[buchmausar]

Are there any scholarly articles on-line or books on the ruh and nafs. I am also interested in something which discusses the word ruh in the qur'an and all its various uses in context.

This is only one small thing I came across, but it is in no means comprehensive:

http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?id=...tent&task=view

I am looking for more in-depth, comprehensive studies.

Thank you.

[sportlife]

Asalam alykum Sister PouringRain,

What exactly are you looking for? Is there any aspect to ruh and nafs you want to read?

Brother Taliban1 recomended this on controlling your nafs. I am interested in reading about how one can tame the nafs so here it goes:
http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/show...ghlight=siiasi

[Adimonnna]

Dear PouringRain, if your interest is deep, please consider this:

http://seekersguidance.org/courses/SPR120

or read Imam al-Ghazali chapter on the "wonders of the heart" from his ihya'...

Could I ask if you are considering becoming muslim?

[buchmausar]

Thank you both for your replies.

Asalam alykum Sister PouringRain,

What exactly are you looking for? Is there any aspect to ruh and nafs you want to read?

Brother Taliban1 recomended this on controlling your nafs. I am interested in reading about how one can tame the nafs so here it goes:
http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/show...ghlight=siiasi

The link isn't working for me for some reason.

With regard to ruh and nafs, I was thinking I'd like to read, most specifically, maybe scholarly works that compare and contrast the two and discuss them in depth. Also, with regard to ruh, I'd like to knwo if there are any works that discuss the various ways it is used in the qur'an

Dear PouringRain, if your interest is deep, please consider this:

http://seekersguidance.org/courses/SPR120

or read Imam al-Ghazali chapter on the "wonders of the heart" from his ihya'...

Could I ask if you are considering becoming muslim?

That course looks fascinating, but unfortunately I couldn't afford something like that at this time in my life. I will look for the Imam al-Ghazali chapter. I see there is a website, so I will search for it on there.

Thank you for your final question, but I am not considering converting to Islam at this time.

[Lxbsvksl]

Thank you both for your replies.

The link isn't working for me for some reason.

You can download from here:

http://www.siiasi.org/Sawq's-Sidiqeen.pdf

[vqIo7X2U]

salam,
Mashaallah, amazing sessions by Shaykh Yahya Rhodus..Please watch all the 9 sessions. I'm sure you can get some gems out of it... insyaAllah!If you want to read the book "Disciplining the soul by Imam Ghazali rh, click on my signature below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPELaNT3aqM

[buchmausar]

Thank you, taliban1 and firaswagner.




If I come across any specific question while I am reading and watching things, I'll be sure to ask in this thread. If anyone has anything else to contribute, everything is appreciated. ( I can become quite obsessive when studying something new. LOL )

[buchmausar]

I wanted to bump up this old thread of mine to see if anyone has more suggestions on this topic.

BTW I did watch the Yahya Rhodus videos back then, and I did read the other materials in here. Please no more Yahya Rhodus videos. I had to minimize them just to be able to listen to him...... because watching him was a really, really unpleasant experience. Sorry.

[JosephEL]

I wanted to bump up this old thread of mine to see if anyone has more suggestions on this topic.

BTW I did watch the Yahya Rhodus videos back then, and I did read the other materials in here. Please no more Yahya Rhodus videos. I had to minimize them just to be able to listen to him...... because watching him was a really, really unpleasant experience. Sorry.

I have a book in which the differences between the ruh and Nafs are explained. If I get sometime tomorrow inshaAllah I will post it for you.

[buchmausar]

I have a book in which the differences between the ruh and Nafs are explained. If I get sometime tomorrow inshaAllah I will post it for you.

Thanks. Feel free to take your time. I am going to be gone for a few days soon.

[buchmausar]

The nearest meaning for Ruh is Spirit.
Nafs means ego - Our religious defination of nafs is more advance than Fraudian take.
http://www.tasawwuf.org/basics/fighting_ego.htm

Thanks, Nomadic. (I'm surprised Freud would even come up in this thread. Haha.)

