- Ramadan Lectures
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- 1917- Reflections on Quran
Hypocrites are of two types:
Dear noble brothers, the definition of terms is an essential part of any knowledge. Therefore, defining the Quranic terms is very important to understand the Quran. For instance, Munafiqoon (hypocrites) as mentioned in the Noble Quran are neither believers nor disbelievers. Hypocrites in fact are two types: the first type includes those who disbelieve, whereas the second type includes those who disobey.
The hypocrite who disobeys Allah is basically a believer, however, doubts snuck to him and he could not refute them, he was under tremendous pressure he could not fight, or he was seduced. Accordingly, this hypocrite becomes a person with double personalities; from one side he is still with the believers, but when he is alone, he commits sins and follows his whims. This kind of hypocrites grew two faces; one for the public, and the other in his privacy. This duplicity entails that he becomes a hypocrite.
As I have just mentioned, hypocrites have been confronted with doubts for which they have no solution, and thus those doubts have shaken their religious values. They might have been tempted, and thus they followed that seductive factors. They might have been under tremendous pressure they could not fight, so they backslid due to their weak Tawheed. These hypocrites are the disobedient type, and their repentance is possible. Besides, one of them might go back to being a believer as he used to be.
However, the other type of hypocrites is basically includes the disbelievers, and their punishment in the Hereafter is greater than the one of the disbelievers, but why is that? The disbeliever admitted his disbelieving, and thus no one will follow his steps and people will avoid him. On the other hand, the disbelieving hypocrite shows faith, he lives in an Islamic state where he can benefit from the high standard values of Muslims, and he even goes to Masjids, but inside he is a disbeliever. This hypocrite is a disbeliever, and he will be in the lowest depths of Hellfire. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Allah has promised the hypocrites; men and women, and the disbelievers, the Fire of Hell, therein shall they abide. It will suffice them. Allah has cursed them and for them is the lasting torment. ﴿
In another Ayah, Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Verily, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths (grade) of the Fire ﴿
He, who is on alert of being a hypocrite, is a believer:
Dear noble brothers, there is an inverse relationship: Whoever believes that he is definitely a believer (so he never calls himself to account) most likely inclines to hypocrisy, while the one who fears being a hypocrite is a true believer.
One of Tabi'een (followers of companions) had met 40 companions, and each one of them was afraid of being a hypocrite. All of them lived with the Prophet PBUH, fought with him and sacrificed their own souls in battles for the sake of Allah and His Messenger PBUH, yet they were fearful of being hypocrites.
It is said, "The believer swings between 40 conditions, such like fear, hope, uneasiness, longing for Allah's Mercy and intensive horror of being punished by Allah, whereas the hypocrite always feels secured, mistakenly thinking that he is a believer. The hypocrite does not know that he is a hypocrite, whereas, the believer accuses himself of hypocrisy.
Dear brothers, hypocrites are minutely described almost in every Surat in the Quran, such like Surat At-Taubah. When Muslim recites At-Taubah, he might sense a taste of hypocrisy in his self, so he had better watch out, but if he finds himself far from hypocrisy, let him praise Allah Almighty for that. It is necessary that we recite At-Taubah every now and then, so that we can keep detecting where we stand: Are we believers or hypocrites?
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, the giant of Islam, is a clear example of the one who detected where he stands. The Prophet PBUH brought to him the glad tidings that he would be admitted to Jannah (paradise). As you all know, in Islam no one, whosoever he is, knows beyond doubt whether he will be admitted to Jannah or not, save the ten companions to whom the Prophet PBUH brought the glad tidings. Other than those ten, all Muslims long for being admitted to Jannah. Given the prophet PBUH never spoke of his own desires, he PBUH brought the glad tidings to ten of the companions, among whom is Umar. Despite this glad tiding, Umar asked our Master Hudhaifah, "I ask you by Allah, is my name among the Munafiqeen (hypocrites)?"
Regarding this incident, I asked one of the scholars to explain to me how Umar had said so though to whom the glad tiding was brought from the Prophet PBUH that he would be in Jannah. He answered me, "Due to his tremendous fear of Allah, he forgot all about the glad tiding". He said once, "If a mule tripped in Iraq, (he was in Al-Madinah) I fear that Allah will ask me on the Day of Judgment why I did not pave the road for it!"
When Muslims once suffered from famine he addressed his stomach saying, "Gurgle or not, by Allah, you will not taste meat until Muslim children have had enough of it." When good food was presented to him (the meat of the camel's hump which is the best of it,) he said, "What a bad Caliph I am if I eat the best meat of it while people eat the worst of it."
