Malfuzat - Volume VIII — Page 223
26 December 1905 223 eyes [i. e. source of my pleasure] lies in Prayer. In truth, when a person reaches this position and status, the most complete and perfect pleasure for him lies in Prayer, and this is the mean- ing of this saying of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. So a person reaches a lofty station after being saved from the struggle with the nafs [self ]. Therefore, remember that َنْوُمْيِقُي َةوٰلَّصلا َنْوُمْيِقُي َةوٰلَّصلا is the initial stage and level where Prayer is offered with reluctance and struggle. But the guidance of this Book for such a person is that after being saved from this stage, he reaches the point where the Prayer becomes a delight for his eyes. One should also remember that a righteous person here means a person in the state of nafs-e- laww a mah [the reproving self ]. Three Stages of the Nafs There are three stages of the nafs [self ]: Nafs-e-amm a rah , law- w a mah , and mu t mainnah. Nafs-e-amm a rah [the self that incites to evil] is the one afflicted with sin and iniquity and is a slave to disobedience. In such a state, man fails to pay any regard to virtue, rather there is a sort of insolence and rebellion found within him. However, when he advances from this stage to some degree and emerges therefrom, then that is the state which is called nafs- e-laww a mah [the reproving self ] because now, if he does evil, he is ashamed of it and blames himself. Thus, in this way, he starts to pay attention to virtue as well, but in this state, he does not entirely overcome himself, albeit a battle continues to rage between him and the self in which sometimes he prevails, and sometimes the self overcomes him. This series of battles con- tinues until the grace of Allah the Exalted takes hold of him and finally makes him successful, his desires are fulfilled, and he becomes victorious over his ego.