SOUL TO SOUL NAFS (STAGES OF SOUL)

Nafs: Nafs in man is the totality of 

sentiments, tendencies, desires, wishes, 

experiences, and our heredity 

characteristics; in short, it is man’s 

personality.

Nafs of each of us. And it is Nafs which errs not the Rooh. The body is not that important since it is in constant process of change and transformation. However, what we believe to be the essence of man was placed in the Nafs, and it is Nafs which will be interrogated in the last day.

In order to talk about the shaping of one’s self we must concentrate upon the analysis and examination of Nafs. Once we reach this stage we come right across the sacred Islamic school and we are proud that Islam has conducted in-depth and extensive analysis in this area unparalleled in any other school or system.
In the Holy Qur’an and in the vernacular of our theosophists seven stages have been predicted for Nafs. Namely, from the onset of its evolutionary journey to becoming God-like, Nafs must pass through seven different stages. The seven levels (Nafs) are as follows:

1) Ammara (Nafs-e-Ammara /Commanding 

Soul): There are various verses in the Holy Qur’an relative to the existence of this kind of Nafs. This Nafs commands us to commit sin. It is lower than animals because they behave according to the demands of nature. When a lion or tiger devours another animal it is because it needs food. And once an animal is full it does not pursue another animal, while a man is capable of swallowing the whole world and still be hungry. Man can kill thousands and still long for more blood. There are lots of factual accounts which are indicative of the existence of Ammara, one of whom was the late Shah of Iran; the more he killed the thirstier he became and the more he stole the greedier he got. Saadi, the famous Iranian man-of-letters recounts the story of Mahmoud Shah Ghanzanavi who was at the threshold of dying but he would not die. Eventually he commanded that his royal jewels be mounted on mule backs so the caravan could pass in front of his eyes. Once this was done, he died comfortably. These are a few samples of men who became so degraded that they sank lower than any animal. Man tramples upon his nature and behaves relative to the demands of his desires and whims for which there is no limit. In short, Ammara is lowest of all the Nafs and Dr. Shariati has compared it to mud.

The Animal Self (Nafs Al Hayawaniyyah); this is the self that runs after sensual desires and material possessions without

regard for right or wrong, justice or inequity, lawful or unlawful. It is drowned in the pleasures of possessions, sex, and adornments. It is characterized by lewdness, evil, and lack of humanity. It abhors religion and loves itself selfishly. It knows neither fullness, nor humility, nor thankfulness, nor honor, nor manners.

The Satanic Self (Nafs Al Iblissiyyah); is even lower than the Animal Self because its love for itself has taken it to the stage where it competes with Allah Ta’ala in His divinity and lordship. “I am your lord supreme…” as Pharaoh proclaimed, and “I am better than him…” as Iblis
contended.

2) Nafs al`Lawwama (soul the blames / self-

accusing soul)…

This word is derived from ‘Lom’ which means to ‘reproach.’ At this stage Nafs reaches a point that if it commits a sin its ethics wakes up and criticizes the doer.

This Nafs is conscious of its own imperfections. This is the first indication that man’s Nafs is wakening up and perhaps most men in the world are at this stage. When common men commit a sin they awaken and become sorry and sad. It is this self critics that forces some criminals to give themselves up (or it allows the psychologist to find them). The Believer might make a sin but soon after they repent to Allah. They’ll start asking them self, “Why did I do this”, “How could I allow myself to do such a thing”. And the Scholars say this is good, it’s good to blame yourself. That’s the start in which allows change to happen.

.or 4. Nafs al-Mutma`inna (the Soul at Peace): This Nafs is tranquil as it rests on the certitude of Allah. Allah refers to this Nafs,

“O Self, in complete rest and satisfaction!” (89:27).

At this stage Nafs posses the power of thinking and reflection and so, it bases its actions upon logic and thinking and does not fall prey to extremes of sentiments, rage, whims, and fleeting desires; it calculates. Not too many people reach a stage where they can ponder over the consequences of their own behavior before acting.

Imam Baghawi says,”The Nafs al-Mutma`inna has an angel to help it, who assists and guides it. The angel casts good into the Nafs so that it desires what is good and is aware of the excellence of good actions. The angel also keeps the self away from wrong action and shows it the ugliness of bad deeds.

All in all, whatever is for Allah and by him always comes from the Soul which is at Peace.

“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 (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), and with what He has said about what awaits the soul after death: about the departure of the soul, the life in the Barzakh (a barrier in between akhira and this world), and the events of the Judgment day which will follow.” So much that a believer, such as this 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 afflictions make him despair – for he knows that they were decreed long before they happened to him, even before he was created”

4 or 3) Malhama (Nafs-e-Malhama / Inspiring soul): There is a dispute in the number and the level of inspiration received by the person at this stage. We will leave the stage or manifestation to X (4 or 3 ). After the person is passing through the hurdles of the first two stages by correcting himself, and doing his best. This person receives inspiration from Allah(swt) about what to do. He is so virtuous and devout that he has developed the aptitude to accept Allah’s inspiration. ALLAH’s light shines upon all, but this particular person (Insan) at this stage is capable of absorbing the Divine’s light and comprehends it. And this nafs is also inspired with the early stages of love for good wholesome deeds (Amal Saleh), and for the Quran and Traditions of the Prophet.

