Page 90 - The importance of conscience in the Qur'an

88 The Importance of Conscience in the Qur'an

such a way as to be satisfied only by following his conscience
and earning the good pleasure of Allah. A verse reads:
Those who believe and whose hearts find
peace in the remembrance of Allah. Only in
the remembrance of Allah can the heart find
peace. (Surat ar-Ra'd: 28)
In the same way that a conscientious person is always
surrounded by conscientious people, an evil person is
condemned to be surrounded by evil people, following in the
footsteps of the shaytan. Those who do not practise the truth
despite their knowledge of it, who are averse to making
sacrifices, who act unjustly, who envy, who ridicule others, who
are arrogant and who practise all kinds of similar bad habits will
receive the same treatment in return. Such behaviour creates
an atmosphere of great restlessness in everyone. People cannot
know what treatment to expect from one another. There
cannot be real friendships, loyalty or understanding, and self-
sacrifice is never displayed.
Thus, they live in an atmosphere of hell both physically and
spiritually. Sometimes they cannot even understand the reason
for the distress they are in. As a penalty from Allah for not
following their conscience, they live an unsatisfactory, restless
and displeasing life. This is only the grief they suffer in this
world. The eternal grief they may meet in the hereafter will be
too horrible and dreadful to be compared to the one in this
world. The recompense that will be given to those who act out
wickedness in the world is stated as follows in the Qur'an:
That day no one will punish as He punishes
and no one will shackle as He shackles. (Surat
al-Fajr: 25-26)
Just as conscientious people prepare their places in