Page 64 - The importance of conscience in the Qur'an

62 The Importance of Conscience in the Qur'an

arrogance, which are forms of 'ananiyyah'(self-conceit). The
term 'ananiyyah' is derived from the word 'ana' which means 'I'.
Someone's seeing himself and all the beings around him as
independent from Allah, and his orienting all his manners and
approach to this point of view is self-conceit. When someone
sees himself as independent of Allah, he will think all his
qualities are his own. However, all that he is and all that he
possesses belong to Allah. Allah can take them away as He wills.
In a verse, the following answer is given to the person who
took all his possessions as belonging to himself:
He said, 'I have only been given it because of
knowledge I have.' Did he not know before
him Allah had destroyed generations with far
greater strength than his and far more
possessions? The evildoers are not called
(immediately) to account for their sins. (Surat
al-Qasas: 78)
Self-conceit prevents one from seeing clearly. A
self-conceited person thinks that he does everything by his own
power. He does not think of his weakness and that he needs
Allah. Since he sees himself as a being independent of Allah, he
does not feel a sense of accountability to anyone else, and this
causes arrogance to grow.
This arrogance prevents him from accepting what his
conscience knows to be true. His accepting Allah's existence
would also mean accepting the dominance of a more superior
being than himself, submitting to him and being His slave. By
doing so, he will have confirmed that nothing is from himself
and that he needs Allah's help in everything.
We have talked thus far about the dangers that can be
present in everyone's self. It would be a great mistake for