A messenger from Azerbaijan brought exquisite food as a gift, so Umar asked him, "Can all the people afford this food?" To which the messenger answered, "No, they cannot. This is for special people." Then, Umar said "Umar's stomach is forbidden from tasting any food that poor Muslims cannot afford it."
One day he saw fat camels, and upon inquiry, he was told that they belonged to Abdullah, his son. So, he called for him, and when he came to Umar, he saw how angry he was. Umar asked how the camel became so fat, and Abdullah explained that when he originally purchased them, they were thin, so he put it in the government grazing ground where they became healthy. He said, "Where is the wrongdoing? Where is the law-breaking?" Umar replied, "People might say, 'Let these camels eat more as they belong to the Caliph's son. Let them drink more than other camels, as they belong to the Caliph's son, and so they got fat. You son of the Caliph, do you know why they are fat? That is because you are my son". Then, he ordered him to sell them and take only his capital money and give the rest to the Muslims' treasury (exchequer).
I repeat what Umar asked our Master Hudhaifah, "I ask you by Allah, is my name among the Munafiqeen (hypocrites)?"
It is a good sign to accuse your own self of hypocrisy. This means that you are a true believer, that you fear Allah, that you distance yourself from being affiliated with hypocrites and that you are afraid of growing two personalities.
The least hypocritical act a Muslim might do is to pray perfectly in front of people in Masjid. If you do not do so when you pray in private, then doing so means that you want to show people that you are a true believer. Also praying Sunnah in the Masjid and not doing so in private indicates a side of hypocrisy in you, because you are trying to show people a personality that you actually do not have.
Duplicity, having two personalities one in public and one in private or saying something in public different from the thing you say in private, all of that are sides of hypocrisy. The sides of hypocrisy are so many, thus man should be keen on distancing himself from all that.
Hypocrisy is based on sinning and disobedience:
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ The hypocrites, men and women, are from one another, they enjoin (on the people) Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief and polytheism of all kinds and all that Islam has forbidden), and forbid (people) from Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do), and they close their hands [from giving (spending in Allah's Cause) alms, etc.]. ﴿
Hypocrites usually frighten you from offering a good deed, and if they see you spending on the poor, they would say to you, "Stop doing so otherwise you will become poor." If they see you going to Masjids, they would warn you. They try to keep you away from every act of obedience to Allah, but if you sin, they will encourage you. This is the behavior of the hypocrite.
﴾ …They enjoin (on the people) Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief and polytheism of all kinds and all that Islam has forbidden), and forbid (people) from Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do), and they close their hands [from giving (spending in Allah’s Cause) alms, etc.]. They have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them. ﴿
Allah the Almighty never forgets. Allay says:
﴾ My Lord is neither unaware nor He forgets, ﴿
The clause, "so He has forgotten them" actually means neglecting them, but why would Allah do so? They did not believe, and they did not invoke Allah to guide them, so Allah gave them their own choice:
﴾ The hypocrites, men and women, are from one another, they enjoin (on the people) Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief and polytheism of all kinds and all that Islam has forbidden), and forbid (people) from Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do), and they close their hands [from giving (spending in Allah's Cause) alms, etc.]. They have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them. Verily, the hypocrites are the Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah).
﴿
Hypocrisy is based on sinning. Therefore, committing sins leads to hypocrisy.
﴾ Verily, the hypocrites are the Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah). ﴿
There is no way you can find a righteous hypocrite. If man is not keen on his earning, spending, lowering the gaze, keeping away from immoral relations, refusing to mingle with opposite gender, then he is a hypocrite to whom sinning would be something normal. He would not reproach himself when he sins, but rather he would justify his bad deeds, like having mixed meetings, by open-mindedness, and he would justify feasting his eyes on women's beauty by saying, "Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty." It is said, "Sinning to the hypocrite is as insignificant as the fly that lands on his face, and he just shoos it away, while sinning to the believer is as great as the mountain that perches on his chest." The greater the sin is considered in one's eye, the stronger his faith is, and the more insignificant the sin is considered in one's eye the weaker his faith is. Actually, belittling the sin one commits is one type of hypocrisy. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ The hypocrites, men and women, are from one another, they enjoin (on the people) Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief and polytheism of all kinds and all that Islam has forbidden), and forbid (people) from Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do), and they close their hands [from giving (spending in Allah's Cause) alms, etc.]. They have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them. Verily, the hypocrites are the Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah). ﴿
The destiny is mentioned in the following Ayah:
﴾ Allah has promised the hypocrites; men and women, and the disbelievers, the Fire of Hell, therein shall they abide. It will suffice them. Allah has cursed them and for them is the lasting torment.
