“Self-Sacrifice”
By: Khayal ‘Aly
(August 24, 2026)
I’m not a perfect spiritual seeker,
nor would I ever even claim that.
My carnal soul still goes out of control —
I’ve yet to effectively tame that.
I’m sure many others also struggle
with sticking to the discipline that we need;
actually putting into practice
all of the spiritual literature that we read.
Verily, our Lord is very Merciful,
and may easily forgive our sins or mistakes.
But if we’re looking for spiritual union,
we will indeed need to do whatever it takes.
Each of us must tame that wild beast
that still remains hidden deep inside of us.
Let’s strive to make our Saviour proud,
that he selflessly sacrificed his life for us.
This spiritual poem — or Inspired Rhyme-Minder — begins with a simple and candid admission that many sincere wayfarers can undoubtedly relate to: “I’m not a perfect spiritual seeker, nor would I ever even claim that.” Recognizing our own imperfections is an important starting point on the spiritual path. As human beings, we inevitably make mistakes, fall short of our ideals, and struggle against aspects of our lower or carnal nature. The spiritual seeker is therefore not someone who has already attained perfection, but one who sincerely strives toward it.
As the Imam of the Time, Mawlana Shah Rahim⁽ᶜ⁾, reminds us, however, perfection belongs to Allah alone:
“We all make mistakes. I do not expect you to be perfect. Only Allah is perfect. When we make mistakes, we must reflect on them honestly, learn from them, and then resolve to do better.”
— Imam Shah Rahim al-Husayni⁽ᶜ⁾, Didar, Houston, Texas, United States of America, November 7, 2025 (Morning)
The Imam’s guidance, in addition to offering comfort to his murids (aspiring disciples) who may feel that they have let their Murshid down, offers an important perspective on our inevitable shortcomings. We should neither imagine ourselves to be spiritually perfect nor become despondent when we recognize our mistakes, sins, and weaknesses. Rather, we must have the courage to acknowledge them honestly, reflect upon them sincerely, learn from them, and resolve to do better.
In this sense, our mistakes and shortcomings need not become obstacles to our progress. Approached with humility, self-compassion, and sincere intention, our “slips” from the straight path can instead become means of realization, recentering, and renewed effort to subdue and discipline that persistent “enemy” within — the inner enemy so well known in the Islamic spiritual tradition as the nafs-i ammarah, literally, the commanding soul, often referred to as the carnal soul.
Where is the spiritual wayfarer who has not, to one degree or another, struggled — and sometimes, unfortunately, suffered — with their own carnal soul: the lower self that demands its desires, however base and animalistic, be gratified and so easily goes out of control?
Thus, those who have indeed been suffering — often silently, for fear of being judged — under the weight of this most intimate inner opponent may find some of their burden lifted simply by acknowledging the struggle and admitting, along with the poet:
I’m not a perfect spiritual seeker,
nor would I ever even claim that.
My carnal soul still goes out of control —
I’ve yet to effectively tame that.
And tame it — that is, our carnal soul, or lower self — we must, because it is perhaps the greatest obstacle preventing the spiritual seeker from advancing on the path. As Pir Shihabu’d-Din Shah al-Husayni, son of Aga Khan II, the 47th Ismaili Imam Mawlana Shah Ali Shah⁽ᶜ⁾, warned:
“There is no matter of greater importance than to purify one’s own self. Only by this may one hope to progress along the path of rectitude, because there is no greater obstacle to success in this direction than one’s own lower instincts, which obstruct one’s fulfillment of the dictates of religious philosophy and the commandments of the Divine religion.
It is only when you bring this self under control, carefully watching its movements, lest it overpower you unaware and tempt you to take a false step, that you are able to advance slowly in the life of true virtue.”
— Pir Shihabu’d-Din Shah al-Husayni, Risala dar Haqiqat-i Din, translated by W. Ivanow as True Meaning of Religion, p. 2 (translation modified).
There are many ways of disciplining, taming, and ultimately purifying this persistent inner opponent. When it comes to the inner battle — or the most important and strenuous struggle (jihad-i akbar) — a multifaceted approach may be necessary.
