Page 40 - The Pains of the False World

THE PAINS OF THE FALSE WORLD

The Companions of the Garden will call out to the Com -
panions of the Fire: "We have found that what our Lord
promised us is true. Have you found that what your
Lord promised you is true?" They will say: "Yes, we ha -
ve!" Between them a herald will proclaim: "May the cur -
se of Allah be on the wrongdoers, those who bar access
to the way of Allah, seeking in it something crooked,
and reject the Hereafter." (Surat al-A'raf, 44-45)

FALSE VALUES OF A FALSE WORLD

Those people who forget the Hereafter and imagine this
world to be the be-all and end-all of existence have construc-

ted for themselves a moral system far removed from that of
the Qur'an. They may sometimes give the appearance of be-
having in line with the attitudes ordained in the Qur'an but
even while doing so, they still act with a worldly desire. For
instance, people with such a view re g a rd such virtues as
t ruth, honesty, sincerity, helpfulness, humility, self-sacrifice
and loyalty as means of looking good to those around them
and assuming a specific place amongst them. They adopt cer-
tain modes of behavior with that end in mind. Yet that beha-
vior is artificial and transitory since it is built on worldly inte-
rests. People who adopt a modest and altruistic approach to-
w a rds their friends may turn into most proud, hypocritical
and selfish individuals the moment they realize that this pro-
vides them with no advantages.
M o re o v e r, people who live in such a way are constantly
calculating their own interests. Before doing anything, they

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