The Concept of Success in Islam: “The Internal Jihad or Greater Struggle “Jihad al-Nafs” & Mental Health
They began with the words, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” Jihad has two meanings for Muslims. It is both a struggle for faith and a struggle against evil. The phrase internal Jihad or greater Jihad refers to the efforts of a believer to live their Muslim faith as well as possible. All religious people want to live their lives in a way that will please their God.
Hello, Dear Readers and followers, welcome back to my new story, I hope all’s well.
Today planned to talk about Jihad -Al-Nafs ( Jihad with soul) or the greatest struggle with the soul and share with you an Islamic perspective about it. Islam is generally misunderstood, especially in the western world, and no Islamic term is more widely misunderstood and evokes such strong reactions as the word Jihad. Jihad is a loaded term and a concept that illustrates a deep gulf of miscommunication between Islam and the West.
Often, many people conflate the terms jihad mistranslated to mean ‘Holy War,’ and some non-Muslims misunderstand the term to mean waging war against disbelievers to either convert them to Islam or to kill them. Often the word Jihad is thought to be synonymous with terrorism. In reality, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
This is in part because many writers use the term “jihadist” when describing violent Muslim radicals. There are those in each community who see jihad as a clash of civilizations and act on those beliefs.
Islamic Perspective on Jihad
In Arabic, The literal meaning of Jihad is “exerted effort, and it means much more than holy war” to most Islamic scholars and Muslims, and represents a range of activities. and a Mujahid is someone who strives or engages in jihad.
In the Islamic context, it means to struggle against one’s evil inclination. So, any effort of self-improvement, whether in the form of improving One’s spirituality, education, or financial situation, is an act of Jihad. The Holy Quran makes it clear that Jihad has been used to mean ‘striving’ or ‘exerting.’
This term appears in the Quran in different contexts and can include various forms of nonviolent struggles. For instance, the struggle to become a better person. This falls under the category of “jihad of the self,” an important subject in Islamic devotional works.
“We shall certainly guide those who strive for Our cause to Our path. God is certainly with the righteous ones” (Quran 29:69)
The concept of jihad as a struggle for self-improvement is little known among non-believers. The most difficult jihad is the one of the soul. The biggest trouble is not with your enemy but with yourself.
A human’s soul is the scene of a struggle of two competing powers. Divine power attracts him towards heavenly spheres, and inspires him to acts of goodness. Satanic power tempts him towards realms of darkness and shame, and invites him to acts of evil. When the divine forces are victorious, a person emerges as a virtuous and blessed being, in the company of prophets, saints, and the pious. When, however, the satanic forces dominate, the person becomes rebellious and vicious and is grouped with infidels, oppressors, wrongdoers and those who are cursed.
Muslim scholars have written at length about the inward struggle against sinful desires or the jihad against the soul. This jihad is called the greater jihad (jihad al-akbar), whereas armed struggle is called the lesser jihad (jihad al-asghar). The spiritual jihad is the greater jihad because it must be done by everyone at all times, whereas military jihad is the lesser jihad because it has specific conditions and is not an obligation upon every Muslim. The term “holy war” was never used by the Prophet, his companions, or the great Muslim scholars who succeeded them.
In the specific context of Islamic law, however, jihad generally signifies an armed struggle against outsiders. Medieval scholars of Islamic law delineated two basic forms of armed jihad: defensive jihad, an armed struggle against invaders; and aggressive jihad, a preemptive or offensive attack commissioned by a political authority. Not surprisingly, Muslim scholars have long debated when exactly warfare can be justified.
Types of Jihad:
There are two kinds of jihad because there are two kinds of violations of justice: jihad with words against false beliefs, and jihad with the sword against acts of injustice. “The first is the basic and continuous jihad,” Idris said. “It was mentioned in the Qur’an very early in the history of Islam and at a time when Muslims were weak and even persecuted. God said to His Prophet, ‘Do not obey the kafireen (those who reject the truth) but wage jihad with it (the Qur’an) against them. [25:52]’”
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Jihad al-Nafs or Jihad with soul ( The Greatest Struggles)
Over a thousand years before Western psychology was constructed, the psychological language of the Qur’an described destructive emotions and harmful conditioning as nafs al-ammara or the commanding self. The Qur’an gives guidance to help overcome the inner turmoil that we can experience, caused by the nafs al-ammara and bring the peaceful self or nafs al-mutmainna into being.
Islamic psychology or the science of the nafs is the philosophical study of the psyche or the mind from an Islamic perspective, which addresses psychology, neuroscience, philosophy of mind, psychiatry and psychoneuroimmunology. Due to the multidimensional use of words in the Arabic language, it’s difficult to translate into one specific word, but the word nafs lexically refers to our soul, the psyche, heart or mind. Nafs is used to indicate our own self or used as a synonym of Freud’s libido. The second way nafs has been used in the Qur’an is to refer to a specific part of our self that has desires, appetites. The Islamic concept of nafs highlights the intricate and complex composition of the inner self. Freud in the early 1900s described similar states as the id, ego and superego.
