Page 146 - The Religion Of The Ignorant

THE RELIGION OF THE IGNORANT

they're doing does not represent the sincere features described in
the Qur'an. In one sense, they are engaged in disbelief.
This situation is described in the Qur'an the example of those
who "believe in one part of the Book and reject the other." (Surat
al-Baqara, 85)
Here we need to accurately determine why members of the
Religion of the Ignorant accept Islam only partially, and why this is
so characteristic of unbelievers. Someone turns to Islam and lives by
it because of his or her acceptance of Allah and submission to Him.
If Islam is adopted for other reasons, then that cannot be true faith.
The hypocrites—a human community mentioned in the Qur'an—is
the best example of this. They appear to have accepted Islam and
live the same way that Muslims live, but their aim is not to obtain
Allah's approval but, in their own eyes, to put on a show for others.
They calculate that by accepting Islam, they will obtain a better sta-
tus and achieve certain advantages. These people are described thus
in the Qur'an:
Among the people there are some who say, "We believe in
Allah and the Last Day," when they are not believers. They
think they deceive Allah and those who believe. They de-
ceive no one but themselves but they are not aware of it.
(Surat al-Baqara, 8-9)
The hypocrites are an example of why adopting Islam for any
other reason than Allah's approval is worthless. In any case, these
people do not practice all the stipulations of Islam, avoiding those
observances that involve making sacrifices.
Ignorantists are in a similar position. They have accepted Islam
not because they believe in Allah and seek His approval. Their rea-
son for their accepting Islam is the logic of abiding by one's forefa-
thers, one of the basic characteristics of the unbelievers. They regard

144