Page 52 - Those Who Do Not Heed The Qur'an

50 THOSE WHO DO NOT HEED THE QUR'AN

When he is told to have fear of Allah, he is seized by pride
which drives him to wrongdoing… (Surat al-Baqara: 206)

Also in the past, Pharaoh was unable to overcome his pride in the
face of the honourable station of Musa (peace be upon him) and his
inviting him to submit to Allah. He thought himself much worthier
of such an honorable post in terms of both power and financial re-
sources. In empty pride he opposed Allah and did not listen to what
he was told and because of his arrogance he set his face against
Allah's verses. As we mentioned above, he also compelled his peo-
ple to ignore the Prophet Musa. As Allah describes in the Qur'an:
Pharaoh said, "Do you believe in him before I have authorised
you? He is your chief, the one who taught you magic. I will cut
off your hands and feet alternately and have you crucified on
palm trunks. Then you will know for certain which of us has
the harsher and longer lasting punishment." (Surah Ta Ha: 71)

Pharaoh, remembered for the bullying and cruelty that arose from
his arrogance and pride, was in this sense a man who came fully under
the influence of Satan and carried out Satan's orders to the letter. In a
verse of the Qur'an Allah describes Pharaoh's character like this: "… he
was haughty, one of the profligate." (Surat ad-Dukhan: 31)
Satan is the one who directs people towards this arrogant behav-
iour, but he is not satisfied by their obeying his command that they
should "Be proud!". He desires his advocates to struggle against
Allah alongside him. In this verse, Allah informs us of Satan's real
purpose:
He said, "My Lord, because You misled me, I will make things
on the earth seem good to them and I will mislead them all,
every one of them." (Surat al-Hijr: 39)

Certainly in order to achieve this aim, Satan tries to make denial