Introduction

• Following your wants causes trouble.
• Controlling your wants brings good things.
• With Allah’s help and strong will, you can break free.
• This guide presents 50 ways to help you resist harmful desires.

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What Is Desire?

• Desire is wanting something that feels good.
• We need some desire to survive (eating, drinking, marriage).
• Desire is not all bad, and not all good.
• Same goes for anger.

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Why Is Desire Usually Bad?

• Most people go too far.
• They don’t stop at a healthy limit.
• Very few people stay balanced.
• So Allah and the Prophet ﷺ warn us about it.

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What the Prophet ﷺ Said

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“None of you have faith until his desires comply with what I have brought.”

Desire makes you forget the future. It brings shame and regret. Reason, faith, and self-respect tell you: “Stop!”

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Who Gives In to Desires?

• Children – because they are young.
• People without faith – because they don’t think about the afterlife.
• People without self-respect – because they don’t care about their honor.

A wise man said:

“I wouldn’t even drink cold water if it lowered my dignity.”

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Desires Are a Test

• Allah tests us through our wants.
• He gave us two guides: reason and faith.
• Take your urges to these guides and listen to them.

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Practice Saying “No”

• Even say “no” to small, harmless wants.
• This builds your strength.
• When a big, harmful desire comes, you will be ready to refuse it.

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The 50 Remedies

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1. Be Strong-Willed

Make a firm decision and respect yourself enough to say “no.”

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2. Be Patient

Swallow the bitter pill of patience, even if it’s hard.

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3. Find Inner Strength

Courage is just being patient for a moment. Patience gives you a good life.

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4. Think of the Good Ending

Remember the happy result. That will help you bear the hard time.

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5. Compare Pleasure vs. Pain

The pain from sin is much worse than the short pleasure you get.

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6. Protect Your Honor

Your standing with Allah and people is more valuable than a quick thrill.

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7. Choose Clean Pleasure

The joy of being pure is far better than the guilt of sinning.

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8. Defeat Satan

Feel proud when you make Satan angry and frustrated. Allah loves that!

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9. Think About Your Purpose

You were not created just to eat, sleep, and follow wants.

You were made for something much bigger.

You cannot achieve that purpose without staying away from bad desires.

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10. Know What’s Good and Bad

Even a dumb animal knows what hurts it and stays away.

Use your brain! If you cannot tell the difference between good and bad, or if you choose bad on purpose, you are worse than an animal.

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11. Look at the Bad Ending

Think about where your desires lead.

One wrong bite can take away many good meals.

One forbidden pleasure can steal many good pleasures from you.

Desires ruin your reputation and bring shame that water cannot wash away.

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12. Count What You Lose vs. What You Gain

After you get what you wanted, stop and think: What did I actually lose? What did I actually gain? Be honest with yourself.

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13. Judge Yourself Fairly

Imagine someone else doing the same bad act. Would you approve of it?

Now look at yourself.

If it is wrong for them, it is wrong for you too!

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14. Ask Your Mind and Faith

When a desire pulls you, ask your mind and your faith. Both will tell you:

“This is not worth it.”

If Shaytan draws your attention toward someone in a way that is not permitted, remember that acting on a haram desire will bring regret and harm - this will help you turn away from the bad desire.

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15. Rise Above Disgrace

Following desires makes you feel low and dirty inside, even if you act proud on the outside.

Don’t fool yourself.

You are a slave to your wants if you follow them.

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16. Compare the Two Sides

On one side: your faith, your honor, and your wealth.

On the other side: a quick, cheap thrill.

There is no comparison! Who would trade their honor for a moment of fun?

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17. Have High Courage

Don’t let Satan boss you around.

If you show weakness, he will ride you like a horse and take you wherever he wants.

If you show strength, he can only try to trick you from the shadows.

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18. Desire Ruins Everything

Wherever desire mixes in, it ruins things:

• Mix with knowledge → leads to wrong beliefs.
• Mix with piety → leads to showing off.
• Mix with justice → leads to oppression.
• Mix with wealth distribution → leads to unfairness.
• Mix with leadership → leads to betrayal.
• Mix with worship → loses all reward.

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19. Desire Is Satan’s Secret Door

Satan sneaks into your heart through your desires.

Once inside, he spreads poison through all your body parts.

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20. It Goes Against Allah’s Law

Allah’s guidance is not based on our desires. The Quran says:

“But if they do not respond to you - then know that they only follow their [own] desires. And who is more astray than one who follows his desire without guidance from Allah? Indeed, Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.”

— Quran 28:50, Saheeh International

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21. You Become Like Animals

Allah compares desire-followers to dogs, donkeys, pigs, and monkeys.

Would you want to look like that in His eyes?

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22. You Are Unfit to Lead

A person who follows his desires is not fit to be a leader.

Allah said His promise does not go to wrongdoers who chase their wants.

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23. When Desire Becomes Your Master

Allah says:

“Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desire? Then would you be responsible for him?”

— Quran 25:43, Saheeh International

The greatest danger is when desire takes control of the heart and turns a person away from obedience to Allah.

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24. Heaven Is Surrounded by Hardships

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Paradise is surrounded by hardships and the Hell-Fire is surrounded by temptations.”

— Sahih Muslim 2822

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25. Fear for Your Faith

You cannot be a true believer until your desires follow what the Prophet ﷺ brought.

The Prophet feared most that desires would misguide people and make them leave Islam without even realizing it.

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26. Desire Leads to Destruction

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“There are three destructive things: stinginess that is obeyed, desires that are followed, and a person’s being impressed with himself.”

