PAINTING BY: IMAN MALEKIIslam teaches me that when the self (ego) over comes the spirit it will abase and oppress me into this earth… and so it has, once upon a time.
I now know that we should care for both the soul and the spirit, because we are by the fact of the soul a human being and not by the physical body. We are not human beings because of our animal nature, because then the animal kingdom will overcome us in every situation, rather we are human beings because of our spiritual nature. However, our spiritual nature is not allowed to emerge until we purify ourselves.
In Islam, the path of purification is continuous, thus this is where the use of the word ‘Jihad’ comes in correctly. The Jihad or the strive/ struggle against the self from negativity, to diminish ego consciousness, cleanse the heart and nourish the spirit. Islamic teaching identifies the different stages of the self as well as the different states of the heart with the ultimate destination being to transcend the self while being in the physical world.
Sh. Hamza Yusuf said: Previously the pre-modern world recognized the power of the human as well as the weakness, back then people supported one another to overcome their weaknesses. Now the modern and post-modern world recognize that there is a lot of money to be made off of these weaknesses.
And here we are.
