Page 80 - The importance of conscience in the Qur'an

78 The Importance of Conscience in the Qur'an

and failed to do. (Surat al-Qiyama: 12-13)
'Putting off' is a trait peculiar to those people who do not
think of death and how close it is. We do not know when,
where or how we will die. We all know that death does not
only come to the old. Many people of all ages die from various
causes, many of them sudden and unexpected. While reading
this book in the privacy of your own home, you may feel very
safe and secure; but a fall down the stairs, an accident in the
house or a heart attack could cause your death at any moment.
In light of this knowledge, how is it possible to so freely
put off what one's conscience commands? Allah states that
every man seeing the angel of death will feel a great remorse
for the things he put off and he will say, 'I wish I had done such
and such'. This is an inconsolable remorse with no chance of
return.
The day when a wrongdoer will bite his hands
and say, 'Alas for me! If only I had gone the
way of the Messenger! Alas for me! If only I
had not taken so-and-so for a friend! He led
me astray from the Reminder after it came to
me.'… (Surat al-Furqan: 27-29)
That Allah does not punish evil acts immediately, also
deceives people into thinking they will have lots of time to make
atonement for what they have done or failed to do. If Allah
punished every evil act at the very moment it was committed,
no one would ever do wrong again. However, the penalty being
deferred is a test to reveal who will follow righteousness, who
will repent and reform, and who will continue in wrong-doing.
Allah's giving us this chance to make amends in this life is a
representation of His eternal mercy. In a verse it is said:
If Allah were to take mankind to task for what