Page 48 - The Silent Language Of Evil
P. 48

THE SILENT LANGUAGE OF EVIL

            evil, he gives them negative examples of others around them. To
            make them believe that certain kinds of behavior are not wrong, he
            shows them other people who do the same. Of course, these others
            have consciences to tell them what is right and wrong. But in the de-
            sire to ease their guilt, they knowingly excuse themselves by blam-
            ing satan's instigations.
                 When someone criticizes them, they immediately try to justify
            themselves with this excuse. Their basic defense is that this kind of
            behavior is widespread among their acquaintances, but they know
            very well that this can't legitimize their unseemly behavior. Despite
            this, they think that because others do the same thing, any criticism
            singling them out is invalid. In this way, they create confusion to
            distract attention away from themselves.
                 According to the Qur'an, however, this way of thinking is not
            valid. The fact that others do the same things does not release any-
            one from his personal responsibility and is no mitigating excuse.
            This is because Allah in the Qur'an warns us about conforming to
            the majority: "If you obeyed most of those on Earth, they would
            misguide you from Allah's way. They follow nothing but conjec-
            ture. They are only guessing." (Surat al-An'am: 116) Many may fall

            into the same error at any given time, but they are still personally re-
            sponsible for not listening to their consciences and practicing the
            moral teachings of the Qur'an. In the Afterlife, everyone will give an
            individual account. One person may commit an error through igno-
            rance; another may commit the same error through inadvertence;
            and still another may do it deliberately and with hidden intention.
            No one knows another's true intention. But Allah knows one's true
            intentions, what the heart contains, and He will examine him about
            them.


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