Yet riyāḍa (disciplined self-training) and mujāhada (spiritual struggle) can rid the soul of all that.
Whoever simply gives free rein to his natural impulses belongs to that battalion, and his merchandise is unfit for the contract, “Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives” (Q 9:111). He buys only a commodity that faith has refined—one that has migrated from the land of raw nature to a realm inhabited by the repentant worshippers.
• Hand over the goods before they spoil in your hands, lest the Buyer refuse to accept them!
• The Buyer was already aware of the defect in the merchandise before He bought it; deliver it, and you are safe from having it returned.
• The value of a commodity is measured by the majesty of its purchaser, the price paid for it, and the herald who announces it. When the purchaser is magnificent, the price momentous, and the crier exalted, the commodity must be precious indeed.
O seller of your soul in a bargain of humiliation—were you to revoke that sale before the moment slips away, you would not be disappointed. (1)
And you who barter a pure, priceless life for a mere phantom of living snatched by pains—
By Allah, you have been outrageously cheated; on the Day of Mutual Loss and Gain you will meet the height of ruin.
You approach what you think is a clear draught of life, yet it is all dregs; the true watering place ahead of you is real, not a lie.
You who gather firewood in the dead of night, standing in the darkness, exposed to every calamity that draws you toward destruction—
You seek a cure with eyes that are themselves diseased; have you ever heard of healing that springs from ruin?
You squander your soul chasing after the ugliest of them all, a stain that strips away whatever beauty was yours.