If someone denies Allah, if he does not believe in Creation and is reluctant to believe that this world will come to an end and that he will be recreated with death and exist for all eternity, if he thinks that all he has belongs to this world, then this person will have a frightening and terrifying wait. He seeks to give the impression he is unaware of this. He will maintain that his purpose is to enjoy the things of this world. He will say he never thinks about tomorrow and lives only for the moment. Yet subconsciously he is still worried about “ceasing to exist.” The life of this world, which he believes in as an absolute entity, will increasingly abandon him. Death is approaching. And after death, according to his own superstitious belief, there is only non-existence. This really terrifies that person.

The terror of someone who denies Allah is not limited to the fear of ceasing to exist. Everything is equally terrifying for someone who denies Creation, imagines that everything came into being spontaneously and that the universe and he himself are both entirely haphazard. Under his feet there is a thin crust over boiling magma, while the Earth revolves at great speed in the vastness of space. If everything were a coincidence, as he believes, then a meteor would inevitably one day collide with the Earth, and the Earth would be shattered in a moment with gigantic tremors. Any of the billions of delicate balances that make the Earth hospitable to life could similarly be eliminated. Therefore, just about everything represents a threat and source of anxiety for such a person. The heart he believes beats by chance, the veins he believes carry nutrients to the body by chance and the eyes he believes see by chance are all in danger at every moment.

These are the people who, as stated in a verse, believe that the life of this world is all they possess: "What is there but our life in the dunya? We die and we live and we will not be raised again.” (Surat al-Muminun, 37)

The aim behind such people’s denial is to make the greatest use of the life of this world, no matter how great their fear and terror. Therefore, one would expect such a person to do all he can and use all the means at his disposal to remain, in his own eyes at least, in this world he imagines to be a random one, to strive to that end alone. But that is not what happens. The great majority of such people MOBILIZE ALL THEIR MEANS TO OPPOSE MUSLIMS, and not to stay alive or to enjoy earthly pleasures. This is an astonishing state of affairs. It is amazing how they expend all the power, money and means they would appear to acquire in the life of this world, in short, everything given them by Allah, SOLELY in order to oppose Him and His religion and to weaken and inflict suffering on Muslims, in their own eyes at least.

Our Almighty Lord has revealed this in verses:

When We let people taste mercy after hardship has afflicted them, immediately they plot against Our signs. Say: “Allah is swifter at plotting.” Your plotting is recorded by Our Messengers. (Surah Yunus, 21)

When unbelievers, who see and appreciate the might of Allah in times of difficulty, attain well-being they imagine that the mercy bestowed on them from His own Grace by Allah is actually theirs, and they then stupidly direct all their energies to striving against Muslims in the belief that their power and well-being belong to them. Allah creates these people specially in order to test Muslims. Their Creation in this way is one of the greatest proofs of the existence of Allah.


Almighty Allah reveals in the Qur’an how some unbelievers unwilling to live by the moral values of the Qur’an will use all their power to strive against Him and Muslims. Some of these verses read:

When those who are unbelievers were plotting against you to imprison you or kill you or expel you: they were plotting and Allah was plotting, but Allah is the Best of Plotters. (Surat al-Anfal, 30)

Allah desires to turn towards you, but those who pursue their lower appetites desire to make you deviate completely. (Surat an-Nisa’, 27)

Those who prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter, and bar access to the way of Allah, wanting to make it crooked; they are greatly misguided. (Surah Ibrahim, 3)

There was a group of nine men in the city causing corruption in the land and not putting things right. They said, ‘Let us make an oath to one another by Allah that we will fall on him and his family in the night and then say to his protector, “We did not witness the destruction of his family and we are telling the truth.”’ They hatched a plot and We hatched a plot while they were not aware. (Surat an-Naml, 48-50)

They swore by Allah with their most earnest oaths that if a warner came to them they would be better guided than any other community. But then when a warner did come to them, it only increased their aversion, shown by their arrogance in the land and evil plotting. But evil plotting envelops only those who do it. Do they expect anything but the pattern of previous peoples? You will not find any changing in the pattern of Allah. You will not find any alteration in the pattern of Allah. (Surah Fatir, 42-43)

