Strengthening the Motive of Reason and Religion

In the battle between reason/religion and whims/desires, we have the following weapons at our disposal:

We should remember the glory and greatness of Allâh, and feel that He is
too great to be sinned against as He is all-seeing and all-hearing. Whoever
thinks of the greatness of Allâh will never be at ease in committing wrong
actions.

If we claim to love Allâh, then we should not disobey Him, because of that
love. A person should be obedient to the One he claims to love. Those who
refrain from committing wrong action out of their love for Allâh are of the
highest status in His sight, as are those who worship Him out of love for
Him. There is a great difference between the one who obeys Allâh and abstains
from wrong action Out of love, and the one who does so out of fear of
punishment.

We should think of the blessings and favours of Allâh, as a decent and
noble person would never act against the one who has been treating him
kindly- Only base and ignoble people do such a thing. If we think of the
blessings and favours of Allâh, we will realize that we should not respond by
going against His commands and committing wrong action.

We should think of the wrath and punishment of Allâh, as He will be angry
with the person who persists in committing wrong action. Nothing can stand in
the way of the consequences of His anger, least of all this weak slave of
His.

We should think of what the person who commits wrong action has to lose,
in this world and the next. It should be sufficient to think of the loss of
imân (faith), of which the smallest amount is worth much more than everything
in this world. How can anyone be willing to lose his imân in return for some
brief Moment of pleasure the consequences of which might last forever? In a sahîh
hadîth, the Prophet (SAAS) said:

“No adulterer is a believer at the time when he is committing adultery.” Commenting on this hadîth, one of the Sahâbah said: “His imân wil be dragged out of him until it goes over his head like a cloud. If he repents, then his imân will return to him.”

We should relish the idea of defeating the Shaytân and being victorious
over him, because overcoming him, and our whims and desires, is a thing of
joy and carries a great reward. It is like taking medicine and being rewarded
with restoration to good health.

We should bear in mind the reward and compensation which Allâh has
promised to those who control their whims and desires, and abstain from that
which is haram.

We should think of the special companionship of Allâh, as He has told us:

“Allâh is with those who patiently persevere.” (al-Baqarah 2: 153)
“For Allâh is with those who restrain themselves and those who do good” (an-Nahl 16:128)
“For verily Allâh is with those who do right.” (al-Ankabût 29: 69)

We should be ever mindful of death, which could come upon us at any time,
suddenly and without warning.

10.

We should stop thinking of falsehood and bad ideas. Even if bad thoughts
cross our minds, we should not let them stay, otherwise they may become hopes
and wishes which we may act upon, and harm ourselves and others in the
process.

11.

We should gradually strengthen our religious motive in fighting whims and
desires. Once we have tasted the joy of defeating those whims and desires,
then our determination and willpower will grow stronger.

12.

We should direct our thoughts towards contemplation of the signs of Allâh
which He has encouraged us to think about, whether they are in the Qurân or
in the universe around us. If such thoughts are constantly in our hearts and
minds, this will help us to shun the whispering of the Shaytân. There is no
greater loser than the one who, instead of thinking of Allâh, His Book, His
Prophet ‎ﷺ, and his Sahâbah, dwells on Shaytân and the ideas of Shaytân.

13.

We should remember how short is our stay on this earth. No-one would want
to feel that all he has achieved in this life is the worst kind of deeds,
except a person who has no spiritual ambition, whose heart is dead and who is
careless. Such a person will ultimately regret his deeds when he realizes
that, far from benefiting him, they will lead to punishment. Even the person
who has many good deeds to his credit will feel that sense of regret when he
realizes that he could have done even more.

14.

We should know that Allâh has created us to live an eternal life with no
death, a life of pride and ease with no humiliation, a life of security with
no fear, a life of richness with no poverty, a life of joy with no pain, a
life of perfection with no flaws. Allâh is testing us in this world with a
life that will end in death, a life of pride that is accompanied by
humiliation and degradation, a life that is tainted by fear, where joy and
ease are mixed with sorrow and pain. So many people are mistakenly seeking an
easy life of power and pleasure in this world, but most of them never manage
to achieve it, and those who do, enjoy it only for a brief time before it
vanishes. The Prophets called people to an eternal life of plenty, and
whoever answers their call will have the best life in this world, better than
the life of kings and their followers, for zuhd in this life is true
richness. This is something which the Shaytân greatly envies the believers.

Merely knowing the facts that we have outlined above is not enough. We have
to strive and do our utmost to achieve our aim and attain perfection. The
best way to do so is to put a stop to the habits that are controlling our
lives, as these are the main obstacles which prevent us from succeeding. We
should avoid places of fitnah and temptation, as the Prophet ‎ﷺ told us,

“Whoever hears of the Dajjâl should keep away from him.”

The best way to protect ourselves from wrong is to keep away from anything that could lead to
it. One of the favourite tricks of the Shaytân, which deceives everyone
except those who are clever enough to see it, is to show a person some
goodness in a wrong thing, and call him to go towards what is good; when the
person gets close to it, he falls into the trap.