When someone criticizes them, they immediately try to justify themselves with this excuse. Their basic defense is that this kind of behavior is widespread among their acquaintances, but they know very well that this can't legitimize their unseemly behavior. Despite this, they think that because others do the same thing, any criticism singling them out is invalid. In this way, they create confusion to distract attention away from themselves.
According to the Qur'an, however, this way of thinking is not valid. The fact that others do the same things does not release anyone from his personal responsibility and is no mitigating excuse. This is because Allah in the Qur'an warns us about conforming to the majority: "If you obeyed most of those on Earth, they would misguide you from Allah's way. They follow nothing but conjecture. They are only guessing." (Surat al-An'am: 116) Many may fall into the same error at any given time, but they are still personally responsible for not listening to their consciences and practicing the moral teachings of the Qur'an. In the Afterlife, everyone will give an individual account. One person may commit an error through ignorance; another may commit the same error through inadvertence; and still another may do it deliberately and with hidden intention. No one knows another's true intention. But Allah knows one's true intentions, what the heart contains, and He will examine him about them.
The Qur'an says that everyone is responsible for himself:
You who believe! You are only responsible for yourselves. The misguided cannot harm you as long as you are guided. All of you will return to Allah and He will inform you about what you were doing. (Surat al-Ma'ida: 105)
These people know the truth, but use the excuse that "Everyone does it"—not because they are deceived into believing it, but in order to protect themselves.
However, if they examined their situation is in the light of the Qur'an, they would realize that every criticism is definitely good for them. Even if many people are behaving wrongly at any given moment, Allah's making an individual hear that this behavior is wrong is a great mercy on him. But instead of interpreting the matter in this way, most people attempt to offer excuses for their incorrect behavior. But this will result in great loss for them in this world and the next.
They claim they did not know that their behavior
was wrong
Some people who follow satan's intimations offer the excuse of ignorance for their mistakes. However, this is one of the methods satan has taught them in order to make themselves appear innocent. Most of the time, they know very well that what they did was wrong, but defend themselves by pretending that they really did not know it was. They try to justify themselves by saying, "I would never have done it if I had known," or that "I did it out of ignorance, without thinking." True, people can commit some errors out of ignorance, but that is quite different from the perversity caused by satan's influence. The sincerity reflected in these people's faces, tone of voice, manner and conversation is evidence of their honesty. But those under satan's influence resort to these excuses not because they really didn't know, but because of their insincerity. Actually, they are aware of the kind of behavior required by the moral excellence that Allah has commanded in the Qur'an. Besides this, their consciences warn them about what kind of morality they should practice and what behavioral perversity to avoid. If in spite of this, a person, behaves perversely, is criticized for it, and says he did it out of ignorance, he is not being honest. This person is using excuses as one of the silent methods of evil.
Those who do something contrary to the moral teachings of the Qur'an and say that they did it out of ignorance bolster their insincerity with the idea that "Only Allah and we ourselves know what is in our hearts." Of course, only Allah knows what is in a person's heart; one person cannot know another's intentions. But in the Qur'an, Allah has made known certain signs that reveal a person's intentions, and has made the consciences of believers sensitive to the insidiousness and evil intentions of others. Thanks to these signs, believers become aware of those who have fallen under satan's influence, who deliberately use the lack of concrete proof of their insidiousness to cover up their insincerity. In this way they think they can silence those calling them to practice moral excellence and to prove invalid the criticism directed against them. Actually, this idea leads them into even greater insincerity. If they believe that their acquaintances have not heard about their insincere behavior, later they will resort to the same method in every similar situation.
Satan teaches people this and many more subtle methods of the silent language of evil in order to justify their lower selves. A very important truth should be kept in mind if a person is to avoid all these things. In the Qur'an, Allah tells us that people harm only themselves by the evil they do:
... they mislead no one but themselves and do not harm you in any way. Allah has sent down the Book and wisdom to you and taught you what you did not know before... (Surat an-Nisa': 113)
Allah tells us to avoid all kinds of evil, whether it is big or small, secret or in the open. Hiding wrong behavior so that it cannot come to light brings a person no good, but only harm. The behavior most suited to the Qur'an is to sincerely accept that one has committed an error and make up for it by practicing the kind of morality that will please Allah.