You who believe! do not take any outside yourselves as intimates. They will do anything to harm you. They love what causes you distress. Hatred has appeared out of their mouths, but what their breasts hide is far worse. We have made the signs clear to you if you use your intellect. There you are, loving them when they do not love you, even though you believe in all the Books. When they meet you, they say, ‘We believe.’ But when they leave they bite their fingers out of rage against you. Say, ‘Die in your rage.’ Allah knows what your hearts contain. If something good happens to you, it galls them. If something bad strikes you, they rejoice at it. But if you are steadfast and have taqwa, their scheming will not harm you in any way. Allah encompasses what they do. (Surah Al ‘Imr’an, 118-120)

Among people there is one who argues about Allah without knowledge or guidance or any light-giving Book, turning away arrogantly, to misguide people from the Way of Allah. He will be disgraced in this world and on the Day of Resurection We will make him taste the punishment of the Burning. (Surat al-Hajj, 8-9)

Do you not see that Allah has subjected to you everything in the heavens and earth and has showered His blessings upon you, both outwardly and inwardly? Yet there are people who argue about Allah without knowledge or guidance or any illuminating Book. (Surat al-Luqman, 20)

... The demons inspire their friends to dispute with you. If you obeyed them you would then be associaters. (Surat al-An’am, 121)

The people of Noah denied the truth before them,     and the Confederates after them. Every nation planned to seize its Messenger and used false arguments to rebut the truth. So I seized them, and how was My retribution! (Surat al-Ghafir, 5)

Those who argue about the signs of Allah without any authority coming to them do something hateful in the sight of Allah and in the sight of the people who believe.That is how Allah seals up the heart of every arrogant oppressor. (Surat al-Ghafir, 35)
 

Our Almighty Lord reveals in the Qur’an that He has created the life of this world as a bauble, a temporary abode, a short-term benefit, a thing of distraction. People who imagine the life in this world alone, denying Allah and the Hereafter, may initially appear to enjoy the adornments and transitory pleasures of the life of this world and to live the life of this world in the delight and happiness they desire. The truth is very different, however.

This world is a very frightening and terrifying place for people who deny Allah for the sake of living the life of this world moment by moment. These people life with the anxiety of ceasing to exist at any moment of every day. Even a dead fly reminds them of the death that will inevitably be coming their way. Death is the worst terror for them. Because this world, which they imagine to be all they possess, will be taken from them and not a trace will remain of their own existence. How can a person possessed of such knowledge possibly enjoy the moment he is living? Of course, he cannot.

Someone who thinks he will cease to exist is in fact caused great unease by everything he should enjoy in this world. Even if he has tons of gold, possessing and spending it will definitely cause him huge pain and trouble. Everything, listening to music, eating, spending time in places of entertainment. Going on holiday, traveling, spending time in a restaurant with friends, getting married, buying a car or a house or land, in short all the blessings he possesses in this world, will inevitably make him unhappy. Since he believes he came into being by chance and is uncontrolled he will feel unbelievable unease and anxiety. Worrying about ceasing to exist is worse than all other concerns. To think for a single moment that he will cease to exist is enough for all his happiness to fly away. The moment he is living and his very life will have no meaning. That will cause all the things he believes will make him happy to anger him instead. Music will annoy him, and places of entertainment and accumulating possessions. Getting in a car he brought to show off to other people with, looking at a lovely view, his home, the decorations in that home, and even his wife, children and other relatives will all become things that annoy and upset him. That moment of oblivion that he believes in draws closer by the second. Every passing day therefore inflicts greater fear, anxiety and anger on him.

Our Almighty Lord describes in a verse how unbelievers are actually very troubled as they consume the delights of this world:

When Allah desires to guide someone, He expands his breast to Islam. When He desires to misguide someone, He makes his breast narrow and constricted as if he were climbing up into the sky. That is how Allah defiles those who have no faith. (Surat al-An’am, 125)

In another verse, our Lord reveals that because of these people’s fear and anxiety these people experience a taste of the torments of Hell in this world:

They say, ‘When will this promise be fulfilled if you are telling the truth?’ Say: ‘It may well be that some of what you are anxious to hasten is right on your heels.’ (Surat an-Naml, 71-72)

Pleasure and happiness are only possible with love of Allah. A person can only enjoy music, other people, flowers, a delightful view, the environment he lives in, entertainments, friendships, shopping and conversation with the joy of faith. In order for these to be able to give one any pleasure, one first has to be at peace, with an easy conscience. It is impossible for someone whose heart and conscience are not at ease to be genuinely happy and take pleasure from anything. But someone who knows the joy of faith, who loves and fears Allah and knows that every moment of his life is a blessing from Allah can be at peace and have an easy conscience before Allah.

