The Sixth Latīfa: Nafs The Seventh Latīfa: Sultan al-adhkar On this sayr ul suluk, the sixth latīfa is the nafs. Nafs is usually associated with the ālam al-khalq, the world of creation. Allah Swt created us in a way that we desire things. Those desires can be for good or for bad. Because there is such a spectrum of feelings, our nafs has to go through many different stages and has different names for each of those stages, as you know. We know that the nafs is usually attracted toward what is desired or forbidden. It wants immediate pleasure. If it desires something bad, the nafs ammāra doesn t feel ashamed by it. This nafs ammāra is also called hawayi nafs (not Hawaii, like the island.) If it seeks out what is evil and feels regretful of it, then it s called nafs lawwama, the accusing or rebuking self. If its desires seek goodness or virtue, then it s called nafs mutma inna. There are other names: nafs mulhama, nafs radiya, and two others that we will talk about in the future, which are very particular to our Order. When we practice dhikr on these latā if, the sojourner, with the help of the Nūr of Allah, makes that nafs capable of turning; turning away from what is evil, bad, or destructive; turning as we spoke on qulūb and sarraf in the last few durūs. As one would expect, it makes what was desiring evil or destructive into something that desires what is good, or capable of desiring what is good and virtuous in life. When this latīfa is illuminated, it shows that the sojourner, the salik, the murīd, is gaining light and moving on the right path, so to speak; and feels attracted toward what is good, toward piety, and is repulsed by what is evil, disgusting, destructive. Even though the Shaytan is an enemy since the very beginning of time, the nafs is even a bigger enemy than the Shaytan, in a sense. Nafs is within us, like in the Khannās story. It is the nafs that led the Shaytan astray when he was arrogant, so it s very difficult to overcome the nafs. That s why the Prophet (sal) said that the jihad against the nafs is the 1
greatest war. Do not obey the whisperer of the nafs, for it will lead you away from the path of Allah. In Qur an, it is said: As for such who will entertain the fear of standing before the Rabb, and has restrained his nafs from lower desires, his abode will be Jannah. We know that the Prophet (sal) said, We have completed the lesser jihad, and now we have to engage in the greater jihad, the jihad al akbar, meaning the jihad with the self. These quotations tell us that obeying the lower nafs will lead you astray. And the successful person is one who is not obeying the lower nafs ammāra. The nafs ammāra is like a very dense bamboo jungle, hard to get through or a mangrove swamp. Even though lusting after something is evil, it s also attractive. Since it leads to attaining or fulfilling one s desires, desires which are never satiated, and which actually increase as time goes by, a person is willing, it seems, to labor day and night to fulfill the desires of the lower nafs. And for what reason? For money, power, name, things, status, even to the point where people exhaust themselves, literally kill themselves, and they don t find any peace. The harder they work for those desires, the more their desires increase, and the more their hunger increases. By the blessing of Allah Swt, we can direct those desires and slowly turn and change the heart, and change the nafs. A good deed, we are told, is what will enter us into Paradise. Good intentions are even sufficient. Any action done according to the example of Rasūlu-Llāh (sal) that makes you live your life determined to do something, to change, to live by certain principles and virtues, no matter who or what the temptation is, or why the temptation is, builds iman. Maybe there is something here you really want, and it is very attractive or wonderful, whether a thing, a job, money or a person; yet, you realize you have not done due diligence in your investigation of its benefit, or where it will lead you, or how much effort it will take, or whether it s within your principles, or whatever it may be. It s very, very difficult. 2
The Prophet (sal) explained that a sojourner like this, a salik, withdraws his likes and dislikes in a safe and secure way only when they are likened to or in line with the qualities and likes and dislikes of the Prophet himself, or the shuyukh, the guides; hence, you have the story of Isa (as) in the Injīl. The young man says to him that he wants to follow him, and Isa (as) says, Okay, come with me. He said, Can I go home and say goodbye to my parents? And Isa (as) said, No, you come with me now, or you don t come. It is that kind of commitment. So when you look at the real essence of Tasawwuf, which most people misunderstand, some people even think when you give ba īat or enter into the Sufic practices, that automatically you have to eliminate all the nafs ammāra, which of course is ridiculous. That would be wonderful if it was true; we d have to have a bigger building. In Tasawwuf, a person is not required to eliminate or destroy the nafs completely, but to harness it and turn it toward the right path, so you can acquire good character and good conduct. In yoga you have to kill the ego. In Tasawwuf, we talk about the turning, the evolution, the growth, and the refinement of the self. The refinement of the self is obviously the refinement of one s character. If the nafs was completely eliminated, then the ability to desire something, whether good or bad, will be lost. It s only because we have the nafs that we have these desires. That s what makes us different than the angels. A person obviously should be able to develop their character and conduct with the nafs still present, as compared to the angels who have no sense of self, and therefore can do no wrong. Not only that, life would be a little boring. There is a story: if a blind man claims he never looks at a woman, it means nothing. He gets no credit for never looking at a woman. On the other hand, if a person really appreciates beauty and can put their eyes on some thing or someone who is beautiful, but chooses to avert the glance or not let their desires rule them, that person might get some credit or thawab for that. We can say the nafs, because it changes, certain things are eliminated by those changes. What s added is a deeper faith. If you [don t] turn away 3
