In Islam there is a lot of emphasis placed on moral conduct. Why is this so? Why should we behave well, and respect others? What is the reason?

This can be explained to us by the following explanation.

When Allah created the human being, He created it in two parts. One part was like an empty car shell, used to hold something, this is known as the BODY. The other part was like the engine, this is known as the SOUL.

Our body is such that it needs looking after, we have to feed it and keep it warm, otherwise we will become ill, and suffer.

The soul, known as the NAFS, also needs looking after, otherwise it will also become ill. The way to look after this soul is to listen, to think, to respect, to help. When we help someone, we feel happy, but it is not the body that feels happy. It is not the arms, or the legs, or the head that feels happy, it is something else. That something else is our NAFS.

The Akhlaq of Islam is food for the soul, and if we feed it regularly, it will remain healthy.

This brings another question. Other religions also preach respect, so why don't we follow them?

All the religions which were sent down by Allah were brought with their own codes of conduct. Each religion expanding and adding, until with the advent of Islam, all the rules had been perfected. The other religions have been altered by man in one way or another, and only Islam remains as pure as the night it was revealed. This means that by following the Akhlaq of Islam you are feeding your nafs with the best food.

There is also a saying in English, that the eyes are the windows to the soul. That means that whatever you look at, DIRECTLY affects your NAFS. If you look at things which are Haraam, you are lowering the standard of your NAFS, while if you refrain from looking at Haraam, you are strengthening your the faith of your nafs.

The problem with the world today is that the body is being looked after very well, but the soul is being totally neglected. This causes the disease of the soul, which people do not realise, such diseases cause intensive, and long-term damage.

The greatest doctors of the nafs, who have given us rules and examples to follow are the Fourteen Ma'sumeen.

Now we shall examine this nafs and see what it is like. Allah tells us in Qur'an, that we are not capable of understanding the nafs and its creation. However we have been told of the different types of nafs.

In general, there are three main facets of the nafs, called:

1. NAFS-E-AMMARA: This is the nafs in its worst form. Where it leads towards evil. When a person reaches this stage, he is lower than the animals in the eyes of Allah. At this stage, he is selfish, he looks at Haraam, and he does not care about anyone else. These are the symptoms of this illness, the same way a cough and runny nose is the symptom of a cold.
2. NAFS-E-LAWAAMA: This is the stage where we are not evil, but we still do wrong. It is this nafs which is known as the conscience, because when we do something bad, this nafs tells us that we should not have done it, and that we should repent.
3. NAFS-E-MUTMAINNA: This is the stage which is the goal of this life. To reach the stage of TOTAL CONTENTMENT with Allah. To commit no sin knowingly and to take pleasure in doing good acts. It is this soul which was called on the day of Ashura, when Imam Husain (A) put down his sword and heard the voice saying "Oh soul that is content! Come back to your Lord, well pleased (yourself) and well pleasing to Him."

Imam Ali (A) has said that:

"The nafs is like a wild horse, and you are riding upon him, if you move your attention for one second , he will throw you off."

"The restraining the soul (or self) from its appetite, is the greatest holy war."

Here, he is referring to the Nafs-e-Ammara.