Another matter that likewise requires determined self-struggle is compelling oneself to perform the prayer in congregation. For many people it is easy to pray at home, yet burdensome to pray with the congregation in the mosque. You will see a person locked in battle with his own soul, saying, “Be patient; I will finish this job, or take care of this or that… later… soon…,” until the congregational prayer passes him by. Feeling the congregational prayer to be heavy is an indication that some hypocrisy has lodged in a person’s heart. The proof is the Prophet’s statement ﷺ: “The most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are the night prayer (‘Isha) and the dawn prayer (Fajr). If they only knew what they contain, they would come to them even if they had to crawl.” This, therefore, is an arena that demands striving.

As for striving against the soul to abandon what is forbidden, how numerous are the prohibitions that some people find hard to relinquish! A person may grow accustomed to a sin and then find it extremely difficult to quit. Let us illustrate this with two examples.

The first example is smoking. Many people have been afflicted with the habit of smoking. When tobacco first appeared, the scholars differed about its ruling: some said it was permissible, others that it was forbidden, others that it was disliked, and some even likened it to wine and therefore held that the ḥadd (legal punishment) should be applied to its user. With the passage of time, however, it became unquestionably clear that it is unlawful, for physicians have unanimously agreed that it is harmful to health and a cause of chronic diseases that lead to death. For that reason you will see some