They try to prove their innocence by referring to
their characters as childish
Before becoming an adult, everyone was a child and at that age they witnessed the influence of their character on those around them. They saw that there are some advantages to being a child; they learned from experience that people approach children with sympathy and understanding. All these experiences stay in people's minds and let them realize what kinds of behavior will elicit what kind of reaction. When going through difficulties as they get older, some people revert to displaying certain childish qualities—not because they have not advanced beyond childhood, but because they believe that they can gain other people's sympathy, mercy and pity with this kind of behavior, just as they did when they were children. They resort to this behavior especially when they have made some mistake and want to make people think that they are innocent.
Children who are still being brought up are not aware of many of the mistakes they make. For this reason, most people do not get angry with children when they behave badly, but on the contrary, treat them with understanding, tolerance and compassion. Almost everything they do is justified with comments such as, "He's only a child; whatever he does is appropriate for his age," or "That's the way children behave," and "He's a child; he doesn't know any better." But, after a period of education, everyone reaches a certain level of maturity and intelligence.
This deliberate pretense of childishness is one of the major kinds of behavior satan teaches. Among those who do not live according to the moral teachings of the Qur'an, it may receive the reward they expect. But those with faith know that people who believe in Allah and the world to come are mature in their faith and develop minds that are stable and intelligent. For this reason, at moments when they clash with their lower selves and act childishly, they know that this behavior comes from satan's influence. They know that intelligence and an open awareness are required to carry out the responsibility that Allah has given to us. At the same time, aware of the power of Allah, the coming of the Day of Judgment and the pains of Hell, they do not forget about the penalties of deliberately ignoring matters that can easily be understood with ease and the kind of responsibility that childish behavior imposes on a person.
Satan makes some people forget all these truths and leads them to hide behind this secret method in order to make themselves appear innocent. Sometimes they resort to these methods only to cover up their insincerity after they have made a mistake. Instead of using a tone of voice proper to a person of character and intelligence, they use a childish voice, thinking that this will suggest their helpless innocence. Sometimes they use a tactic of keeping silent; they pretend not to be able to find the right words to express themselves; they even pretend not to be able to form sentences. They try to show their innocence and make others feel sorry for them by pretending to be excitedly confused and unable to grasp the matter under discussion. In this way, they buy themselves time and search for new ways to make themselves seem innocent, though actually they have no such difficulty in speaking.
They resort to another manner of insincerity. The way they look at other people conveys total innocence so that they can conceal their duplicity and create the impression that that they do not understand anything, and know nothing about insidiousness and evil. Even though they are mentally aware and are able to look in an intelligent way, they deliberately hide it in order to deceive those around them.
Along with this feigned child's voice, halting speech and innocent expression, they also seek to strengthen their childish impression by engaging in displays of incompetence. They pretend to be helpless, unable to understand the simplest things, to give the impression that they are "just like children" and not to be given any responsibility. They want to make others think that they are innocent in their intentions, that they are too inept to do anything wrong, even if they wanted to. In this way they want to create the image of a harmless innocent who ought to be pitied. They act childishly when it suits them and try to convince their acquaintances that this is how they really are; but when something conflicts with their own interests, they can change character in a moment—from a childish, innocent looking, inept people who cannot explain what's bothering them into extremely aware individuals with a strong personality.
Sometimes, in their idle moments, they let their true face be shown and manifest clear signs that they are under satan's influence. But once they perceive that they are being noticed, immediately they retrench and revert to their child-like behavior, to present the desired image to those around them. All these insincere methods go to show that the childish behavior they deliberately display is a stratagem of satan.
We can see that satan leads these people with these intimations and makes them do what he wants. In the Qur'an, however, Allah warns those who follow satan in order to make themselves appear innocent against this moral depravity:
You who believe! Do not follow in the footsteps of satan. Anyone who follows in satan's footsteps should know that he commands indecency and wrongdoing... (Surat an-Nur: 21)
It is certainly not logical for an intelligent, normal-looking, eloquent, talented and sincere individual with a strong character to go against all this and present himself as a child. It is evident that such people display this kind of character under satan's influence. He tempts these individuals into insincerity, later showing them how to conceal it. They believe that by acting like children, they will persuade others with their pretense of innocence. If a person with faith who knows Allah's power and the Qur'an is tempted to be insincere, he may suffer the pangs of Hell in the world to come. Allah warns people not "to make light of the Qur'an":
... Do not make a mockery of Allah's signs. Remember Allah's blessing to you and the Book and wisdom He has sent down to you to admonish you. Fear Allah and know that Allah has knowledge of all things. (Surat al-Baqara: 231)
An intelligent person with a good grasp of what Allah says in the Qur'an and nevertheless strives to appear childish, may fall under the judgment of this verse. (Allah knows the truth)
In this situation, an intelligent person with faith should not resort to insincere ways to make himself appear innocent, but be purposeful in winning Allah's favor. To this end, he should be sincere and, instead of trying to cover up any error, he should repent and take refuge in the knowledge that Allah will forgive him.
