Wrong
Actions

You know, some bad actions can be worse than other bad actions.

For instance hitting someone to try to hurt them is a bad action,

but a gentle push is not as bad as a punch or kick.

And even then it may depend on where, how and why, you take the action.

It may be bad to bump into someone and take away their ball,

but not if you are playing a game together

and that someone is on the other side.

And punching someone isn't a bad thing if the person doing the punching is in a boxing competition,

and has agreed with the other person in the ring that they can try to do the same.

We may not think it's a good thing to do,

but it's not bad in the same way as hitting another person

for no more than spite and anger.

The thing is that bad actions, like good actions, can be complicated,

and we have to try to understand them and agree on what is what,

which is why when we are playing sports we have a referee

to judge what is fair and what is not

according to the rules that everyone has agreed on.

Well, life doesn't have a set of rules that everyone agrees beforehand like a game,

but there are some actions that almost everyone agrees are bad.

These are actions that people don't want to see around them,

actions that are bad for the community.

Now we know that Lying is bad for us,

because it means that we can't be trusted,

but there are other actions that break people's trust,

like the Wrong Action that is Stealing.

Some people think that stealing is smart, and fun,

and you get stuff by doing it.

They think it's a good thing to do,

good for themselves, at any rate.

But the person that they steal from doesn't usually feel good about it,

and other people don't like it because they know

that if there is a thief amongst them there is someone in the community they cannot trust,

and everyone feels better when they know they can trust their neighbours.

In the Muslim Way of Life it is important

that you can trust those around you not to steal your stuff.

So as our part of the Deen it is important that our neighbours can trust us.

To live their lives trusting that we won't steal their property.

In the best of societies there should be no need to have a lock on the door.

But what if our society is not the best of societies?

A different kind of stealing?

Who can you trust?

What if someone else is being bad?