The Origins of Evil Thoughts & How To Defend Oneself

Evil thoughts are natural to mankind. Before every intentional sin is carried out, a person has the scope to sit down and think about it. Many people keep questioning themselves as to why they keep on committing various sins but fail to find a reason. This is because they are looking at the sin itself along with its magnitude and not at the manner in which it materialised. For example, when we look at successful footballers, we look directly towards their success and fancy skills; we do not look at the hardship and sacrifice which they perhaps endured to reach that level and as a result, the struggles that they tolerated prior to their success is forgotten. In the same manner, we commit great sins but we are so distracted by the magnitude of the sin that we forget the initial stages that led up to it. Hence, it is important to know the routes of these thoughts.

Ibn Allaan Siddiqi mentions in ‘Riyadus Saliheen li Tareeq Daleel al Faliheen',

واعلم أن ما يقع في النفس من قصد المعصية على خمس مراتب: الأولى: الهاجس وهو ما يلقى فيها. ثم جريانه فيها وهو الخاطر. ثم حديث النفس وهو ما يقع فيها من التردد هل يفعل أو لا. ثم الهمّ وهو قصد ترجيح الفعل. ثم العزم وهو قوة ذلك القصد والجزم به

“Know that the intention to sin which is felt by the inner self is of five stages:

The first is a mere uncertainty (haajis) which is placed there in.

Then comes the passing of this uncertainty (into a proper idea) and that is known as katir (risk).

Then it is the conversation of the inner self (hadeethun nafs) and its hesitation in whether deciding to do the sin or not.

Then is the intention (hum) and that is an intention which is inclined to the deed.

And the final step is determination (azm) and that is a firm resolution to carry out the intention and assertiveness upon it.”

It is important to recognise the thought during the early stages. It is important to remove these thoughts while the intention and attraction of the sin is weak. During the first two stages, the thoughts should be ignored and cast away. A person at this stage should seek refuge in Allah Ta’ala by ‘a’udhu billahi min ash shaytaanir rajeem’ and then should ignore the deed.

When it gets to the third stage, a person should try to move away from the place which may be a means of him committing sin. For example, if a person is hesitant as to whether or not he should flirt with a girl he is attracted to, he should move away from that place so the choice of doing the sin is no longer the there. Whenever we are presented with a 50/50 choice in doing something sinful, we should try our utmost to remove this choice and push the possibility of sin out of the way.

At this juncture, it is useful to mention that Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wa salam said, “Allah has forgiven my Ummah of the whisperings of their souls so long as they do not talk about it or act accordingly.”

The first three stages are forgiven and there is no accountability with regards to them. Now remains the last two stages.

The stage of inclination towards the deed is a very difficult one. This is that time when a person’s mind and heart is taken over with a strong desire to do the sin but there is still an inkling of wanting to ignore it. For example, a person may be so angry with another that he wants to hit them and he cannot get on with his life until he says or does something to cause pain. However, in his heart there is an understanding that it would be incorrect to carry out the deed but this is overpowered by the desire of committing the sin. Quite simply, this could be described as when the inner self is inclined 80/20 in doing the sin. This state will only become sinful when a person take is to the final stage which will soon be discussed.

Due to the need of our times, it is important to note that the shamelessly fantasizing and conjuring illicit thoughts of the other sex also falls into this category and a person will be at sin if he/she continues to dwell on such lustful thoughts. Though this is a thought, it is still deemed sinful due to the haram desires which are fulfilled by it. It is important to keep the mind clean and this can be done by making zikr.

In general, when a person gets to this 80/20 stage, he should try do perform wudhu and make constant zikr. It is a necessity for him to move away from the sin and he should beseech Allah Ta’ala to protect him by the way of dua or by calling out to Allah Ta'ala through his heart. By making wudhu, a person can sometimes snap himself out of the hypnotic trance which may be dominant over him. This will bring him to reality and understand the scale of the sin he is about to commit.

Finally is the stage where a person becomes determined to commit the sin. This is a stage where we should try our best to not even reach. We should try stopping our thoughts before they get to this stage. It is like a person who is tip toeing around the banks of destruction, sooner or later he wil fall in. It is the hardest stage to stop. The strength of wanting to succumb to our evil thoughts becomes so strong that a person is no longer able to stop it from happening. He is as good as committing the sin. Mankind will not be held culpable until he reaches this final stage.

A person should constantly make dua’a to Allah Ta’ala to keep him steadfast and strong, especially in defending himself from sin. The heart is unpredictable, sometimes it will make a person feel as if he is as firm as the likes of Umar radiallahu anhu and at other times, the heart will tear his spirituality into pieces until he is left shattered like broken glass. The reality of this is that the heart fluctuates in accordance to the deeds that we do. Whilst our heart is clean and adorned with the worship of Allah Ta’ala, it will feel light and jolly. When sins becomes dominant and our heart constantly acquiesces and surrenders to evil, then our spirituality will be sent plummeting and we will feel the burden of sadness and low esteem. Due to the unpredictable nature of the heart, Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wa salam taught his Ummah supplications in order to keep them aright. For example,

يَا مُقَلِّبَ القُلُوْبِ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِيْ عَلى دِيْنِك
“O Turner of the hearts, make my heart firm on Your religion.”

We should make dua in abundance, Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wa salam has mentioned that the dua is the weapon of a believer. Evil thoughts bring harm and problems to a believer so it would make complete sense that in order to fight these thoughts, one should make constant dua to Allah Ta’ala to strengthen his/her resolve.

May Allah Ta’ala give me the ability to act upon what I have said and may He give us all the ability to refrain from surrendering to our evil thoughts. Ameen.