The Quran says:

وَمَرْيَمَ ابْنَتَ عِمْرَانَ الَّتِي أَحْصَنَتْ فَرْجَهَا فَنَفَخْنَا فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِنَا وَصَدَّقَتْ بِكَلِمَاتِ رَبِّهَا وَكُتُبِهِ وَكَانَتْ مِنَ الْقَانِتِينَ

(66:12) – And [We have propounded yet another parable of God-consciousness in the story of] Mary, the daughter of Imran, who guarded her chastity, whereupon We breathed of Our spirit into her, and who accepted the truth of her Sustainer’s words - and [thus,] of His revelations - and was one of the truly devout. [Asad]

Mary kept her chastity in the atmosphere of a monastery where the immoral priests sought to marry her, an innocent girl. She never allowed anyone even to touch her. She did not care for the customary rules of the monastic order. Allah gave a spark of Divine Energy. She thus testified to the truthfulness of the Divine Laws revealed by her Sustainer and His Books. She was one of the most obedient servants of Allah.

It is apparent from Mary’s example that bond of relationship or the effects of one's surroundings cannot become an obstacle to one’s Iman. Human has been bestowed with a strong willpower with which he can overcome all such hindrances. This was the basis of Allah's proclamation to Iblees, that he would never be able to influence His faithful servants (15:40; 17:65).

Mary’s life is a role model for everyone how to protect one’s chastity in a corrupt and callous setting. She stood up to the most voluptuous and hedonistic environment created by the priesthood of her time. It was very difficult for any man to take on those priests, let alone a woman. But the step that Mary took was extraordinarily revolutionary considering the complete control of the society by the priests. The Quran has used the word قَانِتِ (66:12) – that Mary protected her Allah’s given ability and didn’t let it be used wrongly.

The Quran does not want people to have blind belief

The Prophet (PBUH) explained the realities of life in light of the Quran, but his people made fun of him: بَلْ عَجِبْتَ وَيَسْخَرُوْنَ (37:12) – Whereas you are surprised at their stupidity that – in spite of being superior human beings they consider themselves to be under the influence of stars and have faith in the superstitions of soothsayers – they make fun of you. So how can matters based on knowledge and wisdom benefit them?

Fourteen hundred years ago, the Quran didn’t not want them to believe in blind faith. It wants humans to use their intellect and knowledge to believe in the realities of life with logic and evidence as presented by the Quran.

Today, the Western philosophers are presenting proof what the Quran presented 1400 years ago although they do not believe in the Quran. But they are using their intellect with open mind and they are carrying out deep analysis and research into human psyche and coming up with proofs which the Western religionists cannot refute with logic and reason. So, the religionists are also making fun of these philosophers.

This is a strange thing that those who present a message to the people with evidence, logic, and reason, these people (influenced by the religionists) not only they don’t use knowledge and reason to understand the message but they also make fun of them (who present the message with knowledge and reason). This is their style. The Quran says: وَاِذَا ذُكِّرُوْا لَا يَذْكُرُوْنَ (37:13) – That is why when you present the Quran to them (which is all wisdom and knowledge), but they do not take it seriously. And: وَاِذَا رَاَوْا اٰيَةً يَّسْتَسْخِرُوْنَ (37:14) – That is not all. They also select a symbol and then call upon other people to join them in mockery.

Human-made systems based on their own thoughts are like a spider’s web

The clash between Kufr and Iman reaches a stage where both groups have to be cautioned about the end result of their way of life. Take for instance those who accept the truthfulness of Divine Laws. Do they believe merely by saying that they profess Iman on Allah; that they will be left to themselves to do whatever they like? If they are under such an impression, then they are wrong.

Iman does not occur just by saying with tongue. It requires much effort to go through hard process to realize what the goal of Iman is. The Quran says:

قَالَتِ الْاَعْرَابُ اٰمَنَّا ۭ قُلْ لَّمْ تُؤْمِنُوْا وَلٰكِنْ قُوْلُوْٓا اَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ الْاِيْمَانُ فِيْ قُلُوْبِكُمْ ۭ وَاِنْ تُطِيْعُوا اللّٰهَ وَرَسُوْلَهٗ لَا يَـلِتْكُمْ مِّنْ اَعْمَالِكُمْ شَـيْـــــًٔا ۭ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ غَفُوْرٌ رَّحِيْمٌ

(49:14) – THE BEDOUIN say, “We have attained to faith.” Say [unto them, O Muhammad]: “You have not [yet] attained to faith; you should [rather] say, ‘We have [outwardly] surrendered’ - for [true] faith has not yet entered your hearts. But if you [truly] pay heed unto God and His Apostle, He will not let the least of your deeds go to waste: for, behold, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.” [Asad]

Even the factor determining the status of those entering the Islamic Order will be based on this very criterion.

One has to go through the فْتَنُ (meaning furnace) to prove Iman. The process to make steel from iron requires it to be put into the furnace many times over and over again; and to make pure gold from its raw metal requires it to go through the furnace many times. Allama Iqbal says:

This is to step into the divine witness stand

People think it is easy to become Muslim