and when they are not established upon justice, they do not endure, even if the person responsible for them possesses faith for which he will be rewarded in the Hereafter.

The soul harbours an impulse to wrong others by exalting itself over them, envying them, and infringing upon their rights. It also harbours an impulse to wrong itself by indulging in vile desires, such as unlawful sexual intercourse and consuming foul things. It may therefore wrong those who have not wronged it and favour these desires even if others do not indulge in them. When it sees its peers acting unjustly or indulging in these desires, its own impulse towards such desires or injustice becomes far stronger.

It may restrain itself, yet this arouses within it hatred and envy of the other person, a desire to see him punished, and a wish that he lose the good things he enjoys—feelings it did not harbour before. In its own eyes, it has a justification grounded in reason and religion: that the other person has wronged himself and the Muslims, that enjoining him to do right and forbidding him to do wrong is obligatory, and that striving to uphold this is part of religion.