Ismaili Dictionary & Encyclopedia

NAFS Encyclopedia Topic

"The word nafs (pl. anfus, nufus) is derived from the verb nafusa meaning to be precious or valuable. As is said naffasa (to cheer up, reassure or relieve) and tanaffasa (to breathe, inhale or pause for a rest). The Taj al-Arus (4:260) lists 15 meanings of nafs and adds two other from Lisan al-Arab (8:119). The word nafs is used in no less than 10 connotations in the Koran.

Like ruh and qalb, it is another word to indicate an important aspect of human psych. At the lowest level it refers to the principle of life and consciousness. Nafs is a subtle force and is seen as imparting life and power of motion to the body, and thus forming the inner dimension of man's self. The soul has a multi-layer structure consisting primarily of three principal strata, or the three different dimensions or conditions of one and the same "soul". The Koran refers to three state of nafs:- "The human soul is certainly prone to evil" (inna nafs la-ammaratun bi al-su) (12:53), "And I do call to witness the self-reproaching soul" (al-nafs al-lawwamah) (75:2) and "O soul, in complete rest and satisfaction" (al-nafs al-mutma'innah) (89:27).

Thus, the three categories of the nafs are as under:-

1. an-nafs al-ammarah (the nafs impelling towards evil).

2. al-nafs al-lawwamah (the blaming nafs).

3. al-nafs al-mutma'innah (the nafs at peace).

The main effect of al-nafs al-ammarah is to paralyze the cognitive process. It is the lower nafs instigating man to evil. It has its attributes, ignorance, stinginess, pride, lust, envy, heedlessness, ill-nature, covetousness, hatred. This seems to have been alluded to at several places in the Koran: "They have hearts with which they do not understand, and they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear; they are like cattle, nay, they are in worse error; for they are heedless ones" (7:179). Taming the beast in man has had special importance in Islam, because it is this beast which has played havoc in the world, when left untrained and unbridled. The most ferocious beasts of the forests are nothing as compared with the ferocity of man with the untamed beast in him. In Islam this beast has been given the name of nafs or the carnal self and particular emphasis has been laid on the crushing and subduing of the evils of nafs, not only to ensure social welfare, but also enable the soul to fulfill its spiritual mission of taking man to the higher, happier and nobler regions of Divine Proximity and Presence. Islam, therefore, came out with a practical solution to this impasse. It denounced renunciation and introduced a programme of severe training to subdue the carnal self and put an end to its mischief. It prescribed a busy programme of worship in daily life.

On the other hand, al-nafs al-lawwamah is the state of constant awareness. It indicates nafs in a state of change and flux, always conscious and vigilant, constantly examining and scrutinizing its actions, fighting against the baser desires, never heedless and sordid. The ego which is formed in this dimension is principally a rational ego. Thus, it is also called an egotistic soul. When ego comes to dominate the self and recognizes no other entity apart from itself, man loses sight of his spiritual nature and is confined within the narrow realm of individual consciousness. This is the most harmful tendency of nafs.

The third stratun is al-nafs al-mutma'inah, the pacified, tranquil or inspired soul, designating the mode of the soul, in which the turbulence of desires and passions has been calmed down and the agitations of thoughts reduced to stillness, tranquillity and quietude. The state of al-nafs al-mutma'inah is the very end of life when one emerges victorious after a constant and life-long struggle against evil. The nafs at peace because the state of al-nafs al-lawwamah which encompassed the whole of an individual life is now behind, and the period of tussle is over, ending with triumph.

The Sufi circle also adds the following in the kind of nafs:-

4. al-nafs al-radiya : the contented one. It has attributes of fidelity, God-fearing and contentedness.

5. al-nafs al-mardiyya : the approved one, having the quality of kindness to all creatures, forgiveness, loving and compassion.

6. al-nafs al-kamila : the perfect one. It quality embraces all the good attributes of the souls, the complete and perfect.

