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As for the words of the Most High, “So kill yourselves,” they are comparable to His words:
“Why, when you heard it, did the believing men and women not think well of one another?” [al-Nūr 12]
And His words:
“Yet here you are, killing one another.” [al-Baqarah 85]
And His words:
“Do not defame one another.” [al-Hujurāt 11]
That is, some of you kill others. He referred to them collectively as a single self: the person killed is someone from among you, not an outsider. For those united in their aims in life and action are like a single entity.
As for his statement, “The word nafs, when used with reference to Allah Most High, means nothing other than His essence and reality,”
وأما قوله تعالى فَاقْتُلُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ فهو نظير قوله لَوْلَا إِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوهُ ظَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ خَيْرًا
[النور ١٢]
وقوله ثُمَّ أَنْتُمْ هَؤُلَاءِ تَقْتُلُونَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ
[البقرة ٨٥]
وقوله وَلَا تَلْمِزُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ
[الحجرات ١١]
أي يقتل بعضكم يعضًا وسمّى الجميع نفسًا أي لا يقتل إلاّ من هو منكم لا يكون من غيركم لأن المتفقين في مقصود الحياة والفعل يكونـ ـون كالشيء الواحد قوله لفظ النّفس في حق الله تعالى ليس إلاّ الذات والحقيقة