Page 48 - The Silent Language Of Evil

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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