The Ten Causes for Rejecting the Truth
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
There are many reasons why a person chooses to remain blind, ignorant, and a follower of innovation and misguidance. Imam Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah mentioned several reasons that hinder a person from accepting the truth and facts and thus prefers misguidance to guidance.
1: Weak knowledge about the subject
2: Inability
The 1st reason is a person is unable to actually comprehend the truth. If a person has a rigid hardened heart then knowledge will not affect it. This is similar to an arid land. This kind of land is unable to grow trees, as its unable to accept water. Therefore if the heart is hard like a stone then the things that purify it aren’t accepted therein, nor does advice soften it. Moreover, the hardened heart doesn’t benefit from any knowledge it knows. Similar to the barren land which isn’t fertile to grow trees, or sprout plants no matter what kind of seeds were planted; even if a rainfall hit it. Allah said about the people unable to comprehend the truth.
“Truly! Those, against whom the Word (Wrath) of your Lord has been justified, will not believe. Even if every sign should come to them, – until they see the painful torment.”[Yunus 96-97]
3: Jealousy and arrogance.
This was the reason that Ibliss[Satan] refused to follow Allah’s command. Arrogance and jealousy is a sickness for everybody, except those whom Allah has protected.
4: The love of leadership and power.
If arrogance and jealousy don’t prevent a person from accepting the truth, then the love of leadership and power will prevent him; along with the love of his kingdom and reign. This is similar to Hercules and other non-Muslim leaders who knew Muhammad was a Prophet deep down in their hearts and wanted to be Muslims, but refrained from doing so due to their reign of power.
This is a disease that plagues kings, rulers, and leaders. Only a few are saved from this illness. This was the sickness of Fir’aun and his people. Allah said:
“They said: “Shall we believe in two men like ourselves, and their people are obedient to us with humility (and we use them to serve us as we like).” [ Al-Mu’minoon 47]
Fir’aun didn’t believe and follow Musa and Haroon. It’s said that when Fir’aun wanted to follow Musa and believe in him he took counsel from Hamman and his minister and they told him: You are a God who is worshipped and if you follow them you will be a servant who will worship other than yourself. For that reason, he refused to worship Allah and choose to remain a leader who was worshipped!
5: Desires and wealth.
The following of desires and love of wealth is among the main causes that prevent the Jews and Christians from accepting the truth. They fear the food and money they receive from their people will be null and void. The pagans of the Quraysh used to impede people from accepting Islam by using their love of desires. They would go to those who loved to commit Zina and say to them Muhammad doesn’t allow Zina and drinking alcohol.
6: The love for family and close relatives
The people tested with accepting the truth due to family and close relatives fear that if they accept the truth then they’ll be an outcast and exiled from their relatives.
7: The love of homeland and country
If there aren’t any of his family members or loved one where he rejects the truth based on the premise that other people there haven’t and he’ll be banished from his homeland and country to place he doesn’t know, thus he prefers to choose his homeland and country’s norms and practices; than accepting the truth.
8: The belief that Islam and the Muslims dispraise his father and grandfathers.
This was the reasons that prevented Abu Talib and others from becoming Muslims. They extolled their fathers and grandparents disbelief and misguidance over Islam and choose that path for themselves.
9: The person he has a personal grudge towards the one presenting the truth.
This prevents a lot of people from accepting guidance. A person will have hatred and enmity towards the person presenting the facts, to point he hates the ground he walks on. Therefore he intends to oppose him thinking that his way is following the truth.
10: The truth goes against the way he was nurtured
A person’s normal upbringing becomes his nature. For example, a person is nurtured on certain beliefs from an early age and it becomes instilled in his heart. This is similar to how the bones are nurtured on certain nutrition. The intellect can only accept this kind of nourishment, then true knowledge comes and its people to remove the old methods he was nurtured on, and to remove it from the heart and take its place; thus this becomes difficult to change and remove.
Taken from [ مفتاح دار السعادة 1/335-340]by Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim
Translated and arranged by Abu Aaliyah Abdullah ibn Dwight Battle
Doha, Qatar 1439H©
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