Some people often start by using the expression “by God, not to mock anyone's misfortune”, and then immediately begin to mock someone's misfortune! In other words, their oath is not sincere, as they do the opposite of what they swore. This way, it seems natural to those whose words contradict their deeds, and whose stances contradict the virtues they claim to have. The state of affairs of the Arabs in general, and what is happening in Egypt now in particular, seems to reflect the aggravation of this phenomenon. Far from language dictionaries and the synonyms of words, the simple meaning of the word is clear and understandable, and does not require any explanation. Mockers of misfortune are people who find joy in the problems and calamities that afflict other, while those others can be enemies or even friends. What is important is that they suffer a disaster or face certain doom, or even if their conduct has led them to such misfortune. What is important is that mocking misfortune expresses a state of happiness, of joy or of ease by a person by the mere fact that someone else or others have been harmed, and by the extent of such harm can be measured the state of happiness of the person is question. Mockers of misfortune usually promote themselves, exert much effort and seek with the utmost audacity and insistence to prove to other that those whom they have mocked deserve what has befallen them, and sometimes are not content with what happened and want, as the Egyptian saying goes, “death and broken homes”, only to enjoy the thrill of victory, even if the calamity has afflicted a person or people to whom they have no direct relation. The occasion for discussing this is that of three incidents over which much talk is being aroused in Egypt at the moment. The first is the way some Egyptian media outlets have dealt with the death of Egyptian thinker Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd last week after a long struggle with a chronic illness; the second is the dismissal of the President of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) Samir Zaher; and the last concerns the case being examined by the criminal court in which the defendant is businessman Hisham Talaat Moustafa, accused of inciting the murder of Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim. There is no way to reiterate talk that mocks misfortune even for those who follow them, as one can expect and know them without reading about them or looking them up. What is certain is that all Abrahamic religions proscribe mocking misfortune and the desire to take revenge from and to torture even enemies when their strength has waned and they have ended up in defeat – what then here where there is not even a situation of enmity between the two parties to begin with? Suffice it here to point to the noble hadith which says “show not mockery to your brother, as God will preserve him and will afflict you” as an example of Islam proscribing mockery of misfortune. Noteworthy is the fact that most of those who rejoiced in the death of Abu Zayd, arrogantly monopolized the word of God and asserted that he was now in Hell were Islamists who ceaselessly recite Quranic verses and noble Phrophetic hadiths. As for those who have mocked Mr. Zaher, who until a short while ago was because of Egypt's football victories a star beyond the field of sports and had come to attract the spotlight, most of them were from among his competitors or those who thought he did not deserve such a post or such success in it. Finally, those who mocked Hisham Talaat Moustafa included some businessmen or people who did not have good relations with the man before he was arrested. This does not mean that Abu Zayd, Zaher or Mustafa are free from sin, but the first is now in God's hands, the second has lost his post and the uproar, spolights and friends that surrounded him, and the third is waiting for the court's verdict. There is not between any of these three and those who have mocked them a history of conflicts, as they have only put forward opinions and conducted their work in their own way. Even if there are objections to their opinions or stances, the death of the first, the dismissal of the second and the trial of the third were of no direct benefit to these mockers, but rather reflected how hearts have turned to stone, blood has dried up in veins and consciences have died in some people. I personally have been exposed, like others, to harm as a result of the behavior of some people, yet whether punishment were to come by fate or by law, mockery here would only mean cruelty for one who has become stripped of one's humanity, becoming a creature which does not know humanity… and thank God for the blessing of humanity.
