Page 72 - The Nightmare of Disbelief

With this greed comes a basically distorted philosophy of
life; these people see others not as beings whom Allah created
and endowed with a soul, but as ordinary creatures who
evolved from supposedly ape-like ancestors and who will ulti-
mately be reduced to insignificance under the soil. These errors
lead them to become people who, since “they will only be com-
ing here once,” want the most of everything and who have no

other aim than the unrestrained satisfaction of their earthly de-
sires. According to this perverted notion, it is nonsense to help
others and fulfill their wishes and desires. Surely this flawed
outlook causes man to drift into a mood of depression.
Such a mood may seem quite typical and inevitable to
someone who is unaware of the morality of religion. However,
the fact is that it leads man into a difficult and stressful life,
which is detrimental to the human soul. That is why unbeliev-
ers never find real peace and happiness. Despite being legiti-
mate, the wishes and desires of man have no end, since man is
created to be a part of the eternal life in the hereafter. This life,
however, is merely a place of trial specifically created to be so

flawed and inadequate as never to satisfy man's whims and de-
70 sires. Those failing to grasp this essential secret of the test, due
to their unawareness of the values of religion, strive to fulfill
their desires in this world and hence continually feel dis-
pleased and unsatisfied. Never attaining real contentment,
their lives turn into a nightmare. In a state of prosperity, they
nevertheless suffer poverty. Failing to take pleasure in what
they already possess, they give themselves over to the sorrow
of not possessing whatever remains. This spiritual torture is, in

a way, only the beginning of an eternal torment.
Religion commands man to share. Believers are brothers
and sisters (Surat at-Tawba: 71), and seeing one's brother hav-

THE NIGHTMARE OF DISBELIEF