“Whoever knows himself knows his Lord”

THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS KNOWING YOURSELF!

“Whoever knows himself knows his Lord” says our prophet, the Messenger of Allah (S.A.V).

If you really want to be acquainted with and know your Lord, you first need to be acquainted with and know yourself.

To know oneself is to know one’s nafs (the ego construct).

To know one’s nafs means:

Getting acquainted with and knowing its characteristics.

Knowing your morals (habits, character).

Knowing your temperament (the combination of elemental qualities at birth).

Things you are inclined towards and your soft spot (the thing you are fond of).

It is knowing your capabilities and your talents.

It is knowing what you have genetically inherited from your parents.

It is knowing how you have internalised the education, culture and conditioning that have been imposed on you by the society you live in from a very young age.

In order to know all of these, one needs to proceed with sincerity, determination, patience, gratefulness, correct knowledge on the correct path that is grounded in correct knowledge and one should only pay regard to Allah’s consent.

You can only get acquainted with and know your Lord (your own Lord) after you know your nafs. This is not the end but the beginning of the path. The real work begins here.

The aim is to get acquainted with and know Allah who is the Lord of all realms.

Allah (ﷻ) knows best. 

Ahmet Şahin Uçar