Page 58 - The importance of conscience in the Qur'an

56 The Importance of Conscience in the Qur'an

takes the shaytan's whispers as his own thoughts. Here, it
should not be forgotten that conscience always tells one to live
the real Islam, but most people follow the sayings of the
shaytan instead of their conscience because it suits the
purposes of their self.
This is where we understand the importance of
conscience in the on-going test in this world. In every event,
both conscience and the shaytan – the source of all personal
interests, passions, and evil – show up. Both call the person to
its own way. Those who can distinguish between these two
sounds and follow their conscience gain the good pleasure of
Allah.
Another vital point to be understood is that the shaytan
will not leave man until death, or even beyond death to the
point that the soul is led to hell. This should never be
forgotten. Similarly, man's conscience will not leave him until he
dies and will bid him every act he has to perform to enter
paradise in the hereafter.
Someone who, despite his true conscience, chooses to
follow his self, has become a friend of the shaytan, for he has
chosen not Allah's but the shaytan's way. With relation to such
people, Allah commands:
If someone shuts his eyes to the
remembrance of the All-Merciful, We assign
him a devil who becomes his bosom friend
(Surat az-Zukhruf: 36)
How the shaytan approaches those who follow him, and
the end of the shaytan and his comrades is announced in the
Qur'an:
He said 'By Your misguidance of me, I will lie
in ambush for them on your straight path.