Page 103 - Self-Sacrifice in the Qur'an's Moral Teachings

Harun Yahya - Adnan Oktar

morality, and so resort to this technique to get what they want. But be-
lievers reject this approach, for they consider the Qur'an's moral teach-
ings as their measure in all things. In the Qur'an Allah describes a
sincere attitude as one that seeks first to win Allah's favor. For this rea-
son, believers can recognize those who hide behind excuses to avoid
acts of self-sacrifice, for their excuses reveal their insincerity and weak
belief.
Instead of engaging in a contest of goodness, such people only su-
perficially adopt the Qur'an's moral teachings because, as they often
claim, they do not have the strength. They can use this excuse in every as-
pect of their daily lives, all the while claiming that they are sincere and
that their hearts are pure. To convince others, they do not even hesitate
to swear in Allah's name: "They will swear by Allah: 'Had we been able
to, we would have gone out with you.' They are destroying their own
selves. Allah knows that they are lying" (Surat at-Tawba: 42).
In one verse, Allah refutes their claim: "Allah does not impose on
any self any more than it can stand. For it is what it has earned;
against it is what it has brought upon itself" (Surat al-Baqara: 286).
The fact that they say the opposite reveals the sickness in their hearts
and their intention to avoid responsibility.

This is exactly what happened with Talut (or Saul) and those who
followed him when Allah sent him to the people as their ruler and
promised to test them with a river. When Talut asked the people not to
drink from the river, most of them could not see the purpose in this
order, ignored it and fulfilled their desires. Later on, using the excuse
mentioned above, they withdrew on the grounds that they did not
have the strength to fight alongside Talut. But those who knew that
Allah would cause them to prevail, even though they had very little
strength, kept their promise and followed Talut:

101