Do you have more specific information on the ruh and nafs? Also, in the link I provided in the first post it likens the nafs to the soul. Since you equate it to the ego, would you say that the soul and the ego are the same? Or would you say that the ego is only one aspect of the soul, and the soul also includes other things? Would you say that the soul also is comprised of things such as personality, temperament, etc? With regard to the ruh, what are the functions that the ruh serves?

Maybe my questions will help lead more to the information I am seeking. I am wanting a more detailed study of the ruh and nafs.

[buchmausar]

Another thing regarding these..... and maybe someone knows of a search website where I can find the information on my own..... but I am interested in looking at the verses in the Qur'an the refer to the ruh and nafs. A transliteration would be nice also.

[sitescools]

Another thing regarding these..... and maybe someone knows of a search website where I can find the information on my own..... but I am interested in looking at the verses in the Qur'an the refer to the ruh and nafs. A transliteration would be nice also.

Search any word from the Qur'an (translation or transliteration) in this website.
http://www.searchtruth.com/search.ph...rch_word=exact

[buchmausar]

Search any word from the Qur'an (translation or transliteration) in this website.
http://www.searchtruth.com/search.ph...rch_word=exact

Thanks!

[sitescools]

Thanks!

No problem.

[JosephEL]

Another thing regarding these..... and maybe someone knows of a search website where I can find the information on my own..... but I am interested in looking at the verses in the Qur'an the refer to the ruh and nafs. A transliteration would be nice also.

Excerpts from Maulana Idris Kandehlawi's Rahmatullahi 'alaih's book Siratul Mustafa:




Ruh and Nafs



The 'Ulama have voiced a myriad of opinions over the reality of the Ruh (soul) but in actual fact, only Allah Ta'ala, the All-Knowing, is really acquainted with its reality. Hafiz Ibn Arsalan writes in Matn Al-Zabadain:


"And the Ruh (soul) is that as disclosed to us by Rasulullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam. So, we restrain ourselves by not voicing our personal opinions out of respect for him."

At this juncture, the aim is not to mystify or stress the reader by citing the diverse opinions of the philosophers and doctors about the reality of the soul. Here the idea is merely to briefly discuss the direction of the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah of Rasulullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam as far as the reality of the soul and nafs is concerned and to what extent have we been enlightened about its attributes and conditions.

According to the majority of the 'Ulama, the ruh (soul) is an incredibly resplendent subtle 'body' that course through the entire human body just as rose oil dissolves in water or as the essence of olives mingles with oil or as fire penetrates coal etc. As long as this delicate body is course through the dense body, until then this dense body (the human body) remains alive and the moment this delicate body detaches itself from this dense body, this dense body will perish. The intimate relationship and close link between the delicate body and the dense body is referred to as 'life' whilst their separation from each other is referred to as 'death'.

That the soul is a delicate 'body' is corroborated by a number of Qur'anic verses and Ahadith of Rasulullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam. For instance, clutching or releasing the soul, the angels stretching out their hands to extract the soul or the soul surfing up to the throat as death approaches etc. The Holy Qur'an distinctly mentions all these attributes of the soul. This clearly indicates that the soul is a 'body, form or substance'. It appears in the Hadith that when the soul of the believer is extracted, he is able to observe this extraction of the soul. The soul of the believer flies about the tress of Jannah like a bird and eats the fruits therein with relish. It relaxes between the lamps of the throne. A believer's sould is draped in a shroud of Jannah and transported to the skies by the angels. The portals of heaven are thrown open in reception of this blessed soul. The noble angels of every level of the heavens cordially receive and bid farewell to it as it ascends to the various levels until it reaches the presence of Allah Ta'ala. As the soul of the disbeliever, his soul is tossed into the lowest of the low and finally flung into Sijjin (a deep pit in which the register recording the evils of the wicked is deposited and the register itself is referred to as Sijjin). The angels drape the soul of a believer in a silken shroud from Jannah whilst the soul of a disbeliever is shrouded in thick coarse fabric. The soul of a believer is scented with sweet-smelling perfume and as it makes its way and passes by, the angels exclaim in wonder: "Subhanallah! What a pure soul."As for the soul of the disbeliever, it emits an offensive odour."