One particularly compelling approach, as seen below, is to examine one’s thoughts and confront the carnal soul (nafs) directly through an impassioned yet reasoned inner conversation. What makes this approach especially powerful is that it teaches the seeker not simply to suppress disturbing thoughts or impulses, but to step back from them, examine where they come from, recognize the patterns through which the carnal soul gains influence over us, and consciously choose whether to follow them. The thought itself becomes something that can be questioned rather than something that must automatically be obeyed. In this way, the inner struggle becomes an active practice of self-observation, discernment, and redirection: one identifies the distraction, exposes its deception, recalls the spiritual losses it can produce, and then turns the heart back toward the true Beloved — the Imam of the Time.
In the following passage, translated here into English for the first time, the illustrious Ismaili ‘arif ‘Allamah Hunzai both demonstrates this inner struggle and offers practical spiritual counsel for overcoming it. At times he speaks directly to the reader; at others, he gives voice to the seeker’s own inner dialogue, confronting the carnal soul itself and redirecting the mind toward the Mawla (Lord, Master). What emerges is not merely a dialogue with the lower self, but a remarkably vivid spiritual exercise: a way of bringing the hidden movements of the inner life into conscious awareness so that they can be examined, challenged, and ultimately brought back under the guidance of intellect and devotion.
Long for your Mawla, your true Friend. Whenever your thought turns away, trace and investigate that thought, and ask:
“O thought, where did you come from? How did you arise? How could you possibly turn my attention away from my Beloved?
Perhaps, little by little, I must have slipped into some error; otherwise, this would not have happened. This, too, is but a small test. Come, let us return. Let us contemplate the countenance of the Beloved; let us pull upon the chain of Mawla’s love; let us steady ourselves with the staff of remembrance (zikr); let us board the ship of salvation and press onward toward the Beloved, our ultimate destination.”
Let us bid farewell to the impurities of the carnal soul, and say:
“O carnal soul! We have seen you; we have tested you, time and again we have tested you. Apart from deception, apart from remorse, apart from darkness, nothing has come of you. O carnal soul! We know that you are here to test us; we know that you are the representative of Satan. O carnal soul! We spent our whole life in your servitude, and we became humiliated.
O carnal soul! Because of you, we have suffered great loss. We have been deprived of knowledge and wisdom, deprived of spirituality, deprived of didar (beatific vision), while other good people have gone ahead of us.
Such is the extent of our loss that an everlasting kingdom has slipped from our hands. Then where is there any question of attaining union with God? We have become ensnared in the net of the carnal soul. Satan has deceived us in a most extraordinary way. This is an enemy in the guise of a friend; this is an enemy in the guise of a friend.
Satan comes in the form of a friend, mixing poison with sweetness and making us drink it. And then the honor of the Hereafter, the joy of religion, and the treasures of knowledge begin to slip from our hands.
O carnal soul! Shame on you! O carnal soul! Shame on you! In our ignorance, we honored you; we worshipped you. In our ignorance, we made you into God. You are an idol, yet [through our behavior] we declared you to be God.”
“O carnal soul! O carnal soul! O carnal soul! How long will we remain your slaves? We should have a sense of honor; we should have fervor. We should make a solemn pledge that from now on we bid you farewell and renounce our servitude to you. We will turn toward Mawla. He alone is our helper; He alone is our protector; He alone is compassionate. He alone will watch over us and grant us success through unseen divine assistance (taufiqat-i-ghaibi).
[Addressing the reader and fellow wayfarer:]
What a wonderful opportunity we have! Among the countless people of the world, we are among those who have been honored with the distinction of being Mawla’s murids. We are very close to the Adam of the Age. We can become angels. If we have the strength to be angels, then the work of an angel is to engage in remembrance (zikr) and take an interest in knowledge (‘ilm).
