Page 12 - Unawareness: A Sly Threat

10 UNAWARENESS: A SLY THREAT

ence. You see your body just as it was yesterday—your sym-
metrical and esthetically shaped body that started from the
division of a single cell and now contains about 100 trillion of
them; your body in which hundreds of complex functions
occur in a perfect sequence of which you are not even aware.
But most people pay no attention to these facts. When
looking in the mirror, all they see is what their face generally
looks like or if their hair is combed. They think of nothing
except work, school, or what they are going to do that day.
Thus they fail to realize that every new day offers them anoth-
er opportunity to draw closer to Allah. Perhaps this will be
their last opportunity to do so, for this might be their last day
on Earth. Most people, who cannot appreciate the value of
this opportunity, generally busy themselves with trying to
please only themselves or others. We can explain this with the
following example:
Think of a general knowledge quiz. The winner will win a
great deal of money. How will the contestants behave during
the contest? Will they look around distractedly instead of lis-
tening to the questions and thinking of the answers? Will they
criticize the host’s shirt, tone of voice, or hairstyle? Instead of
concentrating on the answer, will they think about what they
are going to do or wear tomorrow?
Quite the contrary. The contestants would listen careful-
ly to the host and try to use the limited time in the best possi-
ble way. They would concentrate on coming up with the
answers by being interested in nothing except the matter at
hand. If they were to engage in the type of meaningless
behavior just cited, then we would think that they are bewil-