Quotes About the Nafs (Ego or Self)

“All of a man's happiness is in his being the master of his ego, while all his suffering is in his ego being his master.

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali

“Beware of yourself, when the energy that moves you in life is actually the ego’s energy, but has found a religious form of expression. That’s the most dangerous thing of all

Abdal Hakim Murad (Timothy Winter)

“Your first arena of struggle is your own selves, if you triumph over them, you will have power over others, and if you fail at struggling against them, you will be weaker against others. Therefore try fighting your own souls first, and remember that the whole world is waiting for a generation of young people characterized by perfect purity, impeccable morals and high manners, so be these youth and do not despair. Keep in mind the words of the gracious messenger, Allah's peace and blessings upon him: "Guarantee for me six things in yourselves and I can guarantee Paradise for you: Speak the truth, keep your promises, protect what's entrusted to you, protect your chastity, lower your gaze (from the opposite sex), and keep your hands away (from other people's rights and properties)". Then look, are you these? And "Allah will see your work, and so will His messenger and the believers, then you will be returned to the world of the Unseen and the witnessing, and then He will inform you of what you used to do."

Imam Hasan al-Banna

“Worship of God begins only with knowledge of God and His infinitely high status. And knowledge of God starts with knowledge of the ego and its infinitely low status.

Dr. Mustafa Mahmud

“Beware of your soul [or ego], for no misfortune has befallen you except because of it, so do not ever be reconciled with it. By Allah! Its honor is derived from its submission (to Allah), its dignity is derived from its subservience, its reform is derived from its breakdown, its comfort is derived from its hardship, its security is derived from its fear (of Allah), and its pleasure is derived from its sorrow.

Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah

“Nothing is harder on the ego than sincerity, for it gains nothing from it.

Sahl bin Abdullah

“The inward battle makes no noise, and there are no weapons in it, but this battle is more important in its results than the battles in which corpses disperse, and in which blood is spent.

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali

“Once you begin to see everything beautiful as only a reflection of God’s beauty, you will learn to love in the right way: for His sake. Everything and everyone you love will be for, through and because of Him. The foundation of such love is God. So what you hold onto will no longer be just an unstable feeling, a fleeting emotion. And what you chase will no longer be just a temporary high. What you hold, what you chase, what you love, will be God: the *only* thing stable and constant. Thereafter, everything else will be through Him. Everything you give or take or love or don’t love, will be by Him. Not by your nafs. It will be for Him. Not for your nafs.

Yasmin Mogahed

“A boy said to a man “I want happiness.” The man said “Remove ‘I’ - that is your ego. Remove ‘want’ - that is your desire. And what remains is your happiness.

Yasmin Mogahed

“I have never struggled to rectify something that is more difficult to overcome than my soul; sometimes I win, and sometimes I lose.

Sufyan ath-Thawri

“Once you conquer your selfish self, all your darkness will change to Light.

Rumi

“The ego is a veil between humans and God.

Rumi

“Your nafs [the ego, the self] is your battlefield, therefore if you prevail over it, you will have more power over the nafs of others, and if you lose in it you will have less power over the nafs of others, therefore first try fighting it.

Imam Ali bin Abi Talib

“I seek refuge in You from the demands of my nafs.

Yasmin Mogahed

“I walked across my mind, through my heart, inside my nafs, and found You closer than all of them.

Yasmin Mogahed

“When you give up something for Allah that the nafs loves, He carries you through it and replaces it with something so much better.

Yasmin Mogahed

“Starve the nafs to feed the soul.

Yasmin Mogahed

“Dear nafs, I want to go to war with you and win.

Yasmin Mogahed

“Only God could save me from my greatest enemy: myself.