ANGEL and MAN
THE AWARENESS OF THE NAFS
 
....Thus, Allah Almighty says:
...."For without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction." (Rad, 28)

....THE AWARENESS OF THE NAFS
....Our beloved Prophet said, "He who knows himself (his nafs) also knows his Lord."
....When we first look at our past,
....The planet Earth had other travelers and we were merely a bundle of lifeless atoms. It rained; we were dissolved and became what is known as clay. We were taken up through the roots of plants and transformed into vegetation, and became plants. We were eaten, digested, and became ovum or sperm. We were sent to the uterus and became an embryo. When our organs developed, we became a fetus. And then we were born and became a human being.
....During this period, we underwent complex chemical transactions and physical events. We traveled through many universes and stayed for nine months in the womb of our mother.
....It is not possible that we did any of the above by ourselves; Who then, for God's sake created and directed these affairs?When we look at our future,
....We see our unavoidable destiny, our death.
....O our Lord! We looked at the proclamation of our death and we lived with knowledge of that death. Who wrote our fate? Who signed the proclamation? Who decided our destiny?
....Oh, poor humans! How weak you are! How weak!
....When we look at the present,
....Who designed our heart, which powers the body, operating via the potassium electrons dissolved in the blood?
....Who is the creator or controller of the blood that pumps through the veins to the heart and lungs, where it is replenished with oxygen and distributed back to the body through the arteries?
....Do we have any knowledge, authority, or effect on this operation, can we control the fact that we breathe air with high concentrations of nitrogen and oxygen, but low carbon dioxide concentration, and we rid ourselves of this, exchanging it for a a gas that our body can use? Do we control how the cells of our body is supplied with oxygen and cleansed of carbon dioxide waste?
....When we look at our respiratory system!
....Our nose cells are covered in mucous membrane that traps scent molecules, and once captured, these react with another special kind of molecule, called receptors, found in the cilia.

....Why?
....The air inhaled through your nostrils travels through the nasal cavity on its way to the lungs. The nasal cavity cleanses and conditions the air. Pollutants, viruses, and bacteria are trapped in the mucus, which then travels to the stomach, where the stomach acid neutralizes the germs. Three structures on the sides of the cavity, called the turbinate, humidify the air. By the time the air reaches the lungs, it has been almost completely saturated with water vapor.
....My dear brothers!
....Who is the regulator or coordinator of our respiratory system? In addition, who makes it function properly?
....When we look at our digestive system!
....Digestion begins in the mouth. When we chew we break the food down into smaller particles; this process is continued by the saliva and powerful stomach acids, enabling the food to be digested. From the stomach, the food travels into the small intestine. This is where the food particles are broken down even further into nutrients that can enter the bloodstream through tiny hair-like projections. Excess food, what the body does not need or cannot digest, is turned into waste and is eliminated from the body.
....When we are hungry and find food that we like, we gulp it down and do not contemplate what happens afterwards.
....If we do nothing but feel hungry and satisfy this appetite, then who is directing things inside our body?

When we look at our nervous system!
....The nervous system is the system that is made up of our brain, our spinal cord, and an enormous network of nerves that thread throughout our body. The difference between nerve cells and other cells is that they can be stimulated externally and internally.
....When a neuron, the thin thread of the nerve cell, is stimulated by heat, cold, touch, sound vibrations or some other message, it begins to generate a tiny electrical pulse that goes to the brain or relevant organ.
....The brain is the center of nervous system. It is the command center for all our systems, such as circulation, respiration, and digestion; and of our senses, such as hearing, sight, and smell.
....The nerve cells carry messages back from the brain to all the muscles and glands in our body and make these organs obey the commands.
....Allah Almighty, who created cells from atoms and elements, tissues from cells, organs from tissues, different systems from different organs, and our body from different systems, has given the authority and command of our body to the nervous system, an enormous network of nerves threaded throughout our body, and connected the nervous system to the center in our brain. Indeed, He did not leave this ordering of our body up to us; hence, we should be aware of how weak we are and recognize our Lord.
....When we look at our emotional make-up!
....Human beings, who have no authority over be born where and when they wish, or of living as long as they

wish, or of passing away when they wish, have complex and contradictory emotions and feelings.
....Sometimes, people find themselves full of conflict and contradiction. They get diverse signals from different directions; these different signals put pressure on them, limiting their volition. Humans can suffer from depression or accept that they are truly weak and inadequate, and try to find their true identity. As soon as a person discovers how complex their body truly is, composed of different systems and organs, and as soon as they realize all their complicated and contradictory feelings, they begin to inquire about their true identity. When they ask themselves, "Who am I", "Where is this "I" in my body ", they then begin to wake up and become aware of their nafs.
....This is when the human repents and purifies themselves from sins. Their heart becomes pure by the light of faith. What follows is that when a person speaks of the "self", they know that this is their true identity and that a human being is a living creature that goes beyond mere flesh and bones. Furthermore, they realize that all human secrets are accumulated in this "self".
....People and their connections with the outside world
....Some countries are dependent on food imports while some are dependent on energy imports. Likewise, human beings are dependent upon the environment for their food, water, and air needs. For example, they exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen. How does this happen?
....The placenta carries nourishment to a growing fetus while removing waste products and thus provides the growing baby with oxygen and nutrients from the mother's

bloodstream; in the same way human beings have a connection with the physical environment, a give and take relationship, via their respiratory, digestive, and nervous systems. This give and take relationship has to be permanent. When it ceases this means death.
....There are some conditions that must be met in order to ensure the permanency of this flow:
....1. All organs and systems should be healthy and work in harmony, both with the physical environment and within the body itself.
....2. There should be a balance between the soil, water, air, and heat of the outside world that is maintained and the systems and organs in the body of human beings should work in harmony and coordination with the physical environment.
....Who will manage all this?
....Who will control the balance of the organs, the balance of air, and the temperature in our bodies?
....Could it be the human being, a being that does not know where the organs are or what functions they have?
....Could it be the human being, who is terrified by atmospheric changes and natural disasters?
....Is it the human being that controls the explosions on the Sun, the basic source of the balance of temperature and atmospheric phenomena, which are more powerful than millions of atom bombs?
....My dear brothers!
....Faced with these unavoidable facts, humanity must understand that they are "NOTHING." The true meaning of