In order to spread the silent language of evil, another method that satan teaches people is negativity. Its basis lies in people's lack of awareness that Allah sees every evil done openly or in secret, and that those who do these deeds will receive the appropriate reward in the Hereafter. The negative personality that accompanies this clouded awareness is where this hidden evil is most frequently encountered. A person who does negative things through satan's intimidations gradually displays a series of unseemly moral qualities, but does so while hiding behind the "silent language of evil," thinking he could not possibly be discovered.
A person in a negative spiritual state has many apprehensions and doubts on his mind stemming from the influence of satan. If he wants to escape from satan's influence and his negative spiritual state, of course, he can immediately find the appropriate answer to all his misgivings in the Qur'an. But he does not consider how easy it is to escape satan's oppression, being preoccupied with his own apprehensions. What draws him into a negative spiritual state are most often vain apprehensions that have nothing to do with the truth. If he examined these silly, mindless and illogical thoughts in the light of the Qur'an, he would soon see that they were invalid, and satan's influence over him would immediately dissipate.
Generally, at the base of these apprehensions occupying a person's mind and draw him into a negative spiritual state is discontent. Despite all the countless blessings and good things that Allah has created, a person's lower self tries to draw him into a moral state wherein he will be discontent, pessimistic and see everything in a negative light. In such a moral condition, an individual may be displeased with whatever he may encounter; this condition will lead him into negativity about conditions in his environment, the behavior of his acquaintances, events that occur, his own spiritual state and behavior and many other things. Sometimes, his discontent is based on not knowing about events that have already occurred and those that have yet to happen—that is, hidden events related to the future (gayb). They become discontent and totally pessimistic when they imagine events with no basis in reality. They say, for example, "What if this happens?" or "Such a result may definitely come out of that."
But these thoughts and the behavior they inspire do not comply with the moral teachings of the Qur'an. For this reason, satan wants to instill this spiritual state in individuals of weak faith or who have sickness in their hearts. When the basis of this discontent lies in these individuals' acquaintances, satan wants to make them perceive this negative spiritual state with a secret language, and in a manner impossible to detect. In ignorant societies that live far from the moral teachings of the Qur'an, people use this language to send others hidden messages of what they mean and what they want from one another. Satan wants to establish this kind of morality among people of faith and make them understand one another by means of secret ritual behavior that is allusive, witty and contains hidden messages. In this way, he distances them from the moral teachings of the Qur'an by drawing them into his own insincerity and moral perversity.
Those who examine satan's invitation will see for themselves its greatest harm. As long as they do not seek Allah's favor and comply with the Qur'an, there will be no dearth of anxiety and discontent in their lives. It becomes impossible for them to derive any pleasure from the blessings of food, drink, sleep and rest. They cannot enjoy love and friendship; and they cannot be joyful, happy or content. In addition, that they cannot find a solution to their spiritual state and the discontent they so openly express puts them under great tension. Since their acquaintances are content and at ease and know nothing of their predicament only increases their tension to an unbearable degree. For this reason, they sometimes harbor hidden anger toward those around them. Because they continually fill themselves with all these apprehensions, their negativity continues to increase.
The negative spiritual state these people experience comes from their total inability to grasp what faith is, and their failure to submit themselves to Allah as they should. For this reason, as the Qur'an tells us, Allah causes a spiritual drought to break over them and gives them unbearable anxiety in their hearts:
When Allah desires to guide someone, He expands his breast to Islam. When He desires to misguide someone, He makes his breast narrow and constricted as if he were climbing up into the sky. That is how Allah defiles those who have no faith. (Surat al-An'am: 125)
In the following pages, we will see how people who come under satan's control use the secret, silent language of evil to express their negativity and regard their actions as justifiable. In this way, we will uncover the game that satan is playing with human beings.
Secret methods of protest done through silence
and quietness
Satanic thoughts give rise to a negative personality with a special spiritual state. Keeping silent is one of the most important weapons of people in this spiritual state, who think that being calm and saying nothing is one of the best ways to express the discomfort they feel. In this way, they wish to draw the attention to themselves and make others feel that something is amiss. Their basic aim is to blame others for whatever situation they're in and to have them make restitution. This method is used widely by those whose lives do not conform to the moral teachings of the Qur'an.
Before they say anything, they assume a kind of behavior to make others think that something unusual is going on. When asked them, "What's wrong? Has something upset you? Can I help?" they generally use this spiritual state to save themselves. Then to these well-intentioned questions they give reticent and deliberately perfunctory answers: "It's nothing. It's just your imagination. I couldn't sleep, and I'm tired." Whenever possible, they make no further elaboration but remain silent, giving no details. Occasionally, they enter discussions with a terse sentence and a cold, official manner. They answer "Yes," "No," or "I don't know" in a curt particular tone of voice. When they want to attract the attention of others present, they continue their protests until these people take an interest in them and believe what the protesters want them to think. Once they have the attention they want, they gradually get over what is bothering them and, to give the impression that their emotional state is beyond their control, they behave as if "I'm feeling better now."
Their tone of voice slowly returns to normal after a few questions, interest and "tender loving care" from others. They gradually join in conversations, give the impression (hard as it may be) that they can be a part of the fun and finally, return to their normal state. They can overcome their negativity because they have shown that it was caused by the wrong behavior of others and that they were able to get over it only because these others changed their attitudes.
The fact that these people are sometimes able to draw the attention and interest of their acquaintances is not enough to satisfy their perverse behavior. Satan puts these individuals into this glum, negative spiritual state and makes them behave in a way that reveals that they don't know exactly what they want. In this condition, they cannot change their behavior whether or not people pay them attention . Once such an individual follows satan and begins to display a negative, "protesting" personality, he still has the willpower to escape from this situation if he wishes to—because he has got himself into this situation out of his own will. But it's not clear how his present spiritual state can be corrected. If he becomes lively and talkative and suddenly gives up this insincere behavior and acts with intelligence, it will be clear that he has done this deliberately by altering his behavior. But he does not because satan rules his mind. And, later, even if he wants to free himself from this condition, he chooses to continue his silent protests so that his insincerity will not be discovered. Satan takes advantage of this situation and draws him into another secret evil under the pretense that it will save him.
In such a situation, once again, it is those who listen to satan that who will suffer the greatest harm. They grow unhappy and discontent because of their negative spiritual state; they are always calculating and so cannot behave as their hearts direct them. They deliberately ignore the voice of their consciences; gradually this puts them into a state where they can no longer see the right path nor find any solution to their problems. Allah shrouds the understanding of those who are overwhelmed by satan's intimations and persist in them, and He renders them helpless, struggling desperately in their own insincerity. Then, they are turned into those very silent, self-centered, morose personalities that they used to do deliberately to make their protests. The mental and physical strength of those who have been desensitized and rendered speechless by satan's torments. The Qur'an gives us some examples to show the spiritual state of such individuals:
Allah makes another metaphor: two men, one of them deaf and dumb, unable to do anything, a burden on his master, no matter where he directs him he brings no good, is he the same as someone who commands justice and is on a straight path? (Surat an-Nahl: 76)
Another verse draws our attention to the state of these people:
The worst of beasts in Allah's sight are the deaf and dumb who have no intellect. (Surat al-Anfal: 22)
In the moral teachings of the Qur'an, there is no place for such a silent language, for suggestive behavior or the negative behavior comes from satan's influence. In everything, the believer's measure is the Qur'an. If there is any error, clearly it should be stated intelligently and eloquently, in keeping with the moral teachings of the Qur'an. Moreover, since those with faith take the voice of their consciences as their foundation, they accept every exhortation that agrees with the Qur'an and respond to it with greater acts of goodness.
Hidden betrayal in their eyes and the dark
expression on their faces
The eyes are an important measure of sincerity, reflecting every feeling in the human spirit. This characteristic is most evident in the eyes of believers who, along with their words and actions, reveal their fine moral character with their eyes. For this reason, their expressions are very clean, shiny and bright. From their eyes, we can see that have submitted to Allah and are deeply attached to Him, that they are honest, reliable, sincere, intelligent, conscientious and content.
