There is the Divine Will.It is transmitted to us through the revelations of the Prophets a.s. ,through the teachings of the Saints(awliya) and through our personal moment-to-moment inspirations,when our hearts are clean.
Then there is the “nafs’.It is socially programmed and run by fear, anger and desire.It constantly fights against the Divine Will.It wants to be Lord.Estaghirullah.
Of course,in the long run, the Divine Will wins out.bIn the short term,however, it might look like the ‘nafs’ is winning(wars,bloodshed,cruelty,corruption everywhere).But Ultimately the Divine reigns supreme.It is our obligation to believe that and realize that in the deepest recesses of our being.That is Tawakuul(trust in God) and that is Tasleem(submitting to our Creator).
Salaams,Ibrahim
It must be said that the ‘nafs’ is a very formidable opponent. Even people who follow a religion seriously often follow the dictates of that religion but everything not clearly spelt out for them is done by their nafs. And even Sufis I have met who believe in Jihad-a-nafs( the fight against the nafs) and listen carefully to their sheikh allow their interactions with everyone else and even their interpretation of what their spiritual teacher says to be dominated by the inclination of their egos. So we have outwork cut out for us.Really!
The nafs is a horse. It can get you places but it has to be trained and obedient. …
But the human nafs is a rebellious, obstinate horse with a mind that allows it to contest the training st every corner of the road.