In his book "Kitab Al-Ruh", Hafiz Ibn Qayyim cites one hundred and sixteen proofs corroborating the soul to be a 'delicate body'. In his proofs, he only cites the Qur'an, Sunnah and the opinions of the pious predecessors. Hafiz Ibn Qayyim says: "The Holy Qur'an, the Sunnah and the unanimous verdict of the esteemed Sahabah confirms the soul to be a delicate body. An untarnished and unbiased disposition would also uphold this view." 1

In his book "Irshad" Imam Ghazali's teacher, Imamul Haramain defines the soul as a body as we mentioned above. The same has been recorded by 'Allamah Taftazani in Sharh Maqasid under the chapter dealing with resurrection. After citing the opinion of Imam Al-Haramain in "Sirr Ar-Ruh" 'Allamah Baqa'i writes: "In unveiling the mystery of the soul, the Qur'an, Sunnah, the unanimity of Sahabah and logical natural reasoning all distinctly establish this opinion to be accurate, that the soul is a delicate body thaht penetrates the dense body.

Shaikh 'Izzud-Din bin 'Abdus-Salam says:

"It is possible that all souls are Nurani (luminous), delicate and translucently clean. There is also a possibility that this luminosity is exclusively found in the souls of the angels and believers and not in the souls of the disbelievers and the Shayatin." 2

It is mentioned in the Hadith dealing with the Sur (trumpet of Qiyamah):

"Israfil 'Alaihis salam would beckon all the souls and they would all draw close to him. The souls of the believers will shimmer with radiance whilst the other souls (of the disbeliever) will be menacingly dark." 3

We deduce from the basis of this Hadith that the luminosity of the souls is exclusive to the souls of the believers whilst the souls of the disbelievers will be ominously gloomy. However, from a congenital and natural perspective, there is a possibility that the souls of everyone; believers and disbelievers alike, are luminous, as is mentioned in a Hadith: "Every child is born upon upon a natural disposition. His parents then turn him into a Jew, Christian or Zoroastrian." A believer's sould would grow to be even more luminous because Iman is actually a Nur (luminosity) and the soul of a disbeliever turns dark due to his wicked kufr (disbelief). When the Hajar-Aswad (black stone) descended to this earth from Jannah, it was reputedly whiter than milk. The sins of the children of Adam blackened it to its current state. Similarly, it is possible that the soul of a disbeliever was congenitally luminous and it turned black and gloomy due to his disbelief and polytheism. Kufr, in raelity is darkness whilst Iman is radiance. As Allah Ta'ala says:

"Allah is the guardian of the believers. He extracts them from darknesses towards light. And those who disbelieve, their supporters are Taghut (false deities) who extracts them from light towards darknesses."

[Surah Al-Baqarah verse 257]

This verse unambigously attests to the fact that Iman is a light whilst kufr is darkness. The radiance of the faces of the believers and the blackness of the faces of the disbelievers on the day of judgement is clearly mentioned in the Holy Qur'an. Allah Ta'ala declares: "And on the day when faces will turn white (in radiance) and faces will turn black (in gloom)." This will be carried out to expose the luminosity of Iman and the darkness of kufr. This is why the angels extract and drape the soul of a believer in a white shroud and wrap the soul of a disbeliever in a coarse black cloth.

Nonetheless, from the Qur'anic verses and Ahadith we learn that the color white signifies compliance to Allah Ta'ala whilst black is the color of disobedience and sin. This is not the place to go into detail.



Difference between Ruh and Nafs



According to some scholars, there is absolutely no difference between the Ruh and the Nafs (self). It is one and the same thing. However, according to the research scholars, the Ruh and Nafs are two distinctly different things.

