The Detrimental Effects of the Carnal-Self (Nafs)

Tafsīr of the Noble Quran

The Detrimental Effects of the Carnal-Self (Nafs)

Mufti Muhammad Qasim Attari

Allah Almighty has said:

وَ نَفۡسٍ وَّ مَا سَوّٰىہَا ۪ۙ(۷) فَاَلۡہَمَہَا فُجُوۡرَہَا وَ تَقۡوٰىہَا ۪ۙ(۸)قَدۡ  اَفۡلَحَ  مَنۡ  زَکّٰىہَا ۪ۙ(۹)وَ  قَدۡ خَابَ مَنۡ  دَسّٰىہَا (ؕ۱۰)

“And by the soul and by Him Who made it proper. And instilled in it (i.e. in the human soul, the understanding of) its sins and its piety. Indeed, successful is the one who made it (i.e. his soul) pure. And unsuccessful is the one who covered it in sins.”[1]

Exegesis: Allah Almighty created human beings, made them a combination of body and soul, granted them both inner and outer qualities, gave them the ability to accept truth and falsehood, placed both goodness and evil in their being, and granted them the faculty of understanding good and bad and the choice to pursue them.

The above-mentioned verses convey this reality, which, in summary, illustrate how an oath is taken by the self and by the Lord Who perfected His creation and granted it numerous abilities—such as the ability to speak, hear, and see—as well as the ability to contemplate and comprehend. He then created in its heart the ability to obey and disobey alongside informing it about good and evil, and virtue and vice. After gaining this ability and being given this choice, the human being who purified himself from evil became successful, whereas the one who occupied himself in transgressions, thus covering himself in sins, became unsuccessful.

Sayyidunā ꜤAbdullah b. ꜤAbbās رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا narrates that when the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم would reach these verses (when reciting), he would pause and then make this duꜤāˈ:

اَللّٰہُمَّ آتِ نَفْسِیْ تَقْوَاہَا وَزَکِّہَا اَنْتَ خَیْرُ مَنْ زَکَّاہَا اَنْتَ وَلِیُّہَا وَمَوْلَاہَا

“O Allah! Grant my nafs piety and purify it. You are the best of purifiers. You are its Guardian and Master.”[2]

The carnal-self (nafs) is such an enemy whose harm is greater than that of Satan. In fact, it is the carnal-self which misled Satan. The desires and wishes of the carnal-self are limitless and uncontrollable. These desires increase until they reach a point where people who are slaves to their nafs begin to take their desires as their gods. They fulfil every desire of the carnal-self and fall into ruin. The outcome of such people is that their ears and hearts are sealed, and their eyes are veiled, due to which they neither hear guidance and counsel, nor do they see the true path. This exact state has been mentioned in the Quran as follows:

اَفَرَءَیۡتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ  اِلٰـہَہٗ  ہَوٰىہُ وَ اَضَلَّہُ  اللّٰہُ  عَلٰی  عِلۡمٍ  وَّ خَتَمَ عَلٰی سَمۡعِہٖ وَ قَلۡبِہٖ وَ جَعَلَ عَلٰی بَصَرِہٖ  غِشٰوَۃً ؕ فَمَنۡ یَّہۡدِیۡہِ  مِنۡۢ  بَعۡدِ اللّٰہِ ؕ اَفَلَا  تَذَکَّرُوۡنَ (۲۳)

“Just look at him who made his desire as his god, and Allah caused him to go astray despite his knowledge, and set a seal upon his ears and his heart, and a covering upon his eyes; so, who would guide him after Allah? So, do you not ponder?”[3]

Owing to these devastating effects of the carnal-self, Allah Almighty warns of it time and time again. Hence, this message is conveyed through Prophet Yūsuf عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلاَم as follows:

وَ مَاۤ  اُبَرِّیُٔ نَفۡسِیۡ ۚ اِنَّ  النَّفۡسَ لَاَمَّارَۃٌۢ بِالسُّوۡٓءِ  اِلَّا مَا رَحِمَ  رَبِّیۡ ؕ اِنَّ رَبِّیۡ  غَفُوۡرٌ  رَّحِیۡمٌ (۵۳)

“And I do not describe my own self free from blame; undoubtedly, the baser-self commands evil excessively except upon whom my Lord has mercy; indeed, my Lord is Most Forgiving, Ever Merciful.”[4]

The carnal-self that invites towards evil is referred to as "al-nafs al-ammārah", and its most powerful weapon is the "net of desires," entangling individuals to the point where they become captives of their desires and do not even strive to escape. Such individuals neither remember Allah Almighty nor the Hereafter. This is why Allah Almighty repeatedly mentions the destructiveness of the carnal-self’s desires and warns against following it, just as He declared in Sūrat Ṣād:

وَ لَا تَتَّبِعِ الۡہَوٰی فَیُضِلَّکَ عَنۡ سَبِیۡلِ اللّٰہِ ؕ اِنَّ الَّذِیۡنَ یَضِلُّوۡنَ عَنۡ سَبِیۡلِ اللّٰہِ  لَہُمۡ عَذَابٌ شَدِیۡدٌۢ بِمَا نَسُوۡا یَوۡمَ الۡحِسَابِ  (٪۲۶)

“And do not follow desires which will lead you astray from Allah's path. Indeed, those who go astray from Allah's path, for them is a severe punishment for the reason that they forgot the Day of reckoning.”[5]

