Page 90 - The Solution To Secret Sorrows

THE SOLUTION TO SECRET SORROWS

lieve in Allah, but forget His justice and power, live lives of contin-
ual trouble and tension with their stance of battling against injustice.

Crafty Behavior on the "Limit Principle"
Some who share the morality that constitutes the subject of this
book will say that they conform to the Qur'an, yet maintain their ig-
norant morality secretly and cunningly. However, all this is done
within the "limit principle," meaning that the individual engages in
all kinds of insincere acts that cannot be proven. He is also careful to
do them in such a way that no one can claim that they are openly
against the Qur'an. All his secret activities are kept within certain
limits. In order to maintain these limits, the person may carry out
both broad and fine tuning, as necessary. Broad tuning is deter-
mined from the outset; fine tuning is put into effect when the faith-
ful discover his insincerities. For example, when he says something
irritable and is told that speaking in such a way does not accord
with the morality described in the Qur'an, he can immediately ad-
just between speaking crossly and normal speaking. At every warn-
ing, he reduces the dose of irritability in what he says, but still does
this with fragments of satan inside. At no stage does he submit to
advice given on the basis of the Qur'an. But he can refine and nar-
row the borderline between submission and not submitting. He uses
concealed rudeness, concealed protest and concealed obstinacy in
such limited doses that they cannot be proven.
In fact, entering into so much trouble and confusion to hide in-
sincerities and protect oneself is meaningless. It is to live such a life
and feed corrosive troubles that torment the conscience. Sincerity is
much easier, much finer and much more down-to-earth. Never for-
get that, as we are told in the verse, "On that Day you will be ex-
posed—no concealed act you did will stay concealed" (Surat

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