THE ERROR OF 'FOLLOWING THE CROWD'

by Harun Yahya

Allah (God) has created people to be tested in this world. Some of these people believe, while the majority insist on not doing so. But Allah has also revealed that people should not be misled by the majority in the verse, “If you obeyed most of those on earth, they would misguide you from Allah’s Way…” (Surat al-An‘am, 116)In the verse “We created many of the jinn and mankind for Hell. They have hearts they do not understand with. They have eyes they do not see with. They have ears they do not hear with. Such people are like cattle. No, they are even further astray! They are the unaware.” (Surat al-A’raf, 179), we are told that many people are created for Hell. Therefore, the fact that there are a large number of unbelievers must not lead to laxity. That is because most of these people may have been created for Hell. (And Allah knows the truth.)The characteristics of the people described in the verse as being created for Hell reveals the difference between them and believers. Unbelievers literally seem to have no souls. “They have eyes they do not see with,” in other words, they fail to grasp the flawless might of Allah. “They have ears they do not hear with,” in other words, calls to believe have no effect on their hearts. In another verse, Allah reveals the hardness of soul of those who deny Him as follows:
Then your hearts became hardened after that, so they were like rocks or even harder still. There are some rocks from which rivers gush out, and others which split open and water pours out, and others which crash down from fear of Allah… (Surat al-Baqara, 74)The awe-filled fear of the believers, on the other hand, is very strong, resembling rocks “which crash down from fear of Allah,” as described in the above verse. They live by the Qur’an for His approval, thinking only of His existence and not following the crowd. For that reason, their consciences are most transparent. Since they display moral values compatible with the Qur’an, Allah creates a deep love and joy in their hearts. They have “eyes” with which to see and appreciate the beauties created by Allah and “hearts” with which to increase their love of Him. Since they are aware that they will have to account for themselves to Allah all on their own, they spend every moment of their lives seeking His approval.