Seeking Allah's Mercy
Qul HuwaAllahu Ahud!
‘He who walks upon thorns is not like he who rides on fine horses’
by Fajr
As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah
They wrote to ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) asking him, “Who is better: a man who has no desires and desires have not even occurred to him, or a man who fights with his soul over desires until he leaves them for the sake of Allah?” So ‘Umar wrote back saying, “Indeed, the one whose soul desires sin and he then leaves it for the sake of Allah is from ‘…those whom Allah has tested their hearts for piety. They shall have forgiveness and a great reward.’ [al-Hujurat: 3]
Thus Allah does not test His believing servant with the love of desires, and sin, and yearning for it, except that He wishes to lead him to a love that is greater and better for him than that, and more beneficial and more lasting. So let a person strive against himself to abandon desires for His Sake, so that this abandonment can lead him to the Beloved, Most High. Every time his soul contends with him in order to lead him towards desires and sins, and his yearning and wish for it increases, he will then avert that strong desire and love towards a loftier type (of love) that remains. So his seeking of this (greater) love becomes more intense and his desire for it becomes more complete.
This is in contrast to the calmer soul that is empty and does not face this struggle, because even though it also has a lofty goal, there is a great difference between the two! Don’t you see that the one who walks to his beloved upon hot coals and thorns is more virtuous than he who goes to his beloved whilst riding on fine horses? Thus the one who prefers his Beloved after fighting with his soul is not like the one who prefers his Beloved without any striving or fighting to get away from other than Him. Allah, the Most High, tests His servant with desires, either to become a veil against Himself, or a veil for him to help him attain His Pleasure, Bounties, and nearness to Him.”
- Al-Fawa’id (pg. 258-259), also ‘A’la al-Na’im’, by Sh. Sayyid al-‘Affani, pg. 150