What is Recognition of the Self

(Ma’rifat-e-Nafs)?

        Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said, “Whoever recognizes himself recognizes his Lord.”  The greatest problem in the universe is self-recognition[1], meaning recognizing yourself.  Where did man come from and why, and where is he going?  The cause of all of man’s worries is not recognizing himself.  Now what does it mean to recognize the self?  Does it mean that my name is such-and-such, I have two eyes, two hands, or that I can identify my lips and my face?  Is this what it means to recognize the self?  Then even an unbeliever can recognize his self.  Knowing yourself does not mean recognizing your body; rather, it means knowing your true origin.  The cause of all of man’s misfortunes (bad luck) is that man thinks himself to be limited to his body.  However, it is not so.  The body is not the real source of man’s existence. 

 

What is the difference between our

being (zat) and our body?

        Let us say, for example, that someone told us Mr. Yusuf has passed away.  We went to his house and saw that his body is safe and sound; none of his body parts have decreased.  We said that Mr. Yusuf is present, while you are saying that he has died.  If Mr. Yusuf has died, then who is this?  Everyone replied, what kinds of things are you saying?  This is Mr. Yusuf’s body, but in reality Mr. Yusuf has departed from this world.  Therefore, Mr. Yusuf was not the name of the body.  Rather, the soul is the source of the existence of man, and its name was Yusuf.

        Because man thinks himself to be only a physical body, he wastes his whole life obtaining corporal (material) pleasures and desires.  When he dies, then all these physical pleasures and desires are terminated, such as the pleasures of eating, drinking, and ruling.  These are all useless for a dead body.  Thus, no pleasure remains for such a person who nourished his body his entire life, remaining unaware of spiritual pleasures.  Because of not recognizing his self, man wastes this great and precious life in the pursuit of material and fleeting (passing swiftly) objects, such as, obtaining wealth, building large mansions, running after power and fame, and usurping (seize wrongfully) the right of the poor in order to find comfort for himself.  Man commits all oppression and injustices because he thinks that whatever is related to the body is his property.  While, in reality, man’s property and capital is only that which will never be separated from him.  By one jerk (sudden push or pull), death can seize wealth, government, influence, and one’s wife.  Thus, his relationship is terminated (finished) with all those things that are related to the body; however, even after death and even after being buried, those things that are related to the soul cannot leave us.

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