Friday Nasiha

Al-Humazah (The Slanderer)
Chapter 104: Verses 1-4

Woe to every back-biting slanderer who amasses wealth and sedulously hoards it, thinking his wealth will secure him immortality. By no means! he shall be thrown into the all-consuming fire.

Commentary:

Slander is, and has been, one of the most effective weapons of propaganda used against believers throughout history. In modern times, propaganda and psychological warfare of this kind have been much more systematic and effective.

As the Quranic revelation was being received by Muhammad, peace be upon him, groups of Makkans who were wealthy and did not need to earn their livelihood would gather together to mock the Muslims and scoff at Muhammad and Islam. This sura was revealed as a warning and a threat to those slanderers.

Slanderous activity takes various forms including verbal jeering and abuse, or gestures and gesticulations. It can be expressed in writing or caricatures or depictions of all kinds. Slanderers are usually idle people, with money and time to spare, or people who are paid to pursue such wasteful and futile activity. They should however, beware of God's wrath. They shall be entrapped in a towering inferno, from which they shall have no means of escape.

[Compiled from "A Thematic Commentary on the Quran" by Shaykh Muhammad Al-Ghazali, p. 753]

Born Sinless

Narrated by Abu Hurayrah who quotes the Prophet, peace be upon him as saying:
“Every human being is born with upright nature. His parents then make him a Jew, a Christian, or a Magian.”
[Bukhari, Muslim]

A hadith related by Muslim quotes the Prophet as saying:
"God says, 'I have created My servants following the pure faith. Satans then assaulted them and removed them from their faith, forbidding them what I have made lawful."

Al-Aswad ibn Sari reports: "I joined God's Messenger in four expeditions. Once, when our people had killed enemy fighters, they also attacked their children. On hearing this, the Prophet was very angry and rebuked them saying:
'How is it that some people attack children?' One man said: 'Messenger of God, are they not the children of unbelievers?' He said: 'The best among you have been born to unbelievers. Let it be known that every human being is born following the right faith. He will continue to do so until he is able to express himself. His parents then make of him a Jew or a Christian.'"

[Taken from "In the Shade of the Quran" by Sayyid Qutb, Vol 6, pp. 267-268]

This will be a series based on the book "Building a New Society"

Mass Manipulation

Manipulation of ordinary people is taking place through social engineering, moulding of language, and through the mass media.

The movers and shakers of our societies, who influence the financial institutions, the mass media and policy making, are shaping, whether intentionally or not, our social condition and common future. They control money, the flow and quality of information, and they influence public opinion, lifestyles and social systems. Their means include erection of social and political hierarchies, influencing educational and social policies, and by indoctrinating people through advertisements, entertainments and the media in general.

Moreover, by influencing and manipulating language, the attitudes of ordinary people are being affected, and their perception of the world around them altered. Language is also being directed towards giving new or different meanings to words and terms, and hence introducing, changing or modifying ideas, concepts and values. In this way, practices which people once found offensive or morally wrong, are now beginning to be tolerated and accepted by them.

In addition, certain cultural values and lifestyles are constantly promoted, via the television and radio, into every home, creating a desire in individuals to adopt and follow. Films, advertisements, magazines, night clubs, gambling shops, and the like, all promote certain social habits and re-enforce social structures, assisting in maintaining certain people and groups on top of the social hierarchy and in promoting consumerism. Coupled with all this, mass communication technology has enabled cultural imperialism to reach global levels.

[Compiled from "Building a New Society", by Zahid Parvez, pp. 81, 82]