Ustaz Abul-Qasim Qushayri Rahimahullahu Ta'ala says: "The wellspring of good character is referred to as the Ruh and the source of immoral character is referred to as the Nafs. But the commonality between them is that both of them are 'delicate bodies'. As in the case of angels and Shayatin; the commonality between them is that both are delicate bodies but the angels are Nuri (luminous) whilst the Shayatin are Nari (ingeous or fiery). The angels were created from light whilst the Shayatin were produced from fire as explicitly evident from the narration of Muslim.

Hafiz 'Abdul-Barr Rahimahullahu Ta'ala cites a Hadith in this regard in his book "Tamhid". He quotes:

"Allah Ta'ala created Adam 'Alaihis salam and He place a Ruh and a Nafs within him. So from the Ruh emanates goodness like chastity, intellect, forebearance, generosity, loyalty etc, and from the Nafs originates his lustful desires, recklesness, foolishness, anger etc." 1

In sort, good character emanates from the Ruh whilst immorality originates from the Nafs. Furthermore, a close inspection of the Qur'an and Hadith reveals that licentious desires, foolishness, recklessness and other such immoral character are attributed to the Nafs and to the Ruh. Allah Ta'ala says:

"And for you therein (in Jannah) will be that what you Nafs desires."
[Surah Fussilat verse 31]

"And the Nufus have been possessed by avarice and *****rdliness."
[Surah Nisa verse 128]

"And for him who dreads standing before his Lord and inhibits his Nafs (inner self) from whimsical desires, surely Jannah will be (his) abode."
[Surah Nazi'at verses 40, 41]


In these verses, vile desires, greed and hedonistic impulses are all attributed to the Nafs. Allah Ta'ala did not say: "And for you therein (in Jannah) will be that what you Soul desires" nor "And the Souls have been possessed by avarice and *****rdliness" nor "and inhibits his Soul from whimsical desires". Nafs is used instead.

Take the case of foolishness for instance. Allah Ta'ala says:

"And he who turns away from the creed of Ibrahim 'Alaihis salam except he who befools his Nafs (himself)."
[Surah Baqarah verse 130]

In this verse, foolishness is attributed to the Nafs and not the Ruh. The verse does not read as "he who befooled his Soul".

Furthermore, there are numerous Ahadith encouraging Jihad (waging a battle) against the dictates of the Nafs and it is this Jihad with the Nafs that has been referred to as the 'major Jihad'. Not a single Hadith makes mention of Jihad with the Soul.

Additionally, it appears in a Hadith with a weak chain of narrators that Rasulullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam said: "Your fiercest enemy is your Nafs that appears between both your sides." We establish two things from this Hadith; the first is that the Nafs is man's greatest enemy and secondly, we learn that the location of the Nafs is between the left half and the right half of the human body. This also confirms the distinction between the Nafs and the Ruh because the Ruh cannot be an enemy and secondly, the Ruh penetrates the entire body from head to toe. It is not restricted to the area between the sides.

Furtheremore, Khuzaimah bin Hakim Radhiyallahu 'anhu narrates that he asked Rasulullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam about the location of the Nafs. Rasulullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam replied: "It is within the heart." This Hadith is narrated with a multitude of Sanads in Tabarani, Mu'jam Awsat. 1

What is more, jealousy and pride have also been attributed to the Nafs in the Holy Qur'an. Allah Ta'ala says:

"Out of jealousy that emanated from their Nufus."
[Surah Baqarah verse 109]

Another verse mentions:

"Verily those people were arrogant within their Nufus (within themselves).
[Surah Al-Furqan verse 21]

Moreover Allah Ta'ala says in the Holy Qur'an:

"Verily the Nafs is inclined towards evil."
[Surah Yusuf verse 53]

This verse clearly reveals that the fountainhead of all evils is the Nafs. Nowhere is it mentioned, "The Ruh is inclined to evil".

Wahab bin Munabbah Radhiyallahu 'anhu narrates: "The Ruh beckons a person to good whilst the Nafs tempts a person to evil. If the heart is a Mu'min (believer) it would comply with the dictates of the Ruh". Extracted by Ibn 'Abdul-Barr in Tamhid. 2

It is mentioned in Tabaqat ibn Sa'd on the authority of Wahab bin Munabbah that Allah Ta'ala casted the mould of Adam 'Alaihis salam with sand and water. He then created the Nafs within him and He thereafter blew the Ruh into him." 3

We ascertain from this that the Ruh is something comepletely different to the Nafs. Likewise, the Ruh is from the realm of Amr 1 whilst the Nafs is from the realm of Kalq.

