The Self-Reproaching Soul: A Protection for the Muslim Against Deviation

Question:
The questioner: I am from Marrakesh in Morocco. I have a set of questions and I hope they will be reviewed before the Honorable Shaykh. We will take the first question and, if Allah wills, postpone some of the questions to future episodes with the help of Allah. He says: This message of mine is addressed to Your Eminence. It deals with the subject of the human soul. There is the soul at peace, the self-reproaching soul, and the soul that commands evil. Unfortunately, my soul is in the category of the self-reproaching soul, because I do not like doing evil, sin, or indecency, but I cannot resist it. After that, I am overcome with regret and I blame myself severely. How do I get out of this dead end and see what will reform my soul and this crookedness in it? This is the first part of my question.

Answer:
This is a sign of good if you are distressed by a sin and troubled by a transgression when you commit it, until you repent from it. This is a sign of good, and you must persist in repentance and stay away from sins. It has come in the hadith that So the presence of this in your self is a sign of good, but you must bind yourself to the obedience of Allah and His Messenger and stay away from sins. If you seek help from Allah, then Allah will help you. The self-reproaching soul rises until it reaches the tranquil soul, if its owner takes it toward good. The Exalted said: So it is obligatory for the Muslim to take hold of his self and not surrender to desires, lusts, and the devils who make evil attractive to him. Rather, he must take hold of his self toward the obedience of Allah and seek help from Allah, and Allah will help him. Yes.