Why Do People Sin? 1) Social Pressures

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

The fallibility of our essential nature makes us either forget or neglect our obligations and drives our nafs (self) to sin. To shield ourselves from misguidance, therefore, we should look at the root causes that can help us become aware of shaytan's tactics and accordingly prevent our nafs from being misguided.

Why do people sin?

Some of us sin not because of willful disobedience but because sometimes we get pulled into the act reluctantly. It is no secret that certain social (and other) pressures tend to push us into committing sins that we normally would not commit. When in such situations, we quiet our conscience and then go with the social flow. This is one of the reasons why the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam warned us about keeping company that can take us away from the straight path. He sallallahu alayhi wassallam said:

“A person will follow the way of his khaleel (close friends), so let each one of you look at who he takes as a close friend.” [Abu Dawood]

"Do not keep company except with a believer, and do not feed except a person who has taqwa (fear of Allah)." [Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi]

It is extremely important to choose and have good companions. Such a companion will remind you of Allah and help you follow the straight path, the path of those upon whom Allah has bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked His anger or of those who are astray.

Allah calls upon the believer to fear Him and tells us how we can accomplish that--by being with the truthful--those who are true in what they say and what they do.

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّـهَ وَكُونُوا۟ مَعَ ٱلصَّـٰدِقِينَ ﴿١١٩

O you who believe, fear Allah and be with those who are true (in words and deeds).

[Qur'an At-Tawba 9:119]

The formula is simple. If your friends are of the righteous, they will pull you towards what is good and encourage you to do what is pleasing to Allah, that which will take you to Paradise, by the Mercy of Allah. If your friends are of those who are heedless of Allah, they will pull you towards what is bad and encourage you to do what is pleasing to Shaytan, that which can lead you to the Hellfire.

We should remind ourselves that time always passes and such friends won’t last us for the full journey of our life and they won’t be with us on the day when we are held accountable for the sins that we committed due to their influence. Consider what Allah says in the following two verses about the Day of Judgment.

ٱلْأَخِلَّآءُ يَوْمَئِذٍۭ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ إِلَّا ٱلْمُتَّقِينَ ﴿٦٧

Close friends, that Day (Day of Judgment), will be enemies to each other, except al-Muttaqeen (the righteous, the pious) (67) Qur'an, Az–Zukhruf 43:67]

وَيَوْمَ يَعَضُّ ٱلظَّالِمُ عَلَىٰ يَدَيْهِ يَقُولُ يَـٰلَيْتَنِى ٱتَّخَذْتُ مَعَ ٱلرَّ‌سُولِ سَبِيلًا ﴿٢٧﴾ يَـٰوَيْلَتَىٰ لَيْتَنِى لَمْ أَتَّخِذْ فُلَانًا خَلِيلًا ﴿٢٨﴾ لَّقَدْ أَضَلَّنِى عَنِ ٱلذِّكْرِ‌ بَعْدَ إِذْ جَآءَنِى ۗ وَكَانَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ لِلْإِنسَـٰنِ خَذُولًا ﴿٢٩

And the Day the wrongdoer will bite at his hands [in regret] he will say, "Oh, I wish I had taken a path with the Messenger. (27) Oh, woe to me! I wish I had not taken that one as a friend. (28) He indeed led me away astray from the the reminder (Qur'an) after it had come to me. And ever is Satan, to man, a deserter to man in the hour of need." (29) [Qur'an, Al–Furqaan 25:27–29]

Let’s, therefore, ensure that if our social circles are directly or indirectly pushing us to commit sins or discouraging us from performing good deeds then we should disengage from such groups and people immediately. By quieting our conscience in the face of social pressures, we also start to slowly regard many wrongs as rights and gradually lose our internal compass of the right and wrong.

It goes without saying that we should pay attention who our children and our spouses are friends with for Allah Almighty says,

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ قُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًا وَقُودُهَا ٱلنَّاسُ وَٱلْحِجَارَةُ عَلَيْهَا مَلَـٰٓئِكَةٌ غِلَاظٌ شِدَادٌ لَّا يَعْصُونَ ٱللَّـهَ مَآ أَمَرَهُمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَ ﴿٦

O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are [appointed] angels, harsh and severe; they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded.[Qur'an At-Tahrim 66:6]

May Allah grant us righteous companions and families, and make us of the righteous. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.
Wassalaam

Adapted from Why Do We Sin? (and steps for prevention)