Oh, if only we could realize how many losses result from being enslaved to the carnal soul! We should follow in the footsteps of our spiritual elders. We should recognize that we are in this world and that many trials lie before us. We should use our intellect and awareness to detach ourselves from the adornments of the world, choose the path of salvation, and recognize what the carnal soul—that is, Satan—is saying in the ear of our heart at this very moment as it works its magic. Yet we regard its words as beneficial to us and do not even give a thought to the fact that it is our enemy.
We should reflect on the enemy within and the enemy without. We should recognize the thief outside and the thief inside the house, and ask: Which one is more dangerous? What kind of danger does the thief pose who has entered the heart, the thief who has made his home within our heart?
God forbid that we pay no heed to the thief in our own house, and that we do not fear the enemy who dwells within our inner being. Every time, at every moment, we have to face God’s displeasure when we heed the words of this enemy. And that displeasure is not simply a matter of God’s mood being upset; rather, it takes the form of a law: our own work comes to a halt, didar does not occur, illumination does not come, the chain of remembrance is repeatedly broken, and we cannot soften the heart.
And even on the day when the heart does become softened, we cannot preserve that softness. In talking about this and that, we spoil the state of the heart. This gives the enemy an opportunity, and he comes to overshadow our entire being. For this reason, we repeatedly need giryah-o-zari [i.e., the practice of weeping — or deeply lamenting within oneself — in supplication], humility, softness of heart, and knowledge. We need such good spiritual gatherings, for there is a blessing in such gatherings: the good influence of the souls of the believers has an effect upon us.
There is a blessing in this companionship, in this fellowship, in this gathering. The worship that we are able to perform in this gathering, we would not be able to perform alone. [However,] there is no need to despair. If we make the effort, even solitude can be a good opportunity.
We should always be in conversation with our Beloved [i.e., the Imam]. We should act with sincere determination. We should make a firm resolve. We should challenge our [inner] enemy. We should weigh the gain and loss and ask ourselves: Where does the real benefit lie — in following the intellect or in remaining enslaved to the carnal soul? We have tested this; We have tested this; we have seen the consequences for ourselves.
So, privately and in secret, let us make a solemn pledge that from this day onward, we will undertake an itikaf (spiritual retreat). We will choose the path of piety. We will tell no one, because doing so could lead to showing off. So let us make this resolve within our hearts and set out on the journey toward didar (the beatific vision of the Lord).
— ‘Allamah Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai, Haft Darya-i Nuraniyyat, translated as Seven Oceans of Luminosity (unpublished draft)
The above counsel puts our struggle into perspective and exposes the harm of continually succumbing to the whispers of the carnal soul — the representative of Satan. Many of us may have tried various ways of bringing the carnal soul, along with whatever else prevents us from spiritually elevating, under our control, only to find ourselves unable to succeed as fully and consistently as we know we should.
Yet beyond the invaluable advice and encouragement offered to the reader or wayfarer, it is interesting to consider the potential spiritual efficacy of addressing— and even “calling out” — one’s carnal soul; letting it know that we recognize its tactics and are no longer willing to be deceived by them. Perhaps there is something spiritually powerful about confronting our inner enemy directly rather than merely struggling against it silently.
Surely, this author is not the only one struggling to “bid farewell to the impurities of the carnal soul” and become disciplined enough to follow through on the wise counsel we so deliberately seek out in spiritual literature, podcasts, and other sources of inspiration. Indeed, the poem acknowledges the ongoing battle that many of us face:
I’m sure many others also struggle
with sticking to the discipline that
we need;
actually putting into practice
all of the spiritual literature that
we read.
We may spend a lifetime collecting, reading, and re-reading beautiful and potentially life-changing spiritual material — literature that we enthusiastically nod along to, highlight, and “copy paste” so that all our friends and followers can see the powerful, transformative material we are engaging with. No doubt, no one is perfect. But if we go year after year, decade after decade, collecting and quoting salvific spiritual material while continuing to slip and fall for the same old tricks and traps of our lower, carnal soul — failing to move forward without repeatedly slipping back — then what’s the point? What’s the use of all our books with their intricate designs and colorful covers?
I use such language deliberately because I am reminded of another poem I was inspired to write in 2018. I present it below without further elaboration, letting the rhyme speak for itself.
