because the strength of disbelievers’ advertising to sell their products on the one hand, and the weakness of Muslims’ promotion of devotion to the Hereafter on the other hand, along with the lack of economic independence in Islamic countries, have left no ground for this. Consequently, worldliness has penetrated the flesh and bones of Muslims like a deadly poison, dragging their intellects toward death. In the midst of this, even those like me who aspire to return to Islam can do nothing; because most Muslims, consumed by their worldliness, pay no attention to people like me, whereas returning to Islam is naturally impossible without the participation of the majority of Muslims.

As a result, only those who have weakened their attachments to the world and strengthened their attachments to the Hereafter, contrary to the current of society, will succeed in knowing the truth and following it.

5. Fanaticism

Another impediment to knowing is “fanaticism.” What is meant by fanaticism is a type of ethnic, sectarian, or political attachment that has no rational basis and prevents fairness in recognizing reality. This is because a fanatic loves his ethnicity, sect, or group regardless of whether it is good or bad, in such a way that he is unable to recognize its goodness or badness based on the intellect. In such a case, if another ethnicity, sect, or group is superior to his ethnicity, sect, or group based on the intellect, he is unwilling to accept its superiority; instead, he unfairly insists on the superiority of his own ethnicity, sect, or group and ignores the reality, like Jews about whom Allah Almighty has said: ﴿أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا نَصِيبًا مِنَ الْكِتَابِ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْجِبْتِ وَالطَّاغُوتِ وَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا هَؤُلَاءِ أَهْدَى مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا سَبِيلًا﴾[1]; “Did you not see those who were given a portion of the Book, who believe in jibt and taghut and say about disbelievers that they are more guided than those who have believed?!” This is the very zealotry of the age of ignorance, which, when it takes control of the intellect, prevents it from acknowledging the truth and compels it to defend falsehood; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿إِذْ جَعَلَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الْحَمِيَّةَ حَمِيَّةَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ﴾[2]; “However, those who disbelieved placed zealotry in their hearts, the zealotry of the age of ignorance”;