‘WHY DO YOU think people continue to do the wrong thing even when they are shown the truth of a matter?’ I asked the children.
With Dhul Hijjah approaching, we were looking at the life of Ibrahim (as) and the incident where he broke all the idols in the temple leaving the axe with the largest idol which he had spared.
When his people returned and accused him of breaking the idols he pointed to the biggest idol.
The absurdity of idol worship was so obvious. For how can anyone worship something that you create with your own hands, and which is even weaker than you? These idols cannot speak or react in any way. They cannot even eat the food that is offered to them in the temples.
His people were unable to argue with such a clear exposure of ignorance. And yet still they didn’t let go of their idol worship. Why?
‘Perhaps they didn’t know better?’ my daughter said.
‘It’s true that many people do the wrong things because they are unaware of the truth. But Ibrahim (as) made the falsehood very clear, and they couldn’t answer him. So, they knew the truth, but they still continued on falsehood.’
‘Because most people are sheep,’ my son explained. By that, he meant that most people do not think for themselves but just follow what everyone else is doing.
‘There is certainly truth to that. Sadly, most people do that. They stop asking the why so that what they do becomes just rituals. Indeed Ibrahim (as) people would say that they did what they did because that is what their fathers did. If you look at most societies across the world you will find that most people just follow along with whatever the majority are doing. That can be true for the Muslims as well. People are social beings and generally do not want to stand out from the crowd. When society is upon falsehood then that becomes a big problem. Also, things become a habit. If you do something long enough, it comes part of you and it is hard to let go of that. The longer you do it the harder it becomes. So, we see Abu Talib for instance, the uncle of the Prophet ﷺ, who supported him so much in the difficulties he faced in Makkah, yet he died on disbelief following the ways of his fathers.’
‘Because they dislike the truth,’ my son continued.
‘Yes, that is certainly a possibility. Shaytan certainly makes evil things seem attractive and people can like doing such. They start to enjoy and get used to ‘freedom’. So, when Islam comes along and says otherwise it is seen as oppressive. Pride and ego can also play a part here. Abu Jahl for instance stood against Islam because he could not accept that the message came to Muhammad ﷺ and not a powerful leader like him. People also may find that they have something to lose i.e., their interests and benefits are at stake. We see that particularly with the rulers and businesspeople. The Quraysh leadership knew full well the implications of accepting Islam- they would lose their authority and privileges. Similarly, Qarun was against Musa (as) because there was a financial implication.’
The point is that human behaviour isn’t as straightforward as we sometimes think it is. There are two parts- the intellect and the desires. Sometimes we can be convinced intellectually but the desires lag. Or sometimes people have the right desires, but the intellect lets them down. The best place to be is when the intellect and desires are in line- the mind is convinced, and the heart is content with Allah’s command. Both intellect and desires are ultimately determined by the thoughts that we carry. We need to train the intellect to think correctly so that we know the truth and we need to train the desires to love that truth and follow it.
As we can see ignorance, bad habits, following the crowd, pride, ego, and personal benefit are all ideas that can get in the way of our submitting to Allah even though we know better.
It helps to have a questioning mentality, to take great care of what we expose ourselves to, and surround ourselves with people of good thinking and desires. Ultimately, we need to create a society based on the Haqq to protect and amplify goodness, just like the Prophet ﷺ did when he moved to Madinah and established an entire way of life upon taqwa.
Related Articles
Dependence and independence
‘HE CRIES A lot doesn’t he,’ my 11-year-old daughter commented about her little brother. There was a pattern to his cries and we were trying to work out what all the different sounds meant. Babies cry due to hunger, needing a nappy change, trapped wind in the upper or lower tummy, feeling cold or hot, […]
Learning politics from the Seerah
Studying the Seerah is the best way to learn about the life of our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as it is full of lessons and examples of inspiration which influence our lives to this day. The Seerah is full of events which cover: The youth should be encouraged to study the Seerah from an early […]
Wisdom
HAVE YOU EVER noticed in the Qur’an that the name al-Hakim (the All-Wise) is paired with either al-Alim (All-Knowing) or al-Aziz (All-Mighty)? Why is wisdom linked with knowledge and might? It points to something that most parents will have experienced. Parents exert might/power over their children. We also have more knowledge than our children. But […]
