Chapter 3: The Different States of Each Nafs

Chapter 3: The Different States of Each Nafs

1. NAFS AL-MUTAMAINNA - the Satisfied Soul.



?0 you satisfied soul. Return to your Lord pleased with yourself and pleasing to
Him. Enter among My servants. And enter My paradise".(Soorah Al Fajr (89)
:27-30)



2. NAFS AL AMMARA BIS SU' - the soul that dictates evil.



?And I do not free myself from blame. Indeed the human self is inclined to evil,
except when my Lord bestows His Mercy (upon whom He wills). Indeed my Lord is
Forgiving, Merciful.? (Soorah Yusuf v 53)
3. NAFS AL LAWWAMA - the Self-reproaching soul.



?I do call to witness the Resurrection Day. And I do call to witness the
self-reproaching Soul.? (Soorah Al Qiyamah v 1-2)



The noblest of the souls is the satisfied soul, which at its last moments on
earth will receive the glad news from its lord of ?Enter among My servants and
enter into my Paradise.? In contrast is the soul which inspires evil and
disobedience. And between these two extreme states is the self-reproaching soul
which checks its actions and blames itself when it commits evil. Most souls
hover between these different states depending on the person?s faith and
actions.
1. Nafs Mutmainna: The Qur'aan explains how one can achieve the noble state
of the satisfied soul.



?Indeed, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction." (Soorah Al-Ra'd
(12): 28)



The Qur'aan is the voice of Al-Rahman just as music is the voice of Satan. If
the evil-inspiring soul finds solace in music, dance and its paraphernalia, the
satisfied soul finds its peace and consolation in the Qur'aan, prayer and the
company of the righteous. The satisfied soul has such a deep conviction in Allah
and the Last Day that never is it upset by the sorrows or demands of this world.



During his return from a Jihad expedition, the Prophet (sallallahu alaihe
wa-sallam) once sat down to rest under the shade of a tree far from his devout
companions. A Makkan called Chawrath bin Al Harith saw his golden chance and
came forward with his sword drawn: ?0 Muhammad. Who is going to save you from me
now?? Calm and un-fearing, the Prophet (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) stood tall
and replied simply, ?Allah!?. The man was surprised into confusion by this
simple answer and unconsciously dropped his sword. The Prophet (sallallahu
alaihe wa-sallam) immediately picked up the sword and asked, ?Tell me who will
save you now??. The man quietly answered, "There is no god worthy of worship but
Allah.?



Illness, financial worries, loss of property or death of dear ones do not cause
the satisfied soul to wail, curse or lament. Whenever it faces any problems it
simply say, ?To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return? and faces the
misfortune with patience and trust in its Lord. Such are the souls described in
the Qur'aan;



?Be sure, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, some loss of goods
or lives or fruits of your toils. But give glad tidings to those who are
patient. Those who say, when afflicted by calamity: ?To Allah we belong and to
Him we shall return." (Soorah Al Baqarah (2): 155-156)



The satisfied soul believes that all happiness and sorrow is by the decree of
Allah. It therefore feels no need to lament at misfortunes or to boast at
success.



?No misfortune can happen on earth or to your soul but it is written in a decree
before We bring it into existence. That is truly easy for Allah. In order that
you may not despair over matters that pass you by, nor exult in favors bestowed
upon you, for Allah loves not the vain boasters.? (Soorah Al Hadid (57): 22-23)



No worldly anxieties upset the satisfied soul. If it fails to acquire something
for which it has struggled for many years, it will accept its destiny and
remember the following words of the Prophet of Allah (sallallahu alaihe
wa-sallam) :



?What has reached you was never meant to escape you and what has escaped you was
never meant to reach you.? (Muwadih by Al-Khateeb Al-Baghdadi)



The satisfied soul seeks its nourishment in Dhikr (the remembrance of Allah),
prayer, fasting, Zakat and Hajj. It relies heavily for support on the branches
of faith, the highest of which is to say and believe in ?There is no god worthy
of worship except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah?, and the
lowliest of which is to remove an obstacle from the path. Angels are present to
strengthen this soul and to bless and greet it when it departs this material
life, when it is resurrected and when it is admitted into the gardens of
paradise. Their greeting to it is the greeting of a Muslim to his fellow Muslim:
?Peace be unto you?;



?And those who feared their Lord will be led to the Paradise in crowds; until
they arrive there, its gates are opened and its keepers will say: ?Peace be upon
you! Well have you done. Enter here and dwell forever.? (Soorah Az Zumar (39)
73)



2. Nafs ammara bis su?



In contrast this soul which earns the company of satan because it ignores the
remembrance of Allah.



?The one who withdraws himself from the remembrance of the Merciful, We appoint
for him a satan to be a companion to him.? (Soorah Az-Zukhruf (43)" 36)



Satan?s cohorts and tunes surround the evil soul day and night. It drives from
one satanic act to other. You will see it lying and cheating, wasting time on
leisure and sports, frequenting cinemas and concerts, listening to music and
dancing.



As one contemporary writer said, ?The godless society?s motto is ?work and
play', while the motto of the god-conscious society is, ?work and pray? ?!



3. Nafs Lawwama



The self-reproaching soul succumbs to evil inspirations but then regrets its
actions and reproaches itself for being weak and vulnerable. These feelings of
remorse cause it to turn back to Allah, to repent sincerely, and to receive
spiritual solace. It is better for each Nafs to blame itself whenever it commits
a wrong. If not, it will find itself being blamed from all those around it.
Consider how the self-reproaching soul is mentioned with the Day of Resurrection
in the Qur'aan.



?I do call to witness the Resurrection Day. And I do call to witness the
self-reproaching soul.? (Surah Al Qiyarnah v 1-2)



There is a common factor between these two entities, which is that both are
courts of justice. The Nafs al Lawwama is an inner court of justice within each
person; when he acts wrongfully. his conscience or soul reprimands him, and it
is then up to him to pay heed to it or to ignore it. Besides placing an inner
court of justice within each person, the Creator has also prepared a larger
Court which will operate on the Final Day and will mete out justice to all of
mankind.