Nafs
Definition
The nafs is the dimension of the human being oriented toward desires, passions, and worldly attachments — what al-Ghazali often calls the enemy within. He presents the Quranic categories: the nafs al-ammara (the self that commands toward evil), the nafs al-lawwama (the self-blaming soul that recognises its failures), and the nafs al-mutmainna (the tranquil self that has found its rest in Allah). The entire project of the Ihya's third and fourth quarters is essentially a manual for moving the nafs from the first category toward the third — the long, demanding work of spiritual discipline that al-Ghazali calls riyadha.
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Ghazali and the scholars of his school.
How the scholars use Nafs.
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"children, Midian, Zamran, Saraj, Yaqshan, Nashaq, and a sixth who was not named. Then he married Hajun, the daughter of Amin, who bore him five children, Kayshan, Suraj, Amim, Lutan, and Nafs. This was mentioned by Abu'l-Qasim al-Suhayli in his book Al-Ta'rif wal-I'lam. And Allah knows best. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions."
— Ibn Kathir, The Story of Ibrahim
Appears in
2 books in the library
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