Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah: Sin After Sin Corrupts the Mind and Rusts the Heart

Repeated sin does more than shape a person’s behavior, according to a religious reflection drawing on Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah. It can also damage the mind and leave the heart covered from guidance.

The article says that as wrongdoing continues, the light of reason grows weaker. A person then loses the ability to reject sin because sound judgment has been damaged. At the same time, sin after sin causes the heart to rust and can ultimately leave someone under Satan’s control.

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No one disobeys Allah’s command except because his reason has diminished.

In his work Ad-Da’ wa ad-Dawa, Ibn Qayyim explains that reason is a light and that disobedience extinguishes its brightness. The article also quotes an early Muslim saying: “No one disobeys Allah’s command except because his reason has diminished.” If reason were complete, it argues, a person would abandon sin when confronted with it.

The reflection warns that people are constantly reminded of divine judgment through the Quran, death and hell. It asks whether a person of sound mind would pursue such humiliation for temporary pleasure. It cites Quran 83:14: “No indeed! Rather, what they have been earning has covered their hearts.”

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No indeed! Rather, what they have been earning has covered their hearts.