Page 40 - The importance of conscience in the Qur'an

38 The Importance of Conscience in the Qur'an

whom he dislikes because of his manners and speech and even
someone against whom he bears a grudge. Regardless of whom
that person may be, it is a command from Allah to be just to
everyone.
Another example is Allah's command to people to avoid
suspicion and gossip:
You who believe! Avoid most suspicion.
Indeed some suspicion is a crime. And do not
spy and do not backbite one another. Would
any of you like to eat his brother's dead flesh?
No, you would hate it. And have taqwa of
Allah. Allah is Ever-Returning, Most Merciful.
(Surat al-Hujurat: 12)
In the above verse, Allah guards man against some bad
character traits. Actually, the three specific manners mentioned
in this verse are interrelated. Someone who backbites has some
bad suspicions about the person he backbites. Similarly,
someone who spies on someone else does so on the grounds
of certain suspicions. Such types of behaviour are very common
and somehow accepted by society, though they are definitely
against conscience.
A good criterion for comparison would be to think of
one's self in such a situation. No one would ever wish to be
spied on and have his secrets and mistakes pried into and
revealed. He would not wish to be gossiped about, or for other
people to have bad and incorrect suspicions about him.
Someone who discovered he was being talked about in this way
would be greatly distressed and feel he was being treated
unjustly. Subjecting someone to such pain and making him live
in such circumstances is wicked and inexcusable. It is an
indication of a man's conscience that he never subjects some-