LAZINESS: FROM A BEHAVIOR TO A MINDSET

Laziness is often understood as not working, putting off tasks that need to be done, or avoiding responsibility. Yet these are merely its visible manifestations. At its core, laziness means failing to act when we can, failing to think when we are capable of thinking, and being content to consume when we could produce. Laziness is therefore a problem that can cease to be a temporary behavior and, over time, become part of a person’s character, outlook on life, and even a society’s shared way of thinking. Of course, anyone can become tired, fall ill, or be unable to work for various reasons. It would be wrong to call these things laziness. Laziness means making a habit of not working, embracing the avoidance of responsibility as a way of life, and trying to justify it with various excuses.

Thoughts such as “Nothing will change anyway,” “Let others do it,” “Why should I tire myself out when I can earn more with less effort?” or “Whatever is destined for me will happen” show that laziness has ceased to be a behavior and become an outlook on life. This is where the real danger begins. Behaviors can change over time, but unless the thinking and mindset that sustain them change, the same behaviors will recur. A small incident I experienced years ago brought this truth home to me with complete clarity.

In the 1970s, we had a next-door neighbor. Every August, he and his wife would travel to orchards twenty to twenty-five kilometers away to pick hazelnuts, packed like sardines in the back of a truck. Yet he would not come and work for me. One day, I asked him why:

“You travel all that way there and back every day. I’m very close by. Besides, I give the workers tea and meals. Why don’t you come and work for me?” Without a moment’s hesitation, he replied: “Sir, if I came to you, I would have to work. If I worked, it would be hard on me; if I didn’t, it would be unfair to you.” When I asked, “Don’t you work there?” he smiled and said: “I don’t work very hard; I just pass the time. And I enjoy that.” His answer reminded me of an Arabic saying I had heard years earlier: “İnne’l-kesel, inne’l-kesel kad kâne ahlâ mine’l-asel.” Meaning: “Indeed, laziness—yes, laziness—is sweeter than honey.”

Laziness does indeed offer ease and comfort at first. By avoiding the fatigue that work brings, a person feels a brief sense of relief. But over time, that comfort can become a way of life. Someone who avoids work will eventually begin to shy away from taking responsibility as well. Later, they begin to avoid thinking, learning, and producing. Thus, laziness ceases to be a behavior and becomes a mindset. The real danger is that a person begins to see this state of affairs as normal. Once people stop questioning their own shortcomings, they no longer feel a need to change. That is when laziness becomes a habit that quietly takes hold of the will. This outlook is not new. About a century ago, Mehmet Âkif drew attention to the same problem, sharply criticizing, in particular, the misinterpretation of religious concepts to excuse laziness:

“Though religious law told you to work, you did not; you stood idle;
You invented countless superstitions in its name!
In the end, you slipped trust in Allah into the mix,
And with it made a mockery of the poor religion!”

Âkif was not criticizing people who were unable to work. People may sometimes lack strength, have limited means, or, for various reasons, fail to achieve the success they desire. These are natural realities of life. What he opposed was the attempt to justify not working by hiding behind religious concepts. What is wrong is the mindset that substitutes trust in Allah for work and turns destiny into an excuse for avoiding responsibility. For trust in Allah does not mean sitting idle or failing to do one’s part; it means doing all one can and then leaving the outcome to Allah.

It is thought-provoking to see that, although about a hundred years have passed, the same problem persists in different forms. Today, too, people seek ways to become rich without working, knowledgeable without reading, to form opinions without thinking, and to succeed without making an effort. Technology has advanced, living conditions have changed, and opportunities have multiplied; yet the desire for easy gains and the expectation of effortless success have not changed. Moreover, new forms of laziness have emerged today. Rather than researching to obtain knowledge, people consume ready-made information; rather than thinking, they repeat the thoughts of others; rather than producing, they choose to consume. While technology makes some tasks easier, it also carries the danger of making people passive by reducing their mental and physical effort.

Hedonism, a philosophy of life centered on pleasure and enjoyment, also plays a significant role in the spread of this outlook. As people have become acquainted with hedonism through various channels of information and communication, they have begun to see the purpose of life as seeking pleasure and satisfying their desires. Thinking, “Will I ever get another life in this world?” they have chosen to live in the moment, pursue their desires, and refuse to delay gratification. Yet the great thinkers, scientists, and wise figures who shaped human history did not regard life as consisting solely of personal pleasures.