“Look, I’ve Got Books”
By: Khayal ‘Aly
(May 20, 2018)
No doubt, I’ve let myself down
about a gazillion times,
contradicting the guidance
I write in all of my rhymes.
I can say I’m only human,
but that’s just an excuse.
I mean, if I don’t rise higher,
then tell me what’s the use?
What is the point of collecting
all of those spiritual books?
If I don’t practice what I read,
then it’s just for how it looks.
Just sitting on my shelves,
adding color to my collection;
that’s all that it’s worth
if it doesn’t lead to resurrection.
One thing that those of us who struggle on the path do know how to do very well, and consistently, however, is repent. Except for those who are arrogant and proud, spiritual wayfarers who slip from the straight path turn, or return (tawbah), toward their Lord, humbly seeking His mercy and forgiveness. This is an essential part of the spiritual life and, indeed, critical to the elevation of the humble soul. Our Most Compassionate and Most Merciful Lord forgives the sins and mistakes of His humble-hearted servants. Yet merely attaining God’s forgiveness — while itself a blessed and merciful grace — cannot be the ultimate goal for those who long for spiritual union with their Beloved and yearn to hear Him say:
“O the satisfied soul! return to your Lord, well pleased (with Him), well-pleasing (Him), so enter My (chosen) servants, enter My paradise.”1
— Qur’an 89:27-30
Thus, in recognition of this esoteric wisdom, and as a reminder of the ultimate goal of faithful wayfarers (mu’minin-i salikin) who long to reach their desired destination, the poem affirms:
Verily, our Lord is very Merciful,
and may easily forgive our sins or
mistakes.
But if we’re looking for spiritual union,
we will indeed need to do whatever
it takes.
To explore more deeply the limitations of reducing our religious and spiritual quest to questions of what is or is not sinful — and what it truly means to “do whatever it takes” in the pursuit of spiritual union — readers may wish to continue with the following article, which explores what this entails for our own “Angelic soul formation”:
To bring this commentary on our “Self-Sacrifice” poem to a conclusion, let us return to its final verse, which urges those who long for spiritual success to take control of and discipline the carnal — indeed, beastly — soul that hides within:
Each of us must tame that wild beast
that still remains hidden deep inside of us.
Let’s strive to make our Saviour proud,
that he selflessly sacrificed his life for us.
Referring to the nafs-i ammarah, or our base desires, as a “wild beast” recalls the spiritual guidance reflected in an often-quoted hadith attributed to the Prophet Muhammad⁽ˢ⁾, which great Sufis, including Rumi, frequently cite:
“God the Most High created the angels and placed within them intellect, He created the beasts and placed within them sensuality, and He created the children of Adam and placed within them both intellect and sensuality. So he whose intellect dominates his sensuality is higher than the angels, and he whose sensuality dominates his intellect is lower than the beasts.”
— Hadith of the Prophet, quoted in William C. Chittick, The Sufi Path of Love, 85.
It is important that we become aware of our lower, base nature — the carnal soul hidden within us — as early as possible. More importantly, we must not feed and nurture it, lest it grow into a deadly beast that eventually devours us. Rumi offers a vivid warning:
“You are now feeding milk
to this ugly snake.
Beware!
It will become a dragon,
for it is a man-eater by nature.”— Rumi, in The Sufi Path of Love, 89.
Echoing Rumi’s imagery, ‘Allamah Hunzai points us toward the help of our true Beloved, the Sultan of our souls, the Imam of the Time, in overcoming the formidable carnal soul within us. Yet if this lower self has become so deeply intertwined with our own existence, then overcoming it necessarily involves a kind of death — an egoistic, or esoteric, death to be sure — as well as a sacrifice on our part. We are not merely trying to conquer an external enemy; we are being called to surrender something within ourselves — something that has long been a part of our lived existence. In this sense, the destruction of the carnal soul is also a form of self-sacrifice, perhaps explaining why ‘Allamah Hunzai speaks of being “martyred” in the path of Divine love:
“O Sultan! O beloved of the soul!… Ignite the fire of love so that we and our sins burn together and the flames rise.… We are dying for your light.… Let the dagger of your love pierce this carnal soul and let it be destroyed, let it perish, let it be wounded, let it be drenched in blood — this carnal soul, this dragon, this snake, this jinn, this shaytan. Let this carnal soul perish again and again. Slay it with the dagger of love!... Martyr us in the path of love!” (Seven Oceans, 147).