﴿
The ultimate punishment is to be veiled from Allah's Mercy:
If you ask me about the most important thing in life I would say: It is to be accepted by Allah the Almighty, to be loved by Him, to be protected under His Shade on the Day wherein there is no shade but His, to be included in His providence, to be supported by Him and to be among those into whose hearts Allah's Light is casted. On the other side, if I am asked about the most substantial disaster ever I would say: It is to be cursed by Allah, and although man might receive graces from Allah, he is still cursed by Him. No matter how much money the cursed man may have, how many houses, cars, and gardens he has, and how many relationships with women he has, he will remain cursed by Allah and distanced from Him. The utmost punishment on the Day of Resurrection is mentioned in the following Ayah:
﴾ Nay! Surely, they (evil-doers) will be veiled from seeing their Lord that Day. ﴿
Being deprived of Allah's Mercy is the utmost punishment ever, while the ultimate Divine bestowal in Jannah is:
﴾ Some faces that Day shall be Nadirah (shining and radiant). Looking at their Lord (Allah); ﴿
Looking at the glorified Face of Allah is the utmost bestowal, whereas being deprived of it due to one's wrongdoings is the utmost punishment.
The believers are helpers and protectors of one another:
As for believers, Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ The believers, men and women, are Auliya' (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another, they enjoin (on the people) Al-Ma’ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do), and forbid (people) from Al-Munkar (i.e. polytheism and disbelief of all kinds, and all that Islam has forbidden); they perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat) and give the Zakat, and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah will have His Mercy on them. Surely Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise. ﴿
When Allah tells us about the hypocrites, He says: "are from one another", whereas He says about believers: "are Auliya' of one another", namely, they collaborate, support and help one another, and they give advice, pay each other visits, exchange presents, comfort one another in grieves and congratulate each others in celebrations. As a believer, you are one among a community, and this community is one entity.
﴾ The believers, men and women, are Auliya' (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another, they enjoin (on the people) Al-Ma’ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do), and forbid (people) from Al-Munkar (i.e. polytheism and disbelief of all kinds, and all that Islam has forbidden); they perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat) and give the Zakat, and obey Allah and His Messenger. ﴿
They obey Allah and His Messenger in all the Islamic rulings and religious details.
Allah's Mercy is limitless:
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Allah will have His Mercy on them
﴿
Allah's Mercy is limitless. It is like when someone gives another person a blank check, this means that this person can have the amount of money he wishes to have, and it might vary from 100 thousand to 500 billion, so he can buy a house, a car or a garden, and he can travel, do trades or establish a company. This example elaborates how Allah's Mercy is limitless.
Allah's Mercy is manifested in a good health, in a coherent household, in dutiful children, in high scientific degree, in high position, in prosperity, in being supported, helped and protected and in gaining happiness and insight. Allah's Mercy is limitless but this Mercy is (ever) near unto the good-doers. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ The believers, men and women, are Auliya' (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another, they enjoin (on the people) Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do), and forbid (people) from Al-Munkar (i.e. polytheism and disbelief of all kinds, and all that Islam has forbidden); they perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat) and give the Zakat, and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah will have His Mercy on them. Surely Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise* Allah has promised to the believers -men and women, – Gardens under which rivers flow to dwell therein forever, and beautiful mansions in Gardens of 'Adn (Eden Paradise). But the greatest bliss is the Good Pleasure of Allah. That is the supreme success. ﴿
Believers are granted Jannah under which rivers flow, but the greatest bliss in Jannah is the Good Pleasure of Allah. A man might invite you to an astounding feast, yet greater than this feast is the warm welcoming face this man wears, his respect to you and being happy in having you in his house. In fact, welcoming the guest is much more valuable than the food itself. Allah says:
﴾ But the greatest bliss is the Good Pleasure of Allah. ﴿
Hence, the greatest bliss in Jannah is the Good Pleasure of Allah.
He, who attains Allah's Pleasure, is the happiest:
Dear brothers, even if you suffer all sorts of hardship in life, you will be the happiest person as long as Allah is pleased with you. The proof of this fact is the suffering of the Prophet PBUH in At-Ta'if. At that point, the graphic line of Da'wah was in its lowest points, because he was exiled from Makkah, belied, mocked and attacked by the people of Ta'if, and they even encouraged their children to hurt him. Despite all that, the Prophet's said in a long Du'a (supplication) to Allah, "If there is no anger from You on me I will forever be content".
