Page 78 - Those Who Exhaust All Their Pleasures In This Life

76 THOSE WHO EXHAUST ALL THEIR PLEASURES IN THIS LIFE

one who harshly rebuffs the orphan and does not urge
the feeding of the poor. (Surat al-Ma‘un: 1-3)

Those who show off and deny help to others. (Surat al-
Ma‘un: 6-7)
O you who believe. Do not nullify your charity by
demands for gratitude or insulting words, like him who
spends his wealth, showing off to people and not
believing in Allah and the Last Day. His likeness is that
of a smooth rock coated with soil, which, when heavy
rain falls on it, is left stripped bare. They have no
power over anything they have earned. Allah does not
guide unbelieving people. (Surat al-Baqara: 264)
Unbelievers approach even their closest friends with the
same debased expectations in the hope of obtaining some
advantage. For example, as people become more materi-
ally and emotionally needy with advancing years, they
need someone to care for them and take an interest in
them. So, unbelievers show interest, love, and compassion
to their relatives while calculating what may happen to
them in the future.
But those who do not have a good moral character will
be “rewarded” for their behavior. They will be shown only
insincere compassion, and no one will form a sincere and
close relationship with them. People will offer them com-
passion only for what they can receive in return. So, they
force themselves to live in a world devoid of spiritual val-
ues, where compassion and love are debased and where
material possessions are the only important considera-
tions. In this way, they receive tangible rewards for their