The nafs concept in Mathnawi

Nafs was considered to be the root of all evil which is ruled, tamed, and always to be taken into account by all the Sufi within the tradition of Sufizm. The Nafs is the major obsdtacle in the spriritual maturity porcess of mankind. There are many statments and writings, both in prose and verse, to acknowldge Nafs well, to take precautions against, and finally to overthrow it.In the present study, we investigated the concept of ?Nafs? in Mathnawi, the most popular work of Mawlana, also known as Rumi, Jal?l ad-D?n Muhammad Balkh?, and Jal?l ad-D?n Muhammad R?m?, the Mathnawi which has been widely read, memorized, and attended since its first day.The present study consist of two parts. In the first the meaning of Nafs is given and the concept of Nafs is explained with some examples from the Quran and in the Hadith. Futhermore, in this section general information about the Sufi understanding of the concept, their attitudes and behaviours against it, the levels of the Nafs, and some of the attributions of Nafs are given in outline.In this section, the main part ot the present study, Mawlana?s perspective on Nafs and the concept of Nafs in the Mathnawi is elaborated. Information about the attributions of the Nafs are given under seperate headings after the definition of Nafs, and grouping the similies and examples given to make the concept be better understood within the Mathnawi. The study is concluded with the ways about how to get rid of this enemy and stating the necessity of doing this.Key words: Mawlana (Rumi), Mathnawi, Nafs, Sufizm