Page 48 - The Evil Called Mockery

46 THE EVIL CALLED MOCKERY

Mocking the Believers' Adherence to the Qur'an
While believers act according to Allah's instructions and prohi-
bitions, unbelievers are led around by their own selfish desires,
which prevent them from being moral, upright, honorable, honest,
sincere, just, pure, well-intentioned, temperate, compassionate, and
truthful. On the contrary, they suggest that all types of immorality,
untruthfulness, and dishonesty are perfectly reasonable. Therefore,
the believers' determination to remain good and pure does not ap-
peal to the unbelievers. When they see the believers' fine moral be-

havior, they see once more that their own morality is bad. But their
arrogant nature causes them to reject such a thing. Thus, they want
the believers to become like themselves – people who deviate from
the true path. When they see that the believers continue to engage in
moral behavior, they attempt to belittle their good points with in-
sulting and mocking words:
The only response of his people was to say: "Drive the fam-
ily of Lut out of your city! They are people who keep them-
selves pure!" (Surat an-Naml, 56)
As we know, the Prophet Lot's (as) people were ferocious and
engaged in sexual perversion. Although he repeatedly summoned
them to justice, truth, virtue, and purity, they rejected his calls and
set themselves against him. When the Prophet Lot (as) continued to
preach the truth, their hostility increased to such a point that they
drew up plans to drive him and his followers out of their land. In
doing so, they called Allah's wrath upon themselves and were de-
stroyed. Allah also informed the believers that they would be richly
rewarded for their forbearance. In other words, He turned the unbe-
lievers' behavior into a great honor for the Prophet Lot (as) and his
followers. In the Qur'an, Allah tells those who consider themselves