35 Preface إِنَّهُم كانوا إِذا قيلَ لَهُم لا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ يَستَكبِرونَYusuf AliFor they, when they were told that there is no god except God, would puff themselves up with Pride,1Selfish arrogance was the seed of sin and rebellion: 2:34 (of Satan): 28:39 (of Pharaoh); etc. It is that kind of arrogance which prevents man from mending his life and conduct. When he speaks of ancestral ways, or public opinion, or national honour, he is usually thinking of himself or of a small clique which thrives on injustice. The recognition of God, the one true God, as the only standard of life and conduct, the Eternal Reality, cuts out Self, and is therefore disagreeable to Sin. If false gods are imagined, who themselves would have weaknesses that fit in with sin, they give countenance to evils, and it becomes difficult to give them up, unless God’s grace comes to our assistance. (R).