dominated by our passions and desires we are at the level of development called al-nafs al-ammarah bi al-su’ or the evil self. In this condition our passions determine the way we think and feel and consequently act. The great vices of pride, arrogance, envy, slothfulness, hate and greed develop. This is the veil that imprisons us and prevents the nur of the Divine Presence from penetrating our hearts and minds.

And as we are subjected to the discipline of knowledge, salah, fasting and other ‘ibadaat we gain mastery and greater control over our selves. As a result our thoughts and feelings are increasingly purified, deeper levels of the "ruh" or "nafs" are uncovered or if you will deeper functions of the mind are realized and awakened. Once the passions quieten down and the inherent tendencies of the "ruh" start to emerge and awaken we have progressed to the level of al-nafs al-mutma’innah or the peaceful self.

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