i want to fight my soul so what is the way

8/6/2019 I Want to Fight My Soul So What is the Way

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It is vital that a person launches a war against his soul. One which is not haphazard or

aimless but rather a firm and determined one in which he uses the weapons of faith

(eemaan), sincerity to Allaah (ikhlaas), patience (sabr) and supplication (du'a). He usesthem until he is able to overcome this mischievous enemy which is concealed between

the two sides of his body [the soul, which commands the evil]. As a result he tames and

pacifies it and makes it obedient, humble and submissive to the command of Allaah.

For this reason we find that Ibn al-Qayyim (rh) says: 'Since the jihaad against the enemiesof Allaah outwardly (i.e. physically) is a branch of the jihaad of the servant against his

own soul for the sake of Allaah...'

The jihaad that is greater and mightier than the jihaad against the disbelievers and pagans

is the jihaad of a person against his own soul for the sake of Allaah, just as the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) said: "The Mujaahid is the one who struggles

against his own soul in Allaah's obedience." [Tirmidhee who said it was Hasan Saheeh

and Al-Albaanee said: 'Its isnaad is good']

And when a person is not able to struggle against his own soul and overcome it in that

which Allaah loves, he will not be able to fight against the external enemy, nor overcome

it. How can he, when he is defeated and weak, both mentally and spiritually, and cannot

even gain control of his own feeble soul?

Before entering into the discussion of how to fight against the soul it is necessary to

mention a little section about the soul and its nature. Then we shall mention the cure for

the soul and the way to purify it from its desires and lusts, if Allaah wills.

The Reality of the Soul

The soul continuously calls its owner to transgression, preference of the world, the

desires and love of the delights and pleasures. But Allaah calls His servant to fear of Him,awe of Him and forbids the soul from its whim. He has prepared a mighty reward for the

one who follows His command. The Exalted said:

And as for the one fears the standing in front of His Lord and restrains the soul

from impure evil desires and lusts, verily, Paradise will be his abode. [Soorah

Naazi'aat 79:40-41]

The soul in its essence calls and commands the evil. Allaah the Exalted said:

Verily the (human) self is inclined to evil, except when my Lord bestows His Mercy

(upon whomsoever He wills). Verily, my Lord is Oft-Forgiving, Most-Merciful.

[Soorah Yoosuf 12:53]

The soul was originally created ignorant and given to transgression. Knowledge,

guidance and righteousness are things that befall it due to inspiration from its Lord and



then by the struggle against it by its owner and his nurturing it and engaging it in jihaad.

Allaah the Exalted says:

And those who strive in Our way We shall guide them to our paths and verily

Allaah is with the doers of good (muhsinoon). [Soorah Ankabut 29:69]

Allaah Azzawajall guaranteed the one whom He found trying and striving (against his

soul) that He will be with him, will help him and will bring into reality his wish or desire

(of domination over his soul). What then can a man desire after that?

And Ibn al-Qayyim (rh) said: "The travellers to Allaah, in all their different paths anddiversity of their ways are agreed that the soul is a barrier between the heart and Allaah

and that it (the heart) will not come close to Him, the Sublime, or arrive to Him except

after killing his soul , abandoning it by opposing it and being victorious over it"

For this reason, it is obligatory upon us to fight and strive against it in order to travel (by

this striving) in the straight path and to the clear success which Allaah Azzawajall has prescribed for us and which the best of the creation of Allaah, Muhammad (sallallaahu

alaihi wasallam) has explained to us.

Know that striving against the soul does not occur except by four ways. Whoever followsthem and applies them to his soul will have fought against it and protected it with the

help of Allaah. Ibn al-Qayyim (rh) has mentioned these ways and they are as follows:

Firstly: By holding the soul to account

Secondly: By opposing it and not following its whims and desires

Thirdly: By making it patient in Allaah's obedience

Fourthly: By making it patient in refraining Allaah's disobedience

The First Way: Holding the Soul to Account

The destruction of the soul and the heart and their corruption is due to the neglect of

calling the soul to account. There are very few amongst Allaah's servants whom you willfind calling their souls to account. One will ask it constantly: What did I intend with that

word of mine, or that advice I gave, or when I called unto Allaah or when I commanded

the good and forbade the evil (on a particular occasion)? Was that word which my tongueengaged upon and which my mouth uttered a word sincerely for Allaah? Did I desire the

Face of Allaah with it? Or did I desire a portion of the world with it? What did I desire

with that action, whether it was prayer, charity, fasting or putting and end to a certainevil? What did I hope for from it and what was the desire behind it? Did I hope for

reward from Allaah for it and His pleasure, or was my hope for reward and praise from

Allaah's creation, showing off and seeking to be heard of?