The way to polish the nafs is through jihad, striving at all times. The struggle is very tiring because the nafs is rebellious. For instance, the mirror has many layers of dust on it. Scraping it is hard work. Later on, polishing it is as easy as lightly passing a cloth over it. Similarly, the seeker desires the light as he is the reflector of Reality. His heart reflects the truth, striving at all times is unavoidable. No one is spared struggle because life is based entirely upon movement and dynamism. If one strives more and more, harder and harder, one finds that the afflictions became subtler and subtle. In order to reflect the truth in his own small reflector, the seeker must abandon into complete solid web in which he is caught and from which there is no escape. If he has completely and utterly abandoned into it, then that web itself will resonate him; then he is the hand of God, the eye of God, the tongue of God. Hence, there is no separation, there is only Oneness. Once one has begun to act with nothing of himself, then the stream of bliss nourishes him, which is the same stream as that of the pure garden.

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral Nafs-i QulNoun

L'Ame Universelle, la 2e Intelligence, émanée du Aql-Qul*. Source de la 3e Intelligence (Ruhani Adam)

Heritage Dictionary of Ismailism, entry #86general Nafsa nafsiEncyclopedia Topic

Each for himself, state of selfishness

Various Sources NagEncyclopedia Topic

A kind of poisonous snake, cobra

Various Sources NagaEncyclopedia Topic

Nude, empty-handed

Various Sources NagarEncyclopedia Topic

City

Various Sources NagarEncyclopedia Topic

Village, valley, city

Various Sources NagaraEncyclopedia Topic

Drums

Various Sources NaGaRINoun

De NaGaR = cité, grande ville. PREM NaGaR*, PATanR*

Heritage Dictionary of Ismailism, entry #700general NagarieEncyclopedia Topic

In the city, in the body

Various Sources NagarvelEncyclopedia Topic

A type of creeper

Various Sources NagoEncyclopedia Topic

Naked, empty handed

Various Sources NagriEncyclopedia Topic

City, body

Various Sources NaharEncyclopedia Topic

Day

Various Sources NAHARWAN, BATTLE OFEncyclopedia Topic

"The term khariji (pl. khawarij) has been held to mean seceder or deserter. They are those who have ""gone out against"" (kharaja ‘ala) Ali, or ""went out"" and ""made a secession"" from the camp of Ali in the sense of rebelling against him. Ali’s decision to submit the fate of the battle of Siffin to arbitration did not meet with the approval of his Iraqian soldiers, and about 12,000 of whom deserted and rebelled against him on the march back to Kufa, known as the Kharijis. They also came to be known as Harurites from the place where they were first encamped. Ali referred to them as al-mariqun (those who missed the truth of religion).

Seething with unrest, the Kharijis encamped at Harura, taking as their watch-word la hukma illa lillahi (The decision of God, the word of God alone), a phrase which, ever since it was first coined, has become a favourite with public agitators. The original separatists had three great leaders, namely Shabath bin Ribi al-Riahi, Abdullah bin Kauwa al-Yeshkuri and Yazid bin Qais al-Arhabi from the three principal tribes of Banu Tamim, Banu Bakr and Banu Hamadan. Anxious to prevent another outbreak of fighting, Ali deputed his cousin Ibn Abbas to negotiate a compromise. The Kharijis insisted that Ali should march forthwith against Muawiya, a demand with which Ali could not possibly comply, as he had given his word to abide by the decision of the arbitration. Months later, when Ali having been deposed off by the umpires of arbitration, he sought to raise an army against Muawiya, and expected the Kharijis to flock to his standard, but they made no attempt to join him. Repeated attempts on Ali’s part to urge the Kharijis to join him met with total failure. Instead they decided to raise their own independent standard and went into camp at Naharwan under the leadership of Abdullah bin Wahab al-Rasibi.

