Fighting the Enemy Within

Author: Shaykh Taner Ansari
Excerpted from The Sun Will Rise In The West
Chapter 8, Fighting the Enemy Within

Nafs
The human being is a walking laboratory designed for the purpose of observing and understanding Allah, who created him from the lowest of the low to the highest of the high, from the coarsest matter to the finest essence. He is at once a limited, flesh-bound corpus and a being capable of manifesting all of Allah's Beautiful Names. Man's animal nature, comprised of bodily functions and egoistic desires, is known as the nafs. The nafs is tied to the material world, and is therefore restricted by the temporary quality of all creation. The perspective from which the nafs perceives reality is itself. This self-biased aspect of the human being is part of the triad which describes him more thoroughly. For the purpose of simplification, nafs can be thought of as the outer man, ruh as the inner man, and aql, the composite faculties of rational discrimination and decision-making, as the bridge between the two.


The basic motivation of the nafs is survival, self-preservation. This inherent urge to stay alive and reproduce itself colors its behavior. Void of wisdom, the nafs is prone to conduct itself on a reactive basis, as higher knowledge is not within the realm of its operation. However, the fact that the human being does possess the other elements of the triad brings a moral factor into how we perceive and are judged. There are some actions animals engage in within their natural habitat, which, if performed in identical fashion by a human being, would be considered wrong or, at least, indelicate. Cows may mate shamelessly in an open field, but for the human being such an act would be considered open fornication. A pack of wild dogs may partake in a frenzy of ripping apart the carcass of their prey, but they are not denounced as greedy or selfish. The same behavior in man would send him to prison or a mental hospital. Although he has an animal nature, man is distinguished from and considered a higher being than an animal because of his rational and spiritual capacity, even though his actions far too often do not reflect that capacity.


Levels of the Nafs
1. Nafs-i-Ammara, the Commanding Nafs
Behold! The commanding nafs encourages evil, except when my Lord bestows mercy. (Qur'an 12:53)
Traits: narcissistic, mechanical, conditioned, non-reflective, impulsive.
Habits: pride, enmity, cruelty, lust, stinginess.
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2. Nafs-i-Lawwama: Blaming Nafs
But I swear by the accusing nafs that this Scripture is true. (Qur'an 75:2)
Traits: conscience, capacity for self-observation.
Habits: backbiting, trickery, conceitedness, hypocrisy, self-consciousness, guilt, fearfulness, wishful thinking, intense desire to please others.
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3. Nafs-i-Mulhama: Inspired Nafs
And a nafs and Him who gave order to it and inspired it with a sense of what is wrong for it and what is right for it. (Qur'an 91:8)
Traits: generosity, gratitude, modesty, empathy, ardent desire.
Habits: liberality lacking discrimination, mystical inflation, tendency toward spiritual greed.
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4. Nafs-i-Mutmaina: Tranquil Nafs
To the righteous soul will be said, "O, you nafs in complete peace and satisfaction!" (Qur'an 89:27)
Traits: dignity, sincerity, courage, compassion, complete loyalty.
Habits: Attachment to spiritual ambition.
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5. Nafs-i-Radziyya: Satisfied Nafs
Return to your Lord, content (Qur'an 89:28)
Traits: endurance, resignation, constancy.
Habits: personal identification with affliction.
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6. Nafs-i-Mardiyyah: Satisfying Nafs
for His being pleased with you! (Qur'an 89:28)
Traits: knowledge of Allah, sincerity, unbounded faith and hope in existential communion.
Habits: mystical intoxication, lack of sobriety and balance.
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7. Nafs-i-Safiyyah: Purified Nafs
This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favor to you, and have chosen for you as your religion Islam. (Qur'an 5:3)
Traits: freedom from duality, acceptance of Allah's will, joy of union, freedom from expectation, contentment.
Habits: None remaining.
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Except him who repents, and believes and does good works; For those, Allah will change their evil deeds to good deeds. Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Qur'an 25:70)


As the murid moves through the levels of nafs, he is learning ever deeper levels of surrender by detaching himself from the myriad demands of personal desires. Tasawwuf is a process of constant surrender, through which one puts nafs in its proper place, which is away from the heart, the sultan within. If the murid chooses not to proceed and stops at any level, this becomes his maqam, or permanent station. The insan-i-kamil [the perfected human being] has surrendered to Allah completely, having become complete master over his nafs. Detached from himself, he has strengthened his attachment to Allah in body, mind, and soul. Born with the capability of becoming the lowest of creatures, one who is dominated by his nafs' selfish inclinations, in defeating the nafs he has attained a station higher than the angels. For him the nafs has been transformed into an agent of spiritual advancement. By going through these levels, the murid makes the miraj-i-manawi, the spiritual journey to the Beloved. Thus he meets Allah face to face, becoming merged and annihilated in Him in a state known as fanafullah.


Having come to this pure state, the Sufi may proceed further, with Allah's permission:
Degrees of rank from Him, and forgiveness and mercy. Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Qur'an 4:96)
8. Bakabillah: being constant in Allah
9. Safabillah: being eternally happy with Allah
10. Sayrifullah: journeying in Allah
11. Sayrima'Allah: journeying with Allah
12. Tajallay-i-sirr: knowing the secret of creation
13. Tajallay-i-sirrul sirr: knowing the secret of the secret of creation


Source:  http://www.qadiri-rifai.org/