Page 25 - Loyalty Described in the Qur'an

The Misinterpretation of Loyalty
they simply practice by their own choice the religion enjoined by
their ancestors.
The ideas of such people are convoluted, because they did not
learn morality from its true source, and they use contradictory lan-

guage, not having broken away from the practices of their ancestors.
For this reason, they may approve of inappropriate behavior though
Allah has forbidden it. In the Qur'an, Allah tells us about the insin-
cerity of these people:
Whenever they commit an indecent act, they say, "We found
our fathers doing it and Allah commanded us to do it too."

Say: "Allah does not command indecency. Do you say
things about Allah you do not know?" (Surat al-A‘raf, 28)
Those who tend towards such behavior aim to determine their
affairs by referring to the practices of their ancestors, and so, contin-
ually distance themselves from Allah and the true religion. In the
Qur'an, Allah explains this error:
Then We gave them good in exchange for evil until they
increased in number and said, "Our forefathers too un-
derwent both hardship and ease." Then We seized them

suddenly when they were not expecting it. (Surat al-
A‘raf, 95)
In order to test these people, Allah has alleviated their difficul-
ties and given them this mercy. But instead of coming to understand
their faults, and learning to be grateful to Allah, they remained un-
grateful, continuing to evaluate their situations with regard to the
experiences of their ancestors. They failed to appreciate that it was
Allah Who removed their anxiety, Who had granted them His bless-

ings; they asserted perversely that their current circumstance is

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