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The Animal or Mammalian Self, Commanding to ‘Evil’ Nafs-e-Ammara.

Sufism (The name given to the esoteric dimension of Islam, about which little is

actually known and much is assumed) recognizes three States of human consciousness.

These are:

The nimal or !ammalian Self, "ommanding to #$vil% &afs'e'mmara

The uilty "onscious Self &afs'e'*awammah

The "ontented Self &afs'e'!utmaeena.

gradual introduction to an entire +hiloso+hy for human develo+ment might

 benefit from an etract of a book that I have translated from an -rdu translation of the

rabic original by The lessed /unaid aghdadi a Saint from the early centuries of Islam.

The book is called 0aulting s+irations and the introduction reads as follows.

entle 1eaders and enevolent friends.

I +ray that llah, The !ost $alted, awakens us from the slee+ of heedlessness

and removes from us the base desires of the self. 2ow long will those who slee+ in

heedlessness of the soul%s as+irations continue u+on this course3

4h llah reveal to us the secret that 5ou have disclosed to the truthful and sincere

ones the secret that they have searched for. 2ow wondrous is the dignity of those who

seek for Thee6 estow u+on them their desire. The $minence of 5our ounty and racehas all the intelligent and discerning +eo+le under 5our Infinite "are. 7now that the

sincere nostics are those who +ossess 0aulting s+irations. The ardent Saints are to be

found amongst the Sufis.

8hen I reviewed the ranks of the 9riends of llah (uliya llah), of the +resent

times, I found that most lacked the knowledge of the ath (Taree;at) and were deficient

in nosis. $ven to the etent that they were unaware of the correct manner of seeking.

The height of ignorance is that they do not eamine their baser self. They remain ignorant

of the heights of as+iration and do not realize how invaluable the moments of the heart

are. They are blind to the immensity of the gifts of lentitude and the !ercy of llah.

They remain insensible to the vast amount of *ove that llah bears for 2is "reation. It is

the great !ercy of llah, The !ost $alted, that 2e has chosen these +eo+le for 2is

nosis 2as allowed them to enter 2is 2oly "ourt and has invited them to draw ever 

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closer to 2is 2oly resence. 9rom 2is 2oly $ssence 2e has made them aware of each

station and hidden their ultimate end. 2e has bestowed us with hearts 2as endowed them

with the ca+acity of love and 2as declared 2imself to be the enultimate 9riend. 2e has

hidden 2imself amongst the valleys of S+lendor and !a

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heedless with the blessedness of their unawakened as+irations. It is obligatory u+on the

Saints that they do not reveal the inner secrets of the hearts as ordinary +eo+le are not

ca+able of sustaining such knowledge. Those who +ossess this knowledge are etremely

limited in number. Those who tread the ath of nosis and attem+t to attain unto llah

are obviously few in number and those who are aware of the rank and dignity of the

Saints are very limited. The vast ma!ysteries? whereas we have abandoned the inner +ath for the more

worldly and lucrative +ath of materialism.

It might not be amiss to re+eat a 2omily from the 8orld 9amous Sufi Sage

!aulana 1umi u+on who be the !ercy of llah. number of fellow travelers from

different nationalities arrived at a "aravan Sarai, the leader of the +arty asked them what

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