When Desires Start Taking the Lead - A Reminder
As-salamu alaykum. The Qur’an warns us about an unseen danger: when our own wants become like a god to us. “Have you seen the one who takes his own desires as his god?” (Surah Al-Jathiyah 45:23) It’s scary because it isn’t only about other people - it can quietly happen to any of us. When our wishes begin to shape our decisions more than Allah’s guidance… when impulses carry more weight than our principles… when we know what’s right but choose what feels good… when “I feel like it” drowns out “Allah commanded”… that’s when the heart starts to bow to something besides the Creator. The risk isn’t only in obvious sins. Often it’s subtle: you keep going to a place that weakens your iman because “I want to,” you hold on to a habit that harms your salah because “I enjoy it,” or you stay in a relationship that pulls you away from Allah because your heart won’t let go. The hope is that as soon as you take steps to steer your heart away from its desires, even a little, Allah draws you back stronger than you could on your own. We’re not meant to erase desire - that’s unrealistic. The goal is to train our desires to follow us, not for us to follow them. May Allah help us keep our hearts rightly directed.