Ma`rifat Akhlaqi

While humans can attain proximity to God through reason and religious guidance, they are also capable of descending to animalistic or lower states. "Carnal desire" and "Satan" are the primary factors in this degradation. This study investigates whether carnal desire and Satan represent a single reality or two distinct entities. Through analysis of Quranic verses, the research demonstrates that they are separate yet share commonalities. Key shared features include their goal, opposition to humanity, gradual influence, greed for sin, and obstruction of virtuous acts. Their fundamental differences lie in their ontological nature (internal vs. external) and causal roles: carnal desire acts as the direct cause of human actions, while Satan’s influence is preparatory and indirect. The study concludes that by remembering God, humans can restrain carnal desire, thereby repelling Satan from the "sanctuary of the heart."