Naharwan was a township, situated on a canal of the same name, a few miles east of the Tigris near Madain and between Baghdad and Wasit. Here the Kharijis made extensive preparations for war. Meanwhile, Ali had managed to muster an army for a renewed campaign against Muawiya, and while he was on his way to Syria, a news of the latest outrages by the Khariji fanatics reached him. They had murdered Abdullah bin Khabbab, cutting him down in cold-blood, along with his wife and children. Three women of the Banu Taiy had also been put to death in a similarly cruel manner. Pregnant women had been ripped up with the sword, and the aged and impaired cruelly tortured to death."

Ali decided to relinquish Syria for a while and to take field against the yoke of the Kharijis at Naharwan. Arriving near Naharwan, Ali followed his usual method of first exploring the possibilities of a peaceful settlement, but their leader Abdullah bin Wahab al-Rasibi resolved to fight to a finish. In 37/658, Ali marshalled his forces and led the final assault against the Kharijis in the memorable battle of Naharwan, which took place in Shaban, 38/January, 659. With the battle cry, the Kharijis rushed on Ali’s troops. All save nine of Abdullah’s men were killed and he himself also perished. "A little before this fight" says Simon Ockley in History of the Saracens (London, 1870, p. 326), "Ali had foretold to his friends what would be the event. "You see" says he, "these people who make profession of reading the Quran, without observing its commandments, will quit the profession which they make of their sect, as quick arrows fly from the bow when they are shot off."

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral NahavoEncyclopedia Topic

Bathe

Various Sources NahiEncyclopedia Topic

Having bathed; not

Various Sources NahinEncyclopedia Topic

No

Various Sources Nahin kaEncyclopedia Topic

Otherwise

Various Sources NahinkaEncyclopedia Topic

Otherwise

Various Sources NAHJ AL-BALAGAHEncyclopedia Topic

The word nahj means road and balagah is derived from baligh means to convey. The Nahj al-Balagah means the way of eloquence or way of rhetoric. It is the collection of 238 sermons (khutba), 79 letters and 478 short sayings of Ali bin Abu Talib, the first Imam. It was compiled by Sharif ar-Radi (d. 406/1015) and his brother al-Murtada Ali bin Tahir (d. 436/1044).

Many critics have questioned the validity of Nahj al-Balagah, maintaining that several sermons are fabricated by Sharif ar-Radi and al-Murtada to legalize the Shi'ite doctrinal differences. It has been an issue and lively polemic from the middle ages to the present. Ibn Khallikan (d. 681/1283) seems to have been the first to raise doubts on its authenticity. The majority of later writers, beginning with Dhahabi (d. 748/1348) in Mizan al-Itidal, Ibn Hajr in Lisan al-Mizan, Haji Khalifa (d. 1067/1657) in Kashf al-Zunun, etc. have in their turn revived these suspicions. On the other hand, Ibn Hadid (d. 656/1258) has no doubt as to the validity of this work. Laura Veccia Vaglieri writes that it is undeniable that a large portion of Nahj al-Balagah could indeed be attributed to Ali, especially certain historical and panegyrical passages, although it is difficult to ascertain the authenticity of the more apocryphal sections.

Sharif ar-Radi and al-Murtada Ali b. Tahir are most possibly doubtful compilers, because they were branded "liars" in Egypt during the Fatimid period. The Shi'ite jurist, Sharif ar-Radi (d. 406/1015) was an official keeper of the records of the Alid genealogies in Baghdad. He versified some verses in favour of the Fatimid Imams being the descendants of the Prophet in 400/1009, which reads:

I nourish pain in the land of enemies, while in Egypt is an Alid Caliph.
His father is mine, so is his Lord. While my host is the strange and far.
My veins are joined with him, by the Lord of all people, Muhammad and Ali.
My starvation in that land is a satisfaction; my thirst is satisfaction.
I am like a man going in the darkness, whilst behind him shines a bright moon.
(vide Diwan, Beirut, 1309 A.H., p. 972).

