Page 62 - Those Who Exhaust All Their Pleasures In This Life

60 THOSE WHO EXHAUST ALL THEIR PLEASURES IN THIS LIFE

friends with anyone because they always ask themselves
on what basis and according to what criteria they should
choose their friends. Instead of looking for friends who fear
and respect Allah and follow the Qur’an’s morality, they
look for people who can benefit them and cause them to
be respected in the eyes of their associates.
People who live in a good part of a city need to choose
friends who live in a similar area. They must be wealthy,
attractive and good-looking, have a new car, come from a
good family, or have a respected name. For those who live
in a more modest neighborhood, a future friend must at
least be respected there: he or she must be a graduate of
a good school, have a respectable profession, be noticea-
bly attractive and good-looking, and be strong enough to
ensure polite treatment. But none of these qualities allow a
mutual sense of loyalty and faithfulness to grow. In such
friendships, backbiting, betrayal, sacrificing a “friend” for a
particular gain are quite common. In the same way, if one
friend gets into material or psychological problems and
needs help, it may end the friendship, given that the others
may be unwilling to help out because it will not profit them
to do so. Thus, the best solution is to abandon their friend
and look for someone to fill the gap who will be useful to
them.
We can see this faithlessness among married unbeliev-
ers. Indeed, they often speak of how they have been treat-
ed unjustly in this regard. There is so much unfaithfulness
among spouses that it is no longer considered surprising.
When they get married, couples promise to be faithful to