Page 24 - Why Do You Deceive Yourself ?

22 WHY DO YOU DECEIVE YOURSELF?

world is miraculous in the extreme, he is inclined to fail to see and feel
this or, by ignoring the voice of his conscience, feign ignorance about
what he sees and feels. If a person does not think about the existence
and greatness of Allah, and does not use his intelligence, he will be
plunged into eternal regret because of his experiences in the world.
Because of this, people need to stop deceiving themselves and bear in
mind the fact that everything in the world was created for a purpose,
that all the good things they possess are given them as a blessing and
that they will be called to account for everything they have done on

the Day of Judgment.

Sincerity

People with a true and sincere faith neither deceive themselves
nor evade the truth on any subject because they have a powerful fear
and respect of Allah, and so they strenuously avoid jeopardizing the
chances of His approval and neglecting their duties to Him. However,
those defined in the Qur'an as "people who have sickness in their
hearts" are reluctant in their worship of Allah. Allah points these peo-
ple out in Surat an-Nisa': 72 by saying: "Among you there are people
who hang back." These people know the lifestyle and morality that
conform to the Qur'an but they show reluctance in this matter because
they are not sincere. They always find excuses for failing to perform
their worship. Because they are involved in this constant search for ex-
cuses, they come up with false realities which will deceive them or di-

vert them from the truth whatever the situation or circumstances. As
Allah tells us in another verse, they "worship Allah right on the edge"
and do not devote themselves to Allah as they should. The truth is that
they only deceive themselves with their insincere concept of worship.
Allah explains this in the Qur'an: