Allah the Exalted says:
“And be not ye as those who forgot Allah, therefor He caused them to forget their souls. Such are the evil-doers.” (59:19)
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
Sins sow the seeds of their own kind,
And one gives birth to another,
Until it becomes difficult for the servant to abandon them or break free from them.
For among the punishments for a bad deed
Is the bad deed that follows it,
And among the rewards for a good deed
Is the good deed that follows it,
Until these become deeply rooted dispositions,
Inseparable traits,
And established faculties.
If the sinner were to cease the sin
And turn toward obedience,
His own soul would feel constricted,
And his chest would tighten until he returned to it.
Indeed, many of the corrupt
Commit the sin without finding any pleasure in it,
And without any urge toward it,
Except for the pain they feel in abandoning it.
He continues to become accustomed to sins,
Loving them and preferring them,
Until Allah sends devils upon him,
Who incite him toward them with a fierce incitement.