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tions, answer questions or refer to subjects like death or fate. His views
are based on the principle that “all people are good from birth and that

they therefore do not require divine guidance”.
Virtue, in reality, is only attainable with the fear of Allah and total
compliance with His commandments. Fear of, as well as love for, Allah
is absolutely essential for consistent, good morality. To fear Allah ap-
propriately is dependent on the constant awareness of Allah’s great-
ness, power and might, His infinite knowledge, His ability to do any-
thing He wishes and His total power and sovereignty over His ser-

vants. It also requires a faith free of doubt in His promises, warnings,
the Day of Judgment, the severity of His punishment and the eternity
of His vengeance in hellfire which gives rise to the fear of Him. This
fear leads people to act, behave, move and speak according to Allah’s
good pleasure and the morality He prescribes. An Allah-fearing person
will be sensitive to His limits.
People who do not fear Allah on the other hand will, or can, do
anything He does not approve of. For instance, someone abiding by
Confucius’s rules can, when his self interest requires him to do so, eas-
ily act in a manner contrary to these principles. He can lie where he

should be honest, steal when he is in need or be corrupt because there
is simply nothing to prevent him. There is no reason for someone who
has forgotten that he will be held accountable by Allah, to be honest, to
be selfless, to be just and honorable; in short, to be of virtue. His char-
acter is defined by his self-interest and ambitions and he has no reason
for being moral towards anyone whatsoever. As he cannot compre-
hend Allah’s determination of destiny, His threat of punishment is no

hindrance for him. He can be aggressive, cruel and unrestrained to-
wards others as he does not fear Allah and His wrath. He does not pon-
der Allah’s might and punishment as he transgresses against His lim-

Harun Yahya (Adnan Oktar)