In such a way does he question his soul and hold it to account for every word, movementand moment of rest. What did I hope for from it? And what did I desire by it?



May Allaah show mercy to Al-Hasan al-Basree who said: "You will not find a believer

except that he is (constantly) holding his soul to account. What did I intend with that

word of mine? What did I intend with my food? What did I intend with my drink?"

Imaam Ahmad wrote: "The intelligent person is the one who controls his own soul (calls

it to account) and acts (in preparation) for what comes after death...", and what is after death? After death is the barzakh. After death there is accountability and punishment.

After death are the Scales (upon which the deeds are weighed) and the Siraat (the bridgeover Hellfire) and then it is either Paradise or Hellfire. So what have we prepared for

what comes after death?! "...and the incapable person is the one who makes his soul

follow its whim and has many expectations from Allaah."

Such a person is the one who says 'Allaah will forgive me, Allaah will show mercy uponme', he covets all these things from Allaah and yet he does not perform the righteous

actions and falls into many sins and acts of disobedience. Righteous actions are one of the

means of entering Paradise. It is not sufficient for someone to have expectations (from

Allaah) without making some effort and sacrifice and striving with his soul to performrighteous actions. Allaah Azzawajall frequently links eemaan with righteous actions and

it is also one of the ways of entering into Paradise. We ask Allaah to grant us HisGardens.

Umar ibn al-Khattaab said: "Call your souls to account before you are called to account

and weigh your souls (i.e. your actions) before you are weighed for it will make the

accountability easier for you tomorrow if you call your selves to account today"[Reported by Ahmad in his Musnad]

Maalik ibn Deenaar (rh) said:"May Allaah show mercy to a servant who said :'Are you

not the perpetrator of this action? Are you not the perpetrator of that action? Then herebukes it, strikes it and confines it to the Book of Allaah and is becomes its master andguide.'"

How many souls are their who control and lead their owners into the darkness and then

into destruction and refuge is sought from Allaah! Let a person therefore, be the leader,

the commander and the forbidder of his soul and not the soul of him.

And Al-Hasan (rh) said: "A believer is a guardian over his soul. He calls his soul to

account for the sake of Allaah. The reckoning on the Day of Judgement will be light upon

a people who call themselves to account in the world and the reckoning on the Day of

Judgement will be hard on a people who take this matter lightly."

And Ibn Katheer (rh) said: "The believer (constantly) returns to his soul (holding it to

account) so he says: 'What did I intend by this action?! What is for me and what is for it?!

By Allaah I shall never return to it.' If it is an act of disobedience for example, it is a wayof guarding his soul. He asks it constantly and calls it to account with an intense and hard

reckoning in this world so that the reckoning on the Day of Judgement is easy."



performed in the best possible way. The right of Allaah upon the servant in every act of

obedience consists of six matters:

1. Sincerity in the action (for the sake of Allaah alone) ,2. Pure devotion to Allaah in it,

3. Following and imitating the Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) in it,4. Seeing and observing excellence in it

5. Seeing Allaah’s Benevolence in it6. Seeing one’s shortcomings (in performing this action) after all of this.

So a person will call himself to account. Has he considered all these things with care and

attention, the way they ought to be? And did he fulfil them all in this action?

The second: A person calls himself to account for every action that he did, theabandonment of which would have been better for him than actually doing it.

The third: A person calls himself to account for a matter that is mubaah (permissible -with no reward or punishment resulting from it). Why did he do it? And did he desire the

Face of Allaah and the home of the Hereafter by it so that he will have profited andsucceeded? Or did he desire by it, the world and its temporary rewards and delights as a

result of which he loses that success

A person will call himself to account so that one day when he is sixty years old he will be

counting his days and will find that they are twenty-one thousand and six-hundred innumber. He lets out a scream and says: "Woe be to me, I will meet my Lord with twenty-

one thousand sins. How will it be when there are thousands of sins in a day?!" Then he

falls to the ground unconscious, and dies.

Let us therefore, look at the strictness and intensity of the way he called himself toaccount and the way in which he saw his sins to be against him. What then, will our

condition be?!

