Page 38 - The importance of conscience in the Qur'an

36 The Importance of Conscience in the Qur'an

hends the truth, will surely not consider anything more impor-
tant than pleasing his Lord, Who created him out of nothing,
gave him life when he was nothing and bestowed upon him the
favour to live in the paradise forever.
He who decides to live all his life for Allah once again turns
to his conscience in order to find out how to please Allah. In
the Qur'an, Allah has made clear all His orders and the deeds
that He forbids. First of all, one who acts upon one's conscience
strictly observes these orders and forbidden deeds. He pays the
highest attention to the deeds that are approved and forbidden,
and practises all the orders he reads in the Qur'an. He takes the
models of good behaviour communicated in the Qur'an as a
guide to himself; he acts with extreme sincerity and fulfils
everything written in the Qur'an to the best of his
understanding and means.
He who reads the Qur'an will see that Allah orders
people to carry out certain rites of worship. One of these is to
practise regular prayers:
When you have finished the prayer, remem-
ber Allah standing, sitting and lying on your
sides. When you are safe again keep up
prayer. Prayer is prescribed for the believers
at specific times. (Surat an-Nisa': 103)

This verse is a reminder that regular prayer is obligatory.
The conscience of everyone who reads this verse will tell them
to stand for prayers. The person may either practise what his
conscience and the Qur'an require of him, or he may avoid
practising the commands of the Qur'an by making various
excuses. It must, however, never be forgotten that whatever
excuse one may find for not keeping up prayer, this excuse will
not be accepted in the hereafter.