My (earnest, irate) thoughts

Ally calls it something the cat threw up, and Christians call it the flesh, but in post-Qur’an Arabic the nafs is the evil-commanding aspect of the human soul that fights with the conscience and counsels us to hurt ourselves or others. Like the Hebrew nefesh, it whispers, its greed must be feared, and it must be restrained and made patient.

Doing battle with such a foe makes it seem crazy to put ourselves in a situation that opposes our internal belief structure. Why would I, a reformed drunk who believes that alcohol is poison for the human soul, go to a happy hour? What would be the point? My own nafs would taunt me in one of two ways — either encouraging me to have just one, or flattering my ego with how ‘righteous’ I am — and the nafs of most people there would whisper to them: ‘If she’s not going to drink, what is she even doing here? Probably just judging us. All religious people are so judgmental. And boring.’

Since every affair must start off as a single too-long glance, Jesus, peace upon him, counseled us not to commit adultery and told men how — don’t look at a woman with lust. The life of a Muslim is this: not just to avoid sin, but to avoid the first step on the wrong path. We’re human, i.e. anything can happen.

People I work with regard my lifestyle in one of two ways: with a bit of awe, like they can’t imagine having self-control; or with a bit of skepticism, like they can’t imagine why religion should have a say on all aspects of human existence. Christians are perhaps the most surprised. Maybe because modern-day American Christianity is a fragmented, broken thing; notsomuch a religion as a belief without a methodology. This is because the real religion of America is Western liberalism, and at the heart of that is freedom. The heart of Islam, on the other hand, is justice. Justice is seen not as mercy’s opposing force, but as the embodiment of mercy. More on that another time.

Fighting the urge to fight the urge is a short, great article about how most people have far less self-control than they realize, and that over time, the self-control ‘muscle’ can be strengthened — but exercising our self-control works best if our environment doesn’t steadily drain our willpower.