This is the self that has ascended through effort and commitment to its true way from the station of the Blaming Self to the station of the self that is constantly seeking forgiveness and repentance regardless of its guilt or innocence. This is due to its certainty that the root of its attributes is imperfection, fault, weakness
and incomplete.

Malhama is derived from Elhaam (inspiration).

People think that the inspiration comes only to prophets not for normal persons like you and me. similar the term inspiration has different meaning in arabic.

Elham and Wahy (inspiration) which must be clarified at this point. Elham is from low to high, while Wahy is from high to low. Specifically, in Wahy God establishes communication with man, while in Elham Insan establishes communication with God. Of course, Elham depends upon the extent to which a personality has evolved while Wahy is not subject to such rule; it is God’s command that descends to man. And since Wahy is from the Lord, it is absolute and perfect and there is no doubt in it because He wants man to receive the message in it entirely.

However, this is not true about Elham which is always incomplete since it depends on each man’s aptitude and personality. The stronger and more perfect man is, the more perfect will be his Elham. But since men are not perfect, often times Elham appears as lightning in the sky in a dark night, so quick that man gets a chance to perceive the truths very briefly.

This inspiration could be ideas that we just find in our mind, but in reality it is messages from the angels. We don’t see the angels or hear them we just find the ideas in our mind. Another way of inspiration is through good dreams. At that level we discover that our ability to perceive and to see through things in life has
greatly increased. A person at this level will always find himself contemplating the scenery, and contemplating events, and always attaching himself to high-level events that lead to connection to ALLAH (swt).It is also inspired with love of remembrance (Zhikr) and to seek forgiveness (Istighfar) and to correcting its intentions

(Niyyah) and renewing its repentance (Tawbah).

And a nafs and Him who gave order to it and inspired it with a sense of what is wrong for it and what is right for it. (Qur’an 91:8)

The last level of danger for this nafs (self) is still vulnerable to descending to the lower stages of Blame and Commanding. At this stage the two desires for immortality and sovereignty are dormant except in passing thoughts.

Its remembrance is Hu (The Divine Pronoun HE).

If you want to see a person whose nafs is in Malhama – This person “attachment to spiritual ambition”.

5. Nafs-i-Radziyya: The Content Self / satisfied self (Nafs Al Radiyah).

Before we define this nafs. Let’s look at the tafsir of Mufti- Shafi Usmani (Rahimahullah).
————————————————————————————————————————————————

( “0 contented soul …89:27). Here the soul of the believer is referred to as nafs mutma’innah ‘the contented soul’. The word mutma’innah literally means ‘calm’. It refers to the soul that is ‘peaceful and tranquil’ as a result of remembrance and obedience of Allah. When he abandons it, he feels restless. This is probably the same soul as is made pure, through spiritual exercises and discipline, from the evil traits and bad conduct. Obedience of Allah and His remembrance becomes his predisposition. Shariah becomes his nature.

(come back to your Lord …. 89:28). The words ‘come back’ indicate that his first place was with his Lord, and now he is commanded to go back to Him. This confirms the narration that the souls of the believers, together with their Book of Deeds, will be in ‘illiyin. ‘Illiyin is a place on the seventh heaven in the shade of the Throne of the Most-Merciful Lord. This is the original resting-place of all human souls, from where they are brought out and put into human body. After death, the souls are returned to that place.

(. . .well-pleased, well-pleasing.. . .89:28). [The true believer's] soul is well-pleased with decrees destined by Allah and His legislative commands, and Allah too is well-pleased with His slave. The slave’s being pleased with Allah’s decrees and injunctions is a sign that Allah is pleased with him. Had Allah not been pleased with him, he would not have had the ability to be pleased with Allah’s decree. The true believer’s soul is pleased even on his death at the moment of death. Sayyidna ‘Ubadah Ibn Samit (Radi allahu anhu) narrated from the Holy Prophet (Sullaho alaihi wassalam) as follows:

“He who loves to meet Allah, Allah loves to meet him; and he who dislikes meeting Allah, Allah dislikes meeting him.”

When Sayyidah ‘A’ishah(Radhi allahu anha) heard this, she asked the Holy Prophet (Sullaho alaihi wassalam): “We will be able to meet Allah only after death, but we do not like death.” The Holy Prophet (Sullaho alaihi wassalam) replied: “That is not the case. The truth of the matter is that when death approaches a believer, the angels give him the cheerful news of Paradise and Allah’s pleasure. This news makes death dearer to him. Likewise, when death approaches an unbeliever, the torment and punishment is presented to him. This situation makes the death a hateful and reprehensible thing to him.” [Transmitted by Bukhari and Muslim - Mazhari.]

