The 3 stages of nafs in islam

2. GROUP MEMBERS
• Wajeeh ul hassan
• M. Akeel butt
• Talha naeem
• Qasim sadra

3. NAFS AND ITSTYPES
MENTIONED INTHE
HOLY QURAN

4. What is the Nafs?
• The ‘nafs’ is the self, the ego or the soul. Is it the same as
the ‘ruh’ or spirit?
• “..[T[he correct view, as … maintained by the vast majority of
Muslim theologians and endorsed by the scholars of ahl as-
sunnah, is that the terms “nafs” and “rûh” are interchangeable.
However, the term “nafs” is usually applies when the soul is
inside the body, and the word “rûh” is used when the soul is
apart from the body.”
• “They ask you about the Spirit. Say, "The Spirit comes by the
command of my Lord.You have been given very little
knowledge.” (17:85)

5. The First type of the Nafs
• Al-nafs al amarra bil su – the self that is inclined to evil.
Let us take a quote from the Holy Quran:
• “And yet, I am not trying to absolve myself: for, verily, man's inner self
does incite [him] to evil, and saved are only they upon whom my
Sustainer bestows His grace. Behold, my Sustainer is much forgiving,
a dispenser of grace!“ [Yusuf 12:53]

6. • Prophet Muhammad pbuh said that: "No one of you
becomes a true believer until he likes for his brother what
he likes for himself".
• When you notice the evil within, you can begin to ascend
when you rectify it… Which takes us to the next type of
NAFS…

7. WORDS OF WISDOM
There is a famous proverb: A grandfather sitting with his
grandchildren told them, “In life there is a terrible fight- a
fight between two wolves. One is evil: he is … anger,
envy, greed, arrogance, self-pity, resentment, and
deceit.The other is good: he is joy, serenity, humility,
confidence, generosity, truth, gentleness, and
compassion. ”A child asked, “Grandfather, which wolf
will win?”The elder looked him in the eye. “The one you
feed”

8. The Second type of the Nafs
• One thing a person must realize is that
• “…Verily, Allah will not change the condition of a people unless there is a change of
what is in themselves…” [Raad 13:11]
• Do not despair if others are inclined to evil. Allah swt told Prophet Muhammad pbuh
in reference to his inability to revert his uncle who was dying – AbuTalib:
• “Verily!You (O Muhammad ) guide not whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills.
And He knows best those who are the guided”. [Al-Qasas 28:56]
• - "As for those who strive in Us, We surely guide them to Our paths, and lo!Allah is
with the good doers." [Al-Ankabut 29:69]
• Al nafs al lawwama , which translates to the self-
accusing soul.What does this mean?
– Allah swt says in the Quran: “Nay, I swear by the
self-accusing soul.” [Al-Qiyammah 75:2].
• This stage is where the Jihad al-nafs begins (the
struggle against one’s soul).

9. AreYou Awake or Asleep?
• The Stage of the nafs al-lawwama is the stage of spiritual
awakening and awareness.
• The believer may commit a sin but he/she feels guilty and
fluctuates between right & wrong.
• Now then, which stage should we all aspire to reach?

10. TheThird Stage of the Nafs
• So we can say that the:
• nafs al-ammara bil su is the earthly level, where the self is inclined to animalistic
desires.
• The nafs al lawwama is the transition period of spiritual ascension (THE FIGHT
BETWEENTHE MATERIALANDTHE SPIRITUAL)
• and the nafs al mutmaana is the level where the self has earned the pleasure ofAllah
and reached beyond earthly desires and in the realm of spirituality.
• The nafs al-mutmaana -THE
TRANQUIL SOUL.What does
Allah swt say about this
stage in the Holy Quran?
• "O youTranquil Soul, return to
Your Lord, well pleased, and
well-pleasing unto Him! Enter
you, then, among My
devotees! Enter you My
Heaven!” [Al-Fajr 89:27-30]

