Page 66 - Satan: The Sworn Enemy of Mankind

SATAN: THE SWORN ENEMY OF MANKIND
lations outlined in the Qur'an, and seeking the good pleasure of
Allah.
It has been revealed in several verses of the Qur'an that there is
no place for sentimentality in the mindset of the believers. No be-
liever, for instance, ought to feel love for the enemies of Allah:
You will not find people who believe in Allah and the Last
Day having love for anyone who opposes Allah and His
Messenger, though they be their fathers, their sons, their
brothers or their clan... (Surat al-Mujadala, 22)
In another verse, it has been revealed that if a believer loves an
enemy of Allah it will divert him from the true path:
You who believe! Do not take My enemy and your enemy
as friends, showing love for them when they have rejected
the truth that has come to you, driving out the Messenger
and yourselves simply because you believe in Allah your
Lord. If you go out to strive in My Way and seeking My
pleasure, keeping secret the love you have for them, I know
best what you conceal and what you make known. Any of
you who do that have strayed from the right way. (Surat al-
Mumtahana, 1)
As can be gleaned from these verses, for any believer, faith is
the sole criterion in love. Outside of that, neither family ties, nor
community, are of any consequence. As long as he refuses to believe,
an enemy of Allah cannot be the friend of or close to a believer. This
distinction is referred to in the Qur'an through the words of the
Prophet Ibrahim (as):
You have an excellent example in Ibrahim and those with
him, when they said to their people, "We wash our hands of
you and all that you worship apart from Allah, and we re-
ject you. Between us and you there will be enmity and ha-

64