Page 35 - Why Do You Deceive Yourself ?

Being Sincerely Religious without Deceiving Yourself 33
what needed to be done, they had heard the teaching of our Prophet
(saas) and knew the religion of Allah well. However, in spite of know-
ing the truth and continuing to carry out every other act of worship
that was incumbent on them, they still fell into Satan's trap. Even
though they knew that Muslims needed to be protected, they tried to
deceive themselves and other believers by claiming that they did not
know.
Another group amongst these people tried to escape by telling
our Prophet (saas): "Our wealth and families kept us occupied, so

ask forgiveness for us" (Surat al-Fath: 11). This was a statement made
under the influence of Satan. This is the only explanation for the com-
plete lack of conscience shown by those who were more preoccupied
with their own private concerns while all so many Muslims were in
danger of losing their lives.
The people in question knew perfectly well what they needed to
do to conform to Allah's instructions and earn His approval. In fact be-
cause they knew that they were insincere, they tried to salve their con-
sciences with words by saying that they wanted our Prophet (saas) to
ask forgiveness for them. Although they were acting contrary to their
consciences, they managed to convince themselves of their own lies to
such an extent that they ended up feeling quite at ease with their be-
havior. In the following verse of the Qur'an, Allah relates the situation
of insincere people who feel justified in their avoidance of their reli-

gious obligations:
Those who were left behind were glad to stay behind the
messenger of Allah. They did not want to strive with their
wealth and themselves in the way of Allah. They said, "Do
not go out to fight in the heat." Say: "The fire of Hell is much
hotter, if they only understood." (Surat at-Tawba: 81)