Page 16 - Those Who Do Not Heed The Qur'an

14 THOSE WHO DO NOT HEED THE QUR'AN

The Pharaoh and his people rejected the Prophet Musa and his
brother Harun (peace be upon them), saying "Have you come to us
to turn us from what we found our fathers doing, and to gain
greatness in the land? We do not believe you." (Surah Yunus: 78)
Allah asks those who reject His message simply because it does
not conform to an ancestral religion to think again: "… What, even
though their fathers did not understand a thing and were not
guided!." (Surat al-Bakara: 170)
The Qur'an invites people to think and compare ideas, rather
than blindly accepting or rejecting. "Say: 'What if I have come with
better guidance than what you found your fathers following?'..."
(Surat az-Zuhkruf: 24). However, people often prefer their own tra-
ditions, and ignore anything that might unsettle it, even if they have
no apparent reasons: "They say, 'We reject what you have been sent
with.'" (Surah Az- Zukhruf: 24)
So, because of their blind attachment to their ancestors' religion,
people evade the truths of the Qur'an, overlook its teachings and ig-
nore the divine revelation of Allah. They forget that life is short, and

that one day they will die and be wrapped in a shroud and buried in
the ground, after which they will be accountable to Allah for all they
have done. Allah draws attention to this error of theirs in Surat al-
Anbiya', "No indeed! We have given these people enjoyment, as
We did their fathers, until life seemed long and good to them…"
(Surat al-Anbiya': 44)
One of the best examples in the Qur'an of this process of irra-
tional denial of prophethood is the story of the Prophet Ibrahim's
people, who were disbelievers who followed the religion of their
forefathers and worshipped idols. Their attachment to a supersti-
tious religion led them to reject the Prophet Ibrahim's call to the true
faith, to belief in One God. The Prophet Ibrahim asked his people