Harun Yahya – Unawareness—A Sly Threat

Other characteristics

Such people overreact to events, do not trust Allah and behave rebelliously. But believers know that Allah controls everything and so trust Him completely, regardless of what trials He sends their way. When something happens, they remain as patient as they can, for they know that such things are no more than trials sent by Allah. Therefore, they are happy and joyful in the knowledge that He will reward their patience and trust:

We will test you with a certain amount of fear and hunger, and loss of wealth, life, and fruits. But give good news to the steadfast.

Al-Baqara: 155

Remembering these glad tidings only makes them more determined to be patient when facing difficulties. Fully aware that their possessions, wealth, position, and rank are meant to test them, they do their best to thank Him and use them according to His will so that they may earn His pleasure:

Every self will taste death. We test you with both good and evil as a trial. And you will be returned to Us.

Al-Anbiya’: 35

Unaware people are ignorant of these facts; even if they know about them, they ignore them. Therefore, they react to events quite differently. For example, believers who know that their loss of material goods is a trial from Allah accept their fate with full trust in Him. However, the same situation will cause material and spiritual damage to those who are unaware. They will become dejected and, as this feeling grows, become more unbalanced and irritable until they lose their mental health. Being rejected by their circle of acquaintances and losing their luxuries will only make things worse; it might even bring some individuals to the brink of suicide. As we can see, unaware people have no trust in Allah, are rebellious, and live their lives far removed from His will.

The Reasons for Unawareness

Not listening to one’s conscience

The conscience is a guide that, by Allah’s inspiration, always points to the right path:

And (I swear by) the self and what proportioned it and inspired it with depravity or a sense of duty. One who purifies it has succeeded; one who covers it up has failed.

Ash-Shams: 7-10

Depravity is the desire to fulfill the ego’s desires and passions even if it means doing what is forbidden or illegal. Allah constantly inspires, through one’s conscience, a warning against depravity. Constantly obeying this voice cleanses and purifies people from sin and leads them to salvation and happiness. Those who follow their ego first fall into the depths of unawareness and then advance on the road to perdition:

And they repudiated them (Our Signs) wrongly and haughtily, despite their own certainty about them.

An-Naml: 14

The conscience constantly warns people against the ego’s limitless desires and urges them to follow the right path. Unaware people do not heed this warning, thinking that it will make them unhappy because it conflicts with the desires of their egos. And so they try to silence this divine warning, not realizing that its source, Allah, is calling them to the true path of eternal happiness.

The unawareness into which people fall as a result of ignoring this voice grows worse as they indulge in so much immorality (e.g., limitless sin and wickedness) that the ensuing rebelliousness, sin, and depravity cause their egos to begin deteriorating. They are now so profoundly unaware that they want to live in this state of wickedness forever:

Yet humanity still wants to deny what is ahead of him, asking: “So when is the Day of Rising?” But when the eyesight is dazzled, the Moon is eclipsed, and the Sun and Moon are fused together, on that Day humanity will ask: “To where can I run?” No indeed! There will be no safe place. On that Day, the only resting place will be your Lord.

Al-Qiyama: 5-12

People who do not listen to this divine voice are in a great fall, for the resulting unawareness, which has alienated them from Him, brings with it a level of suffering far beyond our imagination: the burning pit of Hell.

Ignoring destiny

Destiny means that, whether living or non-living, every thing’s, condition and experiences are determined beforehand by Allah. This is true of every creature, from a tiny mosquito to an elephant; from a tiny new-born fish in the ocean and microscopic creatures in every part of the world to all living things in the vast universe.

Nobody can choose even one of their physical attributes (e.g, their complexion, eye color, or height) or their parents. Given that they cannot determine such basic things, how can they possibly determine the course of their own lives? As revealed in the Qur’an: “We have created all things in due measure”

Al-Qamar: 49

Anyone who is aware of this should seek Allah’s mercy and favor when they use their possessions and experience anything. In fact, the Qur’an is the only guide that shows people how to do this. No human being, whether a powerful businessman or a tribesman, and no other creature, whether an animal living in the depths of the oceans or an insect in a primeval forest, can alter or escape the fate determined for them by Allah:

You do not engage in any matter, recite any of the Qur’an, or do any action without Our witnessing you while you are occupied with it. Not even the smallest speck eludes your Lord, either on Earth or in heaven. Nor is there anything smaller than that, or larger than that, which is not in a Clear Book.

Yunus: 61

We are told in the Qur’an that every moment and experience through which a person passes is determined by destiny. Those who ignore the facts revealed in the Qur’an think that they live in this vast universe, among billions of other people, due to blind and unconscious chance. So, they regard themselves as creatures who are free to do whatever they want. Under the illusion that they are autonomous and independent of Allah, they plunge into deep unawareness.

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