“Pirs, hudud (dignitaries of faith), and other believers…died [esoterically] while still alive. They were martyred. A believer who [spiritually] dies while still alive does not just die; rather, he is spiritually granted the title of martyr. Because he dies in a spiritual battle and becomes alive, he is considered a living martyr. And he is also sacrificed.” (Seven Oceans, 130).
— ‘Allamah Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai, Seven Oceans of Luminosity (unpublished draft).
The spiritual struggle required to take control of and tame the carnal soul is indeed a form of self-sacrifice — or, in its highest form, a sacrifice of the self. The lower self is sacrificed so that the higher self may emerge through spiritual transformation and esoteric resurrection. The soul can then rise beyond the limitations of its lower, sensual nature and ascend toward the exalted spiritual-intellectual station described in the Prophetic tradition — even to a rank higher than that of the angels. For those struggling along this path, our sincere striving in the path of Divine love, together with the realization of our higher — even “meta-angelic” — self, can make our Imam, our spiritual Master and Saviour, proud as we faithfully follow his guidance and undertake this inner work.
It is an inspiring and heartwarming thought that the good we, as the spiritual children and murids of the Imam, strive to accomplish — and especially our spiritual progress and success — can itself be a source of immense happiness for our beloved Imam, through whom and in whom we may return to our Lord (17:71, 89:27-30). As Mawlana Shah Karim⁽ᶜ⁾, the 49th Ismaili Imam, affirmed:
“I give you special blessings for success [in your meditation]. If you are successful [in your search for illumination], the happiness I will have will be enormous — as big as the universe — because that is my happiness for my spiritual children, to find the Light of our faith.”
— Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni⁽ᶜ⁾ Aga Khan IV, Baytu’l-Khayal Mulaqat, Karachi, Pakistan, December 16, 2017.
While the major focus of this article has been on the self-sacrifice required of those seeking spiritual success, the poem concludes by reminding us of another great sacrifice: that of our Saviour — for, as the poem says, “he selflessly sacrificed his life for us.”
This concept of the Saviour’s self-sacrifice has both an exoteric (zahir) and an esoteric (batin) dimension, with further levels of meaning in between. For now, however, we will consider the more exoteric or common understanding of this profound line. By faithfully following the Imam’s guidance and undertaking the inner work that facilitates our spiritual progress — and, by God’s grace, the transformation, elevation, and illumination of our souls — we can offer a living expression of gratitude to the Murshid who has dedicated his life to the service and upliftment of his spiritual children and the wider world of Islam.
In the words of our beloved 49th Imam:
“All my thoughts, all my hopes, and all my prayers are for you.”
— Karachi, December 13, 1964“…All my aims and ambitions have been devoted to help and guide my spiritual children in spiritual and worldly matters.”
— Karachi, December 13, 1964“… I have dedicated my life to the uplift and progress of the Ismailis all over the world and I pray for all your happiness and success”
— Karachi, August 4, 1957“… I will do everything possible for your worldly and spiritual upliftment. As you were in my beloved grandfather's [the 48th Imam’s] heart and thoughts, you will be in mine.”
— Geneva, July 13, 1957— Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni⁽ᶜ⁾ Aga Khan IV, Precious Gems (vol. 1).
To be sure, the Imam of the Righteous (Imam al-Muttaqin, 25:74), who is also the Imam of Mankind (Imam al-Nas, 2:124), does not require our gratitude in order to continue fulfilling his divinely appointed responsibility as Khalifatu’llah, the Vicegerent of God (2:30). Yet it should be the sincere desire of a mu’min to bring joy to the heart of the Amir al-Mu’minin, the Commander of the Faithful. And perhaps one of the most meaningful ways we can do so is not merely by expressing our gratitude verbally, but by demonstrating through our lives that we are striving to realize the spiritual potential he sees within us.
