ANA-ANANIYYAH – أنا

 

Literally ana means ‘I’.

Trusting one’s own self. Following one’s own desires and benefits. Self-centredness. Proud. Egotism. The concept of ananiyyah refers to the belief and understanding that one’s existence and actions are one’s own possessions.

Ananiyyah and ana express material and ma’nawî equipment and features of man. Ananiyyah is an attribute of human fitrah endowed with universal abilities and capacities. Its function is to enable man to comprehend and feel the essence of the attributes and names of Allah to some degree with the material and ma’nawî equipment and features placed in it. From this aspect of its duty, ananiyyah is also called “Amanah al-kubra”.

If, due to forgetting the purpose of its creation and abandoning the duty of its fitrah, the ana views itself solely through the light of its literal and apparent meaning, it becomes a source of ignorance and darkness in belief and the cause of man’s decline in personal morality and social relationships.

Ananiyyah also expresses the state of man’s material and ma’nawî faculties and emotions that look to transient life. If, through the awareness and tarbiyyah of îmân, it turns towards eternal life, it attains istiqâmah and turns towards its real duty. That is to say, the way of ananiyyah to the good or evil, progress or decline is open.

(For further explanation, please refer to the Thirtieth Word)