The art of deception – an article about some of the techniques that people purposely use to mislead people from the truth.
With the name of Allah most Beneficient ever Merciful
During the era of the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, a group of disbelieving Jews decided to use a certain tactic to make the Muslims doubt their religion.
They accepted Islam and read the fajar prayer but at night they used to revert to their old religion. They wanted the weak Muslims to doubt their religion and think that they (the hypocrites) left the religion because they found some shortcoming in the religion. Allah Subhanatallah exposed their scheme.
“And a party of the People of the Scripture say: “Believe in the morning in that which is revealed to the believers, and reject it at the end of the day, so that they may turn back.” Al Quran 3:72
Even in the modern era that we live in, advanced physiological techniques and marketing strategies are used to, not only make money, but to also promote ideologies and change the thought patterns of the masses.
These techniques are so advanced that most of us are unaware that people are interfering with our minds and changing the way we behave and think.
Everywhere we turn we are bombarded with this propaganda machine: the TV, the newspapers, the Internet, the street poles and even innocent people become organs of this propaganda machine and they in turn influence others in social gatherings, schools and places of worship.
These techniques have become so cunning and intricate that most people cannot understand them any longer. Even the few that sense that something is not right have extreme difficulty in exactly pin pointing what is wrong.
Consider: How did a happy word such as ‘gay’ suddenly be associated in a short span of a few years with ‘homosexual’ or in colloquial terms a ‘moffie’, a ‘queer’ or a ‘faggot’.
The word ‘gay’ has positive connotations while words such as ‘homosexual’, ‘moffie’, ‘queer’ or ‘faggot’ have negative connotations. Just one simple word can have such a profound impact on the way we perceive things.
Similarly drugs, alcohol, gambling, murder, wars, women dressing flirtatiously and everything else that is against a wholesome way of life is portrayed in a positive light by the media.
During the past one hundred years the media has had a profound influence on the way humanity perceives things and those involved in the media are the people that end up shaping the way humanity behaves.
A single frame of popcorn spliced into a movie does not register in our conscious mind but still it has the power of making us want to eat popcorn. Imagine then what a minute of watching two homosexuals fondling each other would do to us.
The media has to constantly come up with new ideas to remain in business and it explores every aspect of humanity immaterial whether it results in good or bad.
We currently live in a world dominated by the west and no matter how hard we may try to avoid being influenced by the west; we are in one way or another, subconsciously being indoctrinated along this path.
Exposed to a lie that is repeatedly told slowly grows to become the truth in our minds and an obnoxious, abdominal act repeatedly portrayed as good, becomes wholesome in our minds. We as Muslims are always the target of non-Muslims.
“Many of the People of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) wish that they could turn you away as disbelievers after you have believed, out of envy from their own selves, even after the truth (that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger) has become manifest unto them…. Al Quran 2:109.
Muslims and Islam is more often than not portrayed as a backward, evil way of life. The movie ‘Veer Zara’ opens with a haggard prisoner depicted behind bars while the azaan is heard in the background, just like the movie ‘midnight express’.
What does this imply?
Then this movie moves on to a scene where a Muslim woman is mocked by a bearded Muslim man because she is working as a lawyer and then she goes on to make statements that the Muslim women of Pakistan are oppressed and she wants to bring about freedom for them.
Even the tone of their voices is used to influence people making some look good while others bad. Thus in every turn of this movie Muslims are deviously portrayed badly while in contrast the Hindus of India are portrayed well.
A young naive Muslim watching this movie could so very easily be influenced by it and follow a western way of life.
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Some eloquent speech has the influence of magic (e.g., some people refuse to do something and then a good eloquent speaker addresses them and then they agree to do that very same thing after his speech). “Sahih Bu- kari vol. 7 Book 62 No. 76
Not only the media, but everyone today, uses techniques to influence others. Right from the beggar, to the multi million rand corporations—everyone vigorously and ruthlessly markets their products and ideologies. Sadly it has even crept into religion.
We today live in an era where superficial appearances are used to influence the gullibility of people. We all use these tactics and we all fall for them. Right from our places of worship to the way we appear to others; it is all about using superficial marketing strategies to make a statement or to make an impression on others.
The emphasis today is not so much about the quality of the product but it is about how it appears and how it is presented. Imagine buying a dress from a small, dingy, over packed shop with poor lighting and buying the same dress from a fancy shop in an upmarket mall.
Imagine listening to a poor imam who delivers a simple sermon with simple language in a simple mosque and listening to a well groomed imam who uses fancy words to tell you something you never heard before;
Imagine an ordinary Muslim man without a beard and another Muslim man dressed in a kurta, a turban, a black mark on his forehead, a tasbee in his hand, a miswak in his top pocket.
The question is not whether the dress in the small shop is cheaper or that the simple Imam is giving better advice, or the pious looking man is pious but it is about how people market themselves.
it is about how we influence people or how they influence us; it is about seeing things for what they are and not what they are made out to be, it is about being who we are and not trying to put up an image.
It is about truly experiencing spirituality instead of being deceived into feeling pious by our hijabs, beards or the atmosphere created in the mosque by its architecture and deco.
Our weddings at one time were simple yet enjoyable affairs but today it is about marketing and presenting. Even the people that attend suddenly become stiff in their suits, sit politely and daintily sip juice from campaign glasses.
