Many verses in the Qur’an extol the significance of the soul or nafs. In one celebrated passage, it states: By the soul and Him that formed it, then inspired it with its wickedness and God-fearingness. He is truly successful who purifies it, and he is indeed ruined who corrupts it. [Q.91:7-10]
The Qur’an also offers this glad-tiding: But those who feared the standing before their Lord and curbed their soul’s desires, the Garden is their abode. [Q.79:40-41]
The idea of curbing the soul’s passions and of seeking to purify it is reiterated in the following hadith: ‘There are three acts that, whoever does them will experience the sweetness of faith: one who worships God alone, for there is no true god but Him; one who pays his zakat on his wealth with an agreeable soul: not giving a weak, decrepit nor diseased animal, but giving from his middle wealth, for God does not ask for the best of your wealth and nor orders to give the worst of it; and one who purifies his soul.’ A man said: What is purification of the soul (tazkiyat al-nafs)? The Prophet ﷺ replied: ‘To know that God is with him wherever he may be.’1
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The Qur’an describes the human soul (nafs) as possessing three potentials or degrees which are present within it simultaneously.2
The lowest degree is al-nafs al-ammarah bi’l-su’ – “the soul that constantly incites to evil”. The Qur’an says: The soul does indeed incite to evil. [Q.12:53] This wild, untamed and unweaned soul is the abode of a host of incessant cravings, whims, greed or desires: be it for money, fame, power, physical gratification or exploiting others; that is, anything which deflects one away from God and to the lower possibilities of the human condition. So this nafs, equivalent to the English word “ego”, gives rise to the reprehensible aspects of our actions and character – actions in respect to our sins of omission or commission; character in terms of pride, envy, spite, vanity, impatience, ostentation, and the like.
As the believer strives to purge his soul of blameworthy traits (radha’il) and labours to replace them by their praiseworthy opposites (fada’il), the nafs al-ammarah is gradually weaned away from its heedlessness and disobedience to God, and begins to give way to al-nafs al-lawwamah – “the reproachful soul.” The Qur’an declares: No! I swear by the reproachful soul. [Q.75:2] This soul is man’s active conscience that is afflicted with regret, remorse or self-reproach whenever God’s Will is violated and disobeyed and elements of the lower, evil-inciting soul resurface.
After much inward striving and discipline, the nafs al-lawwamah is further purified of any opposition to God’s will or shari‘ah, and becomes ever receptive to heavenly outpourings. Here the nafs al-mutma’innah – “the soul at peace” or “the tranquil soul” then begins to predominate. It is this soul that truly attracts divine assistance and acceptance. It is about this that the Qur’an announces: O tranquil soul! Return to your Lord, pleased and well-pleasing. Enter among My servants. Enter My Paradise. [Q.89:27-30] Having been graced with establishing His obedience and internalising it, it is intimate with God, at peace with God’s decree (rida bi’l-qada’).
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In all this, four factors are crucial and have a significant bearing in tazkiyah or purification of the soul: (i) one’s inborn nature; (ii) his upbringing; (iii) spiritual striving (mujahadah) and self-discipline (riyadah) in adulthood; and, of course, (iv) God’s tawfiq or enabling grace. Concerning spiritual struggle or mujahadah, the Prophet ﷺ said: ‘The mujahid is the one who strives against his lower soul in obedience to God.’3 So let’s roll-up our sleeves and begin the work.
Our Lord! Grant piety to our souls and purify them.
You are the Best of those who purify;
You are their Guardian
and Master.
Amin!
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1. Al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-Kubra, no.7275. Its chain is sahih – as per al-Albani, Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah (Riyadh: Maktabah al-Ma‘arif, 1987), no.1046.
2. Cf. T.J. Winter (trans.), al-Ghazali, Disciplining the Soul and Breaking the Two Desires (Cambridge: The Islamic Texts Society, 1995), xxviii-xxix.
3. Ibn Hibban, Sahih, no.4707; al-Tirmidhi, Sunan, no.1671, who said the hadith is hasan sahih.
Amin! Thanks again for a simple but hard-hitting blog. This is good soul-food MashaAllah 🙂
Barakallahu fikum br Ali. May our souls be constantly nourished and nurtured.
