Learn the art of self-restraint and discipline. It’s all about taming the soul and bringing it under submission, which is a major aim of Islam. Without self-restraint, we effectively let go of our nafs (soul) and it begins to chase its desires. So it takes the reins of our life and gains ultimate power over us.

Like the untamed horse, it gallops towards every pond and tuft of fresh grass. It gallops off the road and ventures into unknown and feared territory. The rider, despite his expertise, then has no choice but to helplessly run after it.

Of course, the very nature of the untamed soul is that it doesn’t stop until it becomes like a god over us. So the body falls obedient to it; it answers the soul at every stage, waits at its every beck and call, and it also takes every path the lost soul has taken. At that point, we becomes blind to the light of Guidance, blind to the Signs of Allah, and blind to the Truth. In misery and darkness we are left there; astray, confused, and subdued…

“Have you seen him who has taken as his god his own desire,
and Allah has sent him astray due to knowledge…” [al-Jathiyah: 23]

What’s the way out?

Learn the art of self-restraint. Just like the rider, we have to become alert, run faster than our runaway horse, catch up to it, and pull the reins back hard. Restrain the soul. At that point it’ll stop and come back under your command. You remind it that you are the master, and with a righteous conscious you lead it back onto the road. You never ever let go of the reins again, until you return to the realm of the Hereafter and safely submit yourself to Allah `azza wa jall, in body and soul.