نَفْس self in Arabic

فَأقر لَهُ بِالْجَهْلِ فِي علمه، والآفات فِي عمله، والعيوب فِي نَفسه، والتفريط فِي حَقه، وَالظُّلم فِي مُعَامَلَته

So he acknowledges his ignorance in his knowledge, the flaws in his actions, the defects in his self, his negligence in his duty, and the injustice in his dealings.

نَفْسِهِ his self

nafs means 'self, soul'; the ending '-hi' adds 'his' — 'himself'.

From Returning to God

فَيرى فِي ذَلِك فقره إِلَى ربّه، وظلمه فِي نَفسه

Thus, he sees in that his need for his Lord, and his injustice to himself.

نَفْسِهِ himself

nafs means 'self, soul'; the ending '-hi' adds 'his' — 'himself' (wronging himself).

From Returning to God

ونكتة الْمَسْأَلَة أَنَّهُ لَا يرى ربه إِلَّا محسنا، وَلَا يرى نَفسه إِلَّا مسيئا

And the essence of the matter is that he sees his Lord as nothing but good, and himself as nothing but wrong.

نَفْسَهُ himself

nafs means 'self, soul'; the ending '-hu' adds 'his' — 'himself'; the object of 'sees'.

From Returning to God

اعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ إِنَّمَا كَانَ جِهَادُ النَّفْسِ أَكْبَرَ مِنْ جِهَادِ الأَعْدَاءِ

Know that the struggle against one's self is indeed greater than the struggle against enemies.

النَّفْسِ of one's self

al- = 'the'; nafs means 'the self, soul' — the 'of…' word: 'against the self'.

From Resisting Temptation

لأَنَّ النَّفْسَ مَحْبُوبَةٌ

Because the self is beloved.

النَّفْسَ the self

al- = 'the'; nafs means 'the self, soul'; the '-a' ending marks it as the subject of 'anna' ('because the self…').

From Resisting Temptation

ومع كل فجرٍ جديد، اجعل نيتك أوّل عملك، وابتسم سرًّا حين تنتصر على نفسك في أمر صغير؛

With each new dawn, make your intention your first action, and smile secretly when you overcome yourself in a small matter.

نَفْسِكَ yourself

'nafs' = 'self'; '-ka' = 'your', so 'yourself'; takes the 'over...' ending after 'ala'.

From Small Daily Habits

فَأَمَّا الْعَاقِلُ فَإِنَّهُ يَنْهَى نَفْسَهُ عَنْ لَذَّةٍ تُعَقِّبُ أَلَمًا

As for the rational person, he restrains himself from pleasure that is followed by pain.

نَفْسَهُ his self

'Self' with 'his' clipped onto the end; teamed with the verb's built-in 'he', the two produce the reflexive 'restrains his own self'. As the object it takes the accusative.

From The Discipline of Foresight

فَيَفْضُلُ الْعَاقِلُ عَلَيْهِ بِمَنْعِ نَفْسِهِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ

Thus, a rational person is superior by restraining himself from it.

نَفْسِهِ his self

'Self' with 'his' attached, completing 'the withholding of his self' — genitive as the owner in the pair, and reflexive in sense.

From The Discipline of Foresight

فَيُلْقِي نَفْسَهُ فِي الْمَهَالِكِ لِنَيْلِ مَا يَقْتَضِيهِ تَعَوُّدُهُ

So he throws himself into danger to obtain what his habit demands.

نَفْسَهُ his self

'Self' with 'his' attached; paired with the verb's built-in 'he', it gives the reflexive 'throws his own self'. Object, so accusative.

From The Discipline of Foresight

وفي السجود سبحانَ ربّي الأعلى فتضعُ النفسَ موضعَها عبدٌ يقتربُ بسجوده لا بصورةٍ يُنشِرها

In prostration: 'Glory be to my Lord, the Most High,' you place the self in its position: a servant who draws near through prostration, not through an image to be shared.

النَّفْسَ the self

'the self', accusative as the object placed. al- makes it the self in general — your own soul, set where it belongs.

From Remembrance That Reshapes the Heart

اجعل للصبحِ والمساءِ وِردًا من الأذكارِ المأثورة، واقرأه بمهلٍ وفهم، ثم اسأل نفسَك ماذا تغيّر؟

Make for the morning and evening a habitual recitation from established remembrances, read it with care and understanding, then ask yourself: what has changed?

نَفْسَكَ yourself

'yourself' — 'nafs' with 'your' attached, the object of 'ask'. It turns the question inward.

From Remembrance That Reshapes the Heart

وأيضاً فنوع الثناء أضافه الرب إلى نفسه،

And also, a type of praise was attributed by the Lord to Himself,

نَفْسِهِ Himself

'Himself' — 'nafs' plus 'his', genitive after 'ila'; reflexive: He ascribed praise to His own self.

From The Opening Chapter

وأيضاً فنوع الثناء أضافه الرب إلى نفسه، ونوع السؤال أضافه إلى عبده

And also, the type of praise is attributed by the Lord to Himself, and the type of supplication is attributed to His servant.

نَفْسِهِ Himself

'Himself' — 'nafs' plus 'his', genitive after 'ila'; reflexive: He ascribed praise to His own self.