One amongst the Salaf would choose a certain time, late at night, to call his soul to

account. He would ask himself about the obligatory duties first and if he found anydeficiency in them, he would complete them, either by fulfilling them or by making up

for them.

Then he would call his soul to account with respect to the forbidden matters since he did

something which the Sharee'ah has forbidden or which the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihiwasallam) warned against. So he would make up for it by seeking forgiveness from

Allaah and then being remorseful and repenting from it.

Then he would hold his soul to account for its heedlessness. If he had been heedless of what he had been created for he would make up for it with the remembrance of Allaah,

directing his attention towards Him and performing His worship. If he had been heedless



with respect to a certain sin and went on to commit it, he would return to Allaah, seeking

forgiveness from Him, repenting to Him.

He then goes on to call himself to account about what he said and uttered on a certainday, or to what his feet walked towards or what his hands grasped or what his eyes saw or

what his ears heard and so on. He would therefore, see whether his action was inagreement with what Allaah is pleased with and whether he desired Allaah with his

action and made it sincerely and purely for Him. Or did a blemish or impurity mix withhis action such as showing off or seeking to be heard of, or opposing the command of

Allaah (in the way that he performed his action).

Therefore, he throws against every one of his actions or his words two questions: For

whom did I do it?! Was it for Allaah or other than Him? This a question about sincerity toAllaah. The other question: How did I do it?! Was it in agreement with the Book of

Allaah and the Sunnah? Was it in agreement with the Sharee'ah or did it oppose and

contradict the Sharee'ah (this is a question about following and imitating the way of the

Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam)).

There are Great Benefits in Calling the Soul to Account

Amongst them are:

1. Realising the shortcomings and weaknesses of the soul. Whoever does not know the

weaknesses of his soul will not be able to put an end to them.

We can observe this quality in our Pious Predecessors. Due to the intensity with which

they called their souls to account, they knew all their shortcomings and faults. Yoonus

bin Ubaid said: "Indeed, I know of a hundred characteristics from among thecharacteristics of goodness and I do not know whether I possess a single one of them."Therefore, we find him to be the most knowledgeable of people of his own self. He

knows what his soul is in need of and what it hopes for and other such matters.

And Muhammad bin Waasi' said: "If sins were to produce a smell, no one would be able

to sit next to me"

2. Knowing the right of Allaah upon oneself. This will instill in the servant hatred of his

own soul and its contempt. It will purify him from being amazed with his actions and also

from showing off. Ibn al-Qayyim said: "Verily, hatred of the soul for the sake of Allaah

is one of the characteristics of the Siddeeqoon (the truthful and the sincere)."

Imaam Ahmad has mentioned in his book az-Zuhd that Wahb (ibn Munabbah) said: "It

has reached me that the Prophet of Allaah, Moosa, passed by a man who was calling

upon Allaah and was humbling himself. He (Moosa) said: O my Lord, show mercy toHim as I have shown mercy to Him. Then Allaah inspired to him: If he calls upon me

until his...... I would not respond to Him until He looks at My right over Him."



Looking at the right of Allaah opens the door towards submission, humility and defeat in

front of Allaah. The one who reflects about the condition of the people nowadays will

find that most of them do the opposite of this. They look at their own rights upon Allaah,at their needs from Him but do not look at the right of Allaah upon themselves.

We will find one of them when he is inflicted with a calamity or misfortune on account of

what his own hands have committed, angry, irritated and grumbling. He does not even

ask his ownself: What is the cause of this misfortune, this calamity? And he is not awarethat it is due to his sins and his disobedience to Allaah.

Likewise we find that many amongst mankind have been cut off from Allaah and their

hearts have been veiled from knowing Him. To Allaah then, is the complaint and there is

no power nor movement except by Allaah.

The Second Way: Struggling Against the Soul by Opposing it and not

Following its Desires

Ibn Taymiyyah (rh) says: "And this is by not following its desires and opposing what the

soul desires. Opposing the soul occurs by opposing its desires and its desires do not ariseexcept by following Shaytaan. Therefore it is vital to oppose Shaytaan and seeking refuge

in and recoursing to Allaah from his whisperings and his plans. Shaytaan enters upon the

soul and penetrates into it with two matters or from two doors. It is necessary for us toknow them, oppose them and to close them tight in the face of Shaytaan the Accursed

and Rejected:

The First: Due to excessiveness and squandering. This happens by giving ones soul

whatever it desires of food, speech, sleep and other such matters which the soul makes itsowner aspire for, what it cannot do without and what it loves. Therefore it is incumbent

upon a person that he does not give his soul its need and desire in its entirety. He should

not be extravagant and excessive in giving it food, sleep and other such delights and pleasures. When he shuts this door, against his own soul and against Shaytaan he will

acquire peace and security.

