5. DESIRES ARE DEADLY TRAPS
I have pondered over the desires (shahawai) of this worldly life and understood that they are nothing but destructive and damaging traps. He whose intellect overpowers his nature will be safe whereas he whose nature overpowers his intellect will be quick to fall into ruin.
I have seen from among the people whose interest in worldly pleasures drives them towards (lawful) sexual intercourse, they tend to use what will entice their lust and arouse them, and yet their lustful instincts do not last long and eventually wear out.
In fact, I have never noticed any desire as fast to wear out as the desire for having sexual intercourse; because when a person is attracted to someone he desires, that necessitates him to release his semen, and if he sees more attractive women, he will be more aroused. So his disposed semen will be larger in quantity than before— and so this essence of life will vanish quickly.
On the other hand, when a man finds the woman with whom he will be with, to be unattractive, he will not discharge the accumulated harmful semen as it should, and should it remain inside the body, it will cause harm and increase his desire to be with an attractive woman.
The same applies to a person whose appetite is extreme, for doing so will compromise his health and the same applies to those whose appetite is less than it should be.
Thus, I concluded that the best way is to be moderate in everything. Because, this life is like a deadly desert; hence we should let our intellect lead us, since putting our innate natures and desires in charge will quickly ruin us.
What I have mentioned thus far is in reference to the body of humans and worldly life. Use the same analogy in the affairs of the Hereafter! So, understand it.
(source: al-Hafiz Abu’l-Faraj ibn al-jawzl [d. 597AH] “CAPTURED THOUGHTS being” a translation of his masterpiece ‘Sayd al-K hatir)
Comments
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.