Dear teacher, in this reply you said that temptation arises from a person’s inner inclinations, and that Satan uses that very source to stir and tempt them. So we must bring our inner inclinations under control.
My question is: how can we control our inclinations? All our sins seem to spring from them: the inclination to backbite, mock others, lie, and so on. When I look deeply into these inclinations, I cannot tell whether they come from the heart and soul, from the mind, or whether they have no real source at all—whether they simply arise and then pass on their own. Please guide me. If we can take control of this part of ourselves, then, God willing, we will avoid many sins and make the path easier for ourselves.
Thank you. May you have a blessed end, God willing.
#Answer 2880
Before every intention and action, what takes place is a person’s exercise of will and choice. Only after this stage do the heart, soul and other faculties come into play. This act of willing and choosing determines, throughout all the realms—from the realm of the Divine Names to the realm of particles and the world of this life—the blueprint of existence: the identity, structure, form, appearance, body, sex, race, kinds and other characteristics of created beings.
Thus, sound choice begins with seeking what is best from the presence of the Almighty: an initial prayer for the good, rooted in the very essence of the human being.
The prayer, both in knowledge and in practice, offered through the thirty-third supplication of Imam al-Sajjad (peace be upon him), will illuminate the way and guide our inclinations:
(1) اللهم إنی أستخیرک بعلمک، فصل على محمد و آله، و اقض لی بالخیره (2) و ألهمنا معرفه الاختیار، و اجعل ذلک ذریعه إلى الرضا بما قضیت لنا و التسلیم لما حکمت فأزح عنا ریب الارتیاب، و أیدنا بیقین المخلصین. (3) و لا تسمنا عجز المعرفه عما تخیرت فنغمط قدرک، و نکره موضع رضاک، و نجنح إلى التی هی أبعد من حسن العاقبه، و أقرب إلى ضد العافیه (4) حبب إلینا ما نکره من قضائک، و سهل علینا ما نستصعب من حکمک (5) و ألهمنا الانقیاد لما أوردت علینا من مشیتک حتى لا نحب تأخیر ما عجلت، و لا تعجیل ما أخرت، و لا نکره ما أحببت، و لا نتخیر ما کرهت. (6) و اختم لنا بالتی هی أحمد عاقبه، و أکرم مصیرا، إنک تفید الکریمه، و تعطی الجسیمه، و تفعل ما ترید، و أنت على کل شیء قدیر.
“O God, I seek what is best from You, for You know all. So bless Muhammad and his family, and ordain what is best for me. Inspire us to recognize the choice we should make, and make it a means by which we may be content with what You have decreed for us and submit to Your judgment. Remove from us the doubts that cause us to waver, and strengthen us with the certainty of those who are sincere.
“O God, do not let us be unable to discern what You have chosen for us, lest we make light of Your decree, dislike what pleases You, and turn toward what is farther from a good outcome and nearer to its opposite. Replace our aversion to Your decree with acceptance, and make easy for us every judgment of Yours that we find difficult.
“Inspire us to submit to the will and purpose You have brought to bear upon us, so that we do not wish to delay what You have hastened, or hasten what You have delayed; that we do not dislike what You love, or choose what You dislike.
“O God, bring our affairs to the best of endings and the noblest of destinations. Every benefit You grant is precious, every gift You bestow is immense, and You do as You will. You have power over all things.”
*Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya*, translated by Ayati, p. 218.