The Pains of the False World: False Values of a False World

Those people who forget the Hereafter and imagine this world to be the be-all and end-all of existence have constructed for themselves a moral system far removed from that of the Qur'an. They may sometimes give the appearance of behaving in line with the attitudes ordained in the Qur'an but even while doing so, they still act with a worldly desire. For instance, people with such a view regard such virtues as truth, honesty, sincerity, helpfulness, humility, self-sacrifice and loyalty as means of looking good to those around them and assuming a specific place amongst them. They adopt certain modes of behavior with that end in mind. Yet that behavior is artificial and transitory since it is built on worldly interests. People who adopt a modest and altruistic approach towards their friends may turn into most proud, hypocritical and selfish individuals the moment they realize that this provides them with no advantages.

Moreover, people who live in such a way are constantly calculating their own interests. Before doing anything, they ask themselves, "What will people say if I do this, what will they think about me, what advantage can I attain from this behavior?" This is an indication that they are considering their own, their spouses', and their friends' wishes and desires, not the approval of Allah. Under such circumstances, virtues such as love, sincerity, goodness, friendship, compassion and patience cannot be permanent, and one sees only false versions of these, not the originals. All there is are temporary feelings that the society of the ignorant built on their false values, turning solely in the direction of the life of this world. Love Allah installs the emotion love in the human heart as He does many other feelings. What a human being needs to do is to direct this emotion in the best possible way: in the light of the recommendations given by Allah in the Qur'an. Since believers take the Qur'an as their guide, they direct their love towards our Lord, the Creator of themselves and all the blessings they enjoy, and towards believers who seek to gain His approval.

However, those who are c aught up in the shenanigans of the life of this world are passionately devoted to the wrong things. For instance, they love "people as they should love Allah." Allah reveals this distorted love of unbelievers thus in the Qur'an:

For example, many unbelievers direct this distorted love to the most materialistic pursuits. Their love for property is passionately devoted to this transitory sphere and the very heart itself is thus infected by the shadows of meanness and selfishness. This attitude of unbelievers is revealed in these terms in the Qur'an:

However, the fact is that Allah has revealed with the verses of the Qur'an that property is a subject of test belonging to the life of this world and has warned people against obsession with the material:

Aware of these facts, believers are not taken in by love of worldly goods. Since they know that it is our Lord Who endows them with the blessings they enjoy, this is a means whereby they give thanks to Allah. They use the material means given to them for good deeds which can gain Allah's approval, and seek more in order to use all that they have to please Allah. Prophet Sulayman, who was given an enormous treasury, expressed the purposes for which he wanted those blessings:

He [Sulayman] said:

There is no doubt that this virtuous behavior by Prophet Sulayman shows the way in which believers should look at the riches of this world. People should always direct their love towards our Lord, Who protects them at all times and provides limitless blessings, according to His will. One of the most noticeable signs of false love—love based on values other those of the Qur'an—is the choice of friends. The fundamental logic behind the friendship of those who fail to consider the existence of the Hereafter is generally built upon ensuring the greatest mutual benefit in this world. Both sides have specific characteristics sought by the other and they look for a friend who can offer them material and emotional benefits of various sorts. The aim is to attain respect and prestige in the eyes of wider society.

They attach considerable importance to the physical appearance, family situation, education and abilities of the person they select. Features of proper moral values such as love, respect and loyalty are generally of limited importance to the follower of godless love. In the absence of real love and respect in a friendship, there can of course be no true happiness. This also applies to the conception of marriage held by those who live far removed from the moral values of the Qur'an and, as with their friendships, relationships based on mutual advantage prevail.

However, the exact opposite applies to the believer. A person who believes in Allah loves and respects another to the extent of that individual's faith in and devotion to Him and proper moral values. That person hopes not for worldly interests or a temporary relationship with the other but for an eternal love compatible with the approval of Allah, Who has revealed that He will reward such people, together with their spouses, in the Hereafter:

"My servants, you will feel no fear today; you will know no sorrow." As for those who believed in Our signs and became Muslims:

Righteousness In societies which live far removed from the moral values of the Qur'an, everyone has his or her own different ideas about the concept of righteousness. Yet the true definition of righteousness has actually been revealed in the Qur'an:

It is not righteousness to turn your faces to the East or to the West. Rather, those with true righteousness are those who believe in Allah and the Last Day, the angels, the Book and the prophets, and who, despite their love for it, give away their wealth to their relatives and to orphans and the very poor, and to travelers and beggars and to set slaves free, and who perform prayer and give the alms; those who honor their contracts when they make them, and are steadfast in poverty and illness and in battle. Those are the people who are true. They are the people who guard against evil. (Surat al-Baqara, 177)

The way that some people who live unaware of the moral values of the Qur'an seek to portray themselves as lovers of what is good or as "pure-hearted" is actually aimed at easing their own consciences and gaining the esteem of other people. Whenever any of these people are going to do something good, they generally consider what they will obtain in return. If the person in need of help is well equipped with material means, they act at once, bearing in mind the material gains that this person may be able to confer on them later. When it comes to helping someone of little status or who lacks great material means, the misguided individual will perform a virtual profit and loss calculation. Upon realizing there is little benefit in the relationship for them, they find it more difficult to offer help and do good under such circumstances. Their assistance therefore comes slowly and they behave unwillingly or uninterestedly. Indeed, they may give no help at all.