From Praise and Petition in Prayer

فنَفْسَك لُمْ ولا تَلُمِ المطايا

Blame yourself, not the mounts...

فَنَفْسَكَ so yourself

'Fa-' plus 'self' with '-ka' (your) attached, in the accusative as the fronted object — 'your own self, blame!'. Fronting the object before the command stresses it: it is yourself you should blame.

From How Satan Exploits Weakness

أَعْطَتْ نَفسه المطمئنة مَا وصلت إِلَيْهِ من الذل لعظمته والانكسار لعزته

His tranquil soul gives what it reached in humility to His greatness and in submission to His might.

نَفْسُهُ His soul

'Soul / self' with '-hu' (his) attached, the subject of 'gave', nominative — the servant's soul. The suffix points to the servant.

From Humility Before the Divine

مَا تبلغ الْأَعْدَاء من جَاهِل من يبلغ الْجَاهِل من نَفسه

What enemies achieve against an ignorant person is not as much as what the ignorant person achieves against himself.

نَفْسِهِ his self

'Self' with '-hi' (his) attached, genitive after 'min' — 'against himself'. The fool harms himself more than any enemy could.

From Love and Devotion to God

لكن على نَفسه قوي قلبه بِبِشَارَة ﴿لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعنا﴾

But in himself, his heart was strengthened by the glad tidings, 'Do not grieve; indeed, Allah is with us.'

نَفْسِهِ his self

'Self' with '-hi' (his) attached, genitive after 'upon' — 'in his own self'. The inner man, steadied despite the danger.

From The Night of the Migration

كم وقى الرَّسُول بِالْمَالِ وَالنَّفس

How much he protected the Messenger with his wealth and his life.

وَالنَّفْسِ and self

'And' plus 'self / life', parallel genitive — 'and his own life'. He shielded the Prophet with property and person alike.

From The Prophet's Refuge in the Cave

فقال رسول الله والذي نفسي بيده لو تدومون على ما تكونون عندي وفي الذكر لصافحتكم الملائكة على فرشكم وفي طرقكم، ولكن يا حنظلة ساعة وساعة ثلاث مرات،

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: 'By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, if you remained in the state that you are with me and in remembrance, the angels would shake hands with you in your beds and on your paths. But, O Hanzala, a time and a time.' He repeated this three times.

نَفْسِي my soul

This is 'soul' with attached 'my' — 'my soul', the subject of the little clause 'in whose hand is my soul'. The pronoun ties the soul to the speaker. It pairs with the 'in his hand' that follows.

From Devotion and Daily Life

ونظيره قوله سبحان ﴿لا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ نَصْرَ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَلا هُمْ مِنَّا يُصْحَبُونَ﴾

And similarly, His words: "They cannot help themselves, nor are they helped by Us."

أَنْفُسِهِمْ themselves

A reflexive noun 'themselves' with -hum (their) attached, the owning second noun of 'helping of themselves', so it is in the genitive. The attached -hum points back to the group, making the helping turn on its own subjects.

From Preparing for Judgment Day

ونظيره قوله سبحان ﴿لا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ نَصْرَ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَلا هُمْ مِنَّا يُصْحَبُونَ﴾

And a similar idea is in His saying, "They are unable to help themselves, nor are they assisted by Us."

أَنْفُسِهِمْ themselves

A reflexive noun 'their selves' with an attached 'their' ending, the owner half of the 'helping of' pairing, in the genitive. The plural pronoun loops back to the same subjects: they cannot help their own selves.

From Signs of Resurrection

ونظيره قوله سبحان ﴿لا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ نَصْرَ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَلا هُمْ مِنَّا يُصْحَبُونَ﴾

And similar is His saying, the Exalted: 'They cannot aid themselves, nor are they supported by Us.'

أَنْفُسِهِمْ themselves

This is the reflexive noun 'themselves' with an attached 'their', the owner closing 'aiding of themselves'. It is in the genitive of the possessive pair and points back to the same people who are the unable doers, making the helping turn back on themselves.

From Oaths That Seal the Truth

العاشر أنه سبحانه نبه بقوله ﴿إِنْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ لَمَّا عَلَيْهَا حَافِظٌ﴾ على أنه قد وكل عليه من يحفظ عليه عمله ويحصيه فلا يضيع منه شيء

The tenth point is that He, glorified be He, emphasized by saying, ‘Indeed, every soul will have a guardian over it,’ indicating that He has appointed someone to safeguard and account for its deeds, and nothing will be lost from them.

نَفْسٍ soul

This noun lacks 'the' and ends in the indefinite mark, so it means 'a soul', any soul, owned by 'every' before it. Its indefiniteness, shown by the ending, is what lets 'every' range over all souls without exception.

From Ten Proofs of Resurrection

ولما أقام الحجة وبين الحجة إرتهن كل نفس بكسبها وآخذها بذنبها

And when the proof was established and made clear, every soul is held accountable for its deeds and taken for its sins.

نَفْسٍ soul

This noun lacks 'the' and ends in the indefinite mark, so it means 'a soul', any soul, owned by 'every' before it. Its indefiniteness, shown by the ending, lets 'every' cover all souls without exception.

From Prayer and Charity