Some people are indulged in graces, yet Allah does not love them. On the other hand, there are people who suffer all sorts of problems and hardship, yet Allah loves them. The second group is the happiest, because when Allah deprives someone of His Mercy, nothing will benefit him, not even his wealth or children. In contrast, when Allah bestows His Mercy upon someone, the latter's sickness becomes health, his poverty turns into richness and his worries change into security. How amazing the influence of Allah's Mercy is! It makes you forget all sufferings, but if you are deprived of it, nothing will be helpful. It is said, "What he, who lost You, has gained? And what he, who found you, has lost?"
The Prophet PBUH is infallible:
Then, Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ They swear by Allah that they said nothing (bad), but really they said the word of disbelief, and they disbelieved after accepting Islam, and they resolved that (plot to murder Prophet Muhammad PBUH) which they were unable to carry out, and they could not find any cause to do so except that Allah and His Messenger had enriched them of His Bounty. If then they repent, it will be better for them, but if they turn away, Allah will punish them with a painful torment in this worldly life and in the Hereafter. And there is none for them on earth as a Wali (supporter, protector) or a helper. ﴿
One word of blasphemy man utters might be the reason behind his Kufr.
When one of the Noble Companions was a child, his father was martyred in a battle, and his mother got married to one of the richest men of al-Aws tribe, and his name was Al-Jallas.
The stepfather loved the lad, and he used to be generous to him, and the lad loved his stepfather as well. However, when the noble companions were preparing themselves for Tabuk battle, his stepfather did not do the same. The lad reminded him of what the rich companions did. They paid whatever they had in Allah's Way, but the stepfather said, "If the man (Muhammad PBUH) is truthful, then we have more evil than mules!" This is a word of blasphemy, so the lad said to his stepfather, "This is a word of blasphemy. By Allah, O uncle, the dearest man to me under the sky is you after Allah's Messenger, but you have just said something that if I spread it around, it would harm you; if I keep silent, I would ruin my religion, and the fulfillment of duty towards religion has priority. So I am going to inform the Messenger of Allah of what you have said about him!"
One of the scholars, I think it is Ibn Al-Qayem, said, "By Allah no one on earth is closer to my heart than my Sheikh, yet Allah is closer". This means that if a scholar instructed his follower of something that does not go along with Shari'ah rulings, his follower should not comply because Allah is dearer to him than his Sheikh.
Man should always follow the truth, and regarding this point, Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Real men follow the truth, but the truth does not follow men." If this rule is reverted, the result will be serious, because we will blindly consider whatever this man says as part of the truth, whereas the truth should be our frame reference not men, since the truth is the source according to which we measure things. Thus, you should follow the truth but not people, because Allah is dearer to the believer than anyone else.
The Prophet PBUH is infallible, and his companions were truthful, so scholars are just men whose saying might be taken or rejected.
Al-Shafi'i said, "Put everything I say to the test and compare it with the Prophetic Hadith, because the Hadith is the frame of reference, so if what I say goes along with Hadith then take it, but if it does not, reject it". If a Hadith is proved to be true and said by the Prophet PBUH yet someone follows what a person says, he will have committed a deadly mistake.
Back to our story, Al-Jallas said, "If the man (Muhammad, peace be upon him) is truthful, then we have more evil than mules!" The lad went to the Prophet PBUH and told him what his stepfather said, so the Prophet summoned Al-Jallas, and the latter denied the whole thing. The lad said, "O Messenger of Allah, he is lying". Upon saying so, the companions looked at him, so his face turned red out of shame and fear. Few moments later, Allah revealed the following Ayah:
﴾ They swear by Allah that they said nothing (bad), but really they said the word of disbelief, ﴿
The Prophet PBUH hold the lad's ear and said, "Allah has proved you right from above the seventh heavens." What did Al-Jallas do at that point? He admitted his wrongdoing and asked the Prophet PBUH to intercede for Allah's forgiveness. After that, he treated his stepson very well and was so generous to him, because he was the reason behind his true repentance.
﴾ (but really they said the word of disbelief,) ﴿
Sometimes we hear words of disbelief from people, like when a tax officer says to the client, "even Allah shall not lower your taxes", which is a word of disbelief by all measures.
Man's heroism lies in fulfilling his covenant:
A man might go through financial difficulty, so he invokes Allah to send him money and promises to do good deeds thereupon, but when Allah sends him money, he does not fulfill his promise. The following Ayah is about this matter, and it gives one the chills out of fear:
﴾ And most of them We found not (true) to their covenant, but most of them We found indeed Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah). ﴿
Under bad conditions, people promise Allah to do things in return for a way out of their hardship. Some people promise Allah to obey Him when they are kissing the black stone, yet after coming back from Hajj to Damascus, they go back to the way they were before Hajj. Your heroism lies in fulfilling your covenant.
