Page 45 - The Pains of the False World

ARE YOU AWARE
YOU ARE LIVING IN A FALSE WORLD?

Book and the prophets, and who, despite their love for
it, give away their wealth to their relatives and to orp-
hans and the very poor, and to travelers and beggars and
to set slaves free, and who perform prayer and give the
alms; those who honor their contracts when they make
them, and are steadfast in poverty and illness and in
battle. Those are the people who are true. They are the
people who guard against evil. (Surat al-Baqara, 177)

… Rather righteousness is possessed by those who gu-
ard against evil… (Surat al-Baqara, 189)
The way that some people who live unaware of the moral
values of the Qur'an seek to portray themselves as lovers of
what is good or as "pure-hearted" is actually aimed at easing
their own consciences and gaining the esteem of other peop-
le. Whenever any of these people are going to do something
good, they generally consider what they will obtain in return.
If the person in need of help is well equipped with material
means, they act at once, bearing in mind the material gains
that this person may be able to confer on them later. When it

comes to helping someone of little status or who lacks gre a t
material means, the misguided individual will perform a vir-
tual profit and loss calculation. Upon realizing there is little
benefit in the relationship for them, they find it more difficult
to offer help and do good under such circumstances. Their as-
sistance therefore comes slowly and they behave unwillingly
or uninterestedly. Indeed, they may give no help at all.
In addition to all this, some people may also do good in
order to make greater demands. They act not with the aim of

43