Believers Seek to Please Allah People who do not live according to the Qur'an's moral teachings see their lower self as a part of themselves that must be cared for and protected. They do all they can to foster it, justify it, and bring its desires to fruition. They arrange their life, ideals, friendships, and viewpoints according to its demands, because they see it as a force that they must obey and whose every desire they must fulfill if they are ever going to be happy. But these ideas are based on wrong beliefs, for Allah reveals that the lower self will always lead a person into evil, unless He wills otherwise: "I do not say my [lower] self was free from blame. The [lower] self indeed commands to evil acts" (Surah Yusuf: 53). For this reason, only by renouncing it can people be happy and content. Instead of accepting its demands and bowing down to it, people must assert control over it and direct it as Allah wills.  Since the lower self is created together with much evil, people must listen to their conscience and do good. Otherwise, it will lead them to live in ways that do not please Him and that will cause them great disappointment in this world and the Hereafter. Out of His mercy, Allah inspires the human conscience with many ways to train the lower self:
And [I swear by] the self and what proportioned it and inspired it with depravity or a sense of duty, the one who purifies it has succeeded, [and] the one who covers it up has failed. (Surat ash-Shams: 7-10) Believers are aware of this truth because adopting the Qur'an as their guide means that they always listen to their conscience. But those whose belief is shallow sometimes fall victim to the lower self's desires even if they acknowledge this reality. As a result, many things in this life are more important for them than winning Allah's favor. Their basic goals are to get a good job, have a good marriage and a good circle of friends, be respected, have money, live in luxury, and make the best use of all of the blessings that this life has to offer. What is wrong with this? In short, they regard these things as more important than winning Allah's favor and so choose them instead of trying to please Him. Otherwise, it is legitimate to have all of the good things in this life. People who think in this way generally do not believe in Allah, the Hereafter, or the Day of Judgment. They just take what they can from this life and placate their lower self. Some people want to hide their strong attachment to this life and their lower self by saying that they believe in Allah and that their main goal is to win His favor. Sometimes they might even display a moral attitude similar to that enjoined in the Qur'an. However, they show their real faces when something conflicts with their lower self's desires, and begins to harm their personal interests. One can see this in daily life. For example, those who worry about the future think that guaranteeing their own material and emotional situation and that of their family is more important than winning Allah's favor. They may regard personal gain as more important than trying to conform to the Qur'an's moral teachings. The Qur'an describes the insincere nature of this spiritual state, for such people have no real belief and view their own profit as more important than Allah's approval: Yet you see those with sickness in their hearts rushing to them, saying: "We fear that the wheel of fate may turn against us." But it may well be that Allah will bring about victory or some other contingency. Then they will deeply regret their secret thoughts. (Surat al-Ma'ida: 52) Such people do not consider that everything is under Allah's control and that everything happens, both now and in the future, only with His permission. No precautions can prevent a calamity from befalling them, and their efforts will be of no use if Allah has willed the calamity. In the same way, if Allah has willed that something good happens, no one can prevent it. Those who are aware of this reality will not worry about this life or the future. As long as they are sincere and work to achieve Allah's favor, they will enjoy His assistance, mercy, and support, by His leave. In the Qur'an, He proclaims the glad tidings of this mercy: "Allah will certainly help those who help Him" (Surat al-Hajj: 40). Only Allah gives us blessings. People who forget this, thinking that they can obtain their own blessings by pursuing the things of this world, are living in great error. For sincere believers, nothing is more important than winning Allah's favor in every sphere of life. For them, material possessions, wealth, status, respect, or concerns for the future are unimportant. They never compromise their goals, even if such a decision results in hardship or anxiety. They gladly undertake any act of self-sacrifice to win His favor, for they are aware that Allah's friendship, love, and mercy are beyond value and cannot be compared with any earthly blessing, and that nothing can be given in exchange for them. As the Qur'an states: Say: "My prayer and my rites, my living and my dying, are for Allah alone, the Lord of all the worlds." (Surat al-An'am: 162) Allah has bought from the believers their selves and their wealth in return for the Garden. They fight in the way of Allah, and they kill and are killed. It is a promise binding on Him in the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur'an. And who is truer to his contract than Allah? Rejoice, then, in the bargain that you have made. That is the great victory. (Surat at-Tawba: 111) In another verse, He tells us that sincere believers regard winning His favor as more important than fulfilling their lower self's desires: And among the people are some who give up everything, desiring the good pleasure of Allah. Allah is Ever-Gentle with His servants. (Surat al-Baqara: 207) As the Qur'an says, believers give up everything without a second thought in order to win Allah's favor. Knowing that He will reward them with much finer things in the Hereafter, they live in this world without pursuing their own comfort and advantage, without expecting any return for their self-sacrifice. Their only hope is to win Allah's approval: "We feed you only out of desire for the Face of Allah. We do not want any repayment from you or any thanks." (Surat al-Insan: 9)
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Even though every corner of the universe manifests Allah's greatness, this vast manifestation is not sufficient to explain His infinite power and greatness. Allah is exalted above any partnership, defects, and limits. He is the sole Owner of all beautiful names and superior attributes. His knowledge, wisdom, might, power, mercy, compassion, and generosity is infinite.
Of all the supposed "proofs" of the theory of evolution, the most frequently repeated concerns changes in a species of moth in 19th century Britain. It is claimed that due to air pollution during the Industrial Revolution, tree bark was darkened-for which reason dark- colored moths were better camouflaged from predatory birds, and thus their numbers increased. 
