Day: August 5, 2026

■ The 5 Senses and Their Connection to the Self (Nafs)

Bismillah Irehman Niraheem

Now we need to understand about the five external senses. These are seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching. These five senses work for the self, which is called Nafs in Arabic. The self uses these five senses to get four types of pleasures.

The First Pleasure – Eating and Drinking

The self finds great pleasure in eating and drinking delicious food and drinks. This is a very basic desire that all humans have.

The Second Pleasure – Intimacy Desires

The self finds pleasure in fulfilling physical and intimacy desires. This is another strong desire that the self has.

The Third Pleasure – Power and Authority

The self finds pleasure in having power, ruling over others, being in charge, and having authority. This is the pleasure of leadership and control.

The Fourth Pleasure – Knowledge

The self also finds pleasure in gaining knowledge. This may seem surprising but even the desire for knowledge can come from the ego. A person may want to be seen as knowledgeable or to show off his learning.

All of these pleasures come from the lower self, which is called Nafs al-Ammara. This is the self that commands evil and bad things.

إِنَّ النَّفْسَ لَأَمَّارَةِ بِالسُّوءِ إِلَّا مَا رَحِمَ رَبِّي

Prophet Yusuf said in the Quran, “Indeed the self commands evil, except when my Lord has mercy on me.”

This means that the lower self, by its nature, always tells a person to do bad and evil things. It wants to make a person sin and disobey Allah. The only way a person can escape the evil commands of this lower self is through the mercy of Allah.
The lower self is like a bad friend who always tells you to do wrong things. It says “Eat too much, sleep too much, be lazy, be angry, be proud, be greedy.” This bad friend never wants good for you. But if Allah’s mercy comes to you, then you can control this bad friend and make him good.

How the Lower Self Becomes the Peaceful Self (Nafs al-Mutmainnah) ?

When a person works hard to purify his self, which is called Tazkiyah-e-Nafs, the lower self gradually changes and becomes the peaceful and content self, which is called Nafs al-Mutmainnah. This is the self that is at peace and satisfied with Allah. When the self reaches this stage, it takes on a good human form and character. The whole purpose of spiritual purification is to transform the evil commanding self into the peaceful self.
All types of evil and bad qualities come from the lower self. Anger, pride, jealousy, greed, laziness, lust, showing off, and all other bad qualities are the children of the lower self.

Important Warning: There are many people in the world who seem very religious and spiritual. They may be scholars, jurists, people who pray all night, people who fast all day, people who have made the pilgrimage to Mecca, people who live in seclusion, people who are called Aulia Allah and spiritual leaders. They may be known for their piety, their knowledge, their teachings, their constant recitation of prayers, their struggle in worship, and their spiritual visions. They may be humble and poor, patient and grateful, lucky and good-natured. They may have deep love and longing for Allah.
But here is the warning: Even with all these good qualities, many of these people are still controlled by their lower self. They are still following their ego and their desires. Among all these people, very few are truly connected to Allah and truly devoted to the truth and to Allah alone. The number of true Murshid Kamil is very small.

Many Aulia Allah said that the Self is Like a King, Shaytan is Its Minister

To understand this better, think of the self as a king who sits on a throne. Shaytan is like the minister or the advisor to this king. The world, which is called Dunya, is like the mother that feeds and raises this king. The self, Shaytan, and the world all work together to keep a person away from Allah.

When a person’s heart is full of the love and attachment to the world, that heart becomes a place where Shaytan sits. Such a person’s end will be like what Allah says in the Quran about those who rebel and prefer this worldly life over the Hereafter. Their final home will be hellfire.
When a person’s heart becomes a place where Shaytan sits, four evil spirits are appointed to attack that heart.

The First Evil Spirit – Khannas

Khannas is the one who whispers evil thoughts and then retreats. He comes back again and again. He is like a thief who keeps trying to enter the house.

The Second Evil Spirit – Khartoom

Khartoom is the one who puts bad ideas and temptations into the heart. He makes sin look attractive.

The Third Evil Spirit – Waswasah

Waswasah is the one who creates doubt, confusion, and hesitation. He makes a person doubt his faith, doubt his worship, and doubt everything.

The Fourth Evil Spirit – Khatarat

Khatarat are the passing thoughts and imaginations that come into the mind. These are random thoughts that distract a person from remembering Allah.

These four evil spirits work together to keep a person away from Allah. They are like four guards who work for the lower self.

There is a very important story that explains how Shaytan, the self, and the world all came together to destroy human beings.

When the cursed Iblees, who is Shaytan, was removed from his high position in heaven and thrown down to the lowest level, he made an agreement with both the self and the world. All three of them made a promise to each other. They all agreed to work together to bring shame and destruction to the children of Adam, meaning all human beings.

Shaytan said, “I will stop the children of Adam from obeying Allah and worshipping Him. I will turn them away from doing good deeds and make them commit sins. I will drown them in the mud of disobedience.”

The self said, “I will make them crazy for pleasures. I will make them slaves to their desires and lusts. I will make them follow their passions without any control. I will make them forget Allah and only think about themselves.”

The world said, “I will decorate myself and appear beautiful in front of them. I will attract them with my beauty and make them love me. I will make them greedy for more and more wealth, status, and things. I will trap them in my net so that they forget to remember Allah.”

So these three enemies of humanity – Shaytan, the self, and the world – all joined hands to mislead human beings and pull them away from Allah.
When the self is full and satisfied, it becomes like Pharaoh, the tyrant king. It becomes arrogant and proud. It thinks it does not need anyone, not even Allah. It says “I am the greatest” just like Pharaoh said “I am your Lord, the most high.” This is a very dangerous state.

When the self is hungry, it becomes like a mad dog that cannot think properly. It bites and attacks without control. Similarly, when a person is tempted to sin, the self acts like a mad dog that has lost all sense. When the self is in this state, it does not care about what is halal (permitted) and what is haram (forbidden). It does not think about what it is eating or saying. It has no control.

When the self is overpowered by sexual desires, it becomes completely foolish, ignorant, and unconscious. In this state, a person does not remember Allah and does not think about the consequences of his actions. He only thinks about satisfying his desire.

When the self is angry, it starts to curse and say bad words. It says things that go against the teachings of the Quran. It may say things that are abusive, hurtful, and forbidden in Islam. This is why the Prophet, peace be upon him, taught us to control our anger.

Even when the self wants to be generous and give charity, it can become like Qaroon, who was a very wealthy man but refused to spend in the way of Allah. The self makes a person hesitate and hold back. It makes the person calculate and think about himself instead of giving generously for Allah’s sake.

May Allah guide us all to the right path and give us true Murshids who can help us reach Him. Ameen.