Page 55 - The importance of conscience in the Qur'an

The Negative Powers Against Conscience 53

and bed of desire and wrath, conscience, the commanding force
in man'. Here, we will particularly concentrate on the
commanding quality of the self. The spiritual force that prods
man to commit a certain act or to take a certain decision, is the
self. This aspect of the self is stated in many verses of the
Qur'an. In these verses, the self is referred to as the source of
the depravity and evil in people.
When the brothers of Prophet Yusuf (AS) wanted to get
rid of him out of envy, their father Prophet Ya'qub (AS) said:

'It is merely that your lower selves have
suggested something to you which you did…'
(Surah Yusuf: 18)
The lower self can mislead people into believing that
something which is bad is actually good.
Another event where the effect of the self is highlighted is
related in Surah Taha. Samiri, one of the people of Prophet
Musa (AS), led astray a whole nation of people during Prophet
Musa's short absence, by making a statue of a calf from the gold
medals he had collected from the people. When Prophet Musa
returned and questioned Samiri, his reply was:

He said, 'I saw what they did not see. So I
gathered up a handful from the Messenger's
footprints and threw it in. That is what my
inner self urged me to do.' (Surah Taha: 96)
Another event related in the Qur'an took place between
the two sons of Prophet Adam (AS). One of them killed the
other out of jealousy and then felt remorse. In the verse, Allah
says:
So his lower self persuaded him to kill his
brother. (Surat al-Ma'ida: 30)