NO DOUBLE STANDARDS

According to the Quran, it is a sign of a bad character to have double standards. Two verses of the chapter Al-Saff (Ranks) are of relevance:

O faithful! Why do you say one thing and do another? It is most hateful to God that you do not practise what you preach. (61:2-3)

Having double standards is anathema in this world. It is a kind of hypocrisy and hypocrisy is completely unwanted in Islam as well as in nature. A person with double standards believes himself to be a good person but, in the eyes of others, he is certainly a bad person. Double standards are alien to personal integrity. Integrity is a part of faith. One who loses his integrity will consequently lose his faith.

Double standards are a perpetual obstacle to personality development. One who habitually observes double standards will not be a strong personality. People of this kind will inevitably live with a weak personality and die with a weak personality.

Such people are devoid of sincerity. They say one thing but do something else. It is their petty interests which control their behaviour. They are not controlled by firm principles but by immediate gain. Their behaviour is interest-based rather than principle-based.

The character of those with double standards is not predictable. Such people talk much, but fail to back up their avowed resolutions with firmness of action. As a result, they will very soon lose the trust of their society. They appear to be human but, in fact, they resemble sub-human creatures.

Having double standards means saying one thing and then doing something else. This kind of character is completely alien to the world of nature. No animal shows a character of this kind. It is only man who indulges in this kind of inhuman behaviour.

Our tongues were not made for double talk. Our minds were not created for double thinking. Our personality was not made to live a life like this. One who descends to double talk and double thinking is bound to become unwanted in this world of truth. Our world is a world of truth and it is not ready to accept anything that is not based on truth.

Having double standards means being a characterless person. A man of character cannot afford this kind of duality. A man of character is a man of principle, a man of integrity. A man of character is, in short, a trustworthy person.

The character of those with double standards is not predictable. Such people talk much, but fail to back up their avowed resolutions with firmness of action.

Those flawed by such duality are unable to achieve any great success. All the super achievers of history were men of integrity. Those with double standards will lose all those qualities which are essential for super achievement. Double standards make people directionless. And one who is directionless cannot embark on a journey of any importance

People of this kind always believe that they are very clever, but they are not. The really clever person is one who can rightfully convince others to trust him. Those with double standards inevitably fail to establish goodwill or trust in society. Such people display themselves as beautiful flowers but, in fact, they are flowers of plastic, not real flowers.