'Allamah Baqa'i writes in his book Sirrur-Ruh:

"In 'Allamah Ibn Jawzi's book "Zadul-Masir" under the commentary of Surah Zumar, it is narrated from Ibn 'Abbas Radhiyallahu 'anhu that man is amalgam of the Ruh and the Nafs. A man employs the Nafs to comprehend and to distinguish whilst the Ruh is employed to breathe and make movements. When a person goes to sleep, Allah Ta'ala takes custody of his Nafs and not his Ruh." Ibn Juraij says: Within the human body is a Nafs and a Ruh and between them is an intervening partition. Whilst a person is asleep, Allah Ta'ala takes possessionof his Nafs and returns it to the body when he awakens. And when Allah Ta'ala has decreed death for a person in his sleep, He does not reinstate the Nafs and also takes possession of the Ruh. And Allah knows best." 2


Profile of the Ruh


The shape of the soul is precisely the same shape as that of a human being. Just as the human body has eyes, nose, hands and feet, similarly, the soul also has eyes, nose, hands and feet etc. Essentially, a human being is actually a soul whilst the physical human body is merely like a garment for the soul. The physical hands are like sleeves to the Ruhani (spiritual) hands. The legs are like the pant legs to the spiritual legs. The head of the physical body is akin to a hat and the face is akin to a veil and so forth.

'Arif Rumi Rahimahullahu Ta'ala says:

"The soul is nothing but Nur (luminescence) whilst the physical body is composed of colors and smells. Abandon the colors and smells and talk about the soul only.

Colors undergo drastic transformation but the soul remains purified; it remains pure of varying hues and pure of turning to dust.

Everything in this world - with all its perspectives and directions - is a creation of Allah Ta'ala but regard the realm of 'Amr and Sifat (divine commandments and attributes) as without any direction.

O man! If you regard the realm of 'Amr as directionless then surely the 'Amir (the commander i.e. Allah Ta'ala) will be moreso directionless.

My soul, like the divine attributes is mysteriously concealed. Whatever example I offer to illustrate this is inconsequential."


1 Kitab Al-Ruh by Ibn Qayyim page 284
2 Sharah Sudur page 216
3 Sharah Sudur page 219

1 Rawdul-Anf volume 1 page 197

1 Sharah Sudur page 217
2 Sharah Sudur page 216
3 Sharah Sudur page 116

1 Refers to a divine commandment whereby Allah Ta'ala commands something to be and it becomes. This is in opposition to the realm of Khaq where Allah Ta'ala creates something. And Allah Ta'ala knows best [Tr.]
2 Sirrur-Ruh page 11

[buchmausar]

Sulaiman84, excellent stuff! Thanks! After I take some time to process it all, if I have any questions I will be certain to ask.

[ordercigsnick]

Deleted after reading Br Sulaiman's excellent comments above.

[JosephEL]

Sulaiman84, excellent stuff! Thanks! After I take some time to process it all, if I have any questions I will be certain to ask.

You're welcome. Please do.

Also, when you get time, check out the books that linked for you in this thread regarding the history and nature of the Qur'an. From a personal observation, I noticed correlations between your take on the Qur'an and the Ruh/Nafs.

http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/show...salaam-alaikum

[buchmausar]

Deleted after reading Br Sulaiman's excellent comments above.

Oh, please feel free to share! Sometimes even the seemingly most simple of comments have the most wonderfully valuable gems.

You're welcome. Please do.

Also, when you get time, check out the books that linked for you in this thread regarding the history and nature of the Qur'an. From a personal observation, I noticed correlations between your take on the Qur'an and the Ruh/Nafs.

http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/show...salaam-alaikum

I will most definitely do that.