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The Qur’an describes the nafs, or self, as operating out of one of three states: nafs al-ammara (commanding self); nafs al-lawwama — accusatory self; and nafs al-mutmainna (peaceful self). The Qur’an explains how these states command our psyche and tell us what to do, they control us and dominate us. If we have nafs al-ammara, it means we are subjugated by the self, we listen and follow its commands. This stage describes the part of us that requires material possessions and sensual desires. With nafs al-lawwama we are conscious of our own imperfections and, inspired by our hearts, we see the results of our actions and our weaknesses and aspire for perfection. Finally, nafs al-mutmainna implies contentment and peace, there are no immoral desires. This is the ideal state of ego, there is tranquillity and peace.
When our emotional needs are being poorly met, the nafs al-ammara begins to control our feelings, thoughts and behaviours. The Qur’an provides guidance to learn and practise relaxation exercises to weaken the influence of the nafs al-ammara. When it is in control, our thoughts are distorted leading us to take things personally, to see everything in a negative light and believe that things can’t be changed for the better.
When our conscience, the nafs al-lawwama is active, we become aware that something is wrong with the way we are feeling and behaving. We can then learn to challenge negative thinking leading us to our nafs al-mutmainna. The Qur’an uses a technique called Alif-Lam-Mim for strengthening the nafs al-lawwama and help bring about a more peaceful state of being. Mindfulness is a modern concept, which emphasises a mental state of awareness, focus and happiness. Mindfulness is a way in which we can become more aware of ourselves, our thoughts and our feelings, and act in a way which is mindful of ourselves and others despite our nafs and desires.
These are just a few points to show how the Qur’an highlights the importance of psychological wellbeing. If we as a society are to move forward and remove the stigma associated with mental health, the first thing we should do is not emphasise unjustified prejudices and put more hate into the world. We should all push for the same common goal of love and humility in a place where people can live free from fear.
The Quran mentions, “Seek the life to come by means of what God granted you, but do not neglect your rightful share in this world. Do good to others as God has done well to you. Do not seek to spread corruption in the land, for God does not love those who do this” (Quran28: 77) (The Noble Qur’an, 1984: p. 526, Chapter 28, Verse 77).
The steps of struggle against the self
• Step 1: Reflection: One must devote some time every day to contemplate about his duties towards God, Who brought him into this world, bestowed him with a sound body and brain, and equipped him with intellect and capabilities, all of which are sources of pleasure and joy in his life. God also sent prophets and His Holy Book as a means of guidance and salvation. The aim of this life and purpose of all these blessings is more noble than to follow mundane desires and evil tendencies that are short lived and temporary.
Death may come knocking at any time. This world is a place of doing good actions that result in permanent joy and take one into a higher sphere of existence. A person should therefore reflect on his destiny and his helplessness at the hands of time and age that are passing. He should feel regret before God for the loss of precious years of life and for past deeds that will bring him shame on the day of judgement. He should then begin his struggle to rise above this state of wretchedness and ask God for help to bless him with hope, sincerity, and strength to fight against satanic tendencies and evil traits of character, and to rise beyond material pleasures and worldly gains.
• Step 2: Will and resolve: Firm resolve is the essence of humanity and basic requirement to attain freedom from the domination of evil desires. The will that is required at this stage is synonymous with laying the foundation of a good life. The warrior in this battle of the self should purge himself from sins, perform all obligatory (wajib) acts, make an intention to compensate for the days lost (in sinfulness), and finally, resolve to behave as a rational religious person and a real human being. His manners should be an imitation of the Prophet’s life, and he should follow the Prophet (s) in all his abstinences and choices. All this cannot be achieved unless he learns the laws of Shari`ah and follows them faithfully.
• Step 3: Self-examination, evaluation and criticism: After making a vow to be a person of strong will‑power and resolution, he must understand that the hereafter is the place where his secrets will be exposed. Thus he should evaluate himself on a daily basis to get rid of evil habits and desires, to acquire more noble human character, and to perform better actions than before. He must realize that committing sin takes away from him noble essence of humanity and he must pray to God for His assistance and for the intercession of the Prophet (s) and the members of his Household (a).
• Step 4: Self‑conditioning: The resolve and self-evaluation from the previous steps should form themselves into specific commitments to self-conditioning. For example, one who has an evil habit of lustful eyes, backbiting tongue, or inflated ego should say to himself, “I will not violate the Law of God today” and consciously avoid such habits for one day. By performing such an experiment with sincerity and resolve, he will realize how easy this task is. He should ignore Satan and the evil ideas that will magnify this small task as being difficult or even impossible. Thus, gradually, he can extend this period by experiment and see how easy it is to get rid of an evil habit or to acquire a positive merit.
