Page 23 - Why Do You Deceive Yourself ?

Being Sincerely Religious without Deceiving Yourself 21
derstand what an extraordinary process this is.
How, then, did this miracle happen? How was an intelligent crea-
ture produced by the combining of two parts, invisible to the naked
eye, and how did this creature come into the world as a baby complete
in all its parts? The answer to this is given in the following verses:
It is He Who created you from earth, then from a drop of
sperm, then from a clot of blood, then He brings you out as
infants, then so you may achieve full strength, then so you
may become old men – though some of you may die before

that time – so that you may reach a predetermined age and so
that hopefully you will use your intellect. It is He Who gives
life and causes to die. When He decides on something, He
just says to it, "Be!" and it is. (Surah Ghafir: 67-68)
In these verses we are reminded that the Creator of all people (in-
cluding ourselves) and all living creatures is Allah, and when faced
with this truth people need to use their intelligence. A person who
uses his intelligence will arrive at the real purpose of creation and give
himself over to the religion of Allah. He will devote his life to gaining
His approval and mercy. In the Qur'an, Allah tells people to stay away
from delusions by reflecting on how they were created:
O man! What has deluded you in respect of your Noble Lord?
He Who created you and formed you and proportioned you
and assembled you in whatever way He willed. Yes indeed!

But still you deny the Judgment. Standing over you are
guardians, noble, recording, who know what you do. (Surat
al-Infitar: 6-12)
However, despite all these truths, man is prone to deluding him-
self and straying from the true path by means of self-deception, and of
wasting his efforts on worthless things. Although every detail of the