Don't Just Follow the Crowd

There will come a time upon mankind when the one who is patient and holds firmly to his religion will be like one grasping burning coals.

Volume 3: Chapter 69: Number 2260

At-Tirmidzi. (2008). Sunan Al-Tirmithi. Translated by Haytham Kreidly.

Ever felt pressured to go along with the crowd? With all the social pressure and environmental influences around us, it's so easy to just drift along. Being good when others are good, being bad when the environment turns toxic. But Islam teaches us something different, to stand firm on our principles, regardless of what others are doing.

Have Your Own Principles! Rasulullah (ﷺ) said: "Don't be the type of person who just follows the crowd, saying: 'If people do good, I'll do good. If they do wrong, I'll do wrong too.'" "Instead, strengthen your heart. When people do good, you do good. But when they do evil, don't follow them into wrongdoing."

We shouldn't be a "yes man" who always goes along with the crowd, especially when it comes to negative behavior just because we're scared of being left behind or dealing with FOMO. For example:Your friends are bullying someone, so you join in to look like you're part of the crew. Everyone at the office gossips, so you do it too to avoid being an outsider. Cancel culture is blowing up, so you join the pile-on without even knowing the full story.

Don't have the mindset of "If people are good, I'll be good. If people are bad, I'll be bad too." What the Prophet taught us is to strengthen our hearts to always do good, no matter what.

Admittedly, it's not easy. People say things like "I'm exhausted from always being good," "I don't want to miss out or fall behind," or they feel alone because they're being excluded. But difficult doesn't mean impossible. This is where we discover who we really are. Do we only do good when it's convenient? Or do we keep doing good even when it's tough?

In Surah Al-Isra': 36, Allah says: "Do not follow what you have no ˹sure˺ knowledge of. Indeed, all will be called to account for ˹their˺ hearing, sight, and intellect."