the desires of people who went astray before.” As with the word “appetite,” following desire means following what the verbal noun itself denotes: following one’s will and love, which constitute one’s desire. Following one’s will means doing what the soul desires. This is like His words, the Most High:

“Follow the path of those who turn to Me.”

And His words:

“This is My path, perfectly straight, so follow it. Do not follow other paths, for they will lead you away from His path.”

He also says:

“Do not follow any protectors besides Him.”

The term “following” can thus apply to the one who commands and forbids, to the commands and prohibitions themselves, and to what is commanded and forbidden—the straight path. Likewise, desire has its commands and prohibitions, which are the soul’s commands and prohibitions. As the Most High says:

“I do not absolve myself. Indeed, the soul persistently commands evil, except where my Lord shows mercy. Indeed, my Lord is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

As for the blameworthy deeds it commands, the one entails the other: following a command means doing what is commanded, and following the soul’s command means doing what it desires. Thus, it becomes clear that following appetites and following desires means following the soul’s appetite and desire by doing what it craves and desires.

Indeed, one may say that this is the only possible meaning of the expression “following appetites and desires.” For what a person craves and desires only comes into existence after he craves and desires it, and a person is censured only when he does what he craves and desires, when it comes into existence