wording might not be exact as I am recalling from memory:
Mohammad Ali’s reply to an interviewer who asked him how he deals with the attraction and temptation of beautiful women he comes across in parties. " I always keep a match box in my pocket. If I feel anything like that, I burn a match stick and put it on my skin. Ooh…that hurts, how would I feel when my whole body would be burning in the fire of hell (infinite times hotter in intensity) for committing such a sin. It certainly is not worth it"
When a king requested a beggar to teach him how he was able to develop such a high level of motivation in obeying Allah (s.w.t) and overcome his worldly forbidden temptations. The beggar told him to kidnap a fruit seller from the street, put him in a totally separate room of jail, provide him all the forbidden luxuries including the most beautiful prostitute of that time. Tell her if she is able to convince him to have an immoral relationship at night, she would be given a lot of money in the morning. After providing all these facilities, tell the fruit seller that his neck would be cut in the morning…
When the fruit seller saw that all his request and crying has no effect on the king, he sat at one corner of the room and started praying with tears in his eyes and begging Allah (s.w.t) for forgiveness. All night the woman tried to seduce him but he kept telling her angrily to move away from him.
In the morning the king saw that the fruit seller had not even touched any single forbidden luxury. He set the fruit seller free and realized the secret of that beggar’s high level of obedience towards Allah (s.w.t)
*I would like to share more with time, few from my practical experiences. Please do share if you feel any technique has helped you in overcoming EVIL in daily life.
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Good question. I should have been more clear. Yes, he was told that his neck would be cut irrespective of his choice at night. He can do whatever he wants. The fruit seller knew his life was too short so he didn't want to take along with him bad deeds in the life hereafter.
The purpose was to see if a person knows his death is very near would he easily get tempted towards the temptations that he usually finds difficult to avoid. The lesson was that if we live every second of our life with this thought that we would die the next morning, all the immoral temptations wont harm us, by the grace and mercy of Allah (s.w.t).
May Allah (s.w.t) guide us towards the right path. Ameen!
p.s. I am editing my first post to clear the doubt you raised.
I apologize I forgot to reply to your previous salam. JazakAllah khair.
@Topic. I read it somewhere that if we consider our every namaz as last namaz of our life, we would inshaAllah be able to pray with more “Khushu-khuzu” BUT in order to develop such a mindset one needs to work a lot on the development on one’s Imaan on Allah and the day of Judgement.