In short, the love and hatred for death of the present time is not counted. What counts is [the love ofl death, or [the love ofl meeting Allah at the time of the extraction of soul [from the physical body] and [the love of Allah’s pleasure. This is the significance of the phrase: “Well-pleased, well-pleasing”

—————————This ends the tafsir of Mufti- Shafi Usmani (Rahimahullah)———————————————

The nafs (al muta mainna) becomes transmuted into the nafs al-radiyah , which has attained such perfection that it has now become worthy of being the perfect bride of the Spirit, thus returning to its Lord, as the Quran asserts,

Return to your Lord, content (Qur’an ,Surah fajr -89:28)
“Come back to your Lord, Well-pleased (yourself) and well-pleasing unto Him! (Qur’an 89:28)

and finally realizing the Self through its own annihilation (fana’) and following life (baqa’) in ALLAH.

It swings in all its states between trust (Tawwakul) , downgrading (Tafweed), pleasure (Ridah) and surrender (Tassleem) to Allah. The characteristic of this self is constant cheerfulness, gratitude, and thankfulness no matter what happens. Now, poverty or suffering or lack of money and simplicity are the same to it as are damage/ hurt / injury /destruction/ impairment/ harm and gain /profit/ help / assistance/ promote/ do good to / benefit, and withholding and giving. Because, it has become confident after becoming protected that every action and deed is from Allah alone. As the Self mounts to its Lord the lights of the heart increase and fill the entire body transforming the physical desires of the ego to the wish for what the Prophet (Sallahu alaihi wassalam) brought in the Quran and Traditions.

At this level the self’s belief (doctrine, article of faith, statement of belief , creed ) is that
——-if it is exhausted (tired ) it is patient,
—— If it is given it is thankful,
——-if it is deprived it is accepting,
——-if it is offended (victimized / mistreated / aggrieved) it is forgiving.

It has now become the self with a healthy and sound heart.

Its desires are now only for these things and it is totally content (pleased or satisfied) with its Lord. He is its (nafs) Master, Sovereign, and Creator. He is the one who grants it Mercy and Compassion. He is the one who is affectionate and generous toward it. Everything that is from its Beloved is accepted by it and it is content with it. It is content with whatever Allah wishes to do with it.

This is the second stage of the Complete Self (Nafs Al Kamilah), which is the station of servant hood. By ascending to this level the Content Self has entered into the first stage of “…the most beautiful station.” This station is connected to the station above it. Its remembrance is Hayy (Living).

Traits: endurance, resignation, constancy.
Habits: personal identification with affliction.

6) Marziyah: At this stage not only Nafs is satisfied with itself but also the Lord almighty is satisfied with it too.

Note the two table Matrixes are slightly different.

If we compare the classifications of the soul, from the Two Matrix Tables, which are those adopted by Hakim Tirmidhi, with those given by Shaykh ‘Abd Al-Qadir Jilani, they are not identical.

Actually, in the hierarchical classifications, two terms are inversed; that of the Nafs Al-Mulhamah (the inspired soul) which, in the order given by Shaykh ‘AbdAl- Qadir, finds itself at a higher level than that of the Nafs Al-Luwwamah (admonishing-accusing soul).

That being, the ontological-(Ontology-study of the nature of being, existence or reality, existence of God-Allah ) levels to which the two Sheikh(s) allude to are rigorously the same. The commentaries which they have added witness to this.

All stages are compared in Salah.
http://www.almirajsuficentre.org.au/sufipray.html

references for Table of the Levels of Seven Nafs/Souls and Attributes

1.The mineral soul . Our deep mineral structure, connected to the skeletal system, includes our basic sense of connection, at atomic and subatomic levels, with all the universe. However, its characteristic is , like a crystal, to be rigid.

2.The vegetable soul . It is located in the liver and related to the digestive system. At this level transmission of energy and transmutation begins. Nourishment and growth is one of its functions. To have a healthy vegetable soul, we need healthy nourishment ( at physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual levels)

3.The animal soul . It includes our basic emotional states, passions and fears. It is located in the heart and the circulatory system. Passions and fears are functional, they can be useful and give us vitality and strength. but they must not dominate our lives otherwise they distort our perception and behaviour. Emotional unbalance in the student dervish is the first area of concern which the sufi teacher addresses with appropriate practices and correctives.

4.The personal soul , located in the brain and the nervous system. It allows us to elaborate advanced response to the environment by developing complex thinking models and planning. This centre is also connected with the ego and the sense of personal identity or self.

5.The human soul is located in the inner or spiritual heart, it is the focus for spiritual values such as compassion and creativity. This is heart intelligence

6.The secret soul, is what remembers our divine origin and it is therefore the seat of inner consciousness. It is also located in the inner heart.

7 .The secret of secrets , the soul of the soul, totally transcendent (beyond space-time).

Each of the souls ( except the last two) have positive as well negative characteristics, the negatives occuring as a result of unbalance.The last three souls (human and secret souls) can be seriously damaged, even anesthesised and deadened by abuse of substances such as drugs and alcohol. For this reason these are forbidden in Islam