Page 40 - The Debased Culture of Superficiality

38 THE DEBASED CULTURE OF SUPERFICIALITY

There is instruction in their stories for people of intelli-
gence . . . (Surah Yusuf: 111)
Anyone who takes this advice will never exchange his
faith in Allah for some valueless worldly gain. He would
never want to damage his faith by pursuing shallow goals or
do anything that would cause him to lose the Paradise of the
world to come. He determines his ideals with a view to please
Allah and recoils from anything that He would not approve
of. He does not adopt a way of life or a culture that would dis-
tance him from the life of Paradise. He would strenuously
avoid it and wouldn’t want his friends and acquaintances to
live in this way either. He would be afraid of demonstrating
any behavior that showed an ignorant moral character or tak-
ing the responsibility for the negative effect such behavior
might have on others. As we see in the moral character of
Musa (as), he makes every effort for the faith and godliness of
others as well. He does not want to abandon them mired in
the debased and idolatrous culture of superficiality.

There is No Place in Their Lives for High Ideals
Muslims have great hopes for the Hereafter. The most
important of these is the desire to enter the Paradise that
Allah has prepared for the believers. But chief of all these
hopes is that Allah will be pleased with them:
Allah has promised the men and women of the believers
Gardens with rivers flowing under them, remaining in
them timelessly, forever, and fine dwellings in the
Gardens of Eden. And Allah’s good pleasure is even
greater . . . (Surat at-Tawba: 72)