HOW TO SAVE ONESELF FROM FIXED IDEAS

Before someone can discuss or even reject an idea, it is necessary to understand it; otherwise a person cannot reasonably reject it.

We find this is frequently the situation for those who turn away from the Qur'an: though they have not studied it, they assume they know what it contains, based on their own prejudices, conjectures, or "received wisdom" from their societies. Discarding the Qur'an without having the slightest knowledge of it is a clear indication that these people are insincere.

In fact dismissing ideas without first studying them is a common practice amongst people. Many people, though they cannot understand the ideas of those who differ from them, do not want to read their books because of their own fixed ideas. Communists read only books that support their own ideas, fascists read books with fascist ideas, atheists read the works of other atheists, and so on.

However, for a person who is not willing to study a subject, and basing their discussion only on their own presumptions, it is difficult to explain the correct and incorrect aspects of their thinking.

But for those who want correct and accurate information, it is important to be informed on every subject, otherwise it is easy to be influenced and misled. A knowledgeable, cultured person, who thinks independently and has a wide horizon, is capable of deeper and more detailed analysis and his ideas are based, not on rote learning, but on concrete evidence. Thus most of the time it is easier for such people to indicate what is right and explain what is wrong.

For people with faith, being knowledgeable in a wide spectrum of topics is important for a different reason. A faithful person who has a deep knowledge of the Qur'an and is at the same time cultured and possesses a wide range of knowledge has a clear point of view and is more accurate in decision-making than those around him. For example, a believer who knows the dangers of atheist ideologies, their logic and the systems which they promote can appreciate the superiority of the morality laid down by the Qur'an in much greater depth. A person with a deep knowledge of such ideologies as fascism or anarchism which are opposed to the Qur'an, discovers how the Qur'an discredits these ideologies, and realizes the harm they do to humanity, and in this way can explain that harm and the failings of these ideologies to others.

From this point of view, during a period when people are competing in their resistance to the faith, what is required of every Muslim is to be informed about ideas, to develop himself for a scholarly struggle against ideas that oppose the Qur'an, and to widen his general cultural knowledge and understanding of the world. To remain silent in the face of opponents through lack of knowledge, to be incapable of thinking, and to be unable to produce accurate responses to challenges from the other side is inappropriate for a Muslim. What is required is, on the one hand, to live wholeheartedly and with great desire, determination and faith, the truths contained in the Qur'an, and on the other, to comprehend the harm, evil and corrupt aspects of ideas opposed to the Qur'an. Muslims will be unable to counter those who oppose religion if they cannot engage skilfully with their ideas.

In addition, recognising the idolatrous religions, of which Allah speaks in a number of verses of the Qur'an, is important to realise the extent to which true religions have suffered degeneration through perversions. In this way it is possible to see how those pagan religions that existed in the past have also emerged in our time. In fact when the Qur'an speaks of other religions, Magians, polytheists and societies which worshipped al-Lat, al-'Uzza and Manat, it is drawing the attention of the faithful to the need to be informed on these matters. Hence a Muslim needs to know about other faiths and ideologies, to read their books and to be informed about each one of them.

In fact the Qur'an indicates a wide array of subjects on which a Muslim needs to be informed, such as biology, astronomy, botany, geography, history, chemistry, psychology and the arts. There are verses that show that a knowledgeable person with faith will learn about Allah's flawless creation in all its details and, by carefully examining the wonders he sees, may come to possess an even deeper faith in Allah, the One Who created everything. Moreover staying up to date with developments in these branches of science will help a person understand more deeply the wonders of the Qur'an. The verse "… only those of His servants with knowledge have fear of Allah..." (Surah Fatir: 28) draws attention to the importance of being knowledgeable and informed.

AN IMPORTANT DUTY OF MUSLIMS

A significant proportion of people say that they believe in Allah and the Qur'an. However, many of them have likely never read the Qur'an, and have not put into practice the morality, worship and instructions which it contains. Passing one's entire life in ignorance of the Qur'an, paying lip service to the faith and not living out in the full sense the life the Qur'an prescribes is behaviour that Allah dislikes. Allah warns of this in Surat al-'Ankabut:

Do people imagine that they will be left to say, "We believe," and will not be tested? We tested those before them so that Allah would know the truthful and would know the liars. (Surat al-Ankabut: 2-3)

Thus it is essential for all those who say they believe in Allah and the Qur'an to read the Qur'an, to think deeply about its verses and, to put its teaching into practice. On the Day of Judgment people will be asked about the Qur'an and called to give an accounting of everything they have done.

As we have already mentioned, many people resist the Qur'an without reading or studying it at all because of the fixed ideas which they hold. But if they ever read it once and thought carefully about it, they would be unable to escape the truths contained in the Qur'an and would be forced to abandon their lack of faith. Instead of reading and arriving at this conclusion, they condition themselves in advance by saying, "Even if I read it, I will not be able to give up my own ideas and prejudices" and so they reject a sincere approach out of hand.

