He (rahimahullaah) said:And among its effects is that the disobedient (sinner) is
constantly in the shackles of his Shaytaan and the prison
of his shahwa (desires) and the chains/fetters of his hawaa
(whims). So he is a captive, one who is imprisoned and who
is tied up.
There is no captive in a worse state than the one who is
captivated by his worst enemy and there is no prison which
is tighter than the prison of hawa and there is no
bond/fetter more strong than the bond of desire.
How, then, will a heart which is captivated, imprisoned
and fettered travel unto Allaah and the Home of the
Hereafter. How will a person take a single step forward
when the heart is bound and harmful things approach it
from every direction. The harmful things approach it to
the extent that it is tied up [i.e. imprisoned by its
desires and whims..].
The example of the heart is like the example of a bird.
Every time is ascends it becomes distant from the harmful
things and every time it descends the harmful things hurt
it. In a hadeeth there occurs that Shaytaan is like a wolf
to people. Just as when a sheep has no protector and is
in between many wolves, they are quick in causing damage
and injury; likewise the servant who does not have
guardianship from Allaah, then his wolf [i.e. his desires,
whims etc.] is to him a
predatory animal.
[Thus] there is no escape for the servant from having
protection from Allaah. Taqwaa is a safeguarding for him
and a strong shield between himself and the punishment of
this world and the Hereafter.
Every time the sheep is close to its shepherd it is more
safe from the wolf and every time it becomes distant from
its shepherd it is closer to destruction. So its sanctuary
is when it is close to its shepherd because the wolf takes the
lonely one from the flock and this is the one which is the
furthest one of the flock from the shepherd. The basis of
all of this is is that every time the heart is distant
from Allaah the harmful things are quick in approaching it
and every time it is close to Allaah the harmful things
become distant from it.
Remoteness from Allaah has levels/degrees, some of which
are more severe than others. Heedlesness distances the
servant from Allaah and some acts of disobedience are
greater than some acts of heedlesness. Some innovations
are greater than some acts of disobedience and some things
from Hypocrisy and Shirk are greater than all of what has
preceded.
The Heart's Captivation and Imprisonment by Sin