Thoom Amin!
What is the matter?
Purification of the heart: that is the heart of the matter!
… law kanu ya‘lamun – “If only they knew.”
Thank you again for a beautiful reminder. I had a question: although outward compliance with the Sacred Law is an indication of some level of inward purity (of the soul), are there any other signs else that can tell us whether the soul has been truly purified?
JazakumAllah khairan
Thank you for the profound question.
The shaykhs of suluk or “spiritual wayfaring” tell us that purification of the soul results in inward illumination and that, as the illuminated soul shines, it cannot confine the light within its own self. That is, others must surely benefit and experience beauty from a truly illumined soul.
Sir,
Thank you for this reply to the question.
All good wishes,
robert
Jazak Allah Khair for a beautiful reminder. May Allah purify all our souls in preparation with our meeting with Him on that Inevitable Day Inshallah!
Amin to that.
Very beneficial mashaAllah.Can you recommend any good reading for purification of the heart and soul..?
One of the finest books on inward purification, in English, has got to be Sh Hamza Yusuf’s Purification of the Heart.
Over a decade ago, I translated a small text on purification by Shaykh Abdur-Rahman al-Sa‘di, called The Exquisite Pearl. The book is a good primer on the subject: short and concise.
Greetings Sir,
Thank you very much for this post which I find inspiring and instructive.
Is not the spiritual striving – mujahadah – connected with the jihad, the true jihad of striving against our basest, most blameworthy traits? That is my understanding, but I ask for clarification.
I very much like the prayer at the end which, to this person, is a prayer for God’s grace to enable spiritual striving.
Thank you again.
All good wishes,
robert
Yes indeed. The word mujahadah and jihad are from the same root word: jahada -to strive one’s utmost; to struggle. Which is why scholars usually refer to the inward struggle against one’s ego as “the greater jihad”.
Dear Sir,
Thank you very much.
All good wishes,
robert
Ma sha allah, a nice reminder to reflect upon oneself.
A nuance in language can sometimes grow into a bigger matter unless dealt with early.
The idea of a greater jihad and the use of terms like warrior can confuse those who don’t read wholistically the quran and sunnah.
So while struggle is a correct linguistic translation of jihad, it is not the shariah meaning. It is true it is a great struggle for each individual to not be distracted by the dunya, just as it is true that aversion to jihad in Allah’s way (with the shariah meaning) is one of the signs of clinging to dunya that we must strive to avoid.
So the two meanings are complementary. Alhamdulillah.
Jazakallahu khayran for your comment. You are perfectly right, there is no real dichotomy between the inner, spiritual jihad and the outer, military jihad (in the sense of fighting a legitimate war, under legitimate state authority, ensuring women, children and other civilians are not wilfully targeted). For it is the purification of the lower self from its vices and unruly behaviour that makes the outer jihad pure in intention, acceptable to Allah and effective in the world.
Reblogged this on Think & Talk Islam and commented:
In all of this, four factors are crucial and have a significant bearing in purification of the soul: (i) one’s inborn nature; (ii) his upbringing; (iii) spiritual striving (mujahadah) and self-discipline (riyadah) in adulthood; and, of course, (iv) God’s tawfiq or enabling grace. Concerning spiritual struggle or mujahadah, the Prophet, upon whom be peace, said: al-mujahid man jahada nafsahu fi ta‘ati’Llah – ‘The warrior is the one who strives against his lower soul in obedience to God.’6 So let’s roll-up our sleeves and begin the work.
Reblogged this on The Fahlito Brigante Blog and commented:
“As the believer strives to purge his soul of blameworthy traits (radha’il) and labours to replace them by their praiseworthy opposites (fada’il), the nafs al-ammarah; this ego, is gradually weaned away from heedlessness and disobedience to God, and thus begins to give way to al-nafs al-lawwamah – “the reproachful soul.” The Qur’an declares: No! I swear by the reproachful soul. [75:2]”
Beautiful, ameen
Jazakallahu cheer. May Allah grant us all beauty of beliefs and behaviour.