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AlGhazalisIhya-Book_of_Prayer, page : 41
come back and he would have to scare them away with the stick once again.
Eventually someone told him: “This is like being a slave at the wheel, going
round and round forever. If you want to escape the vicious circle, you should fell
the tree.” So it is with the tree of base desire. Thoughts are attracted to its
ramifying twigs and branches, just like sparrows to real trees. Flies are attracted
by filth and chasing them becomes a full time occupation, for they just keep
coming back. Random thoughts are like flies.
Our base desires are numerous and human beings are seldom free of them.
They all share a common root, namely, love of this world. That is the origin of
every fault, the basis of every shortcoming, the source of all corruption. Filled
with the love of this world, a person becomes so attached to it that he fails to
make provision for the Hereafter. He then has no hope of experiencing the pure
bliss of communion in prayer. Those who delight in this world can take no delight
in Allah, nor in communion with Him. A man aspires to that, which gives him joy,
so if his pleasure lies in this world, he will surely seek it there. Nevertheless, one
must continue to strive, turning the heart back towards prayer and reducing the
Eventually someone told him: “This is like being a slave at the wheel, going
round and round forever. If you want to escape the vicious circle, you should fell
the tree.” So it is with the tree of base desire. Thoughts are attracted to its
ramifying twigs and branches, just like sparrows to real trees. Flies are attracted
by filth and chasing them becomes a full time occupation, for they just keep
coming back. Random thoughts are like flies.
Our base desires are numerous and human beings are seldom free of them.
They all share a common root, namely, love of this world. That is the origin of
every fault, the basis of every shortcoming, the source of all corruption. Filled
with the love of this world, a person becomes so attached to it that he fails to
make provision for the Hereafter. He then has no hope of experiencing the pure
bliss of communion in prayer. Those who delight in this world can take no delight
in Allah, nor in communion with Him. A man aspires to that, which gives him joy,
so if his pleasure lies in this world, he will surely seek it there. Nevertheless, one
must continue to strive, turning the heart back towards prayer and reducing the