The Stages of the Self

[Salahudin]

The Stages of the Self:



An-Nafs al-'Amara or the self bent on evil : the insinuating self which is wholly evil and totally under the control of passions and bent only on self- gratification. It is totally blind to any higher reality.


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"The lower self of man commands to evil acts " ( 12:53)

An-Nafs al-Lawwama or the self-reproaching self: the reproachful self which is indecisive in choosing between good and evil and is constantly embroiled in an inner struggle. It is unable to overcome the impulses of the lower self while it nonetheless recognises the higher one.



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"No, I swear by the self-reproaching self." (75:2)

An-Nafs al-Mulhama or the inspired self: the self which recognises its faults and strives to correct them.


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"By the self and what proportioned it and inspired it with depravity or godliness!" (91:8)

An-Nafs al-Mutma'inna: Finally there is the self at peace which is illuminated and acts according to the good and is therefore liberated


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"O self at peace, return to your Lord, well-pleased, well-pleasing. Enter among My servants. Enter My Garden." (89:27)


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taken from; The Basic of Islam (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ABewley/Page7.html) - by Aisha Bewley

[Hekmaa]

The Stages of the Self:

An-Nafs al-'Amara or the self bent on evil : the insinuating self which is wholly evil and totally under the control of passions and bent only on self- gratification. It is totally blind to any higher reality.


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"The lower self of man commands to evil acts " ( 12:53)


The Ullam describe the peoples who posses this type of Nafs, as being people who find satisfaction in doing evil. For them there is no difference in their deeds, they are simply actions without any spirituality or any effort to derive spiritual benefit from them. The calling of their Anfas is for evil deeds.


An-Nafs al-Lawwama or the self-reproaching self: the reproachful self which is indecisive in choosing between good and evil and is constantly embroiled in an inner struggle. It is unable to overcome the impulses of the lower self while it nonetheless recognises the higher one.



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"No, I swear by the self-reproaching self." (75:2)


This Nafs is in constant struggle, it feels bad when it commits sin, if it misses out on something good it can not differentiate. Due to its sense of the Spirituality of the deeds it does strive to do good where it can, however there is no remorse if it cant.


An-Nafs al-Mulhama or the inspired self: the self which recognises its faults and strives to correct them.


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"By the self and what proportioned it and inspired it with depravity or godliness!" (91:8)


This Nafs is more bent towards good then it is towards sin, people in this state will feel fatigue quiet often as they are cleansing themselves from sin. Through cleaning efforts of the Nafs Allah blesses them with peace and soltitude which results in comfort. They are much weary not to do wrong, and by that constant check they feel remorse whenever they do wrong. They are in great pain if they make a mistake and hurt over their sins.


An-Nafs al-Mutma'inna: Finally there is the self at peace which is illuminated and acts according to the good and is therefore liberated


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"O self at peace, return to your Lord, well-pleased, well-pleasing. Enter among My servants. Enter My Garden." (89:27)


This is the Peak of what one can achieve as these are the servants of Allah who will join Allah in "Janati". Allah says to them "Ya ayatuhanafsul Mutmaina, irjaee ila rabbica raa deyatam mardeya, fad khulie fee ibadi wa khuli janati". Janati, means my Jannah, Ullama and Fuqaha say this is a special Jannah and not everyone will enter this Jannah, only those who fit this description.

People with this level of nafs, feel pain when they miss out on small good deeds, they feel so much pain in missing out on the Sunnah that normal Muslims dont feel on missing Fard. Allah gives them the full spiritual benefit of the deeds they do and their dua is accepted. These people become the Awliya Ullah. We have witnessed with our own eyes what value Allah places in 2 rakah salat from these servants of Allah.

May Allah make us of the Mut'ma'ineen.

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taken from; The Basic of Islam (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ABewley/Page7.html) - by Aisha Bewley

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[bd_syed]

ABOUT SAITAN & NAFS-e-AMMARA
1. “ Ya Bani Adama , La Yatinannakumush Shaitana Kama Akhraja Abawaikum Minal Jannati”- Hello successors of Adam ! (Remember) So that Shaitan ( Iblish) cannot engage you in mischief , as he brought out your first parents (Adam-Haoa) from the heaven. ( Al Quran)

2. “Innaka Shaitana Lakum Adubbum Fattakhijhu Aduwan, Innama Yadwu Hijbuhu Liakunu Min Ashabissayir.”- Undoubtedly Shaitan is your great enemy. So you know him as your enemy. Definitely Shaitan and his group is calling you to that direction so that you are included as hellish. (Al Quran) 3. “Fala Ya Gurunnakum Billahi Gurur”- So that the misgiver Shaitan can not create suspicion to you about Allah. (Al Quran)

4. Allah Rabbul Alamin declares, “ Kalema Tawheed is my Fort. He who will utter this Kalema he enters my Fort and there is no fear for him about punishment. The man who utter the Kalema Tawheed with devotion and follow my orders, the sinner Shaitan ran away when comes in front of him. He is saved from the sinful act of Shaitan in such a way , as a man saves himself from the hit of the arms of enemy in war field.”- (Hadis-e-Qudsi)
5. Shaitan is afraid of the words ,“ Auju Billahi Minash Shaitanir Rajim” and the burning flame of Noor , in the heart of the devotee.
NAFS -E- AMMARA
Nafs- e -Ammara is more dangerous than Iblish and it is the main enemy of men. The habit of Nafs-e-Ammara is to work as per directives of Shaitan and try to guide the men towards the destruction. The greediness of Nafs is very strong. So it is very necessary to oppose Nafs-e-Ammara and work against it’s demand. Due to the influence of Shaitan and Nafs-e-Ammara , in general men face problem in doing honest work, leaving the restricted works and sinful act as per rules & regulation of Shariat. As such it is not possible for everybody to achieve ‘Spiritual Character’, even the learned man knowledgeable in religious knowledge sometimes becomes derailed. It is not possible to get Allah with only Elme Jaher (External knowledge). Those who are knowledgeable in both Elme Jaher and Elme Baten (Hidden knowledge) and practice accordingly , only they can expect the meeting (Blessings) of Allah.
“Oh Almighty Allah please save us from the bluff / trickery of our main enemy Iblish and Nafs-e-Ammara.”
To overcome the influence of Iblish & Nafs-e-Ammara we have to acquire spiritual Character.

AKHLAKEY BATENI ( SPRIRITUAL CHARACTER)
The main key to acquire ‘Spiritual Character’ is to be free from the hidden or internal qualities of Sinfulness / Bad Habits / Tendency to evil act. . Internal bad qualities influence man to be involved in sin. These bad qualities are:
a. Pride b. Self-conceit c. Misery d. Cheating e. Jealousy b. Anger g. Suppression/ Oppression h. Desire for enjoyment /oppression, i. Desire to gain wealth and fame.
2. For the emancipation on the day of Judgment the following ten (10) good qualities are essentially required to be acquired by everyone. a. Be ashamed of Sinful work (Tawba )
b. Have patience in sufferings/ misfortune (Sabar)
c. Remain pleased with the wish /order of Allah ( Reja)
d. Be grateful to the blessings of Allah (Shukur)
e. Be afraid of Allah ( Khauf)
f. Remain hopeful for the blessings of Allah (Rwaja)
g. Practice austerities and self-restraint (Johod)
h. Perform prayer to Allah sincerely and wholeheartedly (Ekhlas)
i. Well behave with all the creature of Allah (Good Behave)
j. Have Love & Respect for Allah (Hobbey Fillah)
3. The qualities of the great people has been mentioned in Sura Bakara -Ayat 177. To acquire Spiritual Character a man must have the qualities mentioned above.

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