Ibn Tiqtaqa also quoted the above poem in his al-Fakhri (comp. 699/1302). Abul Fida (2:309) writes, “Sharif ar-Radi had composed a poem in praise of the Fatimids in which he admitted the legitimate descent of the Fatimids from Ali bin Abu Talib.”

But in 402/1011, the Abbasid caliph Kadir billah (d. 422/1031) alarmed over the prosperity of the Fatimids and their success inside his empire, attempted to combat with Imam al-Hakim by another tool. He gathered a number of Shi’a and Sunni jurists to his court and ordered them to prepare a forged genealogy of the Fatimids and sign the document. Like other depending upon the Abbasids, Sharif ar-Radi and his brother al-Murtada also joined the campaign and signed the document. Ibn Taghri Birdi (d. 874/1470) writes in al-Nujum al-Zahira fi Muluk Misr wal Qahira (Cairo, 1929, 1:45-6) that, “The Abbasid caliph hired the theologians and paid them large sum of money to write books condemning the Fatimid cause and their doctrine.” Ibn Athir (8:9) writes, “Sharif ar-Radi did not include these verses in his Diwan due to fear of the Abbasids, and also signed the document.”

One who employed his literary skills for material benefit and hid the fact, he historically cannot be reliable. It is therefore possible that some parts of the Nahj al-Balagah would have been fabricated to justify the Shi’ite cause, but not in its enterity as judged by Ibn Khallikan. Suffice it to say that the Ismailis must exercise precaution critically in its study. Whatever the case may be, the Nahj al-Balagah, what is extant at our disposal, is one of the great masterpieces of Arabic literature.

There are however many scholars before the period of Sharif ar-Radi and al-Murtada, who had collected the fragments of the sermons, letters and sayings of Ali bin Abu Talib. For instance, Zaid b. Wahab al-Jahani (d. 96/714), Abu Yaqub Ismail b. Mihran (d. 148/715), Muhammad b. Abi Nasr al-Sakuni (d. 148/715), Abu Makhtaf Lut b. Yahya (d. 170/786), Abu Muhammad Masada b. Sadaqatal (d. 183/799), Abu Ishaq Ibrahim b. al-Hakam (d. 190/806), Abu Ishaq Ibrahim b. Suleman b. Nahmi, Abu Manzar Hasham b. Muhammad (d. 206/821), Abu Abdullah Muhammad b. Umar al-Waqidi (d. 207/823), Abul Fazal Nasr b. Mazaham (d. 212/827), Abu Khayr Sualeh b. Abi Hammad (d. 214/829), Abul Hasan Ali b. Muhammad al-Madini (d. 224/839), Abu Jafar Muhammad (d. 240/855), Muhammad b. Habib (d. 245/860), Abul Kassim Abul Azim b. Abdullah (d. 250/864), Abu Uthman Amro bin al-Jahiz (d. 255/871), Imam Muslim (d. 261/877), Abu Jafar Ahmad b. Muhammad (d. 274/899), Ibn Quateeda (d. 276/891), Amin b. Yahya (d. 279/894), Abu Ishaq Ibrahim b. Muhammad al-Thaqafi (d. 283/896), Dinawari (d. 290/905), Ibn Abil (d. 303/918), Tabari (d. 310/922), Abul Kassim Abdullah b. Ahmad (d. 319/931), Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Hasan (d. 321/933), Abu Tayyib Muhammad b. Ahmad (d. 325/937), Muhammad b. Abd Rubahu (d. 328/940), Kulaini (d. 328/940), Abu Ahmad Abdul Aziz b. Yahya (d. 332/941), Abul Kassim Zujaji (d. 337/946), Abul Hasan b. al-Hussain al-Masudi (d. 346/955), Abul Faraj Ispahani (d. 356/965), Abul Kassim Suleman b. Ahmad (d. 360/969), Ibn Babuya (d. 381/990), Darai Quitani (d. 385/994), Abu Bakr Bakuelani (d. 403/1013), Imam Hakim (d. 405/1015), Ibn Mazkoiya (d. 421/1030), Abu Naima al-Asbayhani (d. 430/1039), Abu Abdullah Muhammad b. Noman (d. 431/1040), Ali Abu Sa’id Mansur bin Hussain Abu Muhammad al-Hasan b. Ali (d. 432/1039), etc.

