Page 58 - Passivity in Religion

PASSIVITY IN RELIGION

bally assaulted. Their aim is disingenuous; by their lack of con-
cern, they want to make those around them who are weak that
sometimes insensitivity can be a legitimate response. Through
these methods, they believe they are able to mislead others into
their type of passivity. However, Muslims who are insightful
know quite well what these types of responses are intended to
achieve; and, when they see hypocrites around them shunning
the practice of religious morality, they proceed with caution.
It is important to stress, at this point, that these people try
their utmost not to exhibit moral character. As we said earlier,
they are not entirely ignorant about matters like compassion,
sacrifice, faithfulness, mercy, patience, and all the other qualities
that a good moral character is comprised of; indeed, they all
know very well what these things are, and if you were to ask
them, they could quote the relevant verses of the Qur'an. But,
they deliberately refuse to conform to these qualities, both be-
cause their faith is weak, and because they want to show that
they do not esteem other Muslims. But, if these people knew that
they would derive some material reward for acting morally, they
would offer every sort of self-sacrifice, and carry out to the full
what was required of them. For example, if the one through
whom they were to receive this gain were a high-level manager
of a factory, they would comply with everything he said, and be
subservient in every way towards him. This does little to prove
the morality of their character. On the contrary, they knew how
they should have behaved, but refused to do so; this is a clear
sign of their deceitfulness.
Although these people are far removed from the morality of
the Qur'an, it is interesting to note that, when confronted with a
difficult situation, they try to defend themselves to the Muslims
by employing the Qur'an. They claim that what they had done

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