Nafs

Quranic Arabic word for the "self"

Nafs (نَفْس) is an Arabic word occurring in the Quran, literally meaning "self", and has been translated as "psyche", "ego" or "soul". The term is cognate with the Hebrew word nephesh, נֶפֶשׁ. In the Quran, the word nafs is used in both the individualistic (verse 2:48) and collective sense (verse 4:1), indicating that although humanity is united in possessing the positive qualities of a nafs, they are individually responsible for exercising the agencies of the "free will" that it provides them. Much of the popular literature on nafs, however, is focused on the Sufi conceptions of the term located within the sadr (the chest). According to the Sufi philosophies, the nafs in its unrefined state is "the ego", which they consider to be the lowest dimension of a person's inward existence—his animal and satanic nature. Nafs is an important concept in the Islamic tradition, especially within Sufism and the discipline of gnosis (irfan) in Shia Islam.

The word "nafs" is derived from the Arabic word "nafas", which means "breathing". In early Arabic literature, "nafs" refers to the "self" or "person". In Islamic theology, "nafs" refers to the soul, although it is sometimes confused with "ruh", which means "breath" or "wind", or "spirit". The concepts of "nafs" and "ruh" are similar to the biblical concepts of "nephesh" and "ruach".

The elimination of nafs is central for proper worship of God, according to the teachings of Sufism. Quzat Hamadani relates the termination of nafs to the shahada: Accordingly, people whose service for God is just superficial, are trapped within the circle of la ilah (the first part of shahada meaning "there is no God") just worshipping their nafs (bodily urges) rather than God. Only those found worthy succeed in leaving this circle and move to illa Allah, the "Divine presence".

There are three principal stages of nafs in Sufistic Wisdom, also mentioned in different verses of the Quran. The Sufis call them "stages" in the process of development, refinement and mastery of the nafs.

In its primitive stage the nafs incites people to commit evil; this is the nafs as the lower self, the base instincts. In the eponymous Sura of the Quran, Yusuf says "Yet I claim not that my nafs was innocent: Verily the nafs incites to evil." Islam emphasizes the importance of fighting the inciting nafs in Quran as well as in hadith. One tradition holds that Muhammad said after returning from a war, "We now return from the small struggle (Jihad Asghar) to the big struggle (Jihad Akbar)". His companions asked, "O prophet of God, what is the big struggle?" He replied, "The struggle against temptations." This stage is generally divided into the levels al nafs al hayawaniyya and al nafs al iblissiyya. Al nafs al hayawaniyya ("the animal state") describes the unconscious self, which, in its natural, unawakened state runs after material possessesion, sensual desires and animalistic pleasures. Al nafs al iblissiyya (the devilish state) is even lower than the animal state, because in it the self, in its overweening pride, seeks consciously and deliberately to replace love for God with self love. The Quran enjoins the faithful "to hinder the nafs from lust", and another traditional narration warns that "the worst enemy you have is [the nafs] between your sides." Rumi warns of the nafs in its guise of religious hypocrisy, saying "the nafs has a rosary and a Koran in its right hand, and a scimitar and dagger in the sleeve." Animal imagery is often used to describe the nafs. A popular image is a donkey or unruly horse that must be trained and broken so that eventually it will bear its rider to the goal. Rumi compares the nafs to a camel that the hero Majnun, representing the intellect ('Aql), strains to turn in the direction of the dwelling place of his beloved. Here the nafs is inspired by one's heart, sees the results of one's actions, agrees with one's brain, sees one's weaknesses, and aspires to perfection.

In Sura al Fajr the Quran mentions "the nafs at peace". This is the ideal stage of ego for Muslims. On this level, one is firm in one's faith and leaves bad manners behind. The soul becomes tranquil, at peace. At this stage, followers of Sufism have relieved themselves of all materialism and worldly problems and are satisfied with the will of God.

According to Ṣūfī philosophy, the focus of self improvement is on one's internal struggles rather than external enemies. Instead of searching for enemies outside oneself, like in one's family, community, or society, Sufism teaches that the primary enemy to be conquered is one's ego sensibility or individual self, known as nafs. Thus, the goal of a Ṣūfī's life is to continually strive against their egocentric tendencies and battle their nafs. In Ṣūfīsm, the process of controlling the nafs involves renunciation (zuhd) and other techniques, which aim to protect the soul from negative influences and attain an elevated state of being referred to as "Godfearing" (khawf). This is considered a necessary step towards acquiring piety (taqwā) and ultimately realizing the Truth (al ḥaqq). The Quran teaches that the one who "feared to stand before his Lord and restrained his nafs from the passions; indeed, paradise will be his refuge" (79:40–41). Junayd of Baghdad likened the process of overcoming the nafs to "dying to oneself and becoming resurrected in one Self (God)". Muhammad said that "The powerful is not he who conquers people, but he who conquers his self". Sufis view the struggle against the nafs as a form of jihad (jihād an nafs), or inner struggle, and consider it the most important form of jihad (jihād e akbarī). Success in this struggle means aligning oneself with the will of God rather than succumbing to satanic temptations.