Instead of chasing fleeting pleasures, they chose to work, research, learn, produce, and often endure hardship. They sacrificed their comfort, their time, and sometimes their personal desires in pursuit of knowledge, the discovery of truth, and work that would benefit humanity. For they found life’s meaning not merely in pleasure, but in creating something of value and making lasting contributions to humanity. Had these figures who shaped human history also lived by an outlook centered on pleasure and enjoyment, science, thought, art, and civilization could not have reached their present level of development. What carries humanity forward is not the pursuit of pleasure, but the willingness to make an effort, endure hardship, and leave something of value for the future. Why, then, do people become lazy?

People often become lazy not because they are tired, but because they do not want to leave their comfort behind, fear failure, avoid taking responsibility, or have lost their sense of meaning in what they do. Thoughts such as “I can’t do it,” “What will come of this?” and “What difference will my effort make?” gradually weaken a person’s motivation to strive. Laziness is therefore often a problem not of the body, but of the will and the way we think. This is where the Qur’an’s emphasis on work and human responsibility becomes meaningful. The Qur’an does not regard the human being as a passive creature left to drift through life. On the contrary, it presents the human being as someone who reasons, exercises will, makes an effort, and is responsible for their actions. Indeed, the Qur’an states: “A person shall have only the reward of their own work.” [1]

This verse draws attention to the importance of a person’s own effort and responsibility. People should not be content merely with wishes or the efforts of others; they should strive to make use of the opportunities they have been given. Again, by declaring, “Indeed, Allah does not change the condition of a people unless they change what is within themselves,” [2] the Qur’an draws attention to the need for change to begin within the individual. This verse invites reflection not only on how societies change, but also on how people change their own lives. For a person cannot achieve a different result without changing their thoughts, habits, and behavior.

One of the most important values that counters laziness is a sense of responsibility. Failing to use the reason one has been given, choosing ignorance when there is an opportunity to learn, and being content merely to consume when there is an opportunity to produce all mean squandering the opportunities one possesses. Indeed, the Qur’an also draws attention to humanity’s responsibility to cultivate and develop the earth, recounting these words that the Prophet Salih spoke to his people, Semûd: “O my people! Worship Allah. You have no god other than Him. It is He who created you from the earth and wished you to cultivate and develop it.” [3]

Human beings exist not merely to live and consume, but also to contribute to the world they inhabit, to develop it, and to make it more beautiful. Here, another issue arises that Muslim societies need to reflect upon. It is easy to take pride in the heritage of the Islamic world, which produced important works in scholarship, thought, art, and civilization in the past. But the real challenge is to regain the work ethic and the will to produce that brought those works into being. Civilizations are not built through abundant resources or advanced technology alone. Behind them are people who work, research, learn, produce, and take responsibility. When this kind of striving, hardworking person becomes less common, material resources alone are no longer sufficient. I think it is enough here to recall the once-familiar saying, “The water flows, while the Turk looks on.”

What we need today, therefore, is not simply to say, “Work harder.” First and foremost, we need a mindset that regards work as valuable, producing as meaningful, and taking responsibility as necessary. For laziness leaves not only hands idle, but minds as well.

In conclusion, laziness is not simply failing to work or putting off a task. At a deeper level, it means failing to make use of the opportunities one has been given, avoiding one’s responsibilities, and leaving one’s potential untapped. Laziness is therefore, above all, a problem of mindset. When people fail to act despite being able to act, fail to think despite being able to think, fail to learn despite being able to learn, and merely consume despite being able to produce, we must speak not of ordinary laziness, but of an outlook on life and a mindset.

The Qur’an’s conception of the human being is the exact opposite: a person who reasons, works, takes responsibility, produces, and cultivates and develops the earth. The struggle against laziness therefore cannot succeed merely by calling on people to work harder. What is truly needed is to build a mindset that sees work as a value, producing as a responsibility, and labor as a virtue. For genuine change begins with cultural development, and cultural development in turn helps shape a mindset. Thus, when the mindset changes, the individual changes; when the individual changes, society changes. This change in society, in turn, makes cultural development and the building of civilization possible.

Footnotes

[1] Necm, 53/39.

[2] Ra‘d, 13/11.

[3] Hûd, 11/61.

Prof. Dr. Celal Kırca

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