Page 60 - The Debased Culture of Superficiality

58 THE DEBASED CULTURE OF SUPERFICIALITY

ring unnatural reactions on the faces of shallow people and
how they use this as a means to an end. They pretend to be
surprised when they are not. They use furtive looks when
they are needlessly curious. They scan the area around them
when gossiping; they put on an inquisitive look when they
are prying or looking for another’s faults. None of these
expressions is reasonable or humanly acceptable. On the
contrary, they are the result of the deep unawareness and
superficiality they live in. This type of expression is never
seen in the eyes of a Muslim whose heart is attached to Allah
and knows that He sees him and embraces him at every
moment. When these other individuals look around with
such expressions, they are not aware that Allah sees them or,
as stated in the Qur’an, that He perceives their eyes:
Eyesight cannot perceive Him but He perceives eye-
sight. He is the All-Penetrating, the All-Aware. (Surat al-
An‘am: 103)
In another place in the Qur’an Allah says that, just as no
concealed idea will remain hidden from Him, so no eye
expression will remain hidden:
He knows the eyes’ deceit and what people’s breasts
conceal. (Surah Ghafir: 19)
Those who share this debased culture gaze on at one
another with an expression that creates an unspoken under-
standing among them. According to the time and the place,
they look at one another with expressions that carry differ-
ent meanings and nod and wink at one another. Sometimes
these looks and signals are intended to ridicule someone or
to secretly send a message among themselves appropriate to