Page 27 - Loyalty Described in the Qur'an

The Misinterpretation of Loyalty
to for his ideas, whether they are good or not. Many feel a peculiar
sense of respect and affection for these people. If he were to be a
scholar, all would read his writings, and accept what he says, with-
out question. He is treated with respect, and is devoutly and even

passionately supported. His supporters are very loyal to him,
though there is nothing real to justify their devotion. The case is the
same with those who are famous. Their fans are great in number;
wherever they go, they are never left alone, always followed by their
entourage.
Those who attain positions of leadership in such societies are
those with money, property, fame, prestige, and numerous devotees,

who support them constantly, never leaving them alone. The reason
being that people want to identify a trait of superiority in another
that will justify their being loyal towards them. This common atti-
tude has persisted for centuries. Those respected for their wealth, or
because they are members of the elite, become leaders in these soci-
eties, even though they may be soulless tyrants. For some, whose
conception of the meaning of loyalty has been shaped by a mundane
criteria, that which is important is not truth and true beauty, but the
possession of materialistic values. Therefore, those who possess

these things are regarded by all others as the most knowledgeable,
intelligent, and talented—in short—ideal human beings.
And so, messengers who were sent by Allah, to guide and as a
mercy, encountered obstinacy and rebelliousness when they sum-
moned their people to follow the way of Allah. This response was
due to the fact that those with a mindset from out of ignorance of the
morality taught in the Qur'an, expected in one they would follow a

false trait of superiority, such as wealth, property, prestige, that

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