The Snares of Deception

The Snares of Deception .

Shaykh Abul Hasan Ali an-Nadwi (ra)


.
A man should have not only emotional attachment to Islam he should also hate all un-Islamic philosophies, thoughts and ideals. As a matter of fact, the Qur’an expresses at numerous places its hatred for the devil and the standard bearers of falsehood and ignorance before giving a call to pin one’s faith in Allah. It says:

‘...and he who rejects false deities and believes in Allah had grasped a firm handhold which will never break.’

Even the Muslim’s affirmation of faith, the Kalimah, begins with the denial of gods and goddesses. It first says that ‘there is no god’ and then affirms the overlordship of the Lord with the words ‘except Allah’. The Traditions of the Prophet (S) tells us that the faith of a believer is not perfected nor its true sense and meaning dawns on him until he learns to abhor apostasy and all its manifestations. A tradition of the holy Prophet (S) related in Bukhari runs as follows:

‘Whoever has these three qualities shall be informed with the beatitude of true faith. First, Allah and His Messenger are dearer to him than everything else; secondly, he loves a man only for the sake of Allah; and thirdly, he shudders at the very idea of going back to apostasy after having been saved by Allah, as one fears being consigned to fire.’

Awareness of ignorance

A Muslim should so much abhor acting against the interest of Islam or joining hands with its enemies, that he should seek the forgiveness of Allah at the very mention of such a suggestion. He should never even dream of such a possibility. He should not only be sentimentally averse to ignorance but should also be fully conscious of its deceitful manifestations so that he may never be taken-in by its artifices. A Muslim should never allow himself to be duped by the pious fraud of ignorance even if it appears dressed in the covering of Ka’bah and with the Qur’an in its hands. He should always seek refuge from Allah against it and should be able to make it out in whatever shape or form it is presented before it.

The Ruses of Satan

The tactics or, better still, the strategy of Satan in fighting the Muslims is that he always attacks wherever he finds a weaker and vulnerable flank of the latter. He does not take recourse to the same device against every individual or every section of the Muslims. His sneaking whisper to the pious and elect in faith is never an allurement to indulge in pleasures of the flesh for he has no hope of success in such an endeavor. He tries to mislead them by the spectacle of fame and glory, self-conceit and jealousy, self-rule and love for power and self. He tells them to strive for self-government, advancement of their culture and language and supremacy of their nation at all risks.

These are some of the high-sounding objectives which have often led astray even the learned and erudite as well as those strong in faith and spirit.