11. THE BATTLE AGAINST ONESELF:
WHY?
• IT IS FORYOUR OWN BENEFIT
• Allah says : "And whosoever strives, strives only for himself, for
lo! Allah is altogether independent of the universe.“ [Al-Ankabut
29:6]
• TOAVOID EVILTOUCHINGYOU
• “Whatever of good reaches you, is from Allah, but whatever of
evil befalls you, is from yourselves…” [SuratAl-Nisa 4:79]

12. THE BATTLE AGAINST ONESELF: HOW?
• Fear Allah
• Submit to Allah
• “Nay-whoever submits his whole self to Allah and is a doer of good―he will get his reward with his Lord; on
such shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve”. [Al-Baqara 2:112]
• Ask Allah to guide you
• Do not underestimate the power of dua.
• “And indeedWe have created man, andWe know what his own self whispers to him. AndWe are nearer to
him than his jugular vein (by Our Knowledge). [Al-Qaf 50:16]
• Performing good actions
• Outward submission can lead to inner submission. For example, fasting, praying and reading the Quran
helps us become God-conscious which is the greatest weapon against the evil within us.
• Everything you need is in the Quran: “This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those
conscious of Allah.” – [Surat Baqara 2:2 ]

13. ...continued
• Control Anger/Forgive
• “Those who spend, whether in prosperity, or in adversity; who restrain anger,
and pardon men;- for Allah loves those who do good.” [Imran: 3:133-134]
• Be patient
• "…those who patiently persevere will truly receive a reward without measure!"
[Az-Zumar 39:10]
• "O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed,Allah
is with the patient." [al-Baqara 2:153]
• Avoid major sins such as:
• drinking, gambling, adultery, murder, theft, slander.
• Avoid minor sins such:
• as lying, showing off, flirting, swearing, backbiting, slander
• Spend time with decent believers for we are influenced by one another.

14. Do you think you do not need to
purify yourself?
• We have to acknowledge that we have all wronged ourselves.
• A beautiful quote from the Noble Quran: Our Lord! We have wronged our souls: “If You do not forgive us and bestow
upon us Your mercy, then we shall certainly be from amongst the losers.” [ Al A’raf 7: 23] PROPHET ADAM
• In the Noble Quran, Allah swt talks of people whose
• “..hearts have been sealed by the sins they have accumulated.” (Al-Mutaffifin 83:14).
• The prophet Muhammad (pbuh) explains this verse in detail
• Allah is so forgiving, though, and so merciful He tells us:
• Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah .
Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.“ [Al-Zumar 39:53]

15. Significance of the Purification of the
Self:
• “By the Soul, and the proportion and order given to it; And its
enlightenment as to its wickedness and its righteousness.” [Al-
Shams 91:7-8]
• Allah has given us a moral compass. Use it. Guilt is a sign of awakening.
• "Indeed, he succeeds who purifies his own self and indeed he fails
who corrupts his own self." [Al-Shams: 91:9-10].

16. LET US CLEAR OUR HEARTS –THE
FIRST STEP ISTRYING
• Life’s paradox: We must lower ourselves to reach higher.
• There is a beautiful hadith about a man that the Prophet
Muhammad pbuh kept saying was destined for paradise.
• Abdullah bin Amr ibn Al-Aas (raa) found out it was because every
night before this man went to sleep he forgave everyone.

17. BE PREPARED.YOU ARE A
SPIRITUAL WARRIOR• We must recall where, in Surah
Hashr: verse 9, Allah tells us that:
•“And those saved
from the
covetousness of their
own souls,- they are
the ones that achieve
prosperity.”
But be prepared for a fight!

18. LET US RETURNTO OUR
ORIGINAL STATE
• Remember, we are all born pure – it is our sins that make us
impure.
• Prophet Muhammad pbuh said: “Righteousness is
good character, and sin is whatever bothers you
and you do not want people to know.” (Saheeh
Muslim)

19. PARTING WORDS…
• Yasmin Mogahed: “True freedom is freedom from the self not freedom of the self.”
• Gandhi: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
•
• www.thedeenshow.com
•
• www.nakcollection.com
•
• www.halaltube.com
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• www.yasminmogahed.com
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Let us pray that Allah swt removes the evil within us and grants us the honor of being the nafs al mutmaana – the tranquil soul.