Your Nafs Commands Evil — Here Are the 2 Ways to Tame It | Shaykh AbdurRazzaq al-Badr حفظه الله

Disciplining the Nafs

A person should recognize that the nafs (self) is naturally inclined toward evil. Awareness of this tendency is the first step toward disciplining the self and moving toward a tranquil, obedient soul.

Practices to Embrace

• Make frequent supplication. Ask Allah to guide and purify the soul. The speaker highlights these prayers:
  • “O Allah, guide me to the best of character … and turn away from me the worst of it.”
  • “O Allah, grant my soul its piety and purify it; You are the best of those who purify it.”
• Strive against the nafs. Resist it when it urges wrongdoing, obscenity, or corruption, and direct yourself toward what is true and right.
• Keep seeking Allah’s help. Reform depends on Allah’s mercy, so accompany your striving with persistent prayer and reliance on Him.
• Practice self-accountability. Reflect on your actions and on what you are preparing for the Hereafter.

The reminder cites Allah’s promise that those who strive for His sake will be guided to His ways (Qur’an 29:69).

Presenter: Shaykh AbdurRazzaq al-Badr Sources cited: Qur’an; Sahih Muslim (supplication for the soul’s piety and purification)