﴿مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًا﴾[1]; “Whoever desires glory, all glory belongs to Allah,” and: ﴿أَيَبْتَغُونَ عِنْدَهُمُ الْعِزَّةَ فَإِنَّ الْعِزَّةَ لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًا﴾[2]; “Do they seek glory from them?! Whereas all glory belongs to Allah,” and: ﴿وَلِلَّهِ خَزَائِنُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَلَكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ﴾[3]; “The treasures of the heavens and the Earth belong to Allah, but hypocrites do not understand,” and: ﴿وَإِنْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ إِلَّا عِنْدَنَا خَزَائِنُهُ وَمَا نُنَزِّلُهُ إِلَّا بِقَدَرٍ مَعْلُومٍ﴾[4]; “And there is nothing except that its treasures are with Us, and We do not send it down except in a known measure,” and: ﴿مَا عِنْدَكُمْ يَنْفَدُ ۖ وَمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ بَاقٍ﴾[5]; “What is with you perishes, and what is with Allah remains,” and: ﴿وَاللَّهُ الْغَنِيُّ وَأَنْتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ﴾[6]; “Allah is Self-Sufficient, and you are the poor.”

As a result, only those succeed in knowing and adhering to the truth who recognize their need for it and abandon arrogance toward it due to their worldly possessions; because, contrary to what it may appear, the more worldly possessions they have, the greater their need to know and adhere to the truth, and naturally, the greater their need for it, the greater their humility and pursuit of it must be.

7. Inclination Toward Superstition

Another impediment to knowing is “inclination toward superstition.” What is meant by superstition is a notion contrary to the norm, which has no basis in the intellect or Sharia. Clearly, thinking based on superstition prevents understanding the truth; because superstition—despite being the most baseless notion—sometimes is more prevalent and entrenched than rational and religious beliefs, and it taints and weakens rational and religious beliefs. Meanwhile, most Muslims, who often lack sufficient information, are afflicted by such notions; because all Islamic sects have been more or less tainted by superstitions and have distanced themselves from Islamic rationality and realism by turning to illusions and wishful thinking in religious beliefs.