Spirit of Islam, Sept-Oct 2021

who preaches the message of Islam must definitely practice it. But it would be naive to think that, once his actions back up his words, people will immediately flock to him in droves. Every prophet sent by God was an ideal individual on a practical level. Seeing the prophets, and their exemplary actions, did people flock to them in a spontaneous outburst of belief? The Quran tells us that this was not the case. Most people who saw and heard the prophets disbelieved. The prophets backed up their words with righteous actions but, instead of believing, the response of their contemporaries is mentioned in the Quran thus: Alas for human beings! They ridicule every messenger that comes to them. (36: 30) The truth is that it is not the practices—or malpractices—of the preacher that prevent people from accepting the truth; it is the selfinterest of the listener. There is a big price tag on truth. It entails a downgrading of the self, a destruction of the ego. In single-minded devotion to truth, other objectives have to be cast to the winds. To be able to mould one’s life in accordance with truth, one has to break down one’s existing life-structure. In reality, people worship themselves, that is why they do not become worshippers of God. This is the greatest obstacle to the acceptance of truth. It was for this reason that the cream of the human race—the Messengers of God—were treated with disdain and ridicule. Despite their exemplary actions, more rejected them than believed in them. o Prof. Farida Khanam thecentreforpeace@gmail.com In reality, people worship themselves, that is why they do not become worshippers of God. This is the greatest obstacle to the acceptance of truth.