By the One who brought the soul to equilibrium,
Inspiring it with its transgression and its consciousness
-The Sun (Ash- Shams) Qur’an 91:7-8
The Blaming Self (Nafs Al Lawwama) is the soul which is in the state of spiritual awakening and awareness. It has been touched by Allah’s (God) Mercy so that when it commits a sin or falls into disobedience, it blames itself and turns to forgiveness and repents to its Sustainer. Then it holds on to obedience until it slips back into sin then it turns to forgiveness and repentance and so on.
It has grasped what the Prophet said,
All humans are prone to sin and the best sinners are those who repent (sincerely).
It is a soul that is in constant fluctuation between right and wrong; obedience and disobedience. One time it is heedless and falls and another it is aware and resists.
Its sign is the fluctuation between the material world and spiritual world. It is not in the same evil condition as the Commanding Self but the two desires of immortality and sovereignty are still active in it although in a much reduced or weakened condition. This is the first stage of salvation for the soul and the first step toward its purification and success.
(The Attributes and Names of the Ranks and Stations of the Nafs in its Striving and Elevation – A Translation of a Classic Text by Mahmoud Mostafa)
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