Once you begin to understand Shaitan's tactics, you realize that in ever walk of life, at some time or the other these tactics have been used on us too. Or someone we know has given us "well - meaning" advice or criticism that resembles the tactics we have explored so far:
5. Attractive Titles
Shaitan has give attractive sounding titles to sins, so that on the surface they are given a soft image and in the long run people's perceptions also soften towards them it they no longer appear as something grave and immoral: For example A child born out of wedlock is called "Love child" or "Flower Child" and the act of committing Zina (adultery) has been labelled "Making Love" .
So this way the gravest of actions in the sight of Allah has been made to sound rosy and acceptable and today it isn't considered something immoral. Rather just an expression of one's love and desires nothing more. But in reality these very acts have resulted in broken homes and single parent families but Shaitan steers our thoughts away from these cold hard facts.
Another example of this can be seen when people try to justify their wrongdoing under the guise of "acts of kindness" . Such as when people organize "charity concerts" now we won't get into the whole why is music not allowed debate but even if you leave the song singing and head banging out of the picture. Imagine this, if you wanted to collect money for a good cause to please Allah and you robbed a bank for that , do you think that your charity will be accepted by Allah?
Similarly for sake of charity you provide a means for people to indulge in immoral behavior and freely mingle with the opposite sex . Then do you really think all your efforts to raise money for some good cause will be accepted by Allah? And let's be real no one sits quietly in a concert and appreciates the singer's talent , don't kid yourself :P
6. The Deen of Convenience
People often mention Islam as the as a religion that is easy to follow. While at the face of it there is nothing wrong with this statement. In fact Islam is the only religion that addresses all of man's needs and aspirations, the way no other religion can, Alhamdulillah.
But , Shaitan has gotten his way with us in this case too. He tells you that Islam is the Deen of convenience and reminds you that look one can even pray while laying down if one is too ill to sit and pray so something that is slightly challenging is not part of the deen. Those are some warped up concepts that the 'extremists' have.
And before you know it, the hijaab is too challenging, the salah is too challenging and oh lets not forget 'music is my lifeline' its too challenging for me to give up. We end up just focusing on our convenience and as a result we forget that Islam is only about Pleasing Allah our desires are secondary to pleasing Him.
One might argue how do I know what is right and not stretching too far out into the the realm of "extremism"? Interestingly enough, our Deen becomes "extreme" when instead of following the Sunnah we follow our nafs. And instead of the Quran being our guide, we let culture be our guide. So, you might call that a "liberal" way of practicing Islam but in reality it is "extremism". Why? Because people cling to tightly to cultural and social constraints and suddenly deen becomes restrained to a few rituals with little meaning. When someone corrects you, you call them extremists without even stopping for a moment to think about what they are saying. Is that not extremism?
Life will not always be smooth or convenient, at least not in this dunya.
Allah swt tells us in the Glorious Quran:
Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: "We believe," and will not be tested .And We indeed tested those who were before them. And Allâh will certainly make (it) known (the truth of) those who are true, and will certainly make (it) known (the falsehood of) those who are liars, (although Allâh knows all that before putting them to test) .Or think those who do evil deeds that they can outstrip Us (i.e. escape Our Punishment)? Evil is that which they judge!
(Surah Al - Ankaboot 29 : 2 - 4)
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