In fact, everyone possesses this awareness. Everyone, unbelievers included, is well aware that he must behave according to his conscience. Almighty Allah inspires the voice of their conscience in people. But since these people fail to choose the right course despite the promptings of their consciences they can never achieve inner peace and happiness. On the contrary, everything that happens to them always represents fear, anxiety, stress and sorrow.


As can be seen from verse 21 of Surah Yunus, quoted above, unbelievers, to whom all kinds of blessings are given, at once strive to establish an order against the verses of Allah and to weaken Muslims, at least in their own eyes. As can be seen from other verses, these unbelievers engage in a great and wide-ranging struggle against the truth. As revealed in the verse “Those who are unbelivers spend their wealth barring access to the Way of Allah. They will spend it” (Surat al-Anfal, 36), instead of pursuing pleasures as they intend, they use all their material and psychological means against Muslims. They have no hesitation about using their most valued earthly means and possessions to, they imagine at least, inflict defeat on Muslims and prevent Qur’anic moral values ruling the world. Although they imagine that the life of this world is all they have, they have no problem with spending all their time on setting traps for Muslims and plotting against them. They put all their energies into plotting evil against Muslims. And this is truly a very great miracle.

Someone who strives against the moral values of the Qur’an should not have the strength to do all this. The anxiety over ceasing to exist one day should never give him a moment’s peace in this limited life he leads. And since he is constantly in this state of anxiety he should not bother trying to strive against Muslims. One would expect, since this person has no faith and does not believe in the Hereafter, does not trust in and rely on Allah and lives in a constant state of fear and anxiety, that he would regard his own life as very valuable. One would therefore expect him to be terrified of death. He should not expend the earthly means, which are all he possesses, his money and the rest, on trying to weaken Muslims, lose time over plotting or waste energy on such things. One would expect such a person to numb his mind and devote himself to enjoyment and spend the rest of his time on earthly pleasures. But they do not.

Because Allah has created them specially in order to strive against Muslims. This is their task in destiny. The way that despite all their fears, these people spend all their worldly means on opposing Allah and His supporters, and seek, even though they are so terrified of death, to eliminate Muslims instead, is clear proof of their special Creation by Allah as a form of test. As this verse makes clear, as a requirement of this special Creation, setting traps for Muslims is made to seem highly attractive to these people:

... However, the plotting of those who are unbelievers seems good to them and they bar the way. Anyone misguided by Allah has no guide. (Surat ar-Ra’d, 33)

They concocted their plots, but their plots were with Allah, even if they were such as to make the mountains vanish. (Surah Ibrahim, 46)

According to the law of Almighty Allah, true believers and friends of Allah are always strong and superior. One of the greatest secrets of which unbelievers are ignorant is that they will never be able to defeat the supporters of Allah. That is why these people will never be able to escape the troubles awaiting them, no matter what plans or strategies they employ. Allah has of course surrounded and enfolded them. Of course they are powerless in the face of our Almighty Lord, the Omnipotent. Muslims will definitely be rewarded for their efforts on the path of Allah. Almighty Allah reveals in verses:

Do those who plot evil actions feel secure that Allah will not cause the earth to swallow them up or that a punishment will not come upon them from where they least expect? Or that He will not seize them on their travels, something they are powerless to prevent? Or that He will not seize them little by little? For your Lord is All-Compassionate, Most Merciful. (Surat an-Nahl, 45-47)

Or do those who perpetrate evil deeds suppose that We will make them like those who have iman and do right actions, so that their lives and deaths will be the same? How bad their judgment is! (Surat al-Jathiyya, 21)

And Allah imparts these glad tidings to true Muslims:

Be patient. But your patience is only by Allah. Do not be grieved by them and do not be constricted by the plots they hatch. Allah is with those who fear [and respect] Him and with those who are good-doers. (Surat an-Nahl, 127-128)