from something that is attractive, or seemingly fulfilling, [which is] seemingly giving you approval for something about you (your beauty, knowledge, wealth, or whatever), it s a very dangerous position, because it s attractive to the nafs. If you are not trying to ask the hard questions, reflect upon things, make muhasabat, see where your weaknesses are (nafs lawwama), and change that direction; if you don t seek out the kind of peacefulness, fairness, equity, and trust (nafs radiya) and arrive at nafs mut mainna (serenity and tranquility), you don t trust that process works. Most people choose to stay within the realms of nafs ammāra, and at times nafs lawwama, if something egregious happens, but they don t really trust the process. It is very easy: if you don t articulate your values, you don t have to live by them. If you don t have them firm, These are my values. This is what I am going to do and what I am not going to do. These are the things that pull me in this direction, and these anchor me in that direction. If you don t do that, aside from being in a kind of spiritual denial, you are only moving toward what is attractive and what fulfills your desires. Because what is attractive and fulfills your desires seems to be good, because it feels good and looks good, and you never really understand what it means to do the jihad al akbar, and what it means to be your own person. Not in the sense of, I want to do what I want to do; don t tell me what to do Not that kind of person. Your own person means strong in your character, in your virtues, faith, and belief, so that you don t feel insecure. If you lose your job, you don t feel insecure. If you lose your power or don t win the election, whatever it may be. You don t feel insecure if you find something not good about the beloved. You feel strong. Because of that, you can then be tolerant, patient, forgiving, understanding, grateful, humble, all of those things. You don t seek revenge. You don t feel excessive depression. You don t feel rejection, and you don t reject. You understand the vicissitudes of life. You understand that people change; and how people learn at different speeds. You understand. Ya muqallib al-qulub wa l-absar. The heart turns, 4
and you have strength. With that comes a kind of maturity, aplomb. You are not boyish or girlish or childish. You are not ga-ga goo-goo. You give out a sense of a person who knows themselves. If you know yourself, you know your next door neighbor. No. If you know yourself, you know your Lord. If you don t have that, you are in an immature and unripe state. Do you know how sweet a mango can be? Have you ever eaten an unripe one? Gaah. Terrible! It must be ripe, or at least ripe enough. You don t have to be at total sincerity, at fana, or in a huge high state. But along the way, if you are not adopting the attitudes of maturity and self-awareness and consciousness in a positive way, then the nafs ammāra is still dominating. Because it s so attractive to things, and things are responding, it doesn t seem like it s bad or destructive but it is. When this nafs is lit or illuminated, one feels the desire to withdraw from the material pleasures of the world, or to seek the Divine in the material aspects of the world, out of love for Allah and pleasure in life. When this desire for the right path becomes really a driving force, you see with the help of that light. You see what the straight path / siratal mustaqim means. This is my way. I do invite unto Allah with a certain knowledge, and I, and whoever follow me. This was said by the Prophet (sal) in the Qur an. There is a seventh latīfa, which I will talk about later this week. Most people don t talk about it much. It is called the latīfa sultan al-adhkar, in Farsi. It s also called the latīfa qalbiyya (not qalbi). This can help us understand what happens when the nafs is transformed, yet the person is still on the spiritual journey. You have fulfilled the illumination of the nafs, and then you are in some state like fana. This seventh latīfa comes from a Qur anic āyat: Surely the hearing, the sight, and the heart - all of those shall be questioned. This seventh latīfa is understood by the heart that is illuminated. You understand that the whole character and personality of the individual is affected when the inside of an individual is purified, and the outside displays that purification. It s more than what I was just talking about; more than an attitude of maturity and aplomb; more than just a kind of presence a mature individual gives off. 5
