nafs Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Al Kawthar Academy

The Real Passenger

Our whole life hangs by a thin thread and that thin thread is the spirit (ruh). It is amazing that we devote our entire attention to our body not our spirit. This body is a cage; the real spirit resides within this cage. The body is only a means of transport. It is a vehicle… Continue reading

Constancy in Remembrance of Allah and Negating Stray thoughts

Allah سبحانه وتعالى says in the Holy Qur’an: أَلاَ بِذِكْرِ اللّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find contentment [Sura al Ra’ad 13:28] A person should strive to remember Allah سبحانه وتعالى in every situation, whether in public or in private. One way to achieve this is to recite the sunnah… Continue reading

Pearls of Wisdom 2

A few more pearls of wisdom taken from some of the majalis (gatherings for spiritual training) held by Shaykh Riyadh ul Haq in 1998: • Hub-e-Jaah (love of name,fame and recognition) is normally the last thing that leaves a person’s heart even though the other spiritual ailments like love of wealth and dunya may have… Continue reading

Hard of Heart

Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Auf رضى الله عنه repeatedly made the dua ‘Oh Allah! Protect me from the greed of my own soul’. A person who is greedy becomes enslaved to his own nafs and not to Allah سبحانه وتعالى. Such a person becomes hard-hearted and it is very difficult to talk sense into a… Continue reading

When my nafs tells me to remain silent…

An alim (scholar) was asked ‘How do you learn to control your tongue?’. His reply was amazing. He said ‘My way of controlling my tongue is as follows; whenever my nafs tells me to speak, I remain silent. Whenever my nafs tells me to remain silent, I speak’. There is a wealth of information in… Continue reading

Oh Nafs! Isn’t it true…?

One great scholar in a classical piece of writing addresses his nafs (soul) and says ‘Oh Soul! Admit! Isn’t it true that when I recite the Qur’an you feel fatigue, tiredness and you remind me of the need for the body to rest. You feel the desire to go away and lie down. You remind… Continue reading

Why do we still sin in Ramadhan?

Why do we still fall victim to desire and continue to sin during Ramadhan? We know that the shayateen (devils) are locked up in Ramadhan so why do we still persist in sin during this blessed month? This is not due to the shayateen misleading us but rather our own nafs. Committing certain sins has… Continue reading

Designer Spirituality

Allah سبحانه وتعالى says in a verse of Surah Furqan: أَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ أَفَأَنتَ تَكُونُ عَلَيْهِ وَكِيلًا Have you not seen he who has made his nafs god? [N.B. Partial translation] [Surah al Furqan 25:43] In a hadeeth Sayyidina Shaddad ibn Aws رضى الله عنه narrated that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم… Continue reading

Nafsun Mutma’innah

We are not humans because of the physical body but rather due to the soul. We need to focus on the soul on its entire journey from its origin till the final destination that Allah has designated it. By focussing on the soul and fulfilling its requirements, Allah will make us amongst those who are… Continue reading