Page 32 - The Evil Called Mockery

30 THE EVIL CALLED MOCKERY

Mocking Worship
Mocking the forms of worship ordered by Allah and their wis-
dom, especially the daily prayers and fasting, is widespread among
the unbelievers. Allah tells us of this unintelligent behavior:
When you call to prayer they mock it and make a game of it,
because they are people who do not use their intellect.
(Surat al-Ma'ida, 58)
Such mockery of worship is frequently met with in everyday
life. For example, when the believers remind them to pray five times
a day and fast, the unbelievers immediately adopt a mocking tone.
Their way of speaking and chosen words, gestures and movements,
and facial expressions become wholly governed by a spirit of mock-
ery. Add to all of this a mocking sneer, and they present a very ugly
picture.
The basic reason for such behavior is their desire to reduce the
respect that other people feel for religion and religious values. In
this way, they seek to block the advice due to their own mentality
that the believers give to others. Their mockery becomes most ap-
parent when they see a young person who is devoted to the reli-
gious values, for this makes them feel even more guilty. Thus, they
try to transfer their guilt to this young person through mockery so
that he/she will abandon the true path.
They try to make the other person feel small by saying things
like: "You can worship later when you're no longer young" or
"You've cut yourself off from the world at a young age." They also
try to divert young people with such false promises as: "Break your
fast. I'll bear the burden" or "What need is there to pray? You are still
young; you can pray when you get old." But in the hereafter people
will be asked whether or not they performed their religious obliga-
tions. For example, there is a religious obligation to pray five times a