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AlGhazalisIhya-Book_of_Destructive_Matters_of_Life, page : 17
The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said: “The People of my nation are
forgiven the discourse of their souls, in so far as they do not mention it or act
upon it.” There are four stages between thought and action: (i) an involuntary
suggestion; (ii) the inclination of the nature; (iii) reasoned judgment; (iv)
determination. The first two involve no moral responsibility, while the second two
are to be judged according to the underlying intention.
An Exposition on Whether it is Conceivable that Insinuations should Cease
Entirely during the Remembrance of Allah , or not
The Sufis have given five possible answers to this: (i) Insinuation does not cease
entirely; (ii) It still exists, but has not effect on the heart, since the heart is
distracted from it by the dhikr, (iii) Its whisperings are heard, but weakly and from
afar; (iv) dhikr and waswasa follow each other in quick succession, so that the
distinction between them is blurred; (v) The two exist simultaneously in the heart,
which has an ability to focus on two activities at once; this is the view of al-
Muhasibi. The correct view, however, is that all of these can occur, depending on
forgiven the discourse of their souls, in so far as they do not mention it or act
upon it.” There are four stages between thought and action: (i) an involuntary
suggestion; (ii) the inclination of the nature; (iii) reasoned judgment; (iv)
determination. The first two involve no moral responsibility, while the second two
are to be judged according to the underlying intention.
An Exposition on Whether it is Conceivable that Insinuations should Cease
Entirely during the Remembrance of Allah , or not
The Sufis have given five possible answers to this: (i) Insinuation does not cease
entirely; (ii) It still exists, but has not effect on the heart, since the heart is
distracted from it by the dhikr, (iii) Its whisperings are heard, but weakly and from
afar; (iv) dhikr and waswasa follow each other in quick succession, so that the
distinction between them is blurred; (v) The two exist simultaneously in the heart,
which has an ability to focus on two activities at once; this is the view of al-
Muhasibi. The correct view, however, is that all of these can occur, depending on