When the Imam sees his spiritual children striving to overcome their lower selves, cultivating their higher selves, and advancing toward their spiritual potential, we may hope that he sees the fruits of the very work to which he has dedicated his life. Our progress becomes, in this sense, a response to his sacrifice — a way of showing that the love, guidance, prayers, and tireless service he has given to his jama‘at have taken root in the souls of those he serves.
The 49th Imam himself spoke candidly about the responsibilities and sacrifices involved in serving his community:
“I hardly have time to think about myself. I have my moments of fatigue and anxiety, but never the feeling of abandonment. I am committed. I must weigh matters carefully, reflect, and try to make wise decisions. Yet, with my advisers, I escape isolation. ‘Responsibility is a burden that one loves.’
… I received from my grandfather responsibilities that are great, but not burdensome. They are not a weight upon me. It is a joy to dedicate oneself (de se consacrer — ‘to sacrifice oneself’) to such a community, to work for people. The responsibilities are a burden that we love to carry.”
— Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni⁽ᶜ⁾ Aga Khan IV, Elle Magazine interview, August 20, 1969. Original French text available here.
Here, then, we encounter another dimension of self-sacrifice. The murid is called to sacrifice the lower self so that the higher self may emerge; the Murshid, meanwhile, dedicates his own life to the upliftment of his spiritual children. The two sacrifices are not unrelated. The first is our response to the second: we strive to become what the Imam has dedicated himself to helping us become.
For more on how God’s Khalifa and divinely appointed Imam of the Time sacrifices his life — as well as that of his successor, the Imam after him — for the worldly and spiritual upliftment of those whom he serves, please see the following article:
In it, we discover one level of the esoteric (batin) meaning of the Imam’s self-sacrifice. Insha Allah, we will have occasion to write a second part to accompany Part One of the above article, unveiling deeper spiritual secrets and esoteric wisdom concerning the Imam who sacrifices himself, and how his example calls us to strive spiritually to make the corresponding sacrifice and, ultimately, to actually be spiritually sacrificed within ourselves — to become living martyrs on the Ismaili path of love and gnosis.
Ya ‘Aly Madad,
Khayal ‘Aly
khayal.aly@gmail.com
October 5, 2026
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In Case You Missed It
When a great mujahid (spiritual warrior) of the major jihad (spiritual struggle) subdues it [i.e., the nafs-i ammārah (soul that commands evil)] and makes it obedient, it abandons its bad habits and transforms into nafs-i lawwāmah (censuring soul), as mentioned in verses 75:1-2: “Nay, I swear by the Day of Resurrection; nay, I swear by the censuring soul.”
Here, the allusion of wisdom is that the censuring soul, by constant progress, enters the destination of the first merging (destination of [angel] ‘Izra’il⁽ᶜ⁾), in which the spiritual death which causes resurrection is experienced in this life. Regarding the magnanimity and sanctity of the nafs-i lawwamah or censuring soul, it suffices to say that God has sworn by it together with the resurrection.
Nafs-i mutma’innah or the satisfied soul which is related to all levels of the personal resurrection is mentioned after the censuring soul. The satisfied soul means the soul which has attained the satisfaction from higher realities and recognition. By this soul is meant every perfect ‘arif (one who has attained ma‘rifah, or gnosis) who, after experiencing the luminous and bright observations of the “eye of certainty” (‘aynu'l-yaqqn) has also observed the extremely great and sublime secrets with his inner eye, without which the purpose of universal or total satisfaction remains incomplete, as mentioned in verses 89:27-30: “O satisfied soul! Return to your Lord well-pleased and well-pleasing! Enter among My (chosen) servants (Sacred Sanctuary)! And enter My (universal) Paradise.”
— ‘Allamah Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai, Kitabu’l-‘Ilaj, trans. by Faquir Muhammad Hunzai and Rashida Noormohamed-Hunzai as Book of Healing (Revised Edition), 3-4