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The Components of Human Nature
“While
speaking about the nature of man, Qur’an uses words like
nafs, ruh, Qalb etc. Spirit is transcendent and
the center of man’s being. Whereas soul (nafs), in
its downward or corporeal tendency, is attached to the body
and in its upward or spiritual tendency, is attached to the
spirit (al-ruh).
In order to understand the Islamic concept of
human psyche and nature, one must understand these terms and
their relationship to each other. These basic terms are
explained here.
Nafs and its levels :
Nafs (pl. Anfus or Nufus) lexically means
soul, the psyche, the ego, self, life, person, heart or
mind. Tajul Uroos writes that this word is used normally to
denote the total personality of a person. It also means
knowledge and intellect. (Taj: Ibn-i-Faris). It is used for
a person as well. It is further used to express greatness,
superiority, courage, resolution, and punishment. (Taj and
Lisanul Arab).
The term Nafs has
different uses in the Holy Qur’an as well, and in most
cases, it means
the human being in reality, his self and his
person.
(see 3: 61; 12:54) It also
means the human soul (see 6:93; 50:16 etc.)
The nafs is a basic element in the
cosmology of existence. Al-Ghazali mentions the two
dimensions of al-nafs: the upward dimension and the downward
dimension. The upward dimension is the uppermost limit of
psyche which connects it the spirit, whereas the downward
dimension is represented by the sensory faculties which
connect it to the body.
According to the Sufi understanding,
nafs is the source the negative power of anger and
sexual appetite in a human being which blinds his intellect.
Sufis take "nafs" as the comprehensive word
for all the evil attributes of a person. That is why they
emphasize on doing battle with it and to break and
inactivate it as it is referred to in the Hadith of the Holy
Prophet (PBUH):
“Your worst enemy is your nafs which
lies between your sides.”
The nafs needs to be
nourished and developed in the Divine guidance. The nafs
starts its career in an undeveloped form but equipped with
immense potentialities of corruption as well as the
development and getting closer to the Most Perfect Self,
Allah (SWT), Whose attributes serve as an objective standard
for the human self.
Although some scholars have classified the
Nafs up to 7 stages, the Qur'an has described 3 main types
of nafs which are:
Nafs
ammarah bi al-su’,
(the self urging evil)
This nafs surrenders itself
to
lusts and allows itself to be seduced by
the devil. This is the raw
self of an untrained person. Al-Nafs
al-Ammarah has Shaytan as its ally who falsely promises
him great rewards and gains and always invites him and
attracts the soul to do evil. He presents falsehood to him
in a form that he accepts and admires it.
By its very nature,
Al-Nafs
al-Ammarah directs its owner towards every wrong action.
Allah says:
“Surely the human self urges evil.” (12:53)
Al-Nafs
al-Ammara paralyzes the cognitive process of human
being. Describing this fatal effect of
Al-Nafs
al-Ammarah, the Holy Qur’an says:
“They have hearts wherewith they do not
understand; have eyes wherewith they do not see; have ears
wherewith they do not hear. These are like cattle – no, but
they are worse! These are the neglectful.” (7-179)
Al-Ghazali has mentioned the following
negative tendencies of this nafs naming tem with ‘spiritual
diseases’:
Nifaq (hypocrisy)
Pride and arrogance
Hawa or desire
Self-beholding
Greediness
Negligence
Restlessness
Ri’a
These are the most harmful tendencies of al-nafs
and greatest barriers to the growth of man. When these
dominate the self, man loses his insight and his total
energies are diverted towards unnecessary activities. As a
result, he starts believing deception as truth, fiction as
reality and self-glorification as his highest goal in life.
Nafs al-lawwama,
(the blaming self)
The second level of nafs is
nafs al-lawwama, the blameworthy self which blames
its owner for his own shortcomings. At this level, nafs is
in a state of constant awareness, self-observation and
self-criticism. It recognises his shortcomings, his wrong
actions, his disobedience and the neglect of his duties. It
is
referred to it in Sura Al-Qiyamah when Allah
says:
"And I do call to witness the Nafs that
blames" (75:2).
Nafs al-lawwama
is the one which cannot rest in one state. It often changes
and alters, remembers and forgets, submits and withdraws,
loves and hates, rejoices and becomes sad, accepts and
rejects, obeys and rebels. Actually nafs, at this stage, is
in the mid of its journey towards its growth and perfection.
Nafs al-mutma'inna,
(the Self at Peace)
Nafs al-mutma'inna
is the third and the highest stage of nafs. A person when
advanced to this stage,
he achieves full rest and satisfaction
while his personality gets equipped with the qualities of
quietness, mildness, tolerance, forgiveness, and
understanding of all beings. This stage of nafs ultimately
leads to resolution of one’s inner conflicts and attainment
of harmony with God. His personality is now dyed with His
universal
Colour
while his behavior reflects the Absolute being and the
Ultimate Reality. (Haq, Manzurul. (1984). Concept of
personality development in the light of Islamic thoughts.
The Bangladesh journal of Psychology, 7, 118-128.) (An
abridged quotation)
This is the soul to whom it
is said at the time of death:
“O soul at peace, return to your Lord, well
pleased and well-pleasing. Enter with My servants, enter
into My Garden.” (89:27-30)
Al-Qatadah says abut this stage of nafs: "It
is the soul of the believer, made calm by what Allah has
promised. Its owner is at rest and content with his
knowledge of Allah's Names and Attributes, and with what He
has said about Himself and His Messenger (PBUH), and with
what He has said about the Hereafter…. So much so that a
believer can almost see them with his own eyes. So he
submits to the will of Allah and surrenders to Him
contentedly, never dissatisfied or complaining, and with his
faith never wavering. He does not rejoice at his gains, nor
do his sufferings make him despair." (Al-Tabari: Jami' al-Bayan
fi Tafsir al-Qur'an, vol. 13, Bulaq 1323)”
The Components of Human Nature
http://www.hssrd.org/journal/
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