Page 97 - The Nightmare of Disbelief

wants to be the one who has the "last word." Such personal
complexes and expectations ultimately cause man to fail to
come up with solutions. The main reason lying behind the in-
competence of people who do not live by the principles of reli-
gion to bring matters to a satisfactory conclusion is stated in the
following verse:

... Their adversity among themselves is very great. You con-
sider them united but their hearts are divided. That is be-
cause they do not use their intellect. (Surat al-Hashr: 14)
One frequently sees examples of this in the open discus-
sion programs held on TV. Participants discuss an issue for
hours, sometimes until the early hours of the morning. Since
everybody is prone to argue, there is general disagreement.
The participants may see that what others think is actually true,
but their pride prevents them from admitting it and they sim-
ply feel the urge to humiliate others, and even to show open
opposition. This is because what really matters is not to find the

truth but to be the one who tells the truth, or to put it another
way, the one who says the last word. Those who argue go into
many petty details only because they want to be recognized for
their knowledge. The main purpose here is to take any oppor- 95
tunity to look smart and knowledgeable. They often diverge
from the main issue and only hours later do they realize that
they had not arrived at a solution. To one's surprise, during
these discussions, more complications, conflicts and divergent
views arise. Actually, they initially do not intend to find solu-
tions at all. They develop and take shelter in vain philosophies,
holding that what really matters is to discuss, express and ex-

change views. They think it quite acceptable not to arrive at any
solutions after extended hours of discussion. Over and above
this, they find this perfectly normal.

HARUN YAHYA (ADNAN OKTAR)