As we have examined in detail on previous pages, the situation is that a large majority of people are influenced by those around them into staying away from the Qur'an and rejecting its teaching. Some feel distanced from the religion due to a long lasting and negative influence from somebody with no knowledge of proper morality and who has applied it incorrectly, and for long years they cannot be rescued from this negative influence. Others take as their yardstick what they have heard from an atheist or an unbelieving enemy of religion and allow themselves to be governed by these ideas throughout their lives. The greatest mistake of such people lies in making decisions about religion on the basis of what they have heard and read from the wrong sources.

The true religion is the religion Allah handed down in the Qur'an, so it is necessary for anybody who wants to learn about religious morality-whether believing in it or not-to go first to the Qur'an, read it sincerely, without prejudice and think deeply about its verses.

Running away from the Qur'an unconsciously and without knowledge simply because of the above false perceptions and information is a great loss for everybody who does this and, unless Allah wills it, this loss will not be rectified on the Day of Judgment. Because of this everybody with intelligence and a conscience needs to read the Book, which Allah chose for Himself and sent down through His Prophet, while there is still time. Allah says that by means of it He will guide people to the ways of peace:

… A Light has come to you from Allah and a Clear Book. By it, Allah guides those who follow what pleases Him to the ways of peace. He will bring them from the darkness to the light by His permission, and guide them to a straight path. (Surat al-Ma'ida: 15-16)

In Surat at-Takwir, Allah warns people not to avoid the Qur'an:

Nor is it the word of an accursed Satan. So where, then, are you going? It is nothing but a Reminder to all the worlds, to whoever among you wishes to go straight. (Surat at-Takwir: 25-28)

Because of this the greatest obligation on the shoulders of the faithful is to make serious efforts to prevent others from shunning Allah's verses. So, first Muslims should explain the boundless blessings of the Qur'an and the signs of Allah's creation in the universe through scientific studies and to demonstrate the beauties of Qur'anic morality. Of course, a large percentage of people may not want to listen to these truths or read them so Muslims are required to try every possible method to reach those who do not want to read or listen.

THE GREAT MISTAKE OF THOSE WHO DO NOT HEED THE QUR'AN

Since those who follow Satan's way deny Allah, Who created the entire universe from nothing, they attribute an independent existence and power to every being. However, the universe is entirely subject to the power and the sovereignty of Allah, including people themselves and their experiences, because a person sees the material world in which he lives solely in the way in which his senses reflect it to him. That is to say, a person sees things as copies transmitted to his or her brain and only experiences the images in that brain.

For example, for us to see a car going along a road, or to hear its horn, or to get into that car and feel the softness of its seats and the hardness of its metal parts, it is not necessary for the car to exist in reality. We process all information about the existence of the car solely inside our brains by means of what our senses transmit to us. Therefore, it is not possible for us to experience the original of the car itself. What we deal with are nothing but electrical signals we perceive in our brains through our five senses. Our life goes on only within our brains. We can never have direct experience of what exists on the outside. (For detailed information, see Harun Yahya, The Evolution Deceit, Eternity Has Already Begun, Knowing the Truth, Matter: The Other Name For Illusion, The Little Man in the Tower.)

In the same way, a person who goes to a meeting and gives a speech is really talking to the crowd within his brain. This person only imagines that he has been able to speak in front of a large audience. In other words, the person making the speech is incapable of leaving the meeting place inside his brain. The individuals who make up the crowd also see the speaker in their own individual brains. All the words and the shouting and the crowd of people have to remain within the brain.

Thus, acting according to the existence of a thing whose reality he has never been able to directly experience, placing value on people whose real selves he has never been able to address and possessing goods whose reality he has never been able to touch is a state of extreme meaninglessness for a person who cannot step out of the images in his brain. We can use the analogy of dreaming to consider this further. For instance in a dream, even if the food you can smell, whose appearance you can see and whose heat you can feel does not exist in reality, you may still be able to taste that dish and even feel its heat burning your tongue. Or you may dream of being late for an important task for which you are responsible, the nervousness arising from this and the excuses which you are thinking of offering in full detail, just as in real life. Until you awake from the dream, you may be totally convinced of the reality of what you are experiencing. These deceptions experienced in the dream may also apply to the world in which you find yourself.

This is a clear scientific truth which people who are overly attached to this world do not want to consider. No matter how hard they try to escape from it, no matter how much they resist accepting it, it is a truth which they cannot actually avoid. Above all it is a truth which people personally experience and observe throughout their lives. Whoever evades it should know that it is definitely not possible to escape from the world inside the brain. Therefore those who resist the Qur'an in the belief that matter is absolute will eventually come face to face with the truth that the things they value consist of a mere perception when they think about this very important scientific knowledge. In this way, things which have made them ambitious, things which have frightened them and things which have caused them to feel pride will naturally lose their meaning.

