Page 25 - Why Do You Deceive Yourself ?

Being Sincerely Religious without Deceiving Yourself 23
Among the people there are some who say, "We believe in
Allah and the Last Day," when they are not believers. They
think they deceive Allah and those who believe. They de-
ceive no one but themselves but they are not aware of it.
There is a sickness in their hearts and Allah has increased
their sickness. They will have a painful punishment on ac-
count of their denial. (Surat al-Baqara: 8-10)
Sincerity is fundamental to the religion of Allah. If a person car-
ries out certain forms of worship reluctantly just out of habit or so as

not to attract criticism from others around him, he is deceiving only
himself, as we are told in the above verses. He cannot expect what he
does to have any value in the sight of Allah. In the Qur'an, Allah warns
us that acts of worship which are carried out reluctantly will not be ac-
cepted:
Nothing prevents what they give from being accepted from
them but the fact that they have rejected Allah and His mes-
senger, and that they only come to prayer lethargically, and
that they only give reluctantly. (Surat at-Tawba: 54)
Insincere people have endless, inexhaustible excuses for avoiding
their responsibilities to Allah and wasting their lives on worldly ambi-
tions. In childhood, during their school years, when they enter work-
ing life, while they are enjoying themselves, when they are happy,
when they are sad, the whole year round… Under all circumstances

they can come up with manufactured reasons for not worshipping and
for failing to follow Allah's instructions. In the chapters to come we
will illustrate the excuses people put forward with examples from
everyday life. What is important is that it should be realized that peo-
ple are insincere when they make these excuses because there can be
no reason whatsoever for people not to carry out Allah's instructions