Baby
fox
Some saints have seen their Nafs in
physical form. In this regard, Sayyidunā Muhammad 'Alyān Nasawī has narrated,
'In the beginning, when I realised the harms of Nafs, I felt an intense hatred
towards it. One day, an animal in the shape of a baby fox suddenly came out of
my throat. Almighty Allah made me identify it and I became aware that it was my
own Nafs. I immediately chased after it and began to stamp on it with my feet.
To my utter amazement, the more I struck, the bigger it got. I said, 'O Nafs!
Everything is destroyed by pains and wounds, yet you are growing to the
contrary.' It replied, 'I am quite different to others. The things which are
harmful to others delight me and the things which delight others are harmful to
me.'
(Kashf-ul-Mahjūb, pp. 407)
We
live to eat
Dear Islamic brothers! Did you see
how difficult it is to overpower Nafs? Despite difficulties, we should
endeavour to control it. One of the ways of controlling Nafs is to do the
opposite of what it desires. For example, if it demands you to eat delicious
food or eat until you are full, you should not obey it. Only eat what you need.
A great saint, Dātā Ganj Bakhsh has stated, 'Hunger is the food of the Ṣiddīqīn
and a path of Sulūk for the Murīd (disciple). Previously, people used to eat to
survive, yet you live to eat.'
(Kashf-ul-Mahjūb, pp. 605)
Patient
became doctor
It is narrated that once Sayyidunā
Shaykh Khuwājaĥ Maḥbūb-e-Ilāĥī Niẓāmuddīn Auliyā fell seriously ill. His
disciples told him that there was a pundit in the area who could cure people
very quickly by reading some incantations. They asked for permission to take
him to the pundit. He replied that he would never go to an unbeliever for any
treatment. His condition worsened and he fell unconscious. The disciples took
him to the same pundit. When the pundit read some incantations and blew on the
great Shaykh, he immediately regained consciousness and recovered from illness.
When he found himself well, he asked
the pundit, 'How did you attain this expertise?' The pundit replied, 'I have
promised my teacher that I would always do the opposite of what my Nafs
desires. Therefore, whenever I wish to drink cold water, I drink hot water.
When I wish to eat rice, I eat bread. In this way, I have attained expertise by
continuously opposing my Nafs.'
The great Shaykh then asked him,
'Tell me, does your Nafs permit you to become a Muslim?' He replied in the
negative. The great Shaykh then said, 'If it is prohibiting you from becoming a
Muslim, then according to your principle, you should become a Muslim by
opposing your Nafs.'
These effective words of the great
Shaykh had such an intense impact on the heart of the pundit that he said
spontaneously, 'I repent of my unbelief and become a Muslim.' He then recited
the Kalimaĥ and became a Muslim.
اَلْحَمْدُ
لِلّٰه عَزَّوَجَلَّ, the
pundit cured Khuwājaĥ Niẓāmuddīn Auliyā physically and the Shaykh cured him
spiritually in return. He cured the body of the great Shaykh and the great
Shaykh cured his soul. He cured the external bodily illness of the great
Shaykh, and the great Shaykh cured his inner illness of Kufr (unbelief).
صَلُّوْا عَلَى الْحَبِيْبِ ۞ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ
تَعَالٰى عَلٰى مُحَمَّد
Cancer
of gums
In addition to decreasing the intake
of food, those who are habitual consumers of tea and Pān (betel) should also
reduce their consumption of the aforementioned items. Let it not be that you
reduce the intake of food, but your Nafs begins to deceive you into consuming
tea and Pān in excess. Tea is harmful to the kidneys. It is safer to give up
the habit of eating Pān, lime and scented aniseed and betel nut. Those who
constantly chomp on these items are prone to cancer of throat, gums and mouth.
Due to the excessive use of Pān, the mouth becomes red and, if the gums begin
to bleed or fill with pus, then this causes the blood and pus to go into the
stomach unnoticed.
Perhaps, these people will only
realise this danger when, Allah forbids, they suffer from any lethal disease.
Danger
of fake Kaṭṭĥā*
It is highly likely that Kaṭṭĥā is
not produced in Pakistan. The greedy people who do not care about the
detrimental consequences of misdeeds in the world and Hereafter add the colour
used in leather-dyeing to sand and sell it as Kaṭṭĥā. As a result, Pān eaters in
Pakistan become victims and suffer from various diseases.
Taste
on tongue and throat only
The taste of food lasts just for a
few seconds whether it is a simple barley bread or a buttered one. As soon as
the morsel goes down the throat, the taste of that morsel ends. When a person
eats in excess, he feels the taste of food only for a few seconds on his tongue
but he may have to face its long lasting religious and worldly harms. If
somebody ponders calmly, he will realize that facing prolonged accountability
in the Hereafter and embracing chronic and lethal diseases just for a few
minutes of pleasure is not a wise act. Therefore, it is safer and better to eat
less by applying the Madanī guard to the stomach. Sayyidunā Abū Dardā has said,
'Fulfilment of a desire for a few moments' pleasure causes prolonged grief.'
Reality
of delicious food
Ponder for a moment. If the
delicious aromatic morsel which makes the mouth water and is eaten with joy and
pleasure, suddenly comes out of the stomach due to vomit, will anybody like to
even look at it? This is the reality of that delicious morsel. This point can
further be elaborated with the help of the following parable.
* A thick brown liquid used in Pān.
Thought-provoking
story
Once a public toilet was being
cleaned and the human faeces was scattered in some part of that area. People
were quickly walking past it placing handkerchiefs on their noses. All of a
sudden, the faeces spoke; 'O you who are running away! Do you not recognise who
I am? I am the one for which you worked so hard. You prepared me with extreme
care and consumed me with immense relish. You also hid me in your bellies. How
regretful that your little company has turned me into this disgusting state.
Why are you running away from me? I am your delicious Biryānī; I am your oily
bread; I am your tasty Qaurmah…'
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