Page 55 - Passivity in Religion

The Characteristics of the Passive

and character always stand out so plainly among Muslims.
Persistent in their passivity, these people, from the outset, never
intended to live according to the pure and sincere religious moral-
ity, and this has prevented them from accepting the decrees of the
Qur'an, and adopting the moral qualities of a believer. Even if they
appeared to be conforming to the commands and prohibitions of
Allah, they could never banish their deeply ingrained ignorant
mentality from their lives. They are even so perverse as to inter-
pret the Qur'an according to these ignorant tenets. For this reason,
they have developed an understanding that is very different from
the actual meaning of faith that the Muslims understand. If they
are confronted by something that goes against their own personal
interests, or threatens to upset their situation, they do not put their
trust in Allah, but become impatient, fearful and stricken with
panic. Unlike true Muslims, they are not content to live the kind of
life the Qur'an enjoins. In fact, if one examines their morality and
way of living, one would clearly see that they differ widely from
the Muslims. They have no trace of the sincerity, resolve, enercy,
discernment or wisdom of a Muslim, who is close to Allah and
conforms his life to the Qur'an. On the contrary, such a person im-
parts those around him a feeling of coldness, officiousness, insin-
cerity, affectation and anxiety, that would never be seen in the
character of one of religious moral conviction.
The Qur'an indicates that there were people in the company of
our Prophet (saas) afflicted with such a character. Although they
were very close to our Prophet (saas), spoke with him, and were
witnesses to his revelations, they were passive when it came to liv-
ing according to the moral teachings of the Qur'an. They did not
even feel any compunction in lying to such a man as blessed a per-
son as our Prophet (saas). Allah tells us that the character of these
hypocrites will be exposed:

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