— Silsilah al-Ahadith al-Sahihah 1802

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27. It Gives You Strength

Opposing your desires makes you stronger.

A person who controls himself when angry is a real winner.

Every time you say “no,” you gain power.

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28. Builds Good Character and Honor

Leaving desires is true manliness and honor.

Following them destroys your character.

Opposing them lifts your dignity.

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29. Reason and Desire Fight Daily

Every day, your mind and your desire wrestle.

Whoever wins, controls you.

A good day is when reason wins.

A bad day is when desire wins.

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30. Mistakes Are with Desires

Whenever you are unsure between two choices, go against your desire.

Mistakes are always found where desires lead.

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31. Disease and Its Cure

Desire is a sickness.

The only cure is to oppose it. Simple!

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32. The Struggle Within

Fighting harmful desires is the greatest inner struggle — an effort within us to remain firm upon what pleases Allah. And that is true success.

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33. Drives Away Sickness

Opposing desires removes sickness from your heart and even your body.

Most body diseases start from chasing bad wants.

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34. Locks the Door to Success

Following desires shuts the door to Allah’s help (tawfeeq) and opens the door to failure and deprivation.

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36. Narrowness in the Grave

Giving in to desires brings tightness and pain in the grave.

Fighting them brings spaciousness and comfort.

Allah rewards patience with Paradise.

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37. Obstacles on Judgment Day

Your desires will trip you up on the Day of Judgment.

The person who will be the last to stand up will be the one who was a slave to his lusts.

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38. Weakens Your Willpower

Following desires makes you weak and lazy.

Opposing them makes your will strong.

Willpower is your ride to the afterlife – if your ride breaks, you won’t reach your goal.

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39. The Worst Ride

A person chasing desires is like riding a wild, crazy horse that throws you into a ditch.

Love of desires is the fastest ride to Hell.

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40. The Opposite of Tawheed

Tawheed and the following of desires cannot stand together.

When a person allows his desires to lead him away from obedience to Allah, those desires become a barrier between his heart and true devotion to Him.

The first struggle is to break free from desires that try to control the heart and return it to the worship of Allah alone.

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41. Root of All Sickness

All heart diseases (hate, jealousy, pride) come from following desires.

It even causes most physical sicknesses.

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42. Causes Hatred and Envy

All the fighting and jealousy between people comes from chasing desires.

A person free from desires gives peace to himself and others.

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43. Two Powers Inside You

Allah put two forces in you: desire and reason. When one is strong, the other becomes weak.

If desire wins, your mind hides.

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44. Two Armies Fight for Your Heart

• Right side: Truth, angels, sincerity.
• Wrong side: Falsehood, devils, desires.

Your heart is the battlefield. Which army will you feed?

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45. Your Biggest Enemies

Your biggest enemies are: your own desire and Satan.

Your biggest friends are: your reason and your guardian angel.

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46. Look at the Beginning and End

A bad beginning (following desires) leads to a bad ending (shame and regret).

A good beginning (opposing desires) leads to a good ending (honor in this life and the next).

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47. Chains on Your Neck and Feet

Desires are like shackles around your neck and irons on your feet.

When you leave them, you become free.

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48. Trade Dirt for Pearls

If you leave the filth of desire, Allah will give you pearls (good things) in return – even in this life.

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49. The Place of Honor

On Judgment Day, those who opposed desires will walk with their heads high.

Those who followed desires will have their heads down in shame.

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50. Shade on the Day There Is No Other Shade

The Prophet ﷺ said:

سَبْعَةٌ يُظِلُّهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي ظِلِّهِ يَوْمَ لاَ ظِلَّ إِلاَّ ظِلُّهُ الإِمَامُ الْعَادِلُ، وَشَابٌّ نَشَأَ فِي عِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ، وَرَجُلٌ قَلْبُهُ مُعَلَّقٌ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ، وَرَجُلاَنِ تَحَابَّا فِي اللَّهِ اجْتَمَعَا عَلَيْهِ وَتَفَرَّقَا عَلَيْهِ، وَرَجُلٌ طَلَبَتْهُ امْرَأَةٌ ذَاتُ مَنْصِبٍ وَجَمَالٍ فَقَالَ إِنِّي أَخَافُ اللَّهَ، وَرَجُلٌ تَصَدَّقَ أَخْفَى حَتَّى لاَ تَعْلَمَ شِمَالُهُ مَا تُنْفِقُ يَمِينُهُ، وَرَجُلٌ ذَكَرَ اللَّهَ خَالِيًا فَفَاضَتْ عَيْنَاهُ.

“Allah will give shade, to seven, on the Day when there will be no shade but His. (These seven persons are) a just ruler, a youth who has been brought up in the worship of Allah (i.e. worships Allah sincerely from childhood), a man whose heart is attached to the mosques (i.e. to pray the compulsory prayers in the mosque in congregation), two persons who love each other only for Allah’s sake and they meet and part in Allah’s cause only, a man who refuses the call of a charming woman of noble birth for illicit intercourse with her and says: I am afraid of Allah, a man who gives charitable gifts so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given (i.e. nobody knows how much he has given in charity), and a person who remembers Allah in seclusion and his eyes are then flooded with tears.”

— Sahih al-Bukhari 660

In simple words

• A just ruler.
• A young person who worships Allah.
• A person whose heart is attached to the mosque.
• Two people who love each other for Allah.
• A person who gives charity secretly.
• A person who turns away when called toward temptation, out of fear of Allah.
• A person who remembers Allah alone and cries.

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