Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Forty Hadith, An Exposition First Hadith: Jihad of The Self عَنِ الشَّيْخِ ثِقَةِ الإِسْلامِ مُحَمَّدٍ بنِ يَعْقُوبَ الكُلَيْنِي، صَاحِبِ الكَافِي، عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنِ النَّوْفَلِي عَنِ السُّكُونِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِاللهِ، عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ، صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ، بَعَثَ سَرِيَّةُ فَلَمَّا رَجَعُوا قَالَ: ‹‹مَرْحَباً بِقَوْمٍ قَضَوُا الجِهَادَ الأَصْغَرَ وَبَقِيَ عَلَيْهِمُ الجِهَادُ الأَكْبَرُ.›› فَقِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، مَا الجِهَادُ الأَكْبَرُ؟ قَالَ: ‹‹جِهَادُ النَّفْسِ.›› Verbal Translation Al-Sukuni relates on the authority of Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Sadiq (A): Verily on seeing the returning armies from the battlefront, the Prophet (S) of God said, “Blessed are those who have performed the minor jihad, and have yet to perform the major one.” When asked, what is the major jihad?
the Prophet replied, “the jihad of the self” (struggle against self). Exposition السَّرِيَّةُ قِطْعَةٌ مِنَ الجَيْشِ. يُقَالُ: خَيْرُ السَّرَايَا أَرْبَعُمِائَةِ رَجُلٍ. Sariyyah is the section (contingent) of a big army, and it has been said that four hundred is an optimum number for the best sariyyah. According to the wordings of the tradition this can be inferred that man is a marvel possessing two lives and two worlds within one existence.
That is, apparent life or the outward world, which is this worldly existence, and is associated with his body, and the other is ‘inner life’, the inward world, associated with the hidden, invisible, higher other world, his soul in short, which belongs to the realms of invisible and celestial world, and consists of several levels and grades. These levels are generally divided sometimes into seven sections and sometimes into four.
They are sometimes divided into three, and sometimes into just two sections. For each one of them is specified host of guardians. The host related with the divine and intellectual powers attracts him towards the sublime, heavenly spheres, and summons him to the acts of virtue and goodness. The other host of guardians is the ignoble and satanic, which attracts man towards the baser realms of darkness and shame, and invites him to the acts of villainy and destruction.
There is always a state of conflict and strive between these two forces, and human existence serves as the battleground of these two bands.