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وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَرَفَعْنَاهُ بِهَا وَلَـٰكِنَّهُ أَخْلَدَ إِلَى ٱلأَرْضِ وَٱتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ ٱلْكَلْبِ إِن تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْهِ يَلْهَثْ أَوْ تَتْرُكْهُ يَلْهَث ذَّلِكَ مَثَلُ ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِآيَاتِنَا فَٱقْصُصِ ٱلْقَصَصَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
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-Al-A‘râf ( الأعراف )

Tafsir al-Tustari

Had We willed, We would have raised him up [with Our signs]…This refers to Balʿam b. Bāʿūrāʾ. But he was disposed to the earth and followed his [lower] desires. He turned away [from God’s signs] due to his following his [base] desire (hawā). God, Exalted is He, distributed desire among the bodily members such that each bodily member has a portionof it. If one of the bodily members inclines towards that desire, its harm will return to the heart. Know that the self has a secret which did not manifest itself except with Pharaoh when he said: ‘I am your Lord most High’ [79:24].Then [Sahl] was asked, ‘How can we be preserved from [base] desire (hawā)?’ He replied:Whoever keeps himself in propriety (adab) will be preserved from it, for whoever subdues his lower self through propriety serves God, Mighty and Majestic is He, with true sincerity (ikhlāṣ).He also said:The self (nafs) has seven heavenly veils and seven earthly veils. The more the servant buries his [lower] self in the earth the higher will his heart soar heavenwards. Furthermore, if he [completely] buries his lower self beneath the earth his heart will reach the Throne. He also said about Kahmas that he used to pray a thousand rakʿas (cycles of prayer) during the course of the day and night. He would make the closing greetings of peace (salāms) between each pair of rakʿas then say to his lower self, ‘Get up O refuge of evil, I am not satisfied with you.’His words, Exalted is He:

Tafsīr al-Tustarī, trans. Annabel Keeler and Ali Keeler
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