Page 100 - The Debased Culture of Superficiality

98 THE DEBASED CULTURE OF SUPERFICIALITY

And Ayyub when he called out to his Lord, “Great harm
has afflicted me and You are the Most Merciful of the
merciful.” We responded to him and removed from him
the harm which was afflicting him . . . (Surat al-Anbiya’:
83-84)
This is the basic way in which Muslims think. It stems
from their knowing that Allah is in control of everything and
that they expect good things only from Him.
In a superficial understanding of friendship, “pouring
out grievances” occupy an important place. According to
this way of understanding, being someone else’s friend
means being able to have such a talk with that someone
whenever one wants to. Such conversation in whisper tones
in doorways, around the kitchen and in a corner of the office
is a completely shallow habit. In this one wants a confidant
to tell little things to, rather than a true Muslim friendship.
Far from being of any use, the confidant listens to the shal-
low problems and takes pleasure in sharing the same spiri-
tual state. In the Qur’an, Allah draws attention to the super-
ficiality of those who do not practice religious morality:
There is no good in much of their secret talk, except in
the case of those who enjoin charity, or what is right, or
putting things right between people . . . (Surat an-Nisa’:
114)
Allah says that the secret conversations these people
have most often result in no good. Those with a shallow idea
of friendship take every opportunity when alone together to
gossip, and in many ways urge each other on to unseemly
moral behavior. Because their world is small, they take a