Page 20 - The Courage of the Faithful

THE COURAGE OF THE FA I T H F U L

as it is a means of separating the good from the wicked, it will nev-
ertheless be for the advantage of the believer. We are told so in the
following verse of the Qur'an:
Those who disbelieve spend their wealth barring access to
the Way of Allah. They will spend it; then they will regret
it; then they will be overthrown. Those who disbelieve will

be gathered into Hell. (It is) so that Allah can sift the bad
out from the good, and pile the bad on top of one another ,
heaping them all together, and tip them into Hell. They are
the lost. (Surat al-Anfal, 36-37)
Some commit evil acts because they are influenced by bad peo-
ple. When they want to do good, their friends re g a rd it as strange,
and try to harass them by word and action. Being influenced by

Satan, they present wickedness as virtuous and virtue as evil. The
weak-willed, shy and timid are affected by such people and give up
performing good. They easily conform to the behavior of people of
low morality.
By abandoning what they know to be right and opting for base
morality, in order to conform to those around them, and earn the ad-
miration of those who are not on the right path, they do themselves
great harm. In choosing the wrong path, so as not to be blamed or re-
jected by others, and conforming to wicked ways, they are actually

oppressing themselves. These people, who then tolerate base moral-
i t y, so as not to lose friends, not knowing that their true friend is
Allah, are not aware that they are lowering themselves in the sight
of Allah, and will suffer for it in the Hereafter.
However, those who, at all cost, are courageous and stay deter-
mined to follow the instructions of Allah, and of those of superior

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