Page 100 - The Worst Slander: Idolatry

98 THE WORST SLANDER: IDOLATRY

tude is the owner of the garden mentioned in Surat al-Kahf.
An exceedingly proud man because of his garden and pos-
sessions, claimed that they would never disappear and that
the Day of Judgment would never come. And yet when the
retribution came upon him, he realized what a grave error he
had made by attributing equals to Allah. Allah reveals this in
the Qur'an:

The fruits of his labor were completely destroyed, and
he woke up wringing his hands in grief, regretting
everything that he had spent on it. It was a ruin with all
of its trellises fallen in. He said: "Oh, if only I had not
associated anyone with my Lord!" There was no group
to come to his aid, besides Allah, and he was not given
any help. (Surat al-Kahf: 42-43)
Those who place their hope and esteem in that which is
not Allah, who hope for compassion from them and trust
them, will never attain their desires. Thus, they feel empty,
lonely, and abandoned, especially in difficult times: "Do not
set up any other deity together with Allah and so sit
there reviled and forsaken" (Surat al-Isra': 22). In the
Qur'an Allah uses a very wise simile to describe this empti-
ness:
…Have done with the defilement of idols and telling lies.
Be people of pure natural belief in Allah, not associating
anything else with Him. As for anyone who associates
others with Allah, it is as though he had fallen from the
sky and the birds had seized him and carried him away,
or if the wind had dropped him in a distant place. (Surat
al-Hajj: 30-31)