Going in the opposite direction of your whims and desires since they seek nothing but to make us sin or lazy. Al-Ghazali says,
1) “Learn that
your most mortal enemy is your soul that lies in your chest. It was created
evil-enticing, evil-loving and tending to escape from all goodness. You are ordered
to purify it and drive it with shackles of steel to worship its Lord and
Creator and to prevent it from its yearning to sin. If you ever become lax it
will go wild and you will never be able to bridle it again.”
Ibnul-Qayim
says, “One thing that can help you watch your soul, is to realize that the more
you get busy breaking it in and taming it today, the more you will be able to
enjoy your tomorrow. The more you ignore it today, the more you will suffer
from it tomorrow. Another thing that can help you is to realize that if you win
this battle you will be among the dwellers of paradise and you will be able to
look at the Face of your Lord. But if you lose it you will be among the
dwellers of hell and you will be blocked from your Lord.
So the true
believer must never be heedless from bridling his soul in every moment, and in
every step of the road. Every breath you let out is a jewel that you have
wasted if you don’t use all these breaths to buy yourself an everlasting bliss
in paradise. Wasting these breaths in buying things that will bring nothing but
perdition is a great loss that can never be attained except by the ignorant and
the most foolish; and this ignorance and foolishness will never be realized
except on Judgment Day when each soul will find all its deeds standing right
before it.”
2)
Berating and rebuking yourself for the sake of
obedience: Al-Ghazali says, “If you keep rebuking, berating and blaming
yourself the whole time you will be able to turn yourself into the
“self-reproaching” type which Allah swore by and you will be targeting yourself
to become the “reassured” type which will be the “well-pleased and
well-pleasing” soul. Do not be abated from reminding and berating it the whole
time. Do not get busy lecturing others while you are more worthy of the
lecturing than anyone. Allah inspired Jesus the son of Mary;
“Exhort yourself and when you follow your own
lectures only then you can exhort others. Otherwise, have some shame from me.”
