Struggling With the Self

Struggling With the Self

Imam Zaid Shakir

Introduction: The Jihad Between the Servant and Himself

Brothers and sisters in Islam and non-Muslim guests, we'd like to remind people that we should not err in our understanding of jihad. Some people say, because of a hadith, that "you've returned from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad," this is fabricated. Then they conclude that the idea of a greater jihad, the struggle against the nafs, has no validity in Islam. This is erroneous.

Clarifying Misconceptions About Zuhd and Inner Struggle

Similarly, some people say after researching the hadith:

"Turn away from the world and Allah will love you, and turn away from that which the people possess and the people will love you."

They say, "Oh, this has a weak chain, therefore it's weak and we can't verify the Prophet said it, therefore there's no zuhd in Islam." This is erroneous because the concept is substantiated by other evidences besides this hadith.

The Legacy of Our Great Scholars

If there were no zuhd in Islam, as some of our modern day luminaries understand, then several of our greatest scholars have misunderstood our deen. Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (رحمه الله - rahimahullah) has a book called Kitab al-Zuhd, the book of other-worldliness. Imam Abdullah bin al-Mubarak (رحمه الله - rahimahullah) has a book called Kitab al-Zuhd, the book of other-worldliness. Imam al-Bayhaqi (رحمه الله - rahimahullah) has a book called al-Zuhd al-Kabir, the great detachment. Imam al-Qurtubi (رحمه الله - rahimahullah) has a book called Kitab al-Zuhd, and so on.

Many of the sahih compilations of hadith, such as Imam al-Tirmidhi's, have a chapter called Bab Kitab al-Zuhd, the chapter of other-worldliness. So have all of these people misunderstood Islam? And now in this century we've understood it? Similarly, the idea of a struggle against the nafs is firmly established in our religion.

Quranic Evidence for Purification of the Soul

Allah says in the Quran:

"He succeeds who purifies it, and he is ruined who pollutes it."

Pollutes what and purifies what? Purifies his soul. Corrupts his soul. So this purification involves a struggle.

The Story of the Wife of the Aziz

Allah says in the Quran on the tongue of the wife of the Aziz of Egypt in the story of Yusuf, peace be upon him:

"I do not absolve myself from any blame. Verily the soul inclines or commands to that which is vile, except the one my Lord has mercy on. Verily my Lord is most forgiving, most merciful."

She's talking about the inclination of the soul which she has conquered. She's engaged in this struggle. Because at the beginning of the story she blamed everyone but herself. She blamed Yusuf, peace be upon him, saying he's too good looking, that's why she tried to seduce him. She blamed Yusuf. She blamed the women of the court when they couldn't resist themselves. She said, "See, you can't resist him either."

She gave them all knives, gathered them together. When Yusuf walked into the room, they screamed and cut themselves. She said, "See, look, you can't resist him." But at the end of the story, after she elevated herself, struggled, and purified herself, she said, "I do not absolve myself from any blame."

The Three Levels of the Soul

Allah talks about another nafs in the Quran:

"I swear by the Day of Resurrection, and I swear by the self-reproaching soul."

And again, this is an indication of struggle. The first soul النَّفْسَ الْأَمَّارَةَ بِالسُّوءِ the soul that commands to wickedness, is beginning to question those acts and to struggle. A struggle is going on so it can transcend those acts.

Then Allah talks about the soul that has transcended those inclinations:

"O you contented soul, soul that has attained tranquility, peace and rest, return to your Lord, pleasing and pleased with. Enter amongst My servants, enter into My Paradise."

The Progression of the Soul

Now, this is a progression if you look at these three verses together. From the soul that commands to wickedness, to the soul that is reproaching and blameful and questioning the acts of wickedness that the person falls into from time to time, to the soul that's contented and at rest and at peace, that has transcended those inclinations. This progression involves struggle, and the struggle our scholars have referred to as the jihad against the nafs, the struggle against the nafs.

The Means of Spiritual Struggle

The means for this struggle are many. We'll mention a few, and we mentioned this the other night.