Thus, we will find that a person has been forbidden from excessive food and speech,

letting the gaze wander too much, mixing with people and accompanying them in excesssince giving the soul whatever it desires is among the things which if done excessively

and continuously hardens to heart and makes it heedless. This leads to the hearts death

and refuge is sought from Allaah! Thus, the door of fasting has been opened and we have been urged to fast. Even voluntary fasting has been strongly encouraged. Fasting puts an

end to the desire and excessive eating. Thus Islam has encouraged fasting and made it

beloved to its adherents.

Likewise, there is an excellence attached to the night prayer (tahajjud). It prevents a person from excessive sleep. A person will strive against his soul and wage war against it

in order to pray during the night and fast during the day. He will continue in this until his



soul submits and humbles itself to these acts of worship. The soul will then find the joy

and delight of fasting and praying at night.

It is also, from the wisdom of Islam that urges the muslim to be silent unless he hassomething beneficial to say. The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) said:

"Whoever believes in Allaah and the Last Day, let him speak good or remain silent."Perhaps, due to his excessive speaking and shouting he will not be on his guard from the

danger of falling into backbiting, lying, slandering and other such matters.

The Second: Being ignorant and heedless of Allaah's remembrance. Shaytaan exhausts

himself in gaining mastery over the soul so that he can prevent it from Allaah's

remembrance. The one who remembers Allaah is in a strong fortress, protected from

Shaytaan as long as he does not forget or become heedless. Whoever becomes heedless,he will open up a small gap for the enemy by which he can get to him and then penetrate

into his soul and whisper to it. This is why there is a strong encourangement and

recommendation for making the various supplications and reciting portions of the Qur'an

during every moment and in every place until they become a sanctuary and a preventivemeasure for the one who uses them.

There exist, for example, supplications for the evening, the morning, for entering into the

house and leaving it, for sleeping and awakening and others besides them. Fightingagainst the soul occurs by checking and curbing the defiance of its desires and its lusts.

And with the abundant remembrance of Allaah a preventive barrier is set up against every

destructive lust or transgressing desire.

Abu Hafs said: "Whoever does not oppose his soul at every moment and situation anddoes not make it perform those things which it dislikes, at all times, is deceived and has

destroyed it (his soul)."

Al-Hasan (rh) said: "A believer becomes amazed with something (that he likes) and says:By Allaah, I desire you and you are certainly one of my needs. But by Allaah, there is no

way towards you. How far you are, there is a barrier between me and you!"

A person knows what his soul wants and desires. It is therefore, essential for him not to

give it everything that it covets and desires. It is also vital for him to confine and straitenhis soul so that he does not go to excesses in giving it what it seeks.

We know that Umar (ra), when his wife desired a sweet (dish), forbade her from it

because he knew than if she asks for a sweet (dish) today, she will ask for something elsetomorrow which is greater. So he closed the door upon her at the very beginning. Thecondition of most people however, is that a person will be generous to his soul and

shower upon his soul whatever it asks of him and even what it does not even ask of him.

So his soul becomes tired and fed up due to his extravagance and excess. What is our condition then, when compared to that of our Pious Predecessors? We direct our

complaint to Allaah!!



The Third Way: Making the Soul Patient in Allaah's Obedience

The soul runs away often from some acts of worship because they are amongst the things

it does not desire. This continues due to certain causes prevent a person from desiring

these acts of worship. Amongst them are laziness in performing acts of worship (such as

prayer) and the love of sleep. As a result, the opportunity to perfom much worship passeshim by. It can also occur due to miserliness. A person will not give the obligatory charity

or other things which are required of him so that they become endeared to the soul and

the soul begins to aspire for them after it had been fleeing from them.

It is vital that there is a spiritual war, which can be intense and hard, but with a strong

will, turning to Allaah, making continuous du'a (supplication) to Allaah and requesting

His help in this act of obedience to Him, this matter will be made easy for him. AndAllaah will lighten his burden for him until these acts (of worship) are beloved to the

soul.

All of this cannot occur except after fighting and struggling against the soul. A personwill find himself in many trials and intense battles along with his capability of avoidingsuch actions. This means that a person, even though he is in need and capable of fasting,

will not fast due to following his whims and even though he is capable he will not pray

and as a result please his desires and his soul which commands the evil.