• Step 5: Guarding against evil: A person struggling against his own self should constantly concentrate upon his intentions. If any time the idea of violating divine commands occurs to him, he should know that this idea has been instilled into his mind by Satan and his allies, who want to deter him from his good resolution. He ought to curse them, seek God’s compassionate protection, and banish those evil ideas from the realm of his heart. He should reply to Satan that this day also he has to abide by the condition imposed upon his own self that he will not go against God’s commands. Thus with the help of God, Satan will be driven away.
One must remain in this same state of mind until night ‑ the time for self-examination and evaluation of his deeds of the whole day. This is the time to see whether he has been honest to his Creator. If he has been faithful to God, he should be thankful to Him. Such a person has gone a step forward in His direction and became an object of His attention. God will thus continue to help him in performing all worldly and religious duties, and will diminish his pains of struggle in the next day.
And if he repeats this exercise many times, he will be accustomed to acts of piety and the eradication of evil traits. He will observe that it does not require overly cumbersome efforts and obedience to God will give him abundant spiritual pleasure. God forbid, if there are any lapses on his part, he must ask God’s forgiveness, and sincerely implore Him that he will be more careful in future. The Merciful God will throw open the doors of grace and compassion to him, and will guide him to the straight path.
• Step 6: Remembrance: During the whole journey of struggle against self, one should constantly remember God and the graces bestowed by Him. He must at each step, thank Him constantly for His help, mercy, and guidance in fulfilling his intentions. The degree of gratitude to God should increase as he attains a higher stage in his struggle against self. He must realize that it was because of God’s help and response to sincere prayers that he was able to get rid of Satan and his allies from the domain of his heart and attain sublime human attributes loved by God. [adapted from Al-Khomeini, Forty Hadith, ch. 1, ‘Jihad al- Nafs’]
Advice to awaken for the struggle against the self
• It is human nature to thank one who has been gracious. Reflect and estimate the seen and unseen favours bestowed on us by the Almighty. All of the creations of God could not even provide a fraction of such bounty.
• Look at the air we breathe day and night, and upon which our existence as well as that of other living beings is dependent. Nothing can remain alive if it is deprived of such air for even a few minutes. What a marvelous gift of God it is! If all men of the world laboured together to create such a gift, they could not do so. In the same way, reflect on other gifts of God such as the external bodily senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch, and inner faculties such as thinking, imagination, and reason, each one of which carries unlimited benefits and which is granted to us by Our Lord.
He is the Creator and King of this vast universe. Human being, a creature crawling on one of the smallest planets miserably fails to grasp the extent of his own small world, whose sun cannot even be compared with far greater suns of innumerable galaxies. Our solar system is nothing compared to several other solar systems, which still elude the powerful telescopes of great explorers and investigators. Look at the human brain — what a fascinating creation it is! Can the combined efforts of all human beings make even a single living neuron (brain cell) that Almighty God has created and created all the time! Surely this God-given brain deserves to be solely the seat of divinely inspired good ideas and not evil thoughts!
• Every living being in this Universe is within the range of His divine vision, so remember God and all His favors, and don’t disobey Him. He fulfills all our needs without having any need for our adoration. Whether you observe His commands or transgress them makes no difference to Him. It is for the sake of our own benefit that He has enjoined good and forbidden indecency.
Overpower satanic ideas and convert the spheres of your mind into divine realm by driving out the evil forces and inviting the divine hosts, so that God may help and protect you in the dangers threatening to befall you in this battle. Do not have any expectations from anyone but God. With all humility and all the tears your eyes can offer, pray to God and seek His assistance to emerge victorious in this crucial battle against the self.
Final Thoughts:
In conclusion, jihad in Islam refers to the spiritual struggle against sin, the struggle to educate and improve our communities, and an armed struggle in defense of the oppressed. Jihad does not refer to a holy war, because war in Islam is never holy; rather, war in Islam can only be just or unjust.
Jihad al-nafs is the struggle against evil ideas, desires and powers of lust, anger, and insatiable imagination, placing all of them under the dictates of reason and faith in obedience to God’s commands, and finally, purging all satanic ideas and influences from one’s soul.
This struggle is considered as the major struggle (al-jihad al-akbar) as it is much more difficult than fighting in the battlefield, for in the struggle against the self, one has to constantly battle enemies that are hosted inside his own existence.
Islamic ethical teachings indicate that the one who succeeds in this struggle can rise above and beyond the level of angels, and one who fails in this struggle will descend to a level lower than the level of animals, and may even be grouped among the legions of the devil.
Success comes from Allah, and Allah knows best.