First: Feeding Our Soul with Soul Food

First of all, we have to feed our soul. Soul food. Not that soul food that they might sell in some parts of Chicago. I mean, we could eat soul food. I grew up on soul food. But now there are aspects of soul food, the soul food diet, that are strictly forbidden. The pig feet. But we're talking about another type—the collard greens, cornbread, mashed potatoes, that's all acceptable. The pig feet and the hog maws and ribs and all of that, leave for others. But we're talking about another type of soul food.

The First Food: Silence

This soul food is, the scholars say, first of all, silence. To be quiet. Because the greatest undermining of our spiritual nature comes from the damage done by our tongue. Because this is the quickest expression of the inclination of our souls. You can't always do something wrong, but it's very easy to say something wrong. So the first check on those inclinations is to be silent and to restrain our tongue and not to give expression to every thought that comes to us.

There are forces that want us to do just the opposite, to constantly talk and to never experience silence. We mentioned this: people live their lives nowadays surrounded by oral stimulation. And if they're in a state of silence, most people will go crazy after a day. You put them in an unpadded cell, all alone, total isolation, no music—a lot of people will go crazy after a day or so. Why? Because we've been accustomed to constant stimulation. And this stimulation incites the negative inclinations of our soul.

The Modern Culture of Constant Noise

So we wake up to music, clock radios. We used to wake up to alarms, buzzes and bells and ringings, dingings. Now we wake up to music. We go into the shower and turn on the radio. We go down to breakfast and turn on the stereo. And we get in the car and surround ourselves with stereophonic sound.

Then we go to work and we fight with each other as to what kind of music we're going to listen to. And then after the battle is resolved, we listen to music as we work. And then we get in our cars with our stereophonic or, I don't know, they might have more advanced sound systems, digitally engineered, I don't know. And then we drive home and then we go to bed as we listen to Beethoven's Fifth or something. And this is how we live our lives.

But to appreciate the spiritual inclinations we have, we need silence.

The Second Food: Isolation

The second food for our soul is isolation. Because when we're isolated, there's no one to express our negativity to. There's no one to lie to. There's no one to backbite about. And by not engaging in these practices, the good inclinations within us come to the fore because these negative ones are dormant. So they recede and then our good inclinations come to the fore.

We have time to think about our Lord and think about the meaning of life, the higher purpose of life. So this requires isolation. We know the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) before he was called to the prophetic office, withdrew from his society and went into the cave of Hira. He used to reflect and meditate and contemplate. And this is very, very important for our spiritual well-being, for winning the spiritual battle.

The Third Food: Hunger

The third food for our soul is hunger. Because physical food feeds our physical appetite. And a lack of physical food puts those appetites into recession. So our spiritual nature, the spiritual nature that's within us, comes to the fore. So there's an inverse relationship between the two. The less physical food we eat, the more spiritual food begins to nourish our souls. And the less the drives of our carnal nature influence us and push us.

The Fourth Food: The Night Prayer

The fourth food is the night prayer. And the night vigil is essential. There's never been anyone who's attained any station with Allah except that they spent a portion of their night in worship and devotion. This is a rule that's inescapable. The standing in prayer at night is more penetrating and beneficial for the soul.

Why? Because there's stillness, there's silence. And there are things that exist in the day that we're not even aware of. At night we can hear things five houses down. During the day we can't hear from the next room. Because there are background noises that are bombarding our senses—traffic, people talking, doors slamming. And we're not aware of it until it's gone. And the only time it goes away, in most places—maybe if you're in New York, the city that never sleeps, even then—in most places it's at night.

So night prayer, night vigil, contemplation, reading, meditation is essential for the elevation of the soul. So these are four foods that we can feed our soul to help win this battle, to go from that nafs ammara to the nafs mutma'inna.

Second Weapon: Constant Remembrance of Allah

The second thing is the remembrance of Allah, constant remembrance of Allah in all of its manifestations.

Because the remembrance of Allah draws us near to Allah. And it brings the love, it makes the love of Allah a reality in our lives. You can't love someone you never think about. That's why they say distance separates.

You see, two people are madly in love, so their parents are conspiring. "We'll send them to different colleges." So in high school, they're madly in love. And then this one goes to UCLA and this one goes to Princeton. So for the first week, they send emails to each other. And the second week, every other day, and the third week, once a week. Then the fourth week, they meet a whole new circle of friends. And then after two months, it's all over. And their parents are drinking tea, celebrating. "He was no good for her anyway. Takbir, Allahu Akbar!"

