Page 24 - The Evil Called Mockery

22 THE EVIL CALLED MOCKERY

mock someone whose position is superior to their own in terms of
rank and power, they do so among themselves with their eyes. By
mocking him secretly, they think that they are demeaning him and
making themselves superior to him. For example, when a manager
makes a mistake, a slip of the tongue perhaps, the workers nearby
cannot mock him openly. However, they can look at one another
meaningfully and with a mocking light in their eyes. One who
watches them carefully can notice this right away; however, because
their mockery is not open, it is impossible to prove its existence.
Finding themselves surrounded by such negative forms of be-
havior, people in such societies are forced to live in an extremely un-
comfortable environment. Everybody finds a way to mock
everybody else but experiences extreme discomfort when the mock-
ery is directed toward them. In spite of this, people make no effort to
change the surrounding environment, because if they say that
mocking others does not conform to the morality laid down by
Allah, they will be unable to mock others. Thus, they accept being
mocked as if it is a fact of life and fail to distance themselves from
another person's mockery. Allah informs us of this incorrect atti-
tude: "They would not restrain each other from any of the wrong
things that they did. How evil were the things they used to do!"
(Surat al-Ma'ida, 79). In conclusion, when people do not live by the
Qur'an's morality, all types of mocking behavior, belittling speech,
and provocative glances and sniggering can be observed in their so-
cieties. The only way out of this troubled and uncomfortable envi-
ronment is to adopt, practice, and keep alive the superior morality
taught by the Qur'an.