Page 54 - Why Do You Deceive Yourself ?

52 WHY DO YOU DECEIVE YOURSELF?

you are grateful, He is pleased with you for that. No burden-
bearer can bear another's burden. Then you will return to
your Lord and He will inform you of what you did. He knows
what the heart contains. (Surat az-Zumar: 7)
Be careful; do not deny your position of servitude to Allah and
make excuses. Do not even think about such insincerity. Do not forget
that Allah knows an insincere excuse before it even crosses a person's
mind, and while you are deceiving yourself, if you suddenly meet
with the angel of death, you will never be able to return to the world to

worship Allah no matter how much you may want to. In the Qur'an,
Allah tells us of the regret that will be felt on the Day of Judgment by
healthy and able people who avoided worship:
On the Day when legs are bared and they are called on to
prostrate, they will not be able to do so. Their eyes will be
downcast, darkened by debasement; for they were called on
to prostrate when they were in full possession of their facul-
ties. (Surat al-Qalam: 42-43)

Those who say: "Allah will forgive me anyway"
Most people know of Allah's existence and accept it but they do
not praise His might as they should. The matter on which they fall into
deception is not Allah's existence but His attributes. For example, they
believe quite rightly that Allah is very generous, affectionate and com-
passionate towards His servants but they do not really take on board

his attribute of being the Punisher of resistance to the faith and the One
Who torments and curses the deniers.
These people who do not praise Allah as they should either have
no fear of Allah at all or very little. In terms of the Hereafter, this is very
dangerous for them because a person with no fear of Allah who does