Page 59 - Loyalty Described in the Qur'an

The Faithfulness of Believers
given to their desires and passions. And, because they can never relin-
quish these desires, they can never come near to living in a manner that
is pleasing to Allah.
When we see the coercive influence their lower-selves exercise

on disbelievers, we can understand the implications of the struggle
believers themselves endure. While disbelievers are confounded by
their lower-selves, believers have the strength and will to struggle
successfully with their lower-selves, because of their faith in Allah,
and their sincere devotion to Him. That an individual can expend
the effort to act as Allah wills, and not according to his own passions
and desires, is possible only because of this sincere devotion he feels

towards our Lord.
As Allah says in verse 105 of Surat al-Ma'ida, believers are aware
that one of the greatest responsibilities conferred upon them in this
world is to restrain their lower-selves:
You who believe! You are only responsible for yourselves.
(Surat al-Ma'ida, 105)
Throughout their lives, they struggle with these inclinations that
continually urge them towards evil, and which try to prevent them
from gaining Allah's favor. They are awake to the deceptions of their

lower-self, and carefully avoid all actions that would be displeasing to
Allah. Because their goal is to win Allah's favor, they always put their
personal urges second to conforming to that which will please Him. In
this regard, Allah says this in the Qur'an, "And among the people
there are some who give up everything, desiring the good pleasure
of Allah. Allah is Ever-Gentle with His servants" (Surat al-Baqara,
207). The sincere and devoted effort of believers put forth to curb their

inner urges, and win Allah's favor, is a good example of their persistent

57