Irfan (Volume 2) IRFAAN 2

147-148

By 'killing the Nafs', it does not mean that it should be killed through Riyazat , Mujahida and hunger and thirst. This would be a suicide of a kind and suicide is Haraam. Instead it should be made free of the despicable animal like desires and the evil sensual habits and should be endowed with the fine religious, ethical and pure spiritual calibers and in this way, it should be driven out of the 'lowest of the low' (95:5) ditch of the beastliness and elevated to the 'best stature' (95:4) of the high humanity. It should thenceforth be raised to the supreme Maratib of the Malakoot from the Sifli Maratib of the Nasoot. This in turn becomes a virtual death like 'Die-before-Death' and Spiritual Existence. Moreover, the Saalik has to pass through many events on the Inwardly Course of Salook as Jami Rahmatu-Allahe Ta-aala Alaihe says:

All others die onetime but the poor Jami died many a times.

We now give argument from the Noble Quran in support of 'killing-Nafs ' and the life of the heart.

Allah Almighty says: And when Ibrahim said (to his Lord): show me how do you give life to the dead, He said "Do you not believe". Ibrahim said "yes I do but (I ask) in order that my heart be at ease". (His Lord) said: "take Four of the Birds and cause them incline to you, then place a part of them on each hill, then call them, they will come to you in haste. And know that Allah is Mighty Wise (2:260)

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Here, 'birds' mean different human traits and calibers like the 'Cock of Shahwat ', the 'Peacock of Pomp, the 'Pigeon of Desire' and the 'Crow of Greed (and grasping)' etc. If these are wild and beastly, they are unruly and disobedient but if they are tamed and trained like a hawk, they obey the orders of their lord. In the same way, a Faasiq (Miscreant), Faajir (sinner), Mushrik (Polytheist) and Kaafir person who does not follow the Code of Islam, his traits and habits are like a wild and uncontrollable wild beast that he goes wherever he wants without any restriction. However, when a Saalik lord ties the bridle of the Shariyat and the Religion Islam on its mouth, then he drives it where he wants. Afterwards, comes the turn of the Spiritual and Inwardly Death of the Marifat and Muhabbat of Allah Almighty in Tareeqat for the Saalik such that when the Saalik kills his Nafs with the knife of the Muhabbat and Ishq of Allah Almighty, then at that time, the Sensual-Desires and human emotions become extinct in a way as if someone has thrown these on distant mountains after crushing these under feet and breaking these into small pieces. This thing can be understood by those people only, who have set foot in the true dale of this Muhabbat or at least have observed how a person forgets his carnal desires even drinking and eating when he has fallen in some worldly love affair as has been expressed by an Arif in this couplet:

Camel closes its mouth and does not wish to eat grass even when it is drunk,

If you are the real Aashiq (Lover) Must by Love, why will you desire for thorns of greed?

That is, Ishq is that Fire, which burns every that thing to ashes which is besides the Muhabbat of the Beloved. A very little example of this is that, when in the severely hot days of summer, the person Fasting feels thirst, he forgets his hunger although he is hungry also but because of the intensity of thirst it becomes extinct. We can understand the human feelings and the carnal desires on the same pattern that these two things become totally vanished at the time of the intense Muhabbat in the body of the Saalik. Then, when he becomes watered and blessed with the Wasal of Allah Almighty, then Allah Almighty calls all the natural and human emotions of the Saalik after wakening these things again with His Command and these things come to the body of the Saalik with the Order of the Mighty Wise.