[Rather, it is] a person who knows basically what they want to do, knows themselves, has a goal, and is following that goal, and finds that the universe is supporting that journey and that intention. Things just fall right. Things just happen in the right way, but they are not things of the nafs ammāra. It is not just getting a good job offer. But things come to you, and you have the character to be able to choose and direct yourself through that forest and find the path through it. Everything that comes is tempting and attractive: How d you like this promotion? This job? We really want you for here. Oh, you are the most beautiful person in the world! Oh, you re so intelligent! How do you work your way through that forest, when everything is going your way? This is what happens in the sultan al-adhkar in the dhahir. Something similar takes place in the bātin. It takes place virtually automatically when these other latā if are illuminated and you have worked your way through at least to the nafs radiya. It s like you are running on a solar battery. As long as you have light, you have energy. As long as you have energy, you can run things, light things, cook things, do all kinds of things because it comes from the sun, and the sun doesn t stop. You become like a really, really good battery. If it s dark for a few days or months, you still hold a charge, like a Prius battery. That s the same light that makes these flower bulbs grow at the right time of year. It makes the motor work, the lights go on, and gives you life. When you attach something to it, it gives them light, and it spreads the light, but without those solar cells, the collectors, nothing happens. We are designed with these collectors. How do we make them do the job they are designed to do, no matter how important it is, unless you get it connected from the source to the output. The source is there, but it doesn t mean anything [if you are not connected]. When our inner self is not purified, then our outer self won t be worth very much. When the heart isn t illuminated, then obviously you are surrounded by darkness. We say, the only way to lift that veil of darkness is through at-tazkiyat, purification of the latā if. It s 6
like charging the battery, storing up the power. Now we have to make use of it. All of this, all of everything in the latā if before this point was just preparation for practical work/amal. You go through this whole process of awakening the latā if, in our tariqah, to bring them back to the world and to do good, and look for and affirm the good in people. Other people will know it from your own words, and you will know it from your own thoughts. Allah Swt created us for that reason, with the preparation to work in the field, not to just teach, or read or hope and pray; but to pray, hope, watch, think, teach and to work. The foundation of fulfilling and peaceful and transformational work lies in what you do to yourself. Allah does not change a people until they change themselves. When we do certain kinds of work (this kind of work) that s when Allah says, I walk through your feet. Our limbs do the work, not just our minds. The intention that is created internally within us sets those limbs into action and movement. That s where I will begin the next time, Inshallah, where we talk about the human body, and how the human body is a reflection of the Names of Allah Swt, and how that influences not only our lives, but how the training of the sultan al-adhkar has to do with the dhikr on Allah s Name, and where we turn in the moment, and how conscious our turning is. Why du ā is so important [becomes understood,] and you think to make supplication. If you need a job, you say, Oh please make du ā for me. Or you make a du ā. If you want to find out if someone is right for you, make istikhar (prayer for guidance). That s the common way. If you have a headache, you should make du ā. If you have a sore back or leg, you should make du ā. If you have a disease, you should make du ā. It should be a natural to you as complaining is. It should be as natural to you as it is to take a Homeopathic remedy or aspirin or whatever. It should be as natural as calling up someone and saying, Gee, I m having a hard day. The first thing that should come to your mind is to make du ā, and make a du ā to fit that moment. 7
It s not a religious activity. It s a universal pattern that if you practice it, you start to understand it is resonant with your need. When you find resonance, things are either increased, or they are neutralized if you believe it. I have a mother-in-law who sure believes it, and makes so much du ā for all of you, your families, the world, whatever. If you believe it, and I believe it, and we all believe it, there is no reason we can t live to be 100 years old. Think about it: if people understood this, would they have invented industries that killed people? Would they have genocidal wars? In a way, not much has changed since the beginning of time. On the other hand, how much has been averted by knowing these things? How many lives have been saved? How many millions of people have food on the table because of other people s charity and zakat? These are really, really powerful tools. If you are not afraid to find out what the truth is, they are really powerful. Understand how important it is to be confident and courageous, not egotistical; but confident you are on the right path, with the right goals, that you are worshiping because you understand you didn t create any of this not your life, not your intellectual capacity. Yes, you participated in such a way that maybe you got a good grade in school, and then you got into graduate school, whatever it may be, but who is assisting you? Where are you turning? Where is the maiyyat? Who is accompanying you? This is what happens when we begin to understand the sultan al-adhkar. You really start to feel that, despite yourself, despite what s left of your nafs ammāra, despite the things you should be criticizing yourself about, some force is carrying you to the goodness, and it s always in your mind to try to reach that goodness no matter what. Even while you are battling certain things in the nafs ammāra, and paying your debts off, so to speak. Part of the path is always being laid down for you. At certain places, the train stops, and waits until you catch up. We ll come back to it, inshā a-llāh. Is it worth is? inshā a-llāh. 8