The Religion Of The Ignorant

Believers of noble characters seek only the approval of Allah and compete with one another in doing good. In order to please Allah, what matters is not the skill that people show in accumulating wealth and property, but how much they consider His approval in what they do. The cleverness acceptable in the sight of Allah is constantly observing the interests of believers, raising their levels of well-being, always seeking the greatest measure of Allah's approval, refusing to be swept away by evil and worldly desires and to be deceived by satan and his whisperings, constantly increasing in faith and reason and improving moral values. In this way, the noble characters of Muslims who seek maximum approval from Allah are reflected outwardly. This is described in the Qur'an:

Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are fierce to the disbelievers, merciful to one another. You see them bowing and prostrating, seeking Allah's good favor and His pleasure. Their mark is on their faces, the traces of prostration. That is their likeness in the Torah. And their likeness in the Gospel is that of a seed which puts up a shoot and makes it strong so that it thickens and grows up straight upon its stalk, filling the sowers with delight—so that by them He may infuriate the disbelievers. Allah has promised those of them who believe and do right actions forgiveness and an immense reward. (Surat al-Fath, 29)

The Psychology of Imposition

In Ignorantism, controlling and establishing dominion over the others, and directing them in the manner one wants are important and necessary for survival, as is portraying oneself as different from how one really is. This may be summarized as imposing one's will. In the Religion of the Ignorant, one of the ways of rising to the top is mastery of the art of imposing one's will on others, which has its own unique techniques and tactics. This is such an important matter that a great many books have been written offering advice on the subject.

Naturally, the most important means employed in imposing one's will on others are finding weaknesses in others that stem from features of Ignorantism. The more an individual's character conforms to the Religion of the Ignorant, the greater his weaknesses, and thus capacity to be imposed on.

Weaknesses such as pride and arrogance, the desire to put on a show, the urge to be praised and appreciated, sentimentality, portraying oneself as different to how one really is, and efforts to take advantage of situations, can easily be manipulated with expert techniques in any direction one wishes.

The people to be imposed upon—who might be anyone, from a public employee to a bridegroom candidate that one is too keen to marry—must possess some means that could possibly secure an advantage for one. In all social arenas—business, school, commerce, politics, social life, marriage—there are people that might be of assistance to others, that might help them secure an advantage of some sort, or help them strengthen their social position, once they have been imposed upon. All that is necessary is that the necessary connection be established in light of the relevant position and conditions.

The degrees of imposition are directly proportional to the expertise, effort and determination of the individual doing the imposing. In the same way, the cleverness, expectations and weaknesses of the person being imposed affect that imposition and its extent.

13- Hangers-On

Another character revealed by Ignorantism is the hanger-on. The most obvious of these people live as though they were rich when they are not actually so, wear expensive clothes and live in good houses they really cannot afford, even though their families are in difficult financial circumstances. Such people come by these means by riding on the coattails of someone they specially select. They live their lives by using that person's money, acquaintances, and everything else they possess. In return they perform various functions, such as doing all that person's dirty work, satisfying their wishes and maintaining their self-confidence.