Imaam Ibn Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him)
wrote:
You should know that the fact that thoughts
cross the mind does not itself cause harm; what causes harm is recalling it and
talking about it. The thought is like a passerby, if you do not summon him, it will
go away and pass you by. But if you invite it, it will bewitch you with its
conversations, deceit, and deception. It is the lightest thing on an empty and
vain soul and the weightiest thing on the noble, heavenly and tranquil soul. Allah
– exalted be He - has placed two types of souls in man: the soul that commands
evils and the soul that is tranquil, and both of them are hostile to one
another. Whenever it is lighter upon this, it will be heavier upon the other one;
and whatever this gets pleasure from, the other finds pain in…
The heart is an empty tablet and thoughts are
the inscriptions made on it. So how does it befit a rational person that the
inscriptions on his tablet should comprise of things ranging from lies, deceit,
fraud and vain desire and fantasy that has no reality? So which wisdom,
knowledge and guidance will he inscribe along with these inscriptions? If one
wants to inscribe such in the tablet of his heart, the status is like writing a
beneficial knowledge in a place that is occupied with writings bereft of any benefit.
So if the heart does not get rid of vile thoughts, beneficial thoughts will
never settle in it, because beneficial thoughts cannot settle except in a place
that is empty.
Source: Jawaab
al-Kaafee Liman Sa’ala an ad-Dawaa’ ash-Shaafee by al-Imaam Ibn Qayyim
al-Jawziyyah.
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