Page 22 - Those Who Do Not Heed The Qur'an

20 THOSE WHO DO NOT HEED THE QUR'AN

him to wrongdoing. Hell will be enough for him! What an evil
resting-place!" (Surat al-Baqara: 206) what pushes people into de-
nial of the truth is "pride."
When invited to read the Qur'an, people like this refuse because
that means submitting to the true faith and accepting that up to that
point their religion has been nothing but a superstitious belief. It
means they comprehend that they have been deceived, and have
followed the wrong road, have chosen their leaders or role models
incorrectly, and have written, read and valued erroneous knowl-
edge. For them this is a catastrophe. In order to avoid suffering this
catastrophe they do not want to accept that their beliefs are wrong,
no matter what proofs are presented to them, because their pride
does not permit this. So, as the verse says, their pride "drives them
to wrongdoing."
If they could just understand that the Qur'an is the only truth, ac-
cept that they have been on the wrong path, listen to the voice of
their consciences and start a brand new life in repentance, they
would please Allah. The alternative is a troubled existence, both in

this world and the hereafter. Allah tells us of the spirit of darkness
that lies within those who reject Him: "And they repudiated them
wrongly and haughtily, in spite of their own certainty about them.
See the final fate of the corrupters." (Surat an-Naml: 14) Their pride
cuts these people off from the true path and causes them great harm.
This is also what the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him
peace) has warned people about in his time with the words, "Shall I
inform you about the people of the Fire? They comprise every cruel, violent,
proud and conceited person." (Al-Bukhari)
Another result of their superiority complex is an attempt to draw
people away from the path of Allah, as described in Surat al-Hajj:
Among people there is one who argues about Allah without