Nafs, Ruh & Qalb | Self, Spirit and Heart in Sufism Explained

What are the nafs, ruh and qalb? In Sufi psychology, these three ideas describe different dimensions of the human being: the self, the spirit and the heart. The ruh is the spirit, associated with our higher origin and the longing to return to God. The nafs is the self which, in Sufi teaching, often refers to the ego with its appetites, anger and pride. Between them stands the qalb, the heart: the inward centre that can turn either toward the spirit or toward the lower self. This video explores al-Ghazali’s teaching on the heart, the Quranic stages of the nafs, Rumi’s famous story of the sleeping dragon, the “eye of the heart,” and the Sufi understanding of spiritual transformation. The aim is not to destroy the nafs, but to train it until the self that commands becomes the self at peace. #Sufism #Nafs #Qalb #Ruh #Tasawwuf #SufiPsychology #SufiClassics