Should the nafs be broken through hunger and sleeplessness?

The earlier Sufis believed in mortifying the Nafs through extreme rigors of sleeplessness or hunger. The way to restrain the nafs is constant effort: allow it what it wants within the boundaries of the Shariah, and make it serve you.

The Prophet ﷺ said, “No man ever filled a vessel worse than his stomach. It is sufficient for a human being to eat few bites that keep his back upright. But, if need be, then a third for his food, a third for his drink and a third for him to breathe.” [Jami at-Tirmidhi 2380]

The ego, the Nafs, constantly asks for more, without any care for what is lawful or unlawful. The earlier Sufis believed in mortifying the Nafs through extreme rigors of sleeplessness or hunger. The way to restrain it is through constant effort, where we allow it what it wants within the boundaries of the Shariah and make it serve us.

The Nafs wants to sleep, so we give it a little sleep and then rise at night to pray. It wants lavish foods, so we eat just enough food according to the Sunnah and carry out the duties assigned to us by Allah.

It is narrated that in a dream Abu Yazid Bustami rahimahullah asked Allah the way to Divine Love. The reply was, “Discard yourself and come to Me.” Abu Yazid Bustami rahimahullah said, “Then, I got out of myself as a snake gets out of its slough.” [Gilani, Futuhul Ghaib, The Revelations of the Unseen 42]