Praise
be to Allah
Islam does not
forbid the Muslim to let his thoughts wander and imagine permissible things,
because this is human nature. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, has
created in them a wonderful world of imagination, images and talk that may
cross their minds, and a person may not be able to ward them off completely,
but he does have the power to control them and guard against those that are
harmful.
It is well-known
that some of these thoughts that a person may find himself immersed in may
turn to some kind of illusion, and lead to mental exhaustion and an
inability to focus. Oftentimes that results in a real-life situation filled
with frustration and despair, or leads to bad conduct as a result of
repeated thoughts, and the individual would not have found himself in that
situation if he had restrained his thoughts and prevented them from
wandering into that wilderness.
We think that
the thoughts that could lead to success are realistic thoughts, in which one
plans for a better future, within the framework of what is possible, not
what is impossible, and strives to work out practical steps that may lead to
success in one’s family life, academic life and social life, through
beneficial reading, righteous deeds, and good conduct. If there is no
opportunity to achieve such goals, then patience and contentment are two
guiding principles that should always be in the mind of the believer.
This is the
difference between harmful, bad thoughts and beneficial, realistic thoughts.
Young men and women in particular should pay attention to this, and beware
of following in the footsteps of the Shaytaan who, by means of thoughts and
imagination, opens the door to evil and sin. Sin begins with a thought and
ends with regret. If what is meant by imagining emotional life is imagining
having intercourse with a particular young man in the hope that he will be
one’s husband in the future, this comes under the heading of corrupt
thoughts and imagination which bring no benefit and result in nothing but
pain, regret and thinking of sin. This has been discussed in detail
previously on our website, in the answer to question no.
84066.
Abu Haamid al-Ghazaali
(may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It should be
understood that the likeness of the heart is that of a target that is struck
by arrows from all sides.
Or it is like a
mirror in front of which different things pass constantly, and image after
image is reflected in it; there is always something reflected in it.
Or it is like a
cistern into which water flows from various channels that lead to it.
These
constantly-renewed impacts on the heart either come from the outside,
through the five senses, or they come from within, through imagination,
desire, anger, and attitudes that are instilled in man’s nature. … As one’s
thoughts move from one thing to another, the condition of the heart moves
from one state to another.
The point is
that the heart is always changing and is constantly affected by these
causes. The greatest impact on the heart comes from thoughts. Moreover,
thoughts lead to desires, and desires lead to resolve, and resolve leads to
intention (niyyah), and intention leads to physical action.
Thoughts that
lead to desires may be divided into those that motivate one to do evil, and
those that motivate one to do good. These are two different types of
thoughts. The good thoughts are called inspiration, and the bad thoughts are
called waswaas (whispers from the Shaytaan).
End quote from
Ihyaa’ ‘Uloom as-Deen (3/26).
And Allah knows
best.