Hearts and souls caught in the grip of forbidden images face serious consequences

In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

Shaikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

If the heart loves Allah and devotes all the religion sincerely to Him, it will not give a share of this love to anyone else, let alone being afflicted with infatuation; but when afflicted with infatuation, this is due to its deficient love of Allah. This is why due to Yusuf’s, peace be upon him, love of Allah and sincerely devoting all the religion to Allah alone, he did not depart from it; rather Allah said:

ڪَذَٲلِكَ لِنَصۡرِفَ عَنۡهُ ٱلسُّوٓءَ وَٱلۡفَحۡشَآءَ‌ۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ مِنۡ عِبَادِنَا ٱلۡمُخۡلَصِينَ

Thus it was, that We might turn away from him evil and illegal sexual intercourse. Surely, he was one of Our chosen, guided slaves.

But as for the wife of the Azeez, she and her people were polytheists, and due to this she was afflicted with infatuation. [1]

Those people whose hearts are infatuated with images receive the greatest punishment and the smallest reward. This is because if the heart of the one who is infatuated with images continues to be attached and is enslaved, various types of evils, loss and corruption will be gathered for him, which none besides Allah can enumerate. Even if he is safe from committing a major lewd act, the continuous attachment of the heart to the image without committing a lewd act is a greater than the harm that afflicts a person who commits a sin and then repents, thus the effect of that sin ceases to exist in his heart. The greatest aspect of this calamity is when the heart turns away from Allah. This is because when the heart tastes the worship of Allah and being sincere to Him, there will never be anything sweeter than that- neither tastier and enjoyable nor better. A person does not abandon something beloved to him except due to another beloved thing that is more beloved to him, or due to fearing harm. The heart is turned away from a corrupt love by an upright love or due to fearing harm. Allah, The Exalted said about Yusuf, peace be upon him:

ڪَذَٲلِكَ لِنَصۡرِفَ عَنۡهُ ٱلسُّوٓءَ وَٱلۡفَحۡشَآءَ‌ۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ مِنۡ عِبَادِنَا ٱلۡمُخۡلَصِينَ

Thus it was, that We might turn away from him evil and illegal sexual intercourse. Surely, he was one of Our chosen, guided slaves. [Yusuf. 24]

Thus, Allah turned His servant away from that which would plunge one into evil due to inclining towards an image and being attached to it, and turns him away from lewd conduct due to his sincerity to Allah. [2]

Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

Hearts that are emptied of love for Allah, turned away from Him and seeking remedy from others besides Him, are afflicted with infatuation with images. This is because when the heart is filled with love for Allah and a strong love for meeting Him, this infatuation with images is repelled from it. For this reason, Allah, The Most High, stated about Yusuf, peace be upon him:

كَذَٰلِكَ لِنَصْرِفَ عَنْهُ السُّوءَ وَالْفَحْشَاءَ ۚ إِنَّهُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا الْمُخْلَصِينَ

Thus it was, that We might turn away from him evil and illegal sexual intercourse. Surely, he was one of Our chosen, guided slaves.

This shows that sincerity is a means to repelling (evil). Because of this, some of the pious predecessors said: “Infatuation is an agitation in empty hearts”. Meaning: emptied of other than what they crave for. [3]

Imam Ibn Al-Jawzi, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

Quote:

know that desires (vain) desires urges a person towards immediate pleasures without him contemplating its evil consequences and urges him towards short-lived pleasures, even though it is a cause of pain and harm in this life and a barrier to pleasure in the Hereafter. As for a sensible person, he keeps away from pleasures whose result will be pain and desires whose result will be regret. This is enough as praise regarding what sound intellect necessitates and a rebuke against (vain) desires.

A sensible person should know that those who are addicted to lowly desires reach a state in which they no longer enjoy themselves, but at the same time they are unable to abandon those desires because it becomes as if it is a necessity of life. Due to this, you’ll find that alcoholics and sex addicts do not even enjoy a tenth of those desires, rather, they place themselves in a perilous situation that compels them to keep on returning to the act. However, if- based on clear-sightedness- the beautification of those lowly desires cease, a person realises that he has exposed himself to some ruin that is contrary to well-being, a situation of grief instead of happiness, while seeking after pleasure. Thus, he resembles an animal that was led to a trap- neither reached the thing that was utilised to lure it into the trap nor able to escape.

A person should contemplate the fact that a human being was not created to fulfil (vain) desires, instead, he is facilitated (with sound intellect and knowledge based on the divine revelation) to contemplate the consequences of his actions and perform righteous deeds for the Hereafter. An animal receives pleasure through eating, drinking and sexual relaations much more than a human being, while living a life devoid of reflection and concern. Thus, it is drawn towards its desires due to being ignorant of the outcomes of its actions.

A person should contemplate the consequences of (vain) desires because many people are deprived of virtue and find themselves in a state of depravity as a result. Many mistakes violates the honour of a person, leads to an evil mention of him as well as the guilt of sinning due to (vain) desires, yet he still does not give thought to anything else except his desires! The best description regarding him is that of one who finds himself in a tannery, for he does not really notice its smell properly until he exits it and then realises where he was. A sensible person should imagine the dishonour that will come to him due to his desires and the harm that results from those pleasures, for indeed he will see that- in most cases- they occur as result of those desires and pleasures.

A person should contemplate on the honour a person receives due to been given the upper hand and the humiliation found in subjugation, for indeed there is none who overcomes his desires except that his honour is strengthened, and none is subjugated by his desires except that he will find humiliation and subjugation in his soul. A person should contemplate the benefits of opposing one’s (vain) desires due to the commendation attached to it in this worldly life, safety of the soul and safeguard of one’s honour, as well as reward in the Hereafter. [4]

Allahul Musta’aan!

[1] Majmu Al-Fataawaa 10/135

[2] Al-Ubudiyyah 114-115

[3] at-Tib An-Nabawi. page180

[4] An Except from Dham Al-Hawaa. 36-38