Page 17 - Passivity in Religion

The Passive Among the Muslims

gion, harm His sincere servants, or deviate them from the right
path. In due time, Allah will make known the sickness that was in
their hearts:
Or did those with sickness in their hearts imagine that
Allah would not expose their malevolence? (Surah
Muhammad, 29)
As we will explain in detail in the following sections, these peo-
ple, who scheme secretly to bring about passivity and idleness
among the believers, will never accomplish their goals. In any case,
when they finally make known their real intentions, the Muslims
are not taken by surprise, for, by Allah's will, long before they had
revealed their insincerity, out of insight and wisdom, the Muslims
would have recognized their poor faith and the sickness in their
hearts. Their passivity never affected them; on the contrary, they ad-
monish them, in the light of the verses. In compliance with the com-
mand of the Qur'an, "Allah knows what is in such people's hearts
so turn away from them and warn them and speak to them with
words that take effect" (Surat an-Nisa', 63), they talk to these peo-
ple in an influential manner.
However, despite the good intentions and best efforts of the
Muslims, most of these people continue in their unbelief. Allah in-
forms us about the condition of these people as follows:
Who could do greater wrong than someone who is re-
minded of the signs of his Lord and then turns away from
them, forgetting all that he has done before? We have
placed covers on their hearts, preventing them from under-
standing it, and heaviness in their ears. Though you call
them to guidance, they will nonetheless never be guided.
(Surat al-Kahf, 57)
It is incumbent upon the sincere believers to alert others to this
serious threat. In one verse, Allah says, "… Do not let those who
have no certainty shake your firmness" (Surat ar-Rum, 60). For this

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