Although we spend so much more on our weddings today, we have far fewer guests because we spend more on the marketing and presenting side than on trying to accommodate more of our relatives.
Our homes before were bustling with people but today they are spick and span, standing in attention, waiting for that visitor to come so that they could impress them, but alas, so few come.
Consider the following hadith: “The Prophet, peace be upon him, said “When you will decorate your mosque with multicolored workmanship and the Quran with gold and silver, your condition will then be deplorable.” Ihya Uloom id deen Vol 3:page 318.
This is talking about our times; this hadith is partly about marketing and presenting. We cannot say that marketing is lying but can we honestly say, from the depths of our hearts that it isn’t ?
The Prophet ﷺ has said: “Lawful things are clear and unlawful things are also clear and between them there are doubtful things. Most of the people do not know them. He who saves himself from doubtful things purifies his honour and religion. He who falls in doubtful things may fall in unlawful things like the shepherd who has got chance of falling into reserved grazing ground if he grazes his flock of sheep round it. What is troublesome and unknown to the majority of the people are the doubtful things which should be discussed. (Ihy Uloom id Deen Chapter Halaal $ Haraam.)
This is where marketing and presenting falls – doubtful things.
This is our problem today. Our main areas of our religion such as prayer, fasting, hajj etc. are not the areas wherein we face challenge.
However we are changing when it comes to the things we regard as small and it is these changes that are causing all our problems.
Our Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, and the previous generations did not care much for wealth, pomp and creating an impression while we today seek only to create an impression.
The presenters on our radio stations and the people that give the talks in our mosques sometimes imitate the western way of speaking, they use high words, they try to mention unnecessary detail in order to impress on people that they know more than them; some capitalize on using concepts like ‘women’s rights’, ‘liberation’, ‘democracy’, ‘dawa’, ‘salaah’ etc. to trap people into following them.
This is all artificial. The Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, won over people’s hearts and this is not something you can do by using marketing stunts and fancy words.
When Hazrath Omar (RA) was the Caliph, his rule extended throughout the previous Roman and Persian empires yet he could dress like an ordinary man and sleep on the ground.
Quite often, when he spoke, he talked as if he was a sinner too instead of bragging about how pious he was. Truth does not need to be dressed up and true people do not market themselves even in the smallest way.
As Muslims we should be following these examples.
In surah Fatiha, it should have been sufficient for Allah Subhanatallah to have revealed: “Guide us on the straight path, the path of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace.” but He adds on “and not the path of those who earn Your anger.”
This is like saying turn right at the robot and do not turn left. It is not necessary to add ‘do not turn left’. Allah Subhanatallah is not stupid to repeat Himself.
There is great wisdom in this. This is a warning and it is drawing our attention to the fact that these wicked people are cunning and we need to be extra careful of them.
We need to ponder and think about who we get our religion from. There is no excuse for being fooled because Allah Subhanatallah will still hold us accountable for our actions although someone else deceived us.
“He (- God) will say, Enter into the Fire along with the communities that have passed away before you, from among the jinns and ordinary people.’ Every time a (new) community enters it, it curses its sister (evil-doing community), until when they have all followed one another into it, the last of them will say with regard to the first of them (-the leaders), Our Lord! these led us astray so give them punishment of the Fire over and over again.’ He will say, ‘Everyone is having (his punishment) over and over again, but you do not know (about one another).’ And the first of them, (- their leaders) will say to the last of them (- the followers), (If we are to blame), you (too) are no better than we. Suffer therefore, the punishment of your (evil) deeds.”” AL Quran 7:38
Dajjal too will be about appearances and reality. His heaven will actually be hell and his hell will actually be heaven. Al Hadis 4:39:4:9
If we do not want to be fooled and if we want to learn more about all these tactics then we must stop fooling others and the best way to do this is to base our lives on practicality instead of looks and appearances.
The purpose of a pair of shoes is to protect the feet but today the emphases is more on appearance, so much so much that the shoes loses its functionality. A pair of high heel shoes is impractical; It is difficult to walk with such shoes and it can so easily cause harm.
Clothes are there to cover our bodies but today women wear tight jeans because they get people’s attention with them. This tight pair of jeans is impractical because it is uncomfortable and it loses its purpose of covering.
On the contrary it reveals the woman’s shape and it is designed to incite or arouse the men folk. Mags on a car are aesthetically pleasing but it is unpractical because it increases the petrol consumption, is more expensive and is heavier on the bearings etc.
When we practice practicality and rationality then we would also become discerning. We would be able to see things for what they are and not what they are made out to be.
On the spiritual side, seeking attention by presenting ourselves to be pious, knowledgeable, amounts to praising ourselves.
As Muslims we are taught that all praises belong to Allah and by seeking attention we are setting ourselves up as oppositions to Allah Subhanatallah.
Realistically we all do this in some way or another because we all have carnal desires. It is the challenge we as human’s face and we must try to overcome our baser desires. End
Read more about; how our ambitions and feelings will determine whether we are fooled or not in:
Peace and salutations be upon Allah’s Messengers who are responsible for guiding humanity throughout time. Ameen.
Published by Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi.
The Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi was founded by Dr/Hakim Hazrath Khwaja Sayed Shareef Ahmed Ali Shah RA (lovingly known as Hazrath Poona Wale Shah Saab RA).
Author: Mohamed Hassan Gaffoor WhatsApp; +27 84 910 1486