Page 28 - Communication and Argument in the Qur'an

26 COMMUNICATION AND ARGUMENT IN THE QUR’AN

real and basic nature of matter. If they sense that the mate-
rial universe is an “illusion”, that is “a figment of their imag-
ination” and thus has no foundation in reality, and that
existing things are no more than “shadows” manifesting
Allah’s glory, they will understand that Allah is the only real
being and, therefore, the only deity.
One’s salvation from idolatry can only be achieved by
putting Allah above all things, loving Him above all else,
and recognizing no other law but His. In other words, they
must replace their former worldview with that of the
Qur’an. Indeed, this is what is expected of them.
Otherwise, they may be rewarded by Allah with a terrible
punishment in return for not conforming to the message.
This undertaking is a process that requires the active
involvement of patient believers who can impart the true
teachings of Islam and Qur’anic morality in a way that new
believers can easily understand and apply to their lives.
This is because the kind of religion that he knew in igno-
rant society is a perverse mélange of legends and super-
stitions from which he will have learned many prejudices
against Islam. Or he may know nothing at all about religion.
For this reason, such individuals must be taught very care-
fully about religious morality.