Page 61 - Passivity in Religion

The Characteristics of the Passive

works. He always considers the good of Islam and of Muslims, and
offers ideas and seeks to encourage others to implement them, that
all may enjoy peace, friendship and security. Therefore, one of the
most evident signs of the piety of a person is his eager desire to ful-
fill acts of service to win the pleasure of Allah.
But, those who are sick in heart do not pursue acts of service
to others, if they are not to be rewarded immediately. They do not
have the love or fear of Allah in their hearts that would lead them
to perform such acts. So, expending effort with no possibility of
immediate reward, in addition to losing sleep, and performing
other acts of self-sacrifice, are hard for them. They are reluctant,
and think, "If there is no worldly gain in it for me, why should I
exert myself?" They would stay awake day and night, sacrificing
themselves through tireless effort, giving no regard to their fa-
tigue, if there were a possibility of material gain. But, they would
consider performing an act of service for the sake of Allah as a
great burden, and would expect the believers to feel obliged to-
wards them. Though, of course, this does not mean that they do
not expend any efforts at all. These obsequious persons complete
certain acts of service so as not to draw attention to themselves,
and to display their supposed piety, but only through minimum
effort. Often, they will resort to various manner of intrigue to
hide their true nature. They tend to remain in the background,
using excuses such as sickness, lack of ability, skill or understand-
ing. In this way, they aim to make Muslims believe that they actu-
ally want to do good works, but that they do not have the skill or
the mental ability required. Allah tells us about such disingenu-
ous people, by showing us how those hypocrites living during
the Blessed Period avoided engaging in battle alongside our
Prophet (saas):
And [it is] so that He would know the hypocrites. They

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