In addition to all this, some people may also do good in order to make greater demands. They act not with the aim of gaining Allah's approval but from a wish to profit from people or the benefits of the life of this world. People of faith, on the other hand, act in a godly manner, placing their hope in Allah alone. As in all their actions, the aim whenever they perform a good deed is to gain Allah's approval. Our Lord has revealed that the return for this godly behavior for believers is more and better of what they have done:

Friendship The Qur'an states:

Allah reveals that those who turn their backs on religion become the friends of Satan. In another verse this fact is set out in these words:

Satan brings those he makes friends with under his control and directs them in the ways of his own loathsome moral values.

People who win the friendship of satan instead of the approval of Allah are deprived of a great many blessings. One of these losses is the way that such people never have true friends. Friendship is a blessing given by our Lord to those who take Him as their friend. As revealed in the verse, " Your friend is only Allah and His Messenger and those who believe: those who perform prayer and give the alms, and bow." (Surat al-Ma'ida, 55), Allah grants these people the friendship of devout believers.

Satan's friendship, on the other hand, leaves a person permanently alone. That is because satan tells those he adopts as friends that lies, deviance, rebellion, denial and hatred are pleasant things. People under the influence of satan approach those around them with just that moral understanding. They will primarily act according to their own interests and agenda. Such a person's best friend is him or herself. It is therefoARE YOU AWARE re impossible for such people to build true and permanent friendships as alluded to in the Qur'an. In a society which does not live by the moral values of the Qur'an, it is very hard to find a reliable and sincere friend from whom to seek help, to whom to entrust property or valuables or money or to confide in. Furthermore, this situation has become so widely accepted that many regard it as an immutable fact of life. It is impossible for people to be at ease in such an insecure environment. That is because even when a friend seems to have been found, there always exists the danger that these "friends" may in fact be acting out of self-interest. This scenario is therefore far removed from true friendship. Some people look upon one another with envy in relation to jobs, cars or homes which they may covet. They may wish to achieve superiority over the other. They therefore take advantage of even the slightest opportunity to locate each others' weaknesses and rise above one another. People who behave with such an understanding are aware that they are living in a most untrustworthy and insincere environment. They are perfectly aware that they have no friends in the true sense of the word. Yet since they fail to seek a solution by living by the moral values of the Qur'an, they are unable to escape their predicament. Neither will these people who fail to turn to the true path have any friends in the Hereafter. They will find the same uneasy, insincere, insecure environment they experienced in the world but multiplied many times over in the Hereafter. The position in the Hereafter of those who take satan as their friend in this world is revealed by our Lord:

They will be bundled into it head first, they and the misled, and every one of Iblis's regiments. Arguing in it with one another, they will say:

Believers' friendships with one another are very powerful and long-lasting. That is because it is their sincere faith in and fear of Allah which bring believers together and make friends out of them. As revealed by our Lord in the verse:

Hold fast to the rope of Allah all together, and do not se -parate. Remember Allah's blessing to you when you we -re enemies and He joined your hearts together so that you became brothers by His blessing. You were on the very brink of a pit of the Fire and He rescued you from it. In this way Allah makes His signs clear to you, so that hopefully you will be guided." (Surah Al 'Imran, 103)

Believers are brothers. For that reason, the friendship based on faith continues, by the will of Allah, both in this world and for ever in the life of the Hereafter.

Whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger will be with those whom Allah has blessed:

Patience Although the words "endurance" and "patience" are often tied together, they actually re present two different concepts. Endurance has specific bounds and these vary according to the individual. When those bounds are exceeded, a person may abandon his or her moderate and calm approach in favor of various behavioral defects. Patience on the other hand is a moral virtue stemming from fear of Allah, one which does not change with circumstances or events. It is only possible to be patient in the face of troubles or events by comprehending the infinite might of Allah and putting one's trust in Him by seeing the good in all that He creates. True patience is therefore a feature peculiar to believers and an element of good moral values which people who fail to live by the values of the Qur'an can never achieve. Believers are described as patient and submissive in the Qur'an:

Justice Allah has revealed in the Qur'an that superiority among people rests solely upon godliness (Surat al-Hujurat, 13). In societies in which such elements as faith, fear of Allah and proper morality are ignored, the criteria by which superiority is measured are rather different. These people imagine that superiority lies with the most prominent members of society and can be acquired with the acquisition of goods and property, recognition or fame. Since this perspective is generally shared by most members of such a society, those without goods and property are generally thought of as "inferior" to those who are wealthy and enjoy wide circles of acquaintance.

The manner in which people treat those around them in such societies, the decisions they take, the way they evaluate events, and the conclusions they draw from them are all directly related to the perspective they hold. For that reason, it is impossible to speak of a true idea of justice among people who act in the light of that conception.

Such a thing is out of the question for those who have faith. Believers always act by taking the moral values revealed by Allah in the Qur'an as their yardstick. They therefore always attach the greatest weight to justice and truth. They do not judge people according to worldly values but according to whether they have the requisite fear of Allah and to their moral values. They favor not the powerful and those with material means but always what is right and those in the right. They make no concessions on justice, even if this works against them and those closest to them. They decide not according to earthly values but in the manner ordained by Allah, Who has revealed the yardstick regarding justice in the Qur'an thus: