Day: August 6, 2026

■ What is the Nafs-ammarah and how does it take different shapes and show its bad nature in our daily life?

Bismillah Irehman Niraheem

First of all, we need to understand what Nafs-ammarah means. In Sufism, Nafs is our inner self, and ammarah means that which keeps ordering and commanding us to do evil things. So Nafs-ammarah is the bad part of our inner self that only loves evil and only tells us to do wrong actions. It does not tell us to do good; it only pushes us toward sins, bad behavior, and disobedience to Allah. This is clearly mentioned in the holy Quran in Surah Yusuf, verse 53, where Prophet Yusuf says:

إنَّ النَّفْسَ لَأَمَّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ إِلَّا مَا رَحِمَ رَبِّي

“Indeed the Nafs always commands evil, except when my Lord shows mercy on me.”

So this verse proves that the Nafs-ammarah is naturally inclined toward badness, and only Allah’s special mercy can save us from its harm.

Now, it is important to know that people from every religion and every community in the world are aware of these bad qualities of the Nafs. They all know that this inner self causes trouble, so they try to control it and purify it according to their own ways and traditions. They all spend their time in different practices to fight against their Nafs and improve their character.

For example, the Hindu yogis put their bodies through all kinds of sufferings and hardships for many, many years. They sit in very difficult positions, they stop eating for long times, they stand on one leg, they lie on beds of sharp nails, and they torture their physical bodies. According to their Vedanta philosophy, when they correct their Nafs in this extreme way, they believe they gain special powers. They think they can fly in the air like birds, walk on water without sinking, and even pass through solid glass or walls without breaking them. So they believe that by crushing their bodies, they can make their Nafs obey them.

On the other hand, the Christian monks and hermits leave their homes and families and go far away into deep jungles and lonely mountains. They live in caves and small huts away from all people. They do this because they want to kill their Nafs. They give their bodies very hard work, they eat very little, they stay awake all night praying, and they wear rough and uncomfortable clothes. They think that by making the body weak, the spirit will become strong and take over the Nafs. When this happens, they start to experience what we call Kashf and Karamaat in Sufism – which means they start seeing hidden things and performing wonderous acts that seem like miracles, and people begin to respect them for these special gifts.

But here is a very deep and important point about Nafs-ammarah that many people do not know. This bad inner self does not just stay hidden inside us; it actually shows itself in different shapes and forms inside our Batin, which is our inner hidden world of dreams. The Nafs takes the shape of different animals inside us, and the shape it takes tells us what kind of bad nature we have.

For some people, their Nafs appears in the shape of a snake. Such a person’s inner self is like a poisonous snake that keeps biting everyone around them with their sharp tongue and hurtful words. They harm others with their speech and spread poison in their relationships.

For other people, their Nafs is like a wolf. Just like a wolf attacks and tears apart its prey, this kind of person has a fierce and aggressive nature. They want to destroy others, they are cruel and violent, and they enjoy tearing down other people’s reputations and feelings.

For some, their Nafs looks like a fox. The fox is very cunning and tricky. So these people are always making clever plans to cheat others. They lie, they deceive, and they use their intelligence to trap people in their schemes.

For another group, their Nafs is like a jackal. The jackal is known for being fearful and cowardly. So these people are always scared, they have no courage, they run away from small difficulties, and they cannot stand up for what is right because they are too afraid.

For some people, their Nafs is like a bear. The bear is very heavy and full of strong physical desires, especially for food and for sexual lust. So these people are ruled by their stomach and their private parts; they cannot control their cravings and they keep chasing after physical pleasures all the time.

And for yet others, their Nafs behaves like a dog. A dog is always greedy and never satisfied; it keeps looking for more food and more things to grab. So these people are extremely greedy; they want more money, more property, more of everything, and they are never happy with what they already have.

This is exactly what Allah says in the Quran in Surah Al-A’raf, verse 179:

اولئِكَ كَالْأَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ

“They are like cattle, rather they are even more lost and misguided than cattle.”

So when a person lets their Nafs take over completely, they become like animals or even worse than animals because animals act on instinct without thinking, but humans have a mind and still choose to act like beasts.

Now we must also understand that this bad Nafs has a very difficult and tricky nature. It changes its behavior depending on what situation we are in. For example, if we keep our Nafs hungry – if we do not feed it with food, luxury, and comfort – then it becomes very ungrateful. It starts to complain loudly, it panics, it cries, and it shouts in fear and impatience.

It says, “Why am I suffering? Why am I not getting what I want?”

It becomes restless and full of Jaz’ which is panic, and Faza’ which is extreme fear and screaming.

But on the other hand, if we fill our Nafs with too much food and we make it completely full and satisfied, then it behaves like a donkey. A donkey that has eaten well starts to bray loudly and act in a silly, arrogant, and playful way. In the same way, a person whose Nafs is overfed becomes foolishly proud, they become careless, they start making loud jokes, they waste time in silly entertainment, and they forget all seriousness and worship.

Then think about what happens if this Nafs gets a position of power and authority, like becoming a ruler, a boss, or a leader. In that case, it turns into Pharaoh – the famous tyrant king who was very cruel and proud. The person starts to oppress others, they bully the weak, they think they are above everyone else, and they do not care about justice or mercy.

And if this Nafs gets a lot of wealth and money, then it becomes like Qaroon – the very rich man who was so miserly and stingy. Such a person does not want to spend even a little bit for charity, they hoard their gold and silver, they refuse to help the poor, and they love their money more than anything else.

Worse than all this, the Nafs is also an expert in showing off and pretending to be good i.e Riya. It takes on many different fake masks and forms. It does not always appear as an obvious sinner. Sometimes it appears as a very Islamic religious person. So the Nafs might pretend to be a great Islamic scholar, a very pious worshipper, a wise judge, a humble saint, a respected Islamic teacher, or even a famous Islamic Sufi. It wears the clothes of Islamic religion to trick us.

This is why Sultan-ul-Faqr Shaykh Sultan Bahoo, who is the king of the knowers of Allah and a great Aulia Allah said a very deep and powerful statement.

He called out to the Nafs and said:

“O you who pretend to be a scholar! O you who pretend to be an ascetic and worshipper! O you who pretend to be a mufti who gives religious rulings! O you who pretend to be a very pious and pure person! O you who show off your goodness to others! O you who act like the master of the prayer rug and the leader of the Sufi lodge! O you who act like a true Sufi! O you who act like a poor and humble dervish! O you who even pretend to be the Sultan of the Arifeen itself!”

He said all of these things to show us that the Nafs can disguise itself in any holy dress and fool us into thinking we are very spiritual, while inside we are still full of pride, show-off, and other bad habits.

So, my dear reader, the whole point of this teaching is to open our eyes. We must never trust our Nafs completely, because it is a great deceiver. It can be a snake, a wolf, a fox, a jackal, a bear, or a dog inside us. It complains when it is hungry, it gets silly when it is full, it becomes tyrannical with power, it becomes miserly with money, and it wears the mask of piety to impress people.

The only way to save ourselves is to constantly check our intentions daily, ask Allah in Tahajjud time for mercy, and work on correcting these bad habits without hurting our bodies, but with gentle and steady effort in our everyday lives.