However, we find that another person fasts voluntarily, although he is not in need of fasting voluntarily (to curb his desires) and neither does his soul aspire towards fasting.

Yet he still declares war upon his soul and fights against it (with fasting and prayer) so

that he makes it do what he desires and not let it make him do what it commands anddesires.

Therefore, patience when accompanied with performing those actions (such as prayer and

fasting) upon which the soul perseveres is considered the greatest and most perfect form

of patience as Ibn Taymiyyah (rh) has explained. And Ibn al-Qayyim (rh) said: "Verily,having patience in obedience (to Allaah) occurs by performing an act of obedience, then

guarding it and being persistent in (performing) it."

This is the thing which very few amongst us are able to do, that we show patience in

continually observing obedience to Allaah and persisting in such obedience. This is because the soul gets bored with it and does not have the desire to perform it another

time. At this stage showing patience and realising the great excellence this action has in

the sight of Allaah is required. The actions most loved by Allaah are the ones which are performed continuously, even if they are small actions. The Messenger of Allaah

(sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) used to love, when he performed an action, that he remained

constant upon it.

The saying of the the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) to Abdullaah bin Umar: "Donot be like so and so who would prayer during the whole of the night and then abandoned

it", was nothing but a means of encouraging him to be constant in his good actions. It is



also necessary that along with being continuous in ones actions, a person also beautifies

them and excels in them and this occurs with having Ikhlaas (sincerity) and dings them in

accordance with the command of Allaah and His Messenger (sallallaahu alaihiwasallam).

The Fourth Way: Fighting Against the Soul and Making it Patient inRefraining from Allaah's Disobedience

This means that a person holds his soul to account in order to make himself distant fromfalling into disobedience while also bearing in mind that the reasons and motives of

falling into the sin are numerous. Among such reasons are the strength of ones

youthfulness and manhood, since the youth are known to love the pleasures and joys of this world.

When a person turns away from an act of disobedience even though he has the

opportunity and is capable of performing it, he has turned his soul away from the

unlawful and has opposed his soul, pleasing Allaah thereby, and being obedient to Him.He has struggled with his soul and fought against it with a strong and intense battle. As a

result of this he overcomes and dominates it and he will receive success and prosperity in

this world and the Hereafter with the permission of Allaah.

And Shaikh-ul-Islaam (rh) said: "Showing patience in (avoiding) the unlawful things ismore excellent than showing patience in calamities and afflictions. Whoever abandoned

an act of disobedience although he was capable of performing it is one whose fight

against his soul is most intense and most excellent. This is because he left a thing whichhis soul tempted him with and made him aspire for. So he opposed it and was capable of

defeating it."

This is why the youth who is tempted by a women of rank and beauty and says to her: "I

fear Allaah" will be amongst the seven whom Allaah will shade on the Day when therewill be no shade except for His, because he prevented his soul from committing what it

desired and wanted and at the same time he was capable of performing it.

Likewise, the one who lowers his gaze although he has the opportunity and capability to

look at something unlawful is amongst those who fight against and deterr their souls.Along with that he will receive a mighty reward in this world and the hereafter.

Also, the one who keeps his hearing away from the forbidden things such as music and

singing, backbiting, slandering and lying, is a fighter against his soul and he will obtain areward from Allaah if his action was to please Allaah.

A similar analogy can be made for every matter that makes a person distant from his Lord

or earns His anger. It is vital for a person to be far from it and to oppose his soul in

performing it.

And how excellent is the saying:



Oppose the soul and shaytaan and protect it (the soul)They (seem to) give you sincere advice, so restrain them both

Therefore, a person must oppose his soul and call it to account constantly. As a result of this he must make it patient in doing acts of obedience and refraining from acts of

disobedience. He should also make it patient in being continuous in performing therighteous actions so that he ascends with them, to the highest of positions, to the pleasure

of Allaah and to everlasting happiness.

I ask Allaah, the Most High and the Powerful to benefit us with what He has taught us

and to teach us that which wil benefit us and that He forgives our mistakes. We ask him

to help us against our souls and that He does not leave us to rely upon ourselves for a

single moment, verily, He is capable of that and Allaah knows best.

Prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family.

Written by

Nawwaal bint Abdillaah

May Allaah forgive her, her parents and all the muslim men and women.

i want to fight my soul so what is the way

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