Page 59 - Perfected Faith

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THE MORAL PERFECTION CONFERRED BY PERFECTED FAITH

every single good or wicked deed they committed. For this reason,
none of the goals they are likely to attain in this world seem better
than the approval of Allah they hope to attain in the hereafter.
One of the most important attributes of sincere believers is that they
have chosen the way of "those who are the forerunners". For this rea-
son, they always display the attitude with which they hope to earn
Allah's pleasure. They act with the awareness that "for every day on
which the sun rises there is a reward of a charitable gift (sadaqa) for the one
who establishes justice among people." (Bukhari) as stated by Allah's
Messenger (saas). Therefore, neither family ties nor their worldly ben-
efits hinder them from exercising justice. In the Qur'an, Allah com-
mands as follows:
Allah commands you to return to their owners the things you
hold on trust and, when you judge between people, to judge
with justice. How excellent is what Allah exhorts you to do!
Allah is All-Hearing and All-Seeing. (Surat an-Nisa', 58)
In another verse, Allah commands believers to be just even towards
those for whom they feel enmity, and thus not to swerve from right-
eousness and piety:
You who believe! Show integrity for the sake of Allah, bearing
witness with justice. Do not let hatred for others to turn you
away from justice. Be just. That is closer to true piety. Fear
Allah. Allah is aware of all that you do. (Surat al-Ma'ida, 8)
Having these attributes, the people of perfected faith, who meticu-
lously comply with the commands of Allah, become distinctive by the
noble attitude they assume. The members of a society where the val-
ues of religion are not observed are consumed with the desire to take
revenge upon those against whom they nurse anger and hold
grudges. They cease to appeal to their consciences and their lower
selves steer their decisions. The anger they feel and the grudges they
bear deep inside obscure their reason and judgement. Therefore, they
often take unsound decisions.