The sources of the above collecters require critical examination in the light of the extant Nahj al-Balagah, so that the historicity of the letters, sermons and sayings of Ali bin Abu Talib can be ascertained.

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral NahoEncyclopedia Topic

Not

Various Sources NaianeEncyclopedia Topic

With the eyes, from the eyes

Various Sources NaineEncyclopedia Topic

With eyes

Various Sources NainuEncyclopedia Topic

Eyes

Various Sources NajarEncyclopedia Topic

Sight, vision

Various Sources NajarEncyclopedia Topic

Vision, sight, look

Various Sources NajarEncyclopedia Topic

Eye, vision, sight, seeing

Various Sources NaJaRNoun

Regard. Se dit du Regard de l'Imam qui donne le DIDAR* (vision).

Heritage Dictionary of Ismailism, entry #701general Najar (Nazar)Encyclopedia Topic

Eye, sight, vision

Various Sources Najar / NazarEncyclopedia Topic

Vision, sight, eye

Various Sources Najar milavoEncyclopedia Topic

Meet the glance, meet the gaze

Various Sources Najara najareEncyclopedia Topic

In front of the eyes, clearly

Various Sources NajareEncyclopedia Topic

With the eyes

Various Sources NajareEncyclopedia Topic

With eyes

Various Sources NAJATEncyclopedia Topic

The terms used in the Koran and hadith for what is meant by the word "salvation" are najat (redemption), fawz (success), falah (prosperity), and sa'ada (happiness). The first term, together with its different derivatives, is frequently used for both kinds of salvation (28:25, 17:67, 11:58, 21:76, 19:72, 61:10, 40:41). Fawz and its derivatives, however, often refer to salvation in the hereafter only (3:185, 4:73, 23:111, 59:20, 78:31, 3:188). The use of falah and its many derivatives is similar to that of najat (2:64, 6:135,18:20, 23:1, 7:8, 87:14, 91:9). Sa'ada does not occur even once in the Koran; its derivatives, su'idu and sa'id have occurred in eschatological sense (11:105, 108). In hadith, the word sa'ada occurs in this sense very frequently as do its different derivatives. Where a word connotes salvation in this world, it is to be found to have some relationship with salvation in the world to come, for the Koran and hadith consider this world as only a preparatory ground for the future world.

NAMAZ [ see SALAT ]

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral NajikEncyclopedia Topic

Near

Various Sources Najra najarEncyclopedia Topic

Face to face, clearly, evidently

Various Sources NakaEncyclopedia Topic

Not, neither

Various Sources NakalankiEncyclopedia Topic

Infallible, innocent, an epithet of Mawla Murtaza Ali (as), Kalki, the last incarnation of Lord Vishnu

Various Sources NakalankiEncyclopedia Topic

Unblemished, infallible, an epithet of Hazrat Ali (a.s.)

Various Sources NakarEncyclopedia Topic

Refuse, turn down

Various Sources NakhEncyclopedia Topic

Nails

Various Sources NakhatraEncyclopedia Topic

Star

Various Sources NakhieEncyclopedia Topic

Forsake, leave

Various Sources NakhieEncyclopedia Topic

Put

Various Sources NakhoEncyclopedia Topic

Put

Various Sources NakhvoEncyclopedia Topic

Captain

Various Sources NaKLanKINoun

Pur. V. du'a "ayimatil atahar", Naklanki Gita*, g. 293.

Heritage Dictionary of Ismailism, entry #702general NakshatraEncyclopedia Topic

Started to do

Various Sources