If I stepped outside my body and observed my actions for a day, I would not be surprised to discover that for all of twenty-four hours, I am committed to only one thing- satisfying myself. In fact, it would be difficult to point out any truly un-selfish action I had made in the past week. If the deed is good, there must be an ulterior motive lurking in the back of my mind. Imam al-Ghazali exhorted: Purify your intentions before embarking on any action. How difficult this is!
The lower self, or Nafs. This is what Islamic doctrine calls the inherently selfish part of me. The Nafs is only good at one thing- looking after its own interests. But the Nafs is not something external, so it is more accurate to say that it is good at looking after my own interests.
Is Nafs dominant in all our lives? It depends on whether one is aware of its influence over one’s thoughts, words and actions. Some people go through their lives without ever knowing their faults. When criticized, they become angry and reticent. In their minds, they can never be the wrong party, but are most willing to accept the role of the wronged. Perhaps this reaction is the Nafs way of protecting its own interests. To admit to a fault takes courage. To persist as if nothing is wrong takes, well, almost nothing.
Self-awareness is the first step to suppressing the lower self. Similarly, the fledgling Sufi who is just beginning his path toward God must first confront his own demons, and reject them through sincere repentance.
The Prophet divided Jihad, or holy striving, into two kinds. The lower Jihad is the defense of religion through force of arms. The greater jihad is fighting against the lower self, which never fails to persuade us to over-indulge in the trappings of the material world- wealth, food and sensuous pleasures.
But in fighting against our lower self, it is easy to lose sight of all sense of perspective. We attempt to ‘destroy’ the material world in our mind, be ‘otherworldly’, so to speak. Ironically, we are giving the material world that much more ‘flesh’.
We convince ourselves that we are fighting it, but in reality, we are preoccupied and even fascinated by it. Perhaps our mind expands the so-called threat of the world so that when we begin to overcome it, we will feel as if a great victory has been won against an insurmountable enemy.
But the world is not an enemy in the real sense of the word. Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali said:
One who takes pride in otherworldliness is like one who takes pride in leaving some trivial thing 1
Detaching from the world is a mark of ignorance. Islam advocates moderation, not detachment. It is far more difficult to find a balance between two extremes, and it is the only way our inherent humanity can be preserved.
What about you? Have you ever considered abandoning the world to its own devices?
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