Page 32 - The Nightmare of Disbelief

of those who, although not criminals, are unethical in their con-
duct. One who gossips regards this offense as a trivial one since
he does so with no bad intentions. One bearing malice towards
another thinks himself to be good deep in his heart, since he
bears malice only when he is in the right. It is possible to extend
the list of such arguments. In brief, all these people think them-
selves innocent and never accept the wickedness of their of-

fenses. However, their excuses are all invalid and they are all
seriously in the wrong. This is because what makes an individ-
ual faultless is his complete adherence to the book of Allah.
Conversely, when he acts against the morality of the Qur'an, he
is guilty, no matter what he claims.
As we know, the human soul has two sides: the conscience
and the lower soul (ego). The conscience always inspires man
to do the good and the right thing, while the lower soul (nafs)
drives man to ill-behavior, of which Allah does not approve.
The full use of one's conscience, on the other hand, is possible
only by a strong faith and fear of Allah.
Religion enables man to acquire the consciousness with
which to distinguish between good and evil. Only having faith

30 in what is revealed by Allah and complete compliance with it
can endow man with a sound faculty for thinking and a deci-
sion-making mechanism. For instance, a believer who fears
Allah, as meant in the Qur'an, is granted a criterion by which to
judge between right and wrong:
You who believe! If you fear Allah, He will give you a cri-
terion (by which to judge between right and wrong) erase
your bad actions from you and forgive you. Allah's favor is
indeed immense. (Surat al-Anfal: 29)

The unique source that distinguishes between right and
wrong, truth and falsehood is the Qur'an:

THE NIGHTMARE OF DISBELIEF