This is while their personal interest has been effective in...

This is while their personal interest has been effective in selecting the prerequisites of a reason or in the quality of regulating the prerequisites. It might even lead to fallacious reasoning: “بَلْ يُرِيدُ الْإِنْسَانُ لِيَفْجُرَ أَمَامَهُ” "Nay! Man desires to give the lie to what is before him (75:5)." Explanation: Man's unwillingness to derive a conclusion that is contrary to his own wishes would at times, lead to neglect and inattention towards the subject.

At times, it would bring about neglect toward the preliminaries. In case due to external factors, he passes these stages against his wishes and reaches an undesirable conclusion, he falls into doubt and misgiving. If the reasoning is so clear that it leaves no room for misgiving, then it is time for a failure of memory. In a short span of time, man will forget it altogether. If a factor reminds him of it, he will refrain from wholeheartedly accepting and believing it.

He will obstinately deny it, as previously indicated in expressing the difference between knowledge and belief: “إِنْ يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَمَا تَهْوَى الْأَنْفُسُ ۖ وَلَقَدْ جَاءَهُمْ مِنْ رَبِّهِمُ الْهُدَىٰ…” "...

They follow naught but conjecture and the low desires which (their) souls incline to; and certainly the guidance has come to them from their Lord (53:23)." As a consequence, a person who is immune from the domination of opposing desires could be confident of his mental deductions; else so long as carnal desires wield control over man and so long as concern for material goods, sensuality, status, position and other unbridled demands attracts the soul, there will be no hope of reaching sound conclusion from mental and intellectual activities in related fields.

With regard to speculative knowledge and awareness of them, mental desires and attachments play a significant role. For example, the conditions and states of the soul would at times become unconscious and neglected due to concern for another object. In philosophical terms, in such a state, there is no awareness of knowledge. In like manner, the soul's speculative awareness of Almighty Allah could be neglected due to concern for material objects.

The soul will not become aware of it unless, willingly or necessarily, it cuts off concern for material means. Consequently, correct enjoyment of the powers of perception will be feasible when the heart is purged from material and carnal desires and when the mind is cleared of prejudgments and is adorned with taqwa .

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