The Worst Human Desire – we all have passions and desires, some good, some bad….. In this article we look at our evil carnal desires – one is really bad.
Bismillahi Rahmanir Rahim. Allahuma Swale alah Muhammedin wa Alahi
Satan uses our carnal desires and passions to mislead us. Therefore controlling our passions and desires is an important part of Islam and spiritual development.
“… He Shaytan makes promises to them, and arouses in them false desires; and Shaytan’s promises are nothing but deceptions.)” al Quraan 4:117.
It is therefore important to know about our desires and to learn to control them. The more we know about them, the better equipped we would be in steering ourselves on the straight path. So this article is about getting to know ourselves, by learning about our carnal desires.
In the 260 verse of the second sura, Allah Subhanatallah recounts a narration of Hazrath Ebrahim (AS) who asked Allah SWT to show him how He makes the dead to come back to life. Allah SWT asked him to kill four birds and to scatter the pieces on four mountains and then to call them. All the pieces gathered together and finally came up to him to claim their heads. In the fifth book of the Mathnawi, Rumi (RA) elobrates on these four birds which are about our passions and desires.
The first bird is the duck. He is greedy for food and he is always worried that someone else would eat up all the food leaving him with nothing more. In his greed to eat as much as possible and in his haste he eats anything no matter how foul it may be.
“The Prophet (SAW) said: (The Son of Adam will not fill a pot worse for himself than his stomach. It is enough for the Son of Adam to eat a few bites that strengthens his spine. If he likes to have more, then let him fill a third with food, a third with drink and leave a third for his breathing.” Ibn Khatir p1728.
This does not apply to food only but also our earnings. Mola e Rum (RA) then points us to the following verse of the Holy Quran:
“Satan threatens you with poverty and incites you to niggardliness. But Allah promises you forgiveness from Himself and affluence. And Allah is Bountiful, All-Knowing.” Al Quran 2:268.
When we today have a thriving business then we are not content but we want to expand our business by opening other branches and if we own a home then we want to buy other homes as investments. This is being greedy like the duck. The cure for this ailment is to inculcate trust in Allah Subhanatallah within us, to be generous by spending in charity and by fasting.
The second bird is the rooster which is a lustful creature. We need to learn to control this by keeping within the confines of marriage and to lower our gazes in the presence of the opposite sex. Know that we are weak, we will be tested with in this regards so we must take the precautions. We must not give in to our urges.
The third bird is the peacock, who, with his beautiful plummage is seeking eminence. As human beings we have this inbuilt desire for name and fame. We want people to notice us and just as the peacock displays his plummage and dances to attract attention, we too do the same with our belongings, our qualifications, our achievements, our piety, our children etc. The problem is that, the very things with which we seek to gain recognition will cause us so much pain.
“Do you not perceive that on account of these feathers a hundred afflictions approach me on every side. Oh many a pitiless fowler always lays his trap for me everywhere for the sake of these feathers.” Mathnawi 5:643.
The forth bird is the crow who is always squawking and praying for long life and immortality. This is exactly what iblis prayed for.
“He Iblis said: ‘grant me a respite till the Day of Resurrection.’ Would that he had said, ‘we repent, O our Lord.” Mathnawi 5:769.
Abu Huraira (RA) reported from the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) as having said this:
“The heart of an old person feels young for the love of two things: love for long life and wealth. Sahih Muslim Bk 5, Number 2277.
We need to learn to be content with whatever Allah Subhanatallah decrees for us. Death is inveritible and we must condition ourselves to be at ease with this.
Out of all the four human desires, the worst is this desire for eminence.
“The greed of the duck is single, (but) this (greed of the peacock) is fiftyfold: the greed of lust (cock) is (only) a snake, while the greed for eminence is a dragon. …. The ducks greed arises from the appetite of the gullet and pudendum, (but) twenty times as much (greed) is included in (the ambition) to rule…… He (who is) power (really) pretends to Divinity: How should one ambitious of co-partnership (with God) be saved? …. The sin of Adam arose from the belly and sexual intercourse, and that of iblis from pride and power…... Consequently he (Adam) at once besought pardon, while the accused (Iblis) disdained to repent. Mathnawi 5:517.
It is this greed to be someone special that leads people to want positions of leadership and it is because of this that all the Prophets encountered enemies who desired this position of leadership that the Prophets have. Such people do not have the capabilities of being true leaders; they only seek it so that they could become famous.
This does not mean that we should completely remove ourselves from all temptations by becoming monks. Islam teaches us to live, yet to control ourselves and when we can do this then we are far stronger and enlightened. Eat but have moderation, work only for our needs, get married and live within its framework.
“do not tear out your feathers, but detach your heart from (desire for) them, because the existence of the enemy is the necessary condition for (waging) this Holy War….There can be no self-restraint when thou has no desire: when there is no adversary what need for thy strength.” Mathnawi 5:574.
Striving, overcoming and gaining mastery over all of these desires is not easy. Without a Spiritual guide it is impossible, with a spiritual guide and total commitment from our part it is barely attainable.
Love for the spiritual guide, bowing our heads and sincerely pleading to Allah Subhanatallah to protect us against shaytan who is in the form of our carnal desires, constant monitoring and reflecting on our deeds, performing ‘amals’ prescribed by the spiritual guide to help us against our carnal desires, are all absolutely necessary to make progress.
When we make progress in controling our desires then gradually the veils begin to disappear and we begin to see more clearly and with this, our faith becomes stronger and stronger.
From the state of ‘nafs e Ammara’ Al Quran 12:53 we will progress to the state of “Nafs e Lawamma’ Al Quran 75:2 and finally to ‘Nafs e Mutmainna.” Al Quran 89:27.
These are the actual words used in the Holy Quran and they are translated to mean ‘the passionate evil soul’, the ‘self-accusing soul’ and the ‘soul at peace’ respectively.
Apart form the spiritual aspects, being in control of our passions and desires would make us better people and we will be able to get along better with the people around us. We would have good relationships with our parents, spouses, siblings, neighbours etc. and Islam stresses having good relationships with everyone.
End.
Peace and salutations be upon Allah’s Messengers who are responsible for guiding humanity throughout time. Ameen.
Published by Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi.
Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi was founded by Dr/Hakim Hazrath Khwaja Sayed Shareef Ahmed Ali Shah RA, (lovingly known as Hazrath Poona Wale Shah Saib RA).
Author: Mahomed Hassan Gaffoor His WhatsApp: +27 84 910 1486