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Don't loose against this, its eating identities silently.
Introduction:
Our identity drives our morality, actions, and behaviours. “Why we do what we do” is shaped from birth by culture, education, teachings, values, and virtues. Over time, the brain stores these inputs and sets standards often borrowed from society, media, schooling, life experiences, and our own perceptions of our place in the world.
These factors shape an identity that is often misaligned with what it should be. Confirmation Bias then locks it in: the mind seeks patterns that affirm current beliefs and ignores what challenges them. We feel satisfied, “on the right track,” yet deep inside we drift sometimes unknowingly.
This article highlights a tiny but important factor in that drift: proverbs, slogans, and slang sentences.
They look harmless and even “right” at face value. They neatly fill cognitive gaps when we try to make sense of life, behaviour, and action. Gradually they reprogram beliefs and drive value‑laden, automatic thinking.
“Majority is Authority”
This “right‑looking” line quietly corrupts core parts of Muslim identity:
Tauheed:
It contradicts the first requirement of being Muslim: “There is NO DEITY except ALLAH.” We say “La ilaha illa ALLAH,” yet our behaviour bows to “majority.” In effect, what most people say or do becomes the authority (ASTAGHFIRULLAH) regardless of being moral or immoral, right or wrong, truth or fabrication. We skip pausing to ask “what the True and Only Authority has commanded?”, and start treating majority as authority.
“Legislation is not but for Allah. He has commanded that you worship not except Him. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know.” Qur’an [12:40]
Morality:
Undermining “Tauheed” erodes everything that rests on it. People begin assuming that what the majority says must be right; sidestepping the commandments of ALLAH Almighty.
Amazingly Allah says in Surah Al-An’aam (The Cattle):
“And if you obey most of those upon the earth, they will mislead you from the way of Allah. They follow not except assumption, and they are not but misjudging.” Qur’an [6:116]
Muslim History:
Again and again, the righteous stood in the minority and still held firm to the commandments of the Almighty:
“Majority is Authority” slips into our mental gaps and becomes habit. It then shapes behaviour in different life situations: classic Herd Psychology, Social Influence, and Conformity. Our first response becomes “it should be right because everyone is doing it.” Social Influence whispers “not everyone can be wrong,” and we gradually reshape our ideology for mass acceptance i.e. Conformity.
“Might is Right”
Short. Memorable. Easy on the tongue. But we never asked “What actually is Might?? Undefined, it becomes a projection screen. People fill it from personal knowledge, influence, and experience. The sentence is absolutely right only when “Might” means Divine Might. None besides ALLAH defines right and wrong. Left unexplained, people imagine “might” as human power; shaped by society, education, and media.
The result: morality gets distorted, and unthinking obedience grows, whatever the powerful say must be right. While the standards set by ALLAH and His beloved Prophet PBUH are ignored.
“All that glitters is not gold.”
True! and it belongs here. Proverbs are sticky and often wise, but not always. Many of them deliberately or unknowingly corrupt core values through “right‑looking” phrases. So not every glittering proverb, slang, idiom, or “universal truth” is gold.
THINGS TO DO:
To keep this short, here’s the practical posture: whenever a thought or decision is nudged by a phrase, slogan, idiom, or common saying. Pause and Think! For practice, analyze these for both positive and negative impacts:
WHAT'S THE SOLUTION?
There is an urgent need to do three things. Each person should act at their own level, and specially educators with strong command of language (English, Urdu, Punjabi, Arabic) should lead:
These should be used widely in daily conversation so they transmit to future generations.
Muhammad Danish Hassan
IF2
