Page 85 - The Worst Slander: Idolatry

Harun Yahya (Adnan Oktar) 83

who witnessed his struggle against Pharaoh, are an exam-
ple of this, for some of them adopted other deities even
after obtaining this knowledge. It was as if they actually
knew nothing at all. What is even more astonishing and
exemplary is that they actually asked the Prophet Moses
(pbuh) to set up an idol for them (Surely Allah is beyond
that). This shows that salvation from ignorance lies in
acquiring information and in understanding that knowledge
which enters one's heart and then both affects that per-
son's heart and is reflected by his or her thoughts and
behavior.
This is the error made by some of the earlier peoples
who deviated into idolatry, especially some of the Israelites
(surely the Israelites who are truly sincere are beyond that)
Although they possessed considerable information and had
learned it well, they still went astray. Allah describes in the
Qur'an such people as donkeys loaded with books:
The metaphor of those who were charged with the
Torah but then did not uphold it is that of a donkey
loaded with weighty tomes. How evil is the metaphor of
those who deny Allah's Signs! Allah does not guide
those who do wrong. (Surat al-Jumu'a: 5)
In the Qur'an Allah also tells us that "…when a group of
them (Jews) heard Allah's Word and then, after grasping
it, knowingly distorted it?" (Surat al-Baqara: 75). In other
words, having knowledge is not enough; one needs a sin-
cere heart, one that is rooted in a genuine fear of and
respect for Allah, in order to evaluate that information prop-
erly.