Perception

This short verse is part of a passage that lists basic commandments and ethical principles. At first sight, it looks somewhat inconspicious and is sometimes not given the same attention as more emotionally charged issues like idolatry, killing or adultery that are mentioned a few verses before. Besides, its extraordinary wording and its wide range of meanings have often been a challenge for the commentators.

One aspect of it is: Do not pursue what does not concern you; do not interfere with things that are none of your business. This links up with the instructions in Surah 49:12, "You who have faith, avoid much suspicion because some suspicion is transgression, and do not spy on each other and do not backbite ...". In Islam, respecting people's privacy and diginity has always been an important value.

At this point, the first half of the introductory verse is, so to speak, a double-edged sword. While it teaches people to mind their own business, it can also be used to discourage others from asking legitimate and necessary questions. Are there actually clear standards to differentiate between idle curiosity and the obligation to clarify matters and to aquire knowledge? And what does it mean that "the eye, the ear and the heart - they all will be taken to account"?

Perhaps it helps to have a closer look at another aspect. To follow something also means to let oneself be guided by it: Do not base your conclusions and actions on what you do not know, on assumptions, preconceptions, rumours, strong emotions or anything else that might influence your perception. That would be considered a premature judgement, a pre-judice. This again connects with "do not backbite": do not accept and spread assumptions and rumours. The Qur'an compares backbiting and slander to cannibalism: "Would any of you want to eat his dead brother's/sister's flesh?"

This sounds very serious. At the same time, there is a widespread trend to take it lightly. Why, some gossip between neighbours and collegues seems to be the most natural thing in the world, doesn't it? But in the apparently harmless social interaction there can suddenly be a moment when, out of carelessness or some personal ill-will, another person's reputation is damaged in the process. A completely innocent individual may lose friends, may be rejected or despised by those who believe and act upon the rumours they hear so that life becomes difficult for him or her. This is why, in English, it is termed character assassination.

It happens again and again, intentionally or unintentionally, between individuals but also between groups. In the latter case, such prejudices are sometimes rationalized and assume quite sophisticated structures and develop into complete belief systems and ideologies. This is not even exaggerated. Nationalism, sexism and racism are examples for ideologies that are based on the assumption that one's own nation, gender or race, respectively, is superior to that of the "other" that is considered deficient and even threatening. The world is then perceived through the lense of that ideology. Both the sense of proportions and the ability for self-criticism get lost in the process. It is not like an opinion that is open to a rational discussion but rather a pseudo-religious belief that determins the world view, value system and behaviour of its adherents. That is why elsewhere in the Qur'an, the phrase "that of which you have no knowledge" has been used for idols, for anything that is given an authority that is only due to God alone.

This kind of perception has a special role in a situation of rivalry and conflict. It reinforces a hostile attitude against the "other" who is perceived or portrayed as a threat - there are hardly any clear boundaries between the two, and sometimes there is a vicious circle of fear and incitement that aggravates the situation and makes the "other" appear less human. Well, human beings make mistakes, they are sometimes unreliable, unjust, overbearing - but those "others" are just "evil". This is how demonization works. It is, as it were, a complete system of "virtual reality" that can then be used to legitimize violent actions against "them". War, persecution and genocide would not be possible without it.

In order to interrupt the vicious circle of violence and demonization, the Qur'an not only teaches general commandments and ethical principles like the ones we are discussing right now but also makes practical suggestions to prevent hasty decisions and escalation: "... when you are abroad on God's path, then investigate and do not say to someone who meets you with a greeting of peace, 'You are not a faithful person,' desiring the advantages of the worldly life ...," (Surah 4:94) or "if an unreliable person comes to you with news, then investigate that you do not harm people unintentionally and later on have to feel sorry for what you have done" (Surah 49:6). The Qur'an even goes so far to advise the Prophet Muhammad, "And if (the enemies) incline towards peace then do incline towards it as well and trust in God. He is the Hearing, the Knowing. And if they want to deceive you, then God is sufficient for you. He strengthens you with His help and with the faithful" (Surah 8:61-62). Obviously the strength that counts from the Qur'anic perspective is moral strength.

Very often, however, all this is forgotten in the heat of a conflict until it is too late and something terrible has happened. Then everyone is shocked. How could this happen? What happened to our perception? Didn't we have eyes to look beyond the portrayed demons and see our opponents as human, as created by God like ourselves with the same desires and worries, possibilities and limitations? Didn't we have ears to listen to "their" point of view and hear undertones that point to an opening for mutual understanding rather than exclusively to the voices that played with our fears in order to drag us along into something our conscience wouldn't normally agree with? Didn't we have a heart to understand that, whatever our differences may be, we are all human beings, trapped in fears and expectations, and that it is therefore necessary to look for solutions other than meaningless violence and destruction?

It is quite possible that, if we make use of our eyes, ears and hearts, to break through the barrier of self-deception and distorted images of the "Other" and to clear our perception. A simple first step is to stop talking about each other and start or continue talking with each other. In order to achieve justice and peace, it is essential that we open our eyes to see each other's perspective, that we open our ears and listen to each other's pain, that we revive our hearts in order to come to a better understanding of each other and our shared responsibility.

God, let us be among those who leave behind the domain of the tyrants and who keep away from the influence of the fools and who let the fruits of their actions grow in the sunlight of sincerity and who seek to drink from the fountain of wisdom and who embark on the ship of insight in order to be anchored at the coast of truthfulness.

The supplication was transmitted from the mystic Dhun-Nun Misri.

(c) Halima Krausen, 2006