“Whenever they see you they take you for nothing else but an object for jest, saying: “Is this whom Allah has sent as a Messenger…?” But soon, when they see the chastisement, they will come to know who has strayed too far from the Right Way. Have you ever considered the case of him who has taken his carnal desire for his god? Can you take responsibility for guiding him to the Right Way?”
(Al-Qur’ān – 25:41, 43)
To deify one’s carnal desires means to worship those desires, just as one worships an idol or takes some creature as one’s deity. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said: “Of all the false gods that are worshipped on earth, the worst in God’s sight is one’s carnal self.”
The person who keeps his desires under the control of reason and who decides in its light, what is right and what is wrong can be expected to revert to the Right Way even if he were to slide into polytheism or disbelief. Such a person can also be expected to firmly keep to the Straight Path after consciously opting for it.
But the person who is a slave of his carnal desires is like an unfettered animal who moves in whichever direction his desires prompt him. Essentially, he is not interested in distinguishing between Truth and falsehood, between right and wrong. So who can persuade him to commit himself to the Truth? Even if he were to accept the Truth, there is no guarantee he would maintain himself by it.