The message of Islam – Imam Al Ghazzali

If the first inward thought is not warded off, it will generate

a desire,

then the desire will generate a wish,

and the wish will generate an intention,

and the intention will generate the action,

and the action will result in ruin and divine wrath.

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So evil must be cut off at its root,

which is when it is simply a thought that crosses the mind,

from which all the other things follow on.”

Imam Al-Ghazzali in ‘Ihyaa Uloom al-Deen’, 6/17