Considering Iblis as the Carnal Soul [nafs]

The carnal soul and Satan have been one from the first,

And both have envied and been the enemy of Adam [Rumi MM III 3197]

Certain Sufi masters have considered Iblis to be the carnal soul and its tendencies. They have seen the essence of Iblis as existing in human beings; Iblis enjoys no existence in his own right. It is this matter which we undertake to explain, by citing the following passages:

Every day the passions don three hundred and sixty styles of divine dress, inviting the wayfarer to go astray, but unless the passion for sinning manifests itself in one, Satan cannot penetrate the heart and inner being of the wayfarer. When the predisposition for the passion arises, Satan seizes and promotes it, projecting it upon the heart; this is what is known as 'temptation'; thus, it begins in passion, and this is the most vile of onslaughts. This is what is meant by Almighty Allah's answer to Iblis' declaration, "By Your might I shall misguide them all." [xxxv111:82]

Almighty Allah's reply was, "As for my bondsmen, you have no power over them, except for the erring one who follows you." [XV:42]. So, in fact, Satan is no more than the wayfarers carnal soul and passions. The beloved Prophet Mustafa (Allah bless him and give him peace) was referring to this point when he said, "There is no one whom Satan has not dominated, except Omar, who has dominated his own Satan [his passions]."

 The carnal soul and Satan exist as one,

Though they show themselves in two forms. [Rumi MM III 4053]

 

 

Manifestations, Methods of Iblis

 

The First Manifestation

The Second Manifestation

 

 

Hazrat Sayyid Abdul-Karim al-Jili  who died between 1408 and 1417, was also a Shaikh, a descendant of the great Sayyiduna Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah be well pleased with him). He is the foremost systematizer and one of the greatest exponents of the work of Shaikh Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi’s (may Allah be pleased with him). His book al-Insan ak-kamil [the Perfect Man], and explanation of Shaikh al-Akbar’s teachings on the structure of reality and human perfection, is held to be one of the masterpieces of Sufi literature in its own right.

Hazrat Sayyid Abdul-Karim al-Jili (may Allah be pleased with him) in his al-Insan al-Kamil has cited several manifestations of Iblis, which we shall set out here:

Know that Iblis appears in 99 manifestations, equaling the number of the virtuous names of Almighty Allah [Invincible and Exalted is He], and he endlessly projects himself within these manifestations, the description of all of which would be difficult. We shall confine ourselves to the 7 manifestations which are fundamental, equivalent to the 7 essential names of Almighty Allah, which are the basis of for all the virtuous divine names. 

There is a wonder in this matter which is that Iblis' origin lies in the nafs of the Divine Essence. Take a note of this point and keep it ever in mind. Now, know that the sevenfold manifestations are as follows:

The First Manifestation is the world and that which has been assigned to the world, such as the stars and the transcendent elements, as well as the natural elements. Now take note that Iblis does not project his manifestation on any particular person. However, he generally appears to each group in the manner which we shall describe. Furthermore, he is not content with the [effect of a] manifestation which he projects onto a given group; he persists himself in different guises, until he has shut all doors of escape from them. All ways through which they may return to their original state are absolutely closed. Here we shall discuss only the predominant manifestations displayed by Iblis to each group, leaving the rest aside, because Iblis achieves the same effect in all of his manifestations.

He appears to the idolaters in the world, through the world and what exist in it, for example, the elements, the heavens and the transcendental elements, as well as the different climates of the world. He deceives the unbelievers and idolaters with the collection of manifestations through the decoration and adornment of the world in the first instance, in order to destroy their reason and blind their hearts, whereupon he guides them through the mysteries of the stars and the principles of the elements and the like, telling them, "These things are the primary causes in existence." Consequently, they worship the heavens and become convinced of the correctness of his explanations of the heavens. They witness how the sun fosters the material of existence with its heat and observe that the rain falls accordingly to the findings of astronomy. Not a trace of doubt creeps into their conceptualization of the divine Lordship of the stars; when Iblis has established these principles amongst them, he makes them into four-legged creatures, whose efforts are directed solely towards feeding and watering themselves. They have no belief in the Day of Resurrection or anything like it; they kill and plunder one another, drown themselves in the seas of darkness of their natural appetites, and never find liberation there from.

Now, Iblis does the same for the believers in the elements, asking them, "Do you not see that matter is a composite of substances, which are in turn made up of heat and cold, moisture and dryness? These are your lords, they have brought forth existence and continue to be the primary causes in the world." Thus, Iblis does the same thing with this group that he has done with the first one.

He spoke similarly to the fire worshippers, asking, "Do you not see that 'being' has been divided into darkness and light, that darkness is a god called 'Ahriman' and light is a god called 'Yazdan', and that the basis of fire is light?" Thereby they devote themselves to the worship of that fire, so that he does the same thing with these as he has done with the first group and does likewise with all idolators.

The Second Manifestation is that if the desires of nature, lust and indulgence. Iblis appears to the ordinary Muslims in this manifestation in order to deceive them. First, he entices them into lustful pastimes, turning them towards animal indulgence [that which nature demands of them]. so that the eye of insight for them becomes blind. At the same time he reveals the world to them, informing them that the desirable things which he reveals can be realized only through the world. Consequently, they become engulfed in love for the world, and persist in their attention to it. Having brought them to that stage, he leaves them to themselves, for once they have reached such a stage, there is no need for him to take any further steps. They have become his followers, and they never revolt against his orders, because ignorance goes hand in hand with love of the world. If Iblis should order them to unbelief, they would become unbelievers. In this context, Iblis insinuates himself into them, injecting doubt and temptation concerning that about which Almighty Allah has given indication, entangling them in a heresy, and so completes his work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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