In fact, we have been commanded to avoid those people who follow the desires of the ego and have forgotten their Lord. The Almighty said:

وَ لَا تُطِعۡ مَنۡ  اَغۡفَلۡنَا قَلۡبَہٗ عَنۡ  ذِکۡرِنَا وَ اتَّبَعَ ہَوٰىہُ  وَ کَانَ   اَمۡرُہٗ   فُرُطًا (۲۸)

“And do not follow him whose heart We have caused to become neglectful of Our remembrance, and who followed his own desires and his action has crossed the limit.”[6]

The Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم included the carnal-self amongst those things which lead to harm. He stated, “Three things cause one to fall into ruin:

1. Stinginess which is pursued.

2. Desires of the carnal-self which are followed.

3. For a person to consider himself as good.”[7]

In one narration, the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم spoke so extensively about base desires and human states. This one hadith by itself suffices in making a wise person protect himself from the evils of the carnal-self.

The beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said:

When Allah Almighty created Paradise, He said to Jibrīl عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلاَم, “Go and observe it.” So, he went and saw Paradise, as well as the blessings that Allah Almighty has prepared for the dwellers of Paradise. He returned and said, “O Lord! By Your Honour, whoever hears (about it) will enter it [i.e. he will certainly make effort to enter it].” Then, Allah Almighty covered Paradise with hardships [i.e. in order to enter Paradise, one must endure the trials brought about by Islamic rulings,] and said, “O Jibrīl! Go and observe it.” So, he went and saw it. Upon returning, he said, “O Lord! By Your Honour, I fear that no one will be able to enter paradise.”

Then, when Allah Almighty created Hell, He said, “O Jibrīl! Go and observe it.” He went and saw it, and returned and said, “O Lord! By Your Honour, whoever hears about it will not enter it [i.e. he will make great effort to avoid it].” Allah Almighty then adorned it with desires [i.e. whoever falls prey to forbidden desires will enter Hell]. He then said, “O Jibrīl! Go and observe it.” He went and saw it, and upon returning, he said, “O Lord! By Your Honour, I fear that no one will be saved from entering it.”[8]

The lesson derived from this hadith is that Allah Almighty has made entering a grand place like Paradise contingent upon saving oneself from the desires of the carnal-self. The same applies for avoiding entering Hell; one must avoid the desires of the carnal-self. Therefore, attaining success in the court of Allah Almighty lies in purifying the carnal-self from evil, whereas covering it in sin and unleashing it to pursue its desires is the path to destruction and failure. Allah Almighty has mentioned this in the Quran as follows:

فَاَمَّا مَنۡ طَغٰی (ۙ۳۷)وَ اٰثَرَ  الۡحَیٰوۃَ  الدُّنۡیَا (ۙ۳۸)فَاِنَّ الۡجَحِیۡمَ ہِیَ الۡمَاۡوٰی (ؕ۳۹)وَ اَمَّا مَنۡ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّہٖ وَ نَہَی النَّفۡسَ عَنِ  الۡہَوٰی (ۙ۴۰)فَاِنَّ  الۡجَنَّۃَ  ہِیَ الۡمَاۡوٰی (ؕ۴۱)

"So, the one who rebelled. And gave preference to the worldly life. So indeed, only Hell is his abode. And as for the one who feared standing in the majestic court of his Lord and restricted his soul from (illicit) desire. So indeed, only Paradise is (his) abode.”[9]

The one who transgressed, crossed the limits through disobedience, gave preference to the world over the Hereafter, and became a slave of his own desires, his abode is Hell. On the other hand, the one who feared giving accountability in the court of his Lord on the Day of Judgement, and saved himself from forbidden desires, his abode is certainly Paradise.

Method of purifying the carnal-self from evil

Another thing we learn from the above verse is that there is only one method to purify the carnal-self, which is spiritual struggle (mujāhadah), i.e. opposing the will of the carnal-self. Most of the desires of the carnal-self are evil. Therefore, safeguarding it from them to the extent that the carnal-self becomes habitual in refraining from sin and following the Prophet becomes a top priority in life, is what perfects faith and leads to success in the Hereafter. The Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said, “None from you can become a true believer until his desires do not conform to what I have brought (i.e. religion).” (Sharah Al-Sunnah, vol. 1, p. 85, Hadith 104)

And Allah Almighty said:

وَ مَنۡ یُّطِعِ اللّٰہَ وَ رَسُوۡلَہٗ  وَ یَخۡشَ اللّٰہَ  وَ یَتَّقۡہِ  فَاُولٰٓئِکَ  ہُمُ  الۡفَآئِزُوۡنَ (۵۲)

“And whosoever obeys the command of Allah and His Messenger, and fears Allah, and observes piety; so, it is these (people) who are successful.”[10]

Being consistent in acts of worship is an effective way of suppressing the carnal-self and overpowering it, as it dislikes engaging in salah, fasting, zakat, etc. When willpower is utilised in order to be steadfast in worship, the carnal-self is subdued and begins to show obedience. Therefore, one beneficial method of controlling it is to worship in abundance.

May Allah Almighty grant us the ability to refrain from obeying the desires of the carnal-self and to act upon the rulings of the Quran and Hadith.

اٰمِیْنْ بِجَاہِ خَاتَمِ النَّبِیّٖنَ صلَّی اللہُ عَلَیْہ ِوَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