Inanimate soul

Firstly: Inanimate soul

Allah mentioned it in His noble book in different verses, He says:

"And He began the creation of man from mud." (Surat As'sajda, verse 7)

He also says:

"He created man from dry clay like earthen vessels." (Surat Ar'rahman, verse 14)

The beginning of creating the body of man was from mud or clay, all these stages are inanimate, the inanimate is characterized by stillness and solidity in itself, it never moves or changes without an external stimulus.

So Allah created this soul that suits his origin in him, Allah made the inanimate soul in man to attract him to that origin, it pushes him to rest and stillness then to laziness and solidity, it doesn’t whisper to man directly but says to him: "You worked hard, man needs some rest after hard work, this is naturally." Then it decorates rest and its benefits to stay for long, it also temporizes and deceives saying why you are in a hurry and that hurry is from Satan, you think it really advises you so you follow it once and stop it another time, and it doesn’t stop until it beats you again and again, it makes your rest so long and you become lazy, unhealthy, solid and loose lots of benefits.

So if the Muslim in the way of Allah left his inanimate soul to its nature, it will impress him by the description of solid that doesn’t have life or grow, he will become solid, inert and inactive, if he continues following it, doing its advice, neglects fighting it and leaves opposing it, he will be afflicted by loving rest unnecessarily, laziness when he needs to be active, lots of sleep, loving stillness and sitting with inattentive people.

The inanimate soul wants to stop me from acts of worship and makes me lazy, whenever I get up it stops me and prevent me from remembrance of Allah, obedience of Allah, visiting a brother for Allah's sake or any other deed that brings me near to Allah.

If I try to fight it , it never surrenders or stops but it argues geting reasons to quit questioning, it may say: "Sufism and this way was for those who have no work like the companions, they had the time and didn’t have occupations like us." We say to it: "Oh solid and inert soul, this is the allegation of ignorant people, who said that the companions had free time? Were they not working? No, but they were hard working, they were never free from work, they were either in fighting, when they come back from wars, they had another war in the field of working for their living or calling for Allah and prevailing the orders of religion, could such people have free time?"

Our sir Jesus said about them describing the followers of Prophet Mohammed (May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): "His followers are monks by nights and hard working by days." Imam Abul-Aza'em clarified this and said:

"You see them magnanimous by days like lions in working properly for this live as Allah ordered. At night they are like monks remembering their Lord, in drunkenness and puzzled from witnessing and remembrance."

The inanimate soul frustrates you when you want to pray at night saying: "You have to work in the morning if you stayed up at night, you won't be able to work hard in the morning." You listen to it forgetting that if Allah makes you stay up, He will support you.

Here is an example: our sir Omar used to sleep very little why? He said: "If I sleep by day I will neglect my people and if I sleep by night I will neglect myself." You may say: "How could such man survive?" It is easy, this man relied on Allah, if he only took a nap even while sitting, he got up as if he slept for a day or more, he doesn’t complain of insomnia or roll about in bed, he doesn’t need sleeping or sedative pills.

Imam Abu-Haneefa was a merchant in the market, as you know he continued for forty years praying the morning prayers (Sob'h) by the ablution of the night prayer (Ishaa), when did he use to sleep? He used to take a nap after sunrise and a nap after going home from market, in the afternoon he used to teach and at night he stays up worshipping Allah. The problem is that the soul limits us to reasons and tricks us to make us forget what Allah says:

"And Allah gives means of subsistence to whom he pleases without measure." (Surat Al-Bakara, verse 212)

Righteous people only go to Allah by this. The inanimate soul also trick you when the weather is cold saying: "Wait, water is cold and the weather is cold." You say that there is the heater and hot water, it says: "But it is cold outside the house, you may catch cold if you make ablution by hot water and go out and Allah ordered you to keep your health." Glory to Allah, you get to it (the soul) from here but it get you excuses from there and each time you disprove the excuse, it gets you others and others, what does the soul want? It wants to inert and immobile me from obeying Allah, this is the inanimate soul.

 The Formal Site of Sheikh Fawzy Mohammed Abuzeid