“Whoever adopts a good practice and introduces it to others he will receive its reward for both adopting it and for helping others to follow it. Whoever adopts a bad practice and introduces it to others, he will have to bear the burden for both adopting it and for being the cause of introducing it to others who may follow it.”

(Prophet of Islam, reported by Ibn Majah)

WHAT is said in this Hadith is not about lay people or the masses, but about those who have the role of opinion-makers in society. Opinion -makers become role models for others to emulate. In today’s parlance one could call them ‘trendsetters’.

Opinion-makers become role models for others to emulate and have a very big responsibility. They must seriously think before taking any step.

The trendsetters of any social group have a very big responsibility. They must seriously think before taking any step because it is likely that other people will begin to do as they do, so much that it would become a deeprooted tradition that would be very difficult to stop. The fact is that the responsibility of the opinion-makers is much more than that of lay people. In every society, it happens that some people come to enjoy the status of opinionmakers and others begin to copy them. Such people must be very careful in their actions. No excuse in this regard is acceptable.