Jihaad an-Nafs: Striving Against the Soul

           Assalamo Alykum Wa Rehmatullahe wa Barakaatuh

Jihaad an-Nafs: Striving Against the Soul

PRAISE BE TO ALLAH

The world, in its overwhelming majority, is encountering 

waves upon waves of evil and is being struck by evil
passions and trials and tribulations, and it is being
overtaken by various kinds of destructive evils, and it is
being governed by Satanic ideas and selfish, imposing
laws, and concepts that destroy all aspects of the human
being that can be considered virtuous and noble. We are
surrounded by an environment that has deviated from
the truth, submitted to its desires and has been put to
trial by its forbidden passions. And the human being
inherits all that those who came before him have left for
him of corruption in belief, entrenchment in misguidance,
submission to the Shar?'ah of the Devil, permitting the
forbidden, forbidding the permissible, and beautifying the
lowest of actions and the most disgusting sins. And he is -
with this - longing to satisfy his desires as he has been
surrounded by the devils of the humans and Jinn.

So, he is a product of the environment, culture,
upbringing, thoughts and all that he is surrounded by, and
affected by; beginning with his family, his people, all the
way to the general human population.
This human being, if Divine Guidance was sent down for
his sake, and All?h showed him ways of living in
happiness in this life and the next, and he was given from
All?h a Book, and He favored him – by His Favor – with a
Messenger to take him by the hand to that which is better
and higher, and organizes the affairs of his life on the
basis of justice and mercy, and saves him from
everything that could be a cause of his destruction in this
life and the next; if all of this occurred, then his situation
would be quite different.

From the people, however, are those who have been
defeated by this accumulation in evil, and are pressured

by these influences, so they don't pay any attention to
the religion and give it not the slightest consideration.
Rather, he belittles the religion, and mocks it, and has
enmity to those who call to it, and fights all those who try
to change his ways and plant a pure seed in his head in
place of the filthy Satanic seed that is in place.

All?h – the Exalted – said: {"Rather! On their hearts is
the black spot of the sins that they used to earn…"} [al-Mutaffif?n; 14]
And He – the Exalted – said: {"And if it is said to them
'Come to that which All?h has revealed and to the
Messenger!' they said 'What we found our fathers
upon is enough for us.' Were it not that their
fathers knew nothing and were not guided…"}[al-M?'idah; 104]
And He – the Exalted – said: {"Verily, those who
disbelieve will not believe whether you warn them or not."} [al-Baqarah; 6]
And yet, there is another type of person that you might
see who is ready to reflect calmly and with deep insight,
and remove himself from any outside influences in order
to look at the issues that are important, and puts aside all
that he has been fed in order for his research to be upon
clarity. So if he is guided and comes to know, he turns
and changes and becomes another person.
This human being struggles against (yu j?hid) his soul
that commands him with evil, as well as his
overwhelming passions and transgressing innate nature,
deviated desires, misguided cultural practices, and bad habits.

He says: there is none worthy of worship except All?h,
certain that it means: none is rightly deserving of being
served or worshipped except for All?h, and none deserves
to be submitted to or humbled before except All?h, and
none has the right to command or forbid except All?h,
and there is no legislation of laws except by All?h, and by
Him – the Exalted – the Muslim takes his steps, and with
this, he submits himself to All?h in a complete manner –
in every way, shape and form – so he is called a Muslim (a submitter).

And he believes in everything that All?h has revealed - so
he is called a Mu'min (believer).
And he stands watch over the devils among the humans
and Jinn, so he does not allow them to affect him – so he is called a S?bir (an endurer). 

And he stops at the limits set by All?h, and does not cross
them unless in a moment of heedlessness (in which case
he repents) – so he is called a Mur?bit (one who guards his territory).

And he sacrifices himself and his wealth for the sake of his
belief, and he lives as a fugitive who has been uprooted
from his home – so he is called a Muj?hid (one who strives). 

And regarding this, the Exalted says: {"And those who strive in Our cause, we will guide them to Our ways, and verily, All?h is with those who do good."} [al-'Ankab?t; 69]

And He – the Exalted – says: {"O you who believe!
Endure and be patient and guard your territory and fear All?h so that you may be successful."} [?l 'Imr?n; 200] 
This kind of person, wherever he is found in a land or
amongst a certain group of people, he is like a rising sun
who's rays are sweet-smelling perfume; by him, the
Earth is connected to the Heavens, and upon him
descends the Mercy of All?h, and surrounding him are the
Angels of the Most Merciful.

He has a heart with the innocence of children, and a
tongue with the purity of water from a rain cloud, and a
helping hand that extends as if it was sent from All?h, and
a face that shines with the truth as if it were the morning
light, and firmness upon the religion of All?h as if he
himself was a firm mountain.
If you walk with him he benefits you, and if you befriend
him he serves you, and if you consult him he advises you,
and if you wrong him he excuses you, and if you comfort
him he thanks you, and if you are at odds with him he
forgives you. Truthful; easygoing; trustworthy; he fears
All?h, so he is as All?h says regarding him: 

{"Muhammad is the Messenger of All?h, and those who are with him are harsh against the disbelievers and merciful between each other. You see them bowing and prostrating, seeking Favor from All?h and His Pleasure. Their distinctive sign is the mark of prostration on their faces."} [al-Fat’h; 29]

And the struggle of the soul (jih?d an-nafs) is the severest
type of struggle, and the hardest and longest-lasting. It is
a struggle at night, and during the day; in times of
hardship, in times of ease; in times of relaxation and
tension. It is a struggle in your beliefs and worship and
interactions; while you are secluded from the people as
well as when you are mixing with them. And it is a
struggle by way of remembrance, prayer, fasting, and
patience – as well as all things that strengthen your soul.
And it is a struggle that calls for the person to be fully
awake, aware and knowledgeable of the weak points of
the enemy, the strategies of the Devil, the incoming
waves of falsehood, the possible entrance points of
doubts and confusions, as well as knowledge of the
permissible and forbidden, and the commands of All?h
and his prohibitions, etc.
And without this struggle (Jih?d) that polishes and purifies
the soul, and changes everything in the life of the
believer, and makes the Muslim a leader not a follower,
and makes him a head and not a tail, and one who
initiates change in others as opposed to one who is
changed by others; without this type of struggle, a person
is known simply as a Muslim – not a believer – and this is
not a name that he would even be deserving of, and an
outer image that does not reflect the inner truth.
And since this Muslim has given up on the struggle against
his soul, he has also given up his Isl?mic personality. 
The struggle against the soul causes explosive changes –
both internal and external – that give birth to a person
that has been purified the utmost purification in
comparison to the entire human race, so that the one
who undergoes this change deserves to shine under the
saying of All?h: {"You were the best nation brought out for the people."} ?l 'Imr?n; 110]

http://www.kalamullah.com/jihaad-an-nafs.html

And Allah Knows Best

The Prophet (PBUH) said "Pass on knowledge from me even if it is only one verse"

MAY ALLAH GUIDE US ALL TO THE STRAIGHT PATH

 By Shaykh Hasan Ayyub – may Allah preserve him -

                  (From the first chapter of his book 'Fiqh al-Jihad fil-Islam')

Compiled, edited and adapted by Khalid Latif