When we think of a superficial person as understood by most people, generally we imagine an individual ignorant of the rules of etiquette; one who is uneducated, uninformed, immoderate and who often does not know how to behave in certain situations. But what this book dwells on is not the kind of superficiality as generally understood; it discusses, in terms of religious morality, how superficiality can become a spiritual state. The superficiality examined here is a great danger that, unless Allah wills otherwise, can draw a person into Hell.
Superficiality infects a person's behavior and thinking when he does not expand his spirit according to the moral teaching of the Qur'an and is unwilling to draw closer to Allah and seek His favor. It should be remembered that those who live debased by superficiality are still responsible for their lives. Such people who live far from the Qur'an and the subtleties of its moral teaching, pursuing superficial ideals, do not consider that they will be held accountable for their lives. And when they see the angels of death coming to take their souls, they will awaken up to the profound error that they have been living. But this awakening comes too late. This is because the purpose of human creation is for them to live their lives practicing a morality that is pleasing to Allah, and the worst possible time for them to realize that purpose is at the moment of death, when this life is about to be left behind.