The Greater Jihad

by Shaykh Taner Ansari

From Call of the Divine, the Publication of the Qadiri Rifa'i Tariqa copyright 1994, 1995, 1996

Bismillah er Rahman er Rahim, In the Name of Allah the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. All praise belongs to Allah. He owns everything. All power belongs to Him and not to us. May His peace and blessings be on his Prophet Muhammad and his family and on all the other prophets and their families.

Upon returning from the Battle of Badr, our Prophet, Hz. Muhammad (peace be upon him), said, "We are finished with the lesser jihad; now we are starting the greater jihad." That is to say, fighting against an outer enemy is the lesser jihad and fighting against one's nafs (ego) is the greater jihad (holy war).

As Sufis we have chosen to undertake the greater jihad because we want to have nothing between us and Allah. We do this by finding our guide, following a path, and going through the practices of the path. These practices help us to fight against our nafs. To fight nafs we have to know what nafs is and what it does. As our Prophet (saws) said, "He who knows himself, knows his Lord." *

*In the original Arabic all pronouns refer to a universal gender. In the context of this newsletter he symbolizes humankind, both men and women.

Nafs-i-Ammara

There are seven layers of nafs between you and Allah. The first level of nafs is called Commanding Nafs (Nafs-i-Ammara). Generally, everybody starts at this stage: Your ego is dominating you; you are not in control. In other words, the horse is taking you wherever it wants instead of your taking it where you want it to go. You try to run the world and even the universe. You think everybody should act according to your will. When they don't, you say, "Why don't they do this? Why don't they understand me? I know everything. Nobody else knows anything better than I." If you find somebody who knows better or is richer, you become envious, jealous, greedy, stingy, arrogant. You think everybody else is disgusting, arrogant, stingy, and so on, but really it is you who are disgusting. In your dreams you see cats, dogs, fish, lions, tigers, snakes, and other such animals.

Nafs-i-Lawwama

The second level is called the Self-blaming, Complaining or Critical Nafs (Nafs-i-Lawwama). After you pass through the first level, you realize how bad you were. This time you criticize yourself . "I'm so bad. Why did I do this? I am no good. I am terrible." You keep blaming yourself and others too. You are always complaining.

In your dreams you see such things as sheep, cows, edible fruit, palaces, houses, buildings, ships, cars, and unburned candles.

Nafs-i-Mulhama

The third level is called Inspirational Nafs (Nafs-i-Mulhama). After you have passed through the first two levels, you have managed to make a connection to Allah and you start hearing Allah talking to you. (He's always talking to you, but you don't hear it clearly in the first two levels.) You start getting inspirations from your heart.

This level is a very difficult one to pass. Most people get lost here. It is dangerous because you think, "Oh, now I have reached a high level and I can get to Allah by myself. I am Something. I am Somebody."

What you need to do is continue to clean yourself so that you can find Allah in you and become one within the One. Your job is to surrender to Allah and let Allah decide what you are going to be and what you're going to do. If you're going to be a shaykh, good for you. If you're going to be a doorknob, that's also good for you.

In your dreams you see such things as women, unbelievers, uncovered heads, half shaved beards, tobacco, hashish, robbers, comedians, monkey owners.

Nafs-i-Mutmaina

The fourth level is called the Tranquil Nafs (Nafs-i-Mutmaina). You must be in total balance now. You are content with Allah. It is the place of acceptance. Allah will accept you as is. Now you are beginning to be a human being. A shaykh is required to bring you, his dervish, to the fourth level. If you want to go further, he continues guiding you until you reach Allah's Essence. In your dreams you see guns, stars, the moon, arrows, scholars, flags, prayer beads. Weapons show the strength of your belief.

Nafs-i-Radiyya

In the fifth level (Nafs-i-Radiyya), Allah is happy with you. You have to be in total surrender. This is a difficult level to pass because it is the circle of fire. The fire burns your nafs. Your heart is very happy. Now you are among the chosen ones who want Allah. This is the place where you prove that you are sincerely after Allah's Essence. You have to cut all your attachments and surrender to Allah completely. You are not going to do anything. Allah is going to do everything. You'll be the microphone for Him. Allah will talk through you. Allah will do things through you and you will not do anything. Any expression of opinion shows existence. From that point on only Allah exists. In your dreams you see such things as angels, paradise, a road.

Nafs-i-Mardiyya

You are like a new born baby in the sixth level (Nafs-i-Mardiyya). You are happy with Allah. Your new qualities are appreciation and contemplation. You are just beginning to learn a new life. You are starting a new relationship with Allah. Now you are getting to know Him better, His manner, His character. In your dreams you see the seven layers of heaven, which means Nur ul Wahdah or Lights of Unity.

Nafs-i-Safiyya

In the seventh level (Nafs-i-Safiyya) you have reached Allah; you made mi'raj (the journey to Allah's Essence). In this Pure Nafs level your heart is the store of divine secrets. It is being the perfect heart, being the house of greatness and glory. There are very few people who reach the seventh level. Those who do are the ones who have experienced Oneness with Allah and have seen the Face of Allah. The attributes in dreams are rain, snow, hail, rivers, fountains, springs, the sea, the ocean.

The Practice of Controlling the Nafs

While you are going through these levels, you should be mindful that Allah has created human beings to be His representatives on Earth. The job of human beings is to praise Allah at all times and to be busy with Allah only. The Shaykh guides you so that you can achieve this. It is essential to follow the Shaykh's guidance because he has been sent by Allah to take you, his dervish, to Allah.

You make rabitah (connection) with the Shaykh to get yourself out of the way so that whatever action you do is done by your Shaykh, not by you. In this way you practice controlling your nafs while keeping the connection to Allah. As you control your nafs more with each level, by letting your Shaykh do your actions, you begin to become nothing and achieve more of a oneness with Allah. Allah no longer plays you through you, Allah plays Allah through you.

Being familiar with the seven levels of the nafs helps you to recognize the difference between when you are with you and when Allah is with you. By no means should you take these levels as strict measurements. By knowing these levels intellectually you cannot get to Allah because if you knew how to get to Allah you would have already been there. Your Shaykh has been sent by Allah to guide you.

Your Shaykh is your Protecting Friend against your nafs. When you are going through these levels, your level is not revealed to you. In knowing the level you are in, there lies the danger of your becoming involved with yourself, not with Allah. Sometimes your Shaykh through the blessings of Allah takes you as a tourist to higher levels. This is called Hal and anybody can experience it. When one earns a level permanently, it is called Maqam (station).

When we reach the goal where Allah does everything through us, then our purpose has been fulfilled. In the Holy Hadith, Allah says:"My servant gets closer to me with nafile ibade (good worship). Then I love him. If I love someone, I become the eyes with which he sees, the mouth with which he speaks, the hands with which he holds, and the feet with which he walks."