This diagram which I call my ILMKEY can be thought of as your personal fortress, with your most precious treasure in the heart of it. In the external world are allies and enemies; your enemies trying to steal this treasure while your friends would like to see it's beauty. In any fortress the strength of the outer walls and the vigilance of it's guards determine how easy or difficult and invasion would be.
Our enemy, of course, is none other than Satan; he has many names and appearances, but his goal is always the same�to gain entry to your heart.
In the ILMKEY the outer walls are composed of the 5 senses. The Quran has something to say about each of these:
SIGHT
24:30 Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and to be mindful of their chastity: this will be most conducive to their purity � [and,] verily, God is aware of all that they do.
The eyes are said to be the windows to the soul, we would not do justice to ourselves by giving free reigns to our eyes. By looking lustfully at other peoples wives for example, the heart is darkened�envy, jealously arise in the heart and this harms none but yourself. It is the first step towards adultery and that can become a slippery slope.
Use your eyes instead towards things that will make you better: reading, improving your aim, etc. Close your eyes sometimes and look within, see with the eye of your imagination what you would like to become and try to see what you have become.
SOUND
7:204 Hence, when the Qur'an is voiced, hearken unto it, and listen in silence, so that you might be graced with [God's] mercy.
Listening to the Quran strengthens the defenses. Shaitaan, on the other hand, will try to slip in with seductive music...lowering your defenses with rhythm and beats while bleeding your heart with poisonous lyrics. How often does a song get stuck in your head while not even realizing the meaning of the words. More often then not the song will be joyfully describing all kinds of sin�how many rap songs sing sweetly about murder and rape.
TOUCH
3:47 Said she: "O my Sustainer! How can I have a son when no man has ever touched me?" [The angel] answered: "Thus it is: God creates what He wills [34] when He wills a thing to be, He but says unto it, 'Be' - and it is.
When we talk about touch, there is the married touch and the umarried touch. The pleasures of the flesh, especially the unlawful kind, has been a source of destruction for many great men. Presidents, priests, judges, politicians�how many have lost power, prestige and dignity, throwing all away for a sweet little touch.
Get married, make yourselves attractive to each other and touch in a lawful way. Satan's joy knows no bounds when a married couple divorces and his ancient trick to achieve this is adultery.
BREATH/SMELL
15:29 and when I have formed him fully and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down before him in prostration!
The difference between life and death is the breath in your lungs. Satan, relentless in his quest to attack from every gate, must love it when people smoke: "DIE HUMAN DIE" he shouts as we have our smoke break.
Deep breathing meditation exercises are what it would take to strengthen this gate.
TASTE
2:173 He has forbidden to you only carrion, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that over which any name other than God's has been invoked; but if one is driven by necessity - neither coveting it nor exceeding his immediate need -no sin shall be upon him: for, behold, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
If somebody called you a pig, they are calling you filthy�this is pretty universal, pigs are dirty animals. We are encouraged towards eating pure wholesome foods rather than stuffing our faces with whatever presents itself. An important principle in any self-help/self-improvement book is to watch your diet.
While writing this blog I came upon an interesting article entitled "Interview with Shaitaan:
O Prophet of Allah, my seventh enemy is that person who does not listen to what is forbidden, does not see what is forbidden, and does not eat what is forbidden.
Comment by Maulana Sadiq Hasan Qibla: This person does not look any Na-Mehram women/men (a women with whom a man can marry or a man with whom a woman can marry), does not watches movies or shows. This person prevent himself or herself from listening to Music, Songs, lies, or Geebath (Backbiting). This person does not eat forbidden food (meat which is not cut according to the Islamic ways such as meat cut by non Muslim business men, etc.) and that food which is not purchased with the halal (allowed) earnings (such as earnings from selling alcohol, from gambling, from selling drugs and from many other sources which are forbidden in Islam.)
Pasted from <http://www.ummah.net/khoei/wabil/shaitan1.htm>
Notice how frustrated Shaitaan sounds in not being able to get through these gates.
This is a very basic overview touching on each of the senses�in the future I would like to take each sense in detail and perform a thorough analysis of the physical and spiritual aspects of each sense from different viewpoints: how to improve them, what different cultures say about them, the physics behind them. Since this outer wall is the first line of defense, the more knowledge one has about these the better one can make use of them.
Animals exist mainly in this outer level of the senses, they respond to whatever stimulus hits their senses�they see food they jump for it, they smell danger they run away from it; they react without much thought or planning. Left to it's own whims and desires, the human body behaves like an animal�it is the mind that restrains it.
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