And these material passions are numerous and hardly does the...

And these material passions are numerous and hardly does the supplicant lack in having them. And one origin unites them: love for the world, which is the root cause of every misdeed '. [^3] Hence the solution to eliminate the magnetic force within, is to demagnetize it through the process of continual struggle against one's vain inclinations and the process of detachment (zuhd) from the pleasures of the material world.

This should not be mistaken for 'abstinence', since Islam does not teach us to abandon the 'material means' that Almighty Allah has provided us with. The real meaning of zuhd is 'detachment' (qat'ul `al'aiq) and not 'abandonment of the material means' as conjectured by some. Only when the human being understands that the material needs of the world are 'the means' and not 'the goal', and practices accordingly can the process of demagnetization transpire.

[^1]: Sadru'1 Muta'allihin al-Shirazi, Sharhu Usul al-Kafi, v.l, p. 449. [^2]: Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali here likens the situation with the 'sayr al-sawani' the movement of the camel that is normally used to draw water from the well. The circular movement it undertakes is an allusion to 'stagnation' and 'no progress'. The to-and-fro movement that we undertake to drive off the distractions of our minds all our life will never make us progress. It rather manifests stagnation and stillness.

On the contrary, if we were to uproot the causes of distraction, we would easily be able to soar towards the proximity of Allah. [^3]: Mawla Fayd Kashani , al-Mahajjatu'l Bayda', v.l, p.376 Previous…