Page 24 - The Struggle of the Messengers

22 The Struggle of the Messengers

recognize or else ignores Allah and His religion. One of the main
consequences of this characteristic of the society of ignorance is
that it leads to a distorted social order.
A society that believes in and knows and obeys Allah is
completely different to the structure of the society of ignorance. In

a society of believers, people do not judge others on the basis of
family connections, physical beauty, or wealth, and the citizens
are loved and respected because of their superior moral character.
This society appreciates, loves, and respects those of its people
who have superior moral qualities, such as godliness, honesty,
trustworthiness, mercy, respect and love for others, and self-
sacrifice. As these can be achieved only by submitting to Allah,
those entrusted with power and authority in a believing society
possess the moral values of a believer revealed by Allah in the
Qur'an.
However, the situation in a society that does not know Allah is
just the reverse: the moral values listed above have little

importance, and the people know nothing of the Qur'an's moral
teachings and so exaggerate the importance of material things. For
example, for a great many people wealth is the highest value, for
this is what makes a person important. In other words, money is
their greatest idol. For this reason, the people of such a society
believe that "everyone has his or her price."
Therefore, the rich can reach the highest levels by "buying"
influential or powerful people. When money is the most valuable
thing, people who have it enjoy a strange kind of respect and
admiration that gradually helps them to acquire the most power

and authority. They form their society's various so-called elites
and thus devise its norms and expectations. Most people accept