So, remembering Allah—why? Because the distance led to forgetting. They forgot about each other. So by remembering Allah, we endear ourselves to Allah. By endearing ourselves to Allah, Allah elevates us. And this is the way of the believer.

"O you who believe, remember Allah with abundant remembrance."

"So remember Me, I will remember you."

You remember someone, they remember you. You send them a letter, they write back. You come to visit, they reciprocate. الجَزَاءُ مِنْ جِنْسِ الْعَمَلِ - the reward is from the nature of the deed.

"Give thanks to Me and don't reject My blessings."

The Power of Constant Remembrance

So remembering Allah, this is another very vital aspect in winning this battle. Because the more we remember Allah, the less we think about the inclinations of our soul. There's no time. And the true lover is the one whose every thought is consumed by their beloved. That's all they think about. And again, this is how believers are.

It's thinking about others that turns us away from Allah. Allah says:

"Amongst the people, there are those who take besides Allah equals whom they love as they should love Allah. But those who believe are most intense in their love of Allah."

This is the believer. وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِّلَّهِ . So this love helps us to overcome the soul. Because the soul is trying to incite us to things, we don't hear any of it. We don't think about it. All we're thinking about is Allah. The meeting with Allah. To please Allah. To do those things which are pleasing to Allah.

Third Weapon: Identifying and Eliminating Character Defects

Thirdly and finally we'll mention this: a weapon in our battle against the soul is identifying and eliminating the defects of our character. And again, why? Because this helps us to attain the prophetic virtues. And a person who has adorned himself or herself with the prophetic virtues is a person who has isolated or insulated himself or herself against the inclinations of their soul.

Overcoming Anger

What are some of the defects? Anger. The Prophet said:

"Don't become angry."

So we want to fight against ourselves until we become حَلِيم - forbearing. So things, insults, abuses don't bother us. We forbear. So we fight against the inclination towards anger until we become حَلِيم - forbearing.

Overcoming Envy

Envy. We fight against that by wishing increases for people. Instead of wishing for things to be taken, for blessings to be taken from them, we wish for increase. Someone's beautiful, "Allah give them more beauty." We feel our heart becoming envious. They have a nice car, "Give them a better car." Nice house, "A bigger house. Allah increase Your blessings on Your servant." This is until we become a very magnanimous person.

Overcoming Stinginess

We find ourselves stingy, avaricious. And we fight against that until we become altruistic. We want good for everyone. We give preference to everyone. Instead of holding on, we give freely. So we have إيثار - altruism And we know this إيثار or giving preference to others, is a big part of our Islamic ethical system.

To give preference. Muslims are people of تَفَضَّل - graciousness. إيثار. And not just going through doors. Everyone has تَفَضَّل and إيثار when it comes to that. So no one—someone should just come and push us both through the door. "Get in the door, please!"

So everyone has إيثار when it comes to that. But when it comes to something really meaningful, the تَفَضَّل becomes scarce. We need last night, the brothers, Imam Siraj said, "Who's gonna give $20,000?" تَفَضَّل ? Like squeezing blood out of a rock. So, it's in meaningful things.

Overcoming Arrogance and Conceit

Arrogance - كبر - and عُجْب - conceit. We fight against ourselves until we have the quality of تواضع - humility - or we can intentionally humble ourselves. And not just humble ourselves in our actions and manners, but subordinate our thoughts, our personal preferences in matters. "Okay, perhaps you're right."

So, people think it's humility just to walk very meekly. "السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ brothers and sisters. It is with great pleasure that I address you this evening." People say, "Man, that's a humble brother." Then we say, "I think we should do it this way." "لَا حَرَامِ بِدْعَة أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ !! We can't do it like that. We have to do it, there's only one way. My way or the highway."

So, humility is also humbling your opinion, humbling your thought, giving preference to someone else's idea.

Conclusion: Summary of the Three Weapons

So, these are three things that we can do. To reiterate: feed our soul. We mentioned the four foods of the soul—silence, isolation, hunger, and night prayer. Be constant in remembrance of Allah. And try to identify and fight against the negative characteristics we have until we adorn ourselves with the prophetic virtues and characteristics. And this all involves the jihad of the nafs.