I had a thought, which I wanted to share. There is a powerful and misguiding mentality which has taken deep roots within the Muslim community, namely, being heavily influenced by the concept of “what will people say” about one’s actions and choices. This mentality is often clothed under the guise of righteousness so that Muslims adopt it. They claim that if someone fails to care about what others say about them then they will become shameless. In reality, shamelessness is rooted in not caring about the divine vision, hearing and judgment of Allah, the Exalted, not the criticism of people, as most of their criticism has no value in the sight of Islam and one can easily hide their shameless behaviour from people.
The mentality of “what will people say” affects and corrupts many aspects of a person’s life and faith. Arguably, the most dangerous affect it has is that a Muslim begins to perform good deeds for the sake of people instead of for the sake of pleasing Allah, the Exalted. For example, a Muslim will only attend a relative’s funeral simply to please their other relatives and not in order to please Allah, the Exalted. This Muslim will find that on Judgement Day they will be told to gain their reward for their insincere good deeds from the people their acted for, which will not be possible to do. This has been confirmed in a Hadith found in Jami At Tirmidhi, number 3154. It is important to note that one should not behave to please people as this is minor polytheism and also leads to the loss of reward, as Allah, the Exalted, is free from any partners.
The mentality of “what will people say” also encourages Muslims to behave in ways that are disliked by Islam, such as being extravagant, wasteful and excessive. For example, the majority of Muslim weddings aim to please the relatives of the married couple, as their fear the criticism of people. This causes them to spend lavishly and wastefully.
This mentality can also encourage one to commit sins in order to protect oneself from the criticism of people.
The mentality of “what will people say” also prevents Muslims from acting on the teachings of the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, as their teachings often contradict the silly cultural beliefs and practices Muslims have adopted. Fear of being criticised by people prevents one from abandoning their cultural practices for the sake of the two sources of guidance.
The mentality of “what will people say” also prevents Muslims from making the right choices which will lead to their happiness and well-being. For example, many Muslims remain in abusive marriages simply out of fear of the criticism of people, especially their relatives, if they get divorced.
Finally, the mentality of “what will people say” prevents one from making good lawful choices as they fear the criticism of people. For example, muslims from certain countries will not let their children marry Muslims from different countries as their fear the criticism of their relatives, even though the marriage proposals are lawful and good.
It is the duty of a Muslim to act in order to please Allah, the Exalted. They must fulfil the rights of people according to the teachings of Islam but this does not mean they should act to please them. It means they must fulfil their rights according to the teachings of Islam whether the people are pleased with them or not. Their pleasure or lack of it is irrelevant. The one who acts according to the pleasure of people will never find peace and happiness in this world nor will they ever obtain the praise of people. Whereas, acting to please Allah, the Exalted, leads to peace and happiness in both worlds. Chapter 13 Ar Ra’d, verse 28:
“…Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah do hearts find peace.”
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