But as for those who have fallen under the influence of satan, the faces cannot possibly display these qualities. Because of the negative spiritual state that satan has inculcated, their faces do not reflect contentment and security. On the contrary, their negative thoughts are reflected in their faces, and their dark, uncomprehending expressions do not reveal what they are thinking. They may believe that they give no sign of the satanic spiritual state within, yet their eyes prove that they nurture no good, positive thoughts. Such faces give the uneasy feeling that we do not know what else is hidden behind them.
These people are of course aware of their negative influence, of the sense of darkness and vileness that they wear on their faces. Perhaps they have entered this state because of something that happened to them, someone else's behavior, or their insincere misinterpretations of totally fabricated ideas. But they make use of these satanic methods to dissimulate their discontent to those around them. Allah tells us in the Qur'an that those whose consciences have been darkened by their evil deeds have faces shrouded by vileness.
But as for those who have earned bad actions—a bad action will be repaid with one the like of it. Debasement will darken them. They will have no one to protect them from Allah. It is as if their faces were covered by dark patches of the night. Those are the Companions of the Fire, remaining in it timelessly, for ever. (Surah Yunus: 27)
The faces of these individuals are indeed dark as night and the way they look is not normal. In their eyes it is very difficult to find comfortable expressions of contentment and peace. Their spiritual state is extremely negative, and their uneasiness and lack of trust in Allah is reflected in their eyes. This tension may cause a physical contraction, so that their eyes become very narrow and dull. Just as their minds are under satan's influence, so are their eyes. Normally, if there is no problem, a person's eyes do not have such a dull and uncomprehending look. The eyes of a normal, honest and sincere individual are wide open, lively and bright. The eyes of such a normal person take on a human understanding; they have a comfortable look, and this person can form relationships.
It is very tiring to look into the eyes of a person under satan's control. To be around someone who produces negative effects makes everyone uncomfortable.
At this point, it should be said that it is totally up to the individual to correct this perverse expression. When he puts aside the apprehensions in his heart and the evil thoughts coming from satan and, in their place, puts good thoughts in accord with the Qur'an, his face's expression—Allah willing—becomes bright and beautiful. Because of his fine moral character and submission to Allah, the light in his face and the way he looks grow even deeper. But, because these people deliberately put on these expressions for a specific purpose, they deliberately avoid the effort it would take to reverse the situation.
In the Qur'an, Allah tells us in many verses that the way a person looks is important in getting to know him, and that facial expressions are an important means of recognizing a hypocrite: "If We wished, We would show them to you and you would know them by their mark... " (Surah Muhammad: 30)
In the Qur'an, Allah gives us examples of the facial expressions of a group of insincere individuals who lived at the time of our Prophet (saas). In this verse, it says that the perversity of the way they looked at our Prophet (saas) was very great: "Those who disbelieve all but strike you down with their evil looks... " (Surat al-Qalam: 51)
But no matter what their facial expressions, people should remember one important truth: Allah sees them at every moment. He tells us this in the Qur'an: "Eyesight cannot perceive Him but He perceives eyesight. He is the All-Penetrating, the All-Aware." (Surat al-An'am: 103) In another verse, He draws our attention to people whose eyes have a judgmental and treacherous look, and to what they have hidden in their hearts:
He knows the eyes' deceit and what people's breasts conceal. (Surah Ghafir: 19)
Those who are immersed in satan's influence, and who secretly nurse unseemly moral qualities in their hearts, may cloak their real intentions and carefully avoid behavior in which these unseemly qualities are displayed. But they will be held responsible in the world to come for the look in their eyes reflecting the satanic spiritual state within them. Even though someone pays careful attention to all his other actions, he may commit a sin simply because of the evil that remains within him and is reflected in his looks. Therefore, he may not win Allah's favor and go to the Garden. (Allah knows the truth). In the Qur'an, Allah reminds us of people who have not accepted their responsibilities in this life and who, therefore, will be full of regret in the life to come. He warns all people about this danger:
... when the Hour comes upon them suddenly, they will say, "Alas for what we neglected there!" They will bear their burdens on their backs. How evil is what they bear! (Surat al-An'am: 31)
Their negative and pessimistic manner
To draw those under satan’s insidious control into behaving outside the limits imposed in the Qur'an, satan teaches them several ways of speaking negatively. But they are careful that their manner of speaking should not betray its satanic aspects. One basic characteristic is that at first, their conversation seems positive. From the general scope of what is being said, a listener thinks that the speaker is very edifying and that his words conform to the Qur'an. This is the sense that comes from the general scope of what is being said. But gradually, through subtle methods, a satanic logic takes over that has nothing to do with the Qur'an.
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