Reflections

The most ridiculous thing would be for anyone to leave the Straight Path for fear of being ridiculed by those who are happily rushing on their path to eternal doom.


What will the people say? Will they approve of it? Will they laugh at it? It seems that such concerns influence our actions especially our public conduct more than anything else. Social pressure is a powerful force. It works by appealing to our desire not to be insulted, ridiculed, or criticized. In a righteous society, it could also be a force for good, as some people will avoid a bad name more than a bad action. But in the real world out there, it mostly turns into an evil force, pressuring people into doing things they know are wrong or keeping them from doing what they know are right. The question of right and wrong is changed into a question of acceptable and unacceptable to this evil force.


In some cases we recognise it easily. Nearly every parent in the West today seems to be concerned about peer pressure, especially on the teenagers. There is hardly a sin that attracts teenagers-drugs, violence, lewdness, fornication. Countless lives have been turned upside down or totally destroyed by it. While it attracts our attention because of the scale of destruction it causes, the general trend is not different in other segments of the society. In many cases the same Muslim parents who are genuinely worried about the teen peer pressure, themselves seem to be giving in to the pressures for conformance.


The phenomenon is not limited to the western world either. Unfortunately today most Muslim countries mostly seem to be putting their weight on the side of wrong. Un-Islamic traditions, innovations (bid’ah), and outright evils are flourishing under social pressures. The most visible symbols of an Islamic life are generally also the favourite targets of this pressure. Thus we see that in many Muslim countries even such a simple act as growing a beard (or observing hijab for women) are treated as crimes punishable by public ridicule!


Actually there is nothing new in all of this. This psychological warfare is as old as the struggle between good and evil. The Qur’an tells us that all the Prophets were insulted and ridiculed by the very people they were trying to save from the eternal punishment. They were called liars and sorcerers; they were ridiculed for being “too pious”; they were laughed at for being “crazy.”


The story of Prophet Noah, peace be upon him, is so telling. His final act of building the Ark was considered proof-positive by his people of he, being out of his mind. Building a ship in an area nearly a thousand miles away from the sea! The Qur’an mentions:


“And he was building the Ark and every time that the chieftains of his people passed by him, they threw ridicule at him. He said: ‘If you ridicule us now, then we’ll ridicule you just the way you are sneering.’” [Hud, 11:38].


They were having a great time, making fun of Prophet Noah. Little did they realise that soon the Flood would wash away all of their ignorant self-assurance. One can imagine their horror when the end finally came, for it must have been in proportion to their delusion until that point.


Such is the story of the struggle between Truth and Falsehood. Truth will eventually triumph. But Falsehood has great fun before that, ridiculing the Truth. That is why Truth attracts people with foresight, patience, courage, and determination. They have their eyes set on the final outcome. They are not deterred by the flood of insults and false propaganda that they are sure to face. That is why the Qur’an mentions that one of the qualities of the believers whom Allah loves and who love Allah is that: “They fear not the blame of any blamer.” [Al-Ma’idah, 5:54].


That must be so because we must realise that the most ridiculous thing would be for anyone to leave the Straight Path for fear of being ridiculed by those who are happily rushing on their path to eternal doom. The most laughable act is to trade Truth for Falsehood for fear of being laughed at. The craziest deed would be to knowingly disobey Allah for fear of being called crazy!


The Qur’an assures us, and history confirms it, that it is not a reasonable goal for a believer that he or she should be able to go through life without ever being subjected to mockery and ridicule.


“The guilty used to laugh at those who believed. And whenever they passed by them, used to wink at each other in mockery. And when they returned to their own people, they returned jesting. And whenever they saw them they would say: ‘They have gone astray.’ But they had not been sent as keepers over them. But on this day the Believers will laugh at the Unbelievers.” [Al-Mutaffifeen, 83:29-34].