Your soul already knows [91:7–8]

Let us continue our reflection on the nature of the human being.

After discussing the idea of fitrah in Surah Rum - that primordial nature upon which Allah created mankind - we now turn to another passage in the Qur’an which relates to a similar idea.

In Surah Ash-Shams, Allah says 

وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا 

[91:7] And the soul and Him Who made it perfect [fashioned it],

فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا 

[91:8] Then He inspired it to understand what is wrong and (what is) right for it, 

Here Allah [swt] is swearing by the Nafs and this passage comes after many oaths on the sun and the moon among others. Let us remind ourselves that when Allah [swt] takes oaths and swears in the Quran, it is not to prove His veracity. Rather it is an invitation for us to pay close attention to what the oath is taken on as in: pay attention this is so important that I am swearing by it. 

Scholars [in the Study Quran] explain that “the One Who fashioned it (made it perfect)” means that God created the soul sound, balanced, and properly formed, in its original pure nature (fitrah), as mentioned in 30:30.  

Scholars explain that mentioning the soul in the middle of a series of contrasts of sun, moon, day and night (in the previous verses) suggests that the human nafs contains an inherent dual capacity. The soul can reach the state of the soul at peace (89:27), which has control over its desires and has attained certainty. It can also become the soul that commands to evil (12:53). Between these two is the blaming soul (75:2), which reproaches itself. We shall be talking more about these states of the soul in the coming days Inshallah.

The Arabic word alhamaha used in this verse comes from ilham meaning inspiration. One scholar notes that its root carries the meaning of “swallowing something deeply, as though the soul ingests this knowledge of right and wrong deep within”.

So when Allah completed the creation of the human being with clay and Divine breath, He did not leave us morally blind. He instilled within the soul an awareness of:

•         what breaks us (fujur)
•         and what protects us (taqwa)

In other words, he set us up for success. He gave us the gift of moral awareness, the ability to know — even before revelation reaches us — that some things elevate us and some things degrade us.

What Is Fujur? What Is Taqwa?

The word fujur comes from the same root as fajr (dawn) which breaks open the darkness. Sin is called fujur because it “breaks open” the protective covering of piety. It tears through something sacred.

Taqwa, on the other hand, comes from wiqayah meaning protection. It is not merely “fear of God.” It is self-protection. Guarding oneself from corrosion.

So within us, there is awareness of:

•         what breaks the soul
•         and what guards it

And this awareness is internally embedded even before it is externally imposed by Sharia for example. Another way to think about this is that Allah calibrated our moral compass to point towards a direction which will bring us lasting wellbeing and felicity. 

The verses right after these say that: 

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّاهَا 

[91:9] He will indeed be successful who purifies it,

وَقَدْ خَابَ مَن دَسَّاهَا 

[91:10] And he will indeed fail who corrupts it.

All of the previous oaths led to this truth: [ultimate] success and failure depends upon the extent to which you purify your nafs and the extent to which you live in alignment to your innate nature. 

So we are given the potential and we are shown the direction. The choice remains ours. And the outcome depends on cultivation of this preprogrammed soul.

From a psychological perspective, this is astonishingly in tune with what science is discovering: Research in moral psychology suggests that human beings possess innate moral intuitions. Even very young children show signs of fairness, empathy, and discomfort with injustice.

So though we are born with a moral architecture and an innate knowing, this awareness is not the same as discipline and self-restraint. We may know what is right, and still choose otherwise. [How often does this happen, right?]

What are some distractions that can drown out the soft alarms of our moral compass and lead us to act in opposition to our hard-drive?

Constant stimulation?
Social media algorithms?
Cultural normalization of what was once shameful?

The focus on short term pleasure? The belief that we “deserve” to be happy?

The belief that the normal rules of cause and effect do not apply to me?

The convincing ourselves, “just this once”?

Something else?

Next time when you are about to do something that you KNOW is not good for you [eating chocolate every night - who me?] pause and wonder what is leading you away from your own interests? 

In order to take the journey of growth, we need to become experts on ourselves and what drives us.