International Shia News Agency
All NewsFeaturedOther NewsReligious Articles

Struggle of the Self & Battle of the Heart : How to Live an Islamic Lifestyle (Part 8)

Quran 84:6

SHAFAQNA | by Mohamed Alnajjar: Continuing from our previous subject about how to live an Islamic lifestyle we mentioned numerous statistics that belong to the births, deaths, the corona virus, and other factors that are currently affecting human life. In addition, we also mentioned the other factors that affect human life such as our own actions and we said that some human beings on the day of judgement will try to run away from their evil actions however their own organs will become a witness against them on the day of Judgement.

Also, we mentioned that the holy prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:

رسول الله (صلى الله عليه وآله): أعدى عدوك نفسك التي بين جنبيك

The worst enemy is your own self. [1]

If many of us were to read this narration from our holy dear prophet (PBUH), it is very easy that one may get confused. How can it be that myself can become my own enemy? For example, if I have a goal in mind that I want to achieve and sometimes I may get some whispers that go against my will and determination this is can become a barrier for your objective and goal and will hinder your progress and success.

In this way we can get an idea of how we are our obstacle and barrier. This phenomenon is called the “struggle of the self” which is also known as the “Greatest Jihad” in Arabic it is: “Al-jihad-al-Akbar”, and in Farsi: “Mubaraza ba Nafs”. When our self suggests us to do actions, they maybe in the favor of the will of Allah (SWT) or they maybe in favor of Satan. This constant struggle as we know it to be according to the holy scripts is like a never-ending internal war that its battle is in the heart. Every time we sin, one black dot is stained on our heart and when we conduct a good deed, we receive 10 good deeds and allows the light to enter our hearts.

The Holy Quran says:

Quran 84:6

يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنسَانُ إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ كَدْحًا فَمُلَاقِيهِ

O man! You are laboring toward your Lord laboriously, and you will encounter God.[2]

Meaning that you are constantly struggling until you reach your creator. To reach our creator we must defeat and overcome our self, this self that is mentioned in the Holy Quran:

Quran 12:53

وَمَا أُبَرِّئُ نَفْسِي ۚ إِنَّ النَّفْسَ لَأَمَّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ إِلَّا مَا رَحِمَ رَبِّي ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّي غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

‘Yet I do not absolve my [own carnal] soul, for the [carnal] soul indeed prompts [men] to evil, except in as much as my Lord has mercy. Indeed, my Lord is All-Forgiving, All-Merciful. [3]

In conclusion, we must defeat this self in this holy war that is ongoing and will never end till we reach our lord, and one of the best strategies that we can use in combating the self is with the remembrance of the tragedies of the Ahlal-Bayt (A.S) and especially the remembrance of the tragedy of Imam Hussain (A.S) since this kills the “I” and the self of the human being. In the next article we will focus on destroying the “I” in us until there is no “I” in us and all we have in our heart is Allah (SWT) and his holy progeny.

[1] تنبيه الخواطر: ١ / ٥٩

[2] Al-Inshiqaq 84:6

[3] Yusuf 12:53

Human being is a witness over himself: How to live an Islamic lifestyle (Part 7)

Fundamentals of Islamic Law (Part 2)

Related posts

[Photos] Khatm Quran begins in holy shrine of Imam Hussain (AS)

parniani

Muslims distribute copies of the Quran in Netherlands

nasibeh yazdani

Cairo: Int’l book fair displays the Qurans & religious books in Braille

nasibeh yazdani

Jordan: One million copies of the Quran printed by Awqaf Ministry

nasibeh yazdani

Najaf: Int’l Quranic Event on the Occasion of Imam Ali’s (AS) Birth Anniversary [Photos]

parniani

[Photos] The Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) birth celebrations in Pakistan

asadian

Leave a Comment