—whether because the Lawgiver has forbidden the act or because he is unable to obtain it—his heart is racked with anguish; yet if he can obtain it and goes ahead with the prohibited deed, he is ruined. Even in the lawful sphere, the mere handling of women brings its own affliction. This, then, explains his words:

“Do not expose me to temptation.” (al-Tawbah 49)

But Allah says:

“Surely they have already fallen into temptation.” (al-Tawbah 49)

In other words, his very turning away from the obligatory jihad, his retreat from it, the weakness of his faith, and the disease in his heart that made desertion appear attractive—these are a massive temptation into which he has already plunged. How, then, can he seek deliverance from a minor temptation that has not yet befallen him while he is ensnared in one far greater?

Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:

“Fight them until there is no more temptation and religion is entirely for Allah.” (al-Anfal 39)

Whoever abandons the fighting that Allah has commanded on the pretext of avoiding temptation has, in fact, fallen headlong into it through the doubts in his heart, the sickness in his breast, and his neglect of the jihad Allah has enjoined.

[The categories of people in commanding the right and forbidding the wrong]

Ponder this well, for the matter is perilous. People here divide into three groups:

1. A group that commands, forbids, and fights in order to remove what they claim is temptation; yet their very action becomes a greater temptation, like those who engage in the internecine fighting that has afflicted the ummah.

2. Others who shrink from commanding, forbidding, and fighting—the struggle whereby religion becomes wholly Allah’s and His word is made supreme—lest they be tempted; yet they have already plunged into temptation. The temptation mentioned in Surat al-Baraʾah includes infatuation with captivating forms, for that was the occasion of the verse’s revelation. This is the state of many who deem themselves religious: they abandon the duties of commanding, forbidding, and striving by which the religion would become entirely Allah’s.