There are many things which cause a person to fall into self-indulgence and following their desires. Let’s now mention five of these, and the ways we can go about saving ourselves from these destructive habits.

1. Rushing to get what you want

This refers to hearing good things about something, or seeing someone with that particular thing, and then desiring to have it yourself (like a new mobile, laptop, iPad, house, shop and so on). We begin wanting these things as soon as we see them, regardless of whether we need them or not. If what a person wants is difficult to get, he then begins paying no consideration to the boundaries of halal and haram. This ultimately leads to him ruining himself in pursuit of his desire.

Remedy

Such a person should make a habit of differentiating between his actual needs and impermissible desires. This can be achieved by discussing these matters with a pious and true friend, as well as from thinking about how following nafs­-related desires is a condemned action, which leads to nothing but harm. He should also only go about attaining halal things in a completely halal manner.

2. Wasteful Spending

Wasteful spending is another bad habit, which leads to a person constantly chasing desire after desire. He who falls victim to this will purchase anything he likes, even if he has no need for it. Like so, he will continue to waste large sums of money, all for the attainment of his desires.

Remedy

The solution to this is for a person to keep their needs and priorities in mind whenever spending money, and to not spend on anything they