وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يُعْجِبُكَ قَوْلُهُ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيُشْهِدُ اللّهَ عَلَى مَا فِي قَلْبِهِ وَهُوَ أَلَدُّ الْخِصَام * وَإِذَا تَوَلَّى سَعَى فِي الأَرْضِ لِيُفْسِدَ فِيِهَا وَيُهْلِكَ الْحَرْثَ وَالنَّسْلَ وَاللّهُ لاَ يُحِبُّ الفَسَادَ
سورۃ البقرة, آيۃ 204-205There is the type of man whose speech about this world’s life may dazzle thee, and he calls Allah to witness about what is in his heart; yet is he the most contentious of enemies. When he turns his back, his aim everywhere is to spread mischief through the earth and destroy crops and cattle. But Allah loveth not mischief.
Surah 2, Verses 204-5
One day the guidance counselor came into the principal’s office and asked him if he could devote fifteen minutes to her because she wanted to talk to him. “Yes, of course, please come in and let me hear what you have to say”, he replied. The counselor said that this time she did not want to talk about the problems of pupils or general school issues. “I’ve come to talk about something to do with you”, she said. The principal was surprised. “With me?” he asked. “Don’t be alarmed, I want to talk to you about the chemistry teacher. I can see that she impresses you, but I want to tell you that a number of teachers and pupils have complained to me about her and her teaching methods. They say she is arrogant, that she does nothing at all but tries to impress you. So every time she sees you she starts working busily and tidying up, but when you are not around she sits in the teachers’ lounge and drinks coffee”. The counselor added: “I’m telling you this because I want to warm you against people who make too good an impression so that you can know which of the teachers really works and which one doesn’t”. To make her meaning clear, the counselor read him Verses 204-205 from Surah 2: “There is the type of man whose speech about this world’s life may dazzle thee, and he calls Allah to witness about what is in his heart; yet is he the most contentious of enemies. When he turns his back, his aim everywhere is to spread mischief through the earth and destroy crops and cattle. But Allah loveth not mischief”.
Each of us may be dazzled from time to time by people who create a false impression. At such times it is difficult to exercise caution. For example, we all enjoy being complimented but the compliment may be insincere. Sometimes an individual can charm us by his appearance, his personality or his eloquence. This may be the case with the chemistry teacher and the principal. She knows what he want to see and is , but behind his back she acts differently. In this case the counselor reminded the principal that the Quran too cautions us against such people and God does not love their conduct. Thus it teaches us to rely on ourselves and not to be deceived by false impressions.