Striving against oneself (مُجاهَدَةُ النَّفْسِ)
التربية والسلوك
المعنى الاصطلاحي :
Forcing oneself to do acts of obedience and give up disobedience in pursuit of Allah's reward.
الشرح المختصر :
"Mujaahadat-un-nafs" (striving against oneself) is to exert one's utmost effort in engaging the self in whatever benefits it in the worldly life and the Hereafter. This is done by forcing it to follow Allah's commands and avoid His prohibitions. It is called 'inner striving', while the other type is 'external striving', which means fighting the external enemy. Striving against oneself has four stages: 1. Striving against oneself in learning guidance and the true religion. 2. Striving against the self to force it to act upon this knowledge. 3. Striving against oneself in calling to the truth. 4. Striving against oneself to be patient while facing the hardships related to calling others to Allah as well as people's harm.