In the same way, people whose words are respected and who are accepted as leaders are nothing but the result of a perception which Allah has created in the minds of others, so that unconditionally following Satan, his manifestations in human form or people who are under his influence, is no different from the deception we have referred to above of supposing that one has direct experience of the material world.

A person may go for years without realising these important truths concerning the real nature of matter. Many people may not have considered that they see the people surrounding them, nature and the entire universe within their brains and that they can never directly experience the originals of what exists outside. However, a few seconds' sincere thought with a collected mind is enough to change a person's entire view of life and rescue him from such fixed ideas.

For example, think about this book which you hold in your hand, the things which are written in this book and the pages you turn one by one. Every one of these consists of perceptions reaching your brain through the medium of your senses. Reconsider: the book which you think you see consists only of electrical signals reaching your brain and the hand which turns the pages is one whose real nature you have never experienced throughout your life. The moment when you understand this wonderful situation is the moment when you begin your real life because understanding that matter may never be experienced in its essence and that you can only view images of what exists outside is the most important scientific truth which a person can learn in the life of this world.

All these truths demonstrate a person's helpless situation in the face of Allah, because the life of the world in which Satan deceives people with promises and empty illusions is nothing other than a world of the imagination which can only be perceived through the senses. All these truths constitute an excellent reason for surrendering ourselves to Allah, Who created everything, believing in Him with a certain knowledge and fearing him with a heartfelt fear.

The Qur'an is a message to all humanity and it explains all things to mankind. It is hoped that people who listen to the voice of their consciences will heed this call and abandon their escape from reality. In a verse of the Qur'an, Allah offers this invitation:

Certainly there is a transmission in this [Qur'an] for people who worship. (Surat al-Anbiya': 106)

CONCLUSION

Do not think that the human characters which have been described in this book are so very far from your own, because you may be somebody who has never read the Qur'an up to now or who has wanted to read it, but has given up because of the prejudices you have. Perhaps you took such a decision thinking you would be unable to find time because of the pressure of your daily tasks or perhaps you may have received completely illogical advice from those around you, such as "Don't read too much or you'll lose yourself." Or maybe you have not experienced any of these possibilities but the idea of reading the Qur'an has never even crossed your mind. But there is still a great opportunity before you: you can disobey the orders Satan gives to prevent people from reading the Qur'an, and listen to the voice of your conscience.

If you are a person who reads the Qur'an and knows the truths contained in its verses this is still a position in which there is a fine opportunity before you. As a person of conscience who has seen what great harm is suffered by people who flee from the Qur'an, you can encourage others to read and study the Qur'an. You can encourage people to read about the religion of Allah, live by Qur'anic morality and learn about the beautiful things which Islam offers.

Allah Who created the world and everything from nothing as a test for people, gave strength to Satan and allows him to say, "Do not hear, do not listen, do not think." But being aware of this test, you should block your ears against Satan's orders and listen to the voice of your conscience which tells you to hear and listen. Remember that Allah created your leaders who appear to be strong and masterful and who try to prevent you from believing in Allah to test you. Allah is testing you in respect of what answer you will give to the calls of Satan. In the same way, you should certainly not forget the fact that Allah is also the Creator of their voice which orders you not to read books telling about the truths in the Qur'an, to stay away from what is written in them and avoid thinking.

Do not forget that it is a mistake to feel overawed by other people, fearing them and obeying them without thinking, in the belief that each one of them has an independent power of his own. Really, every one of those people is conforming to the fate Allah has written for him and has no power to do anything that Allah does not desire. There is one absolute truth, that today or tomorrow, sooner or later, at some time everybody will meet with the angels of death and will be called upon completely alone for a reckoning. Like it or not, everybody will be wrapped in a white cloth, lowered 3 meters below the earth's surface and buried under the soil. Everybody will be called into the presence of Allah completely alone, so the deniers will not have those who influenced them and encouraged them to reject the Qur'an by their sides. So do not be deceived by the apparent health and strength of those who encourage you to deny the faith, because when the Day of Judgment comes, not one of those people will be with you. In a verse of the Qur'an, Allah has this to say:

You have come to Us all alone just as We created you at first, leaving behind you everything We bestowed on you. We do not see your intercessors accompanying you, those you claimed were your partners with Allah. The link between you is cut. Those you made such claims for have forsaken you. (Surat al-An'am: 94)

Because of this, before that day comes, abandon your flight from the truth of the Qur'an and spare time to read the Qur'an and think about its verses.