NAFS

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The concept of Nafs (نَفْس) plays a fundamental role in Islām and refers to the inner “self” of every human being. Also translated as “soul” or “ego”, the term Nafs derives from the Arabic root نَفَسَ (nafasa), which means “to breathe” or “breath of life”.

Therefore, the Nafs represents the flame of existence that is found in all of us, the point where our inclinations towards good and evil meet and clash, the dynamic force that can rise towards Allāh Subhānahu wa Ta‘ālā, or vice versa sink into the abyss of material impulses, following the “wrong” and self-destructive paths of Shaytān.

Islām considers the purification of the Nafs (tazkiyah) one of the main duties of the believer, as it determines his actual spiritual condition and his relationship with God.

“By the soul and by Him who fashioned it, and inspired it to discern between evil and its fear. He who purifies it succeeds, and he who corrupts it fails” (sūrat ash-Shams, 91:7-10).

From this āyāt, man’s responsibility in managing his Nafs emerges in a clear way. He who succeeds in purifying it achieves spiritual success, while he who allows the Nafs to be corrupted goes astray from the “straight path” (sirāt al-Mustakīm) that leads to salvation.

The Holy Qur’ān and the Sunnah offer detailed guidance on the path of purification that Muslims are called to follow in order to please the Most High and reach the longed-awaited goal of Jannah in the Ākhira.

The Nafs has three levels, each representing a stage in the spiritual evolution of the human being. The lowest is the Nafs al-Ammārah bi ’s-Sū’ (النَّفْسُ ٱلأَمَّارَةُ بِٱلسُّوءِ), “the Soul that commands evil”. The person here is dominated by passions. Inclined to lust, greed, anger, and arrogance, he is guided by selfishness and the pursuit of immediate pleasures, without any moral restraint.

“I do not absolve myself. Verily, the soul is inclined to evil, except those on whom my Lord has mercy” (sūrat Yusuf, 12:53).

In seeking the benevolence of the ar-Raḥmān ar-Raḥīm, one must engage in prayer (salāh) and constant remembrance (dhikr), fasting (sawm) to discipline desires, and avoiding negative environments and harmful influences that can make us give in to temptations again.

The intermediate level is that of the Nafs al-Lawwāmah (النَّفْسُ ٱللَّوَّامَةُ), “the Self-Critical Soul”, when the path of purification actually begins.

The Nafs al-Lawwāmah recognizes its mistakes and blames itself for the sins it has committed, desires change, and seeks to improve itself by fighting against negative inclinations. However, it is still torn between good and evil, alternating moments of faith and moments of weakness.

“I swear by the Day of Resurrection, I swear by the soul that is gripped by remorse. Does man believe that we will never reunite his bones? We can even rearrange his knuckles. But man prefers licentiousness instead” (sūrat al-Qiyamah, 75:2).

In order not to fall into the lower dimension and continue in the purification of the “self”, we must be humble and recognize our limits, drawing strength and perseverance from the practice of sincere “repentance” (Tawba), as well as from the study and deepening of the “beneficial” knowledge of Islām (‘Ilm Nāfi’).

“As for whoever fears to stand before his Lord and restrains his soul from passions, Paradise will be his abode” (sūrat An-Nazi‘at, 79:40-41).

The goal is to reach the Nafs al-Mutma’innah (النَّفْسُ ٱلْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ), “the Peaceful Soul”, which can return to its Lord “satisfied and accepted”, entering among His “servants” and His “Paradise” (sūrat al-Fajr, 89:27-30).

This is the highest level of the Nafs. The person has finally achieved inner serenity, and lives in peace with himself and the world because he is free from pride and egoism. He is no longer a slave to worldly desires, but is satisfied with the will of God, to whom submission is total… Alhamdulillāh ‘alā kulli hāl.

Reaching this stage is the aspiration of all sincere and well-willed Muslims. Let us then follow the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad Sallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam, who speaks clearly and unequivocally about the importance of controlling one’s desires and resisting negative inclinations.

A man approached Prophet Muhammad ﷺ asking for advice. The Prophet ﷺ replied: “Do not be angry”. The man asked again, and the Prophet ﷺ repeated: “Do not be angry” (Bukhari, 6116).

The Prophet ﷺ also highlights the warrior nature of the “effort” (Jihād) aimed at disciplining one’s soul, mastering one’s emotions and developing self-control in behavior, which are fundamental elements in the purification of the Nafs.

“The strong man is not the one who wrestles well. Rather, the strong man is the one who controls himself when he is angry” (Bukhari, 6114; Muslim, 2609).

True strength is therefore manifested in the “battle” for the mastery of the “self”, not in physical warfare. The most difficult struggle is the internal one against one’s ego (Jihād an-Nafs), superior to any external struggle.

“The best Mujāhid is he who fights against his own soul to obey Allāh” (Tirmidhi, 1621; Ahmad ibn Hanbal in Musnad Ahmad, 14238).

“We have returned from the small Jihād [jihād al-Asghar] to the great Jihād [jihād al-Akbar]” (al-Bayhaqi in Kitab al-Zuhd; al-Khatib al-Baghdadi in Tarikh Baghdad).

These aḥādīth perfectly capture the meaning of the prophetic message, also reiterated by Ibn Taymiyyah, for whom the Jihād an-Nafs is, at the same time, superior to the external one and its foundation.

“The true Jihād is the fight against the Nafs and evil desires. The Jihād against external enemies is a branch of this Jihād. He who defeats his Nafs in obedience to Allāh will be able to defeat his external enemies. But he who is defeated by his Nafs and his desires will be even more vulnerable to his enemies” (Majmū‘ al-Fatāwā, 28/308).

All clear, then. Yet, the concept of Nafs continues to be subject to grave distortions, especially by the usual “misguided of Jihād”, who continue to transform its meaning into a pretext to justify violence, terrorism, and the cult of death.

In the deviant ideology of terrorist organizations such as the “anti-Islamic state of terror” and al-Qā‘ida, the dimension of the internal struggle is completely erased and some Muslims – notably impulsive young people, naive enough to believe that we can change the world with an extreme sacrifice – are brainwashed and made to believe that the only way to purify our Nafs is through armed combat.

This a blatant “mystification” that clearly violates the very rules of the “Jihād with the Sword” established in Islām, while trying to convince Muslims that massacres and suicides are a “ticket to Paradise”.

To protect themselves from possible misunderstandings and from the diabolical interpretations promoted by the soldiers of Shaytān, Muslims just need to follow the authentic dictates of Islām as a guide to reach the final victory, each in their own Jihād an-Nafs. Without ever ceasing to cultivate the love for Allāh Subhānahu wa Ta‘ālā and His Prophet ﷺ.