Malfuzat - Volume VII — Page 102
Malfuzat - English translation of Urdu Volume 7 102 Blessing of Making an Effort However many mutual consultations that take place through- out the world for carnal gratification and sensuality, etc. , the source of all of them is nafs-e-amm a rah [the self that incites to evil]. Still, if a person makes an effort, he can advance from the stage of nafs-e-amm a rah to the stage of [ nafs-e- ] laww a mah [the reproving self ] because there is a blessing in making an effort, and a lot of changes occur due to this. Look at the wrestlers and how much they transform their bodies through exercise and exertion. So, what is the reason why the self cannot be reformed through exertion and effort? Nafs-e-amm a rah can be likened to a fire, which, when agitated, creates an excitement in the disposition by which a person crosses the limits of moderation, but—like water when heated by fire—it acquires the nature of fire, and those who use fire also derive such uses from it. Still, when that same water is dropped on fire, it extinguishes it because its inherent attribute is to extinguish the fire, and that will remain the same. In the same way, no matter how much the fire of nafs-e-amm a rah heats man’s soul, it will prevail over it when it competes with the self and falls upon it. The only thing is that God should be recognised to be Omnipotent over everything, and no kind of ill-thinking should be entertained concerning Him. He who has ill thinking is a disbeliever. One of the qual- ities of a believer is that he recognises Allah the Exalted as the ultimate power. Some people believe a person becomes a Wal i [lit. Friend (of Allah); i. e. Saint] by doing many good deeds. This is ignorance. God has made the believer a Wal i already, as He has said: 1 ُهّٰللَا ُّيِلَو َنْيِذَّلا اْوُنَمٰا ُهّٰللَا ُّيِلَو َنْيِذَّلا اْوُنَمٰا 1. Allah is the friend of those who believe ( S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:258). [Publisher]