Page 111 - The importance of conscience in the Qur'an

Examples of Those Who Were Astray 109

wisdom. Their conversation is related thus:
Make an example for them of two men. To
one of them We gave two gardens of
grape-vines and surrounded them with date-
palms, putting between them some cultivated
land. Both gardens yielded their crops and did
not suffer any loss, and We made a river flow
right through the middle of them. He was a
man of wealth and property and he said to his
companion, debating with him, 'I have more
wealth than you and more people under me.'
He entered his garden and wronged himself by
saying, 'I do not think that this will ever end. I
do not think the Hour will ever come. But if I
should be sent back to my Lord, I will defi-
nitely get something better in return.' (Surat
al-Kahf: 32-36)
The words of the owner of the vineyard represent a very
common belief; many people 'believe' but do not understand
the implications or responsibilities of belief. It is possible to
hear someone who has prospered say, 'God didn't give me this,
I worked hard for it', or someone who is persistent in
wrongdoing say, 'God will forgive me'. The basis of this wrong
belief is arrogance, self-delusion and believing in self-subsistence.
However, no matter how self-sufficient one may believe
oneself to be, death is a fact that cannot be disputed. For those
who believe that this life is everything, death represents the
end: darkness, nothingness, no consciousness. This is terrifying
for them, so they construct a picture of 'a happy afterlife' to
console them and help them cope with death. On the one hand
they do not believe in resurrection and judgement, while on the