﴾ And of Ibrahim (Abraham) who fulfilled (or conveyed) all that (what Allah ordered him to do or convey), ﴿
You are a true man when you fulfill the covenant you made to Allah:
﴾ Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah [i.e. they have gone out for Jihad (holy fighting), and showed not their backs to the disbelievers], of them some have fulfilled their obligations (i.e. have been martyred), and some of them are still waiting, but they have never changed [i.e.they never proved treacherous to their covenant which they concluded with Allah] in the least. ﴿
The believer never changes his faith whether in adversity or in prosperity, in hardship or in ease, in richness or in poverty, in health or in sickness, in settling or in traveling, in public or in private and when he is with people or when he is alone.
﴾ And of them are some who made a covenant with Allah (saying): "If He bestowed on us of His Bounty, we will verily, give Sadaqah (Zakat and voluntary charity in Allah's Cause) and will be certainly among those who are righteous."* Then when He gave them of His Bounty, they became niggardly [refused to pay the Sadaqah (Zakat or voluntary charity)], and turned away, averse* So He punished them by putting hypocrisy into their hearts till the Day whereon they shall meet Him, because they broke that (covenant with Allah) which they had promised Him and because they used to tell lies. ﴿
Once, I prayed in a Masjid located in an area right before Banyas city (seaside town in Syria), and after finishing Salah, I was welcomed by a man who told me the story behind this Masjid. He said, "I used to be a poor man. Years ago, I left this country owning nothing, and the plane ticket which I bought was from the money my sister gave me after she had sold her bracelet. On the plane, I spoke to myself saying, 'O Lord, if you gave me money, I would build a Masjid'. I swear to Allah that it is just a thought that crossed my mind. Allah treated me generously, so I fulfilled my promise and built this Masjid despite all of the obstacles. This Masjid is built on agricultural land, and laws prevent any kind of constructions on agricultural lands, however, Allah facilitated building it."
This is the true believer. If he promises, he fulfills his promise whether this promise is repentance, building a Masjid, giving help to people or whatever else. When people are in hardship, they give promises, and after being relieved of their hardship, they forget their promises under the pretext of not having cash although they own financial assets and movable and immovable properties.
﴾ And of them are some who made a covenant with Allah (saying): "If He bestowed on us of His Bounty, we will verily, give Sadaqah (Zakat and voluntary charity in Allah's Cause) and will be certainly among those who are righteous."* Then when He gave them of His Bounty, they became niggardly [refused to pay the Sadaqah (Zakat or voluntary charity)], and turned away, averse* So He punished them by putting hypocrisy into their hearts till the Day whereon they shall meet Him, because they broke that (covenant with Allah) which they had promised Him and because they used to tell lies. ﴿
The only way to survive Hellfire is to obey Allah and follow His Divine Way:
The last Ayah is:
﴾ Those who stayed away (from Tabuk expedition) rejoiced in their staying behind the Messenger of Allah; they hated to strive and fight with their properties and their lives in the Cause of Allah, and they said: "March not forth in the heat." Say: "The Fire of Hell is more intense in heat", if only they could understand! ﴿
The head of hypocrites used to sit next to the Prophet PBUH, and he rejoiced his seat for the merits of the position. When he died the Prophet PBUH said:
(( Abu Hurairah reported, "We were in the company of Allah's Messenger (PBUH) that we heard a terrible sound." Thereupon Allah's Apostle (PBUH) said, "Do you know what (sound) is this?" We said, "Allah and His Messenger know best." Thereupon he (PBUH) said, "That is a stone which was thrown seventy years before in Hell and it has been constantly slipping down and now it has reached its base." ))
This man asked to be buried wearing the Prophet's garment, and the narrations confirmed that this did take place, yet this garment will not do him any good, and only man's deeds will.
Pay attention to this critical point: If you were able to take a verdict in your favor from the mouth of the Prophet PBUH due to your deceitful words you would never survive Hellfire. Will anything on earth benefit you? No, it will not.
Although the Prophet PBUH himself might have given a verdict, while you were deceitful, be aware that you would never flee from Allah's Torment. Following the Right Path and obeying Allah are the only guarantee that will save you from being Divinely punished. Furthermore, righteous people bring you closer to Allah due to their words and actions, but they will never hinder you from Allah's Discipline.
