(Arbab). Lords. 'He who knows his own self, truly, does know his Lord' (Man 'arafa nafsahu 'arafa Rabbah) but because the majority of mankind take the secondary causes as their lords they do not come to know their Lord.
(Dhikr al nafs). Remembrance which is not audible but consists of inner movement and feeling.
(Ghani bi nafsihi). Allah is The Necessary Being. He is Rich by Himself and Independent of the Worlds. Man is bereft and poor.
(Al Hikmat an Nafsiyyah). The Wisdom of the Self (or Breath) which is contained in the Word of the Prophet Jonah (Peace be upon him).
(Jalsa). This term refers most particularly to the fifth posture of the ritual prayer (Salat). The sitting (Jalsa) comes after the first prostration (Sajda) and symbolizes the fifth stage of the Spiritual Journey (Nafs al Radhiyya) and the fifth leve...
(Khatir). Every divine command descends to the creation. As the thoughts descend, they gather all of the emanations of that which they pass through. Each thought penetrates all of the Celestial bodies and affects them in every movement according t...
(Latifah al insaniyyah/nafsiyyah). The human subtle reality which is also known as 'the self'. This subtle essence or centre of the human body must be cleansed in order for the traveller to progress in his Journey of Return to Allah.
(Makr Nafsi). The deception of the ego. This deception is one of the greatest of barriers on the Path to Perfection. The downward-pulling tendencies of the lower-self (nafs) ceaselessly endeavour to exercise their power over the slave. The self is ma...
(Man' arafa nafsahu 'arafa Rabbah). This hadith contains the very essence of the Sufi Teaching and is therefore one of the strongest supports of the higher teaching. In knowing one's own self one attains to Knowledge of Allah. But this is not Knowled...
(Nafs). The ego or the self or the soul. The nafs is that dimension of man which stands between the spirit which is light, and the physical body which is darkness. The spiritual struggle or combat is waged against the downward-pulling tendencies of t...
(Nafs al Ammarra). 'The self which commands'. The Qur'an refers to this self, "The (human) soul is certainly prone to evil" (12:53). This self resides in the world of the senses and is dominated by earthly desires and passions. The initial struggle i...
(Nafs al Hayawaniyya). The animal self. This is the lowest self. It is man cast down to the "lowest of the low". The animal self is totally obedient to the base natural impulses. The one who is dominated by the animal self is unfit for spiritual end...
(Nafs al Ilahiyyah). The Divine Self is Allah as He is with His Qualities of Life, Knowledge, Power, Will, Hearing, Sight and Speech.
(Nafs al Kamila). The Perfect Self. The Qur'an refers to this Self, "Enter then, among My slaves. Enter into My Garden" (89:29,30). This is the final stage in the development of the self to the Self. It is the stage of Real Islam when the slave is i...
(Nafs al Kulliya). The Universal Soul which stands below the First Intellect and represents the receptive dimension of the spiritual world.