Nafs
/nafs/noun
In Islamic thought, the self or soul, especially the inner self associated with desire, character, and moral struggle.
Did you know?The Qur’an describes the nafs al-ammārah, the “commanding self,” as urging a person toward wrongdoing, making self-mastery a central spiritual battle.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*napš-
“Self, soul, life, or living being; a reconstructed ancestor of later Semitic forms.”
2nd millennium BCE
Akkadian
napīštu
“Life, breath, person, or soul.”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
neפֶשׁ (nephesh)
“Living being, life, person, appetite, or soul.”
7th century CE
Classical Arabic
nafs
“Self, soul, person, or inner nature; plural nufūs.”
20th century
English
nafs
“A borrowed Islamic and Arabic philosophical term for the self or soul, often discussed in relation to desire and spiritual purification.”