Part 5

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If good happens to you it galls them. If a mishap occurs to you, they say, ‘We made our preparations in advance,’ and they turn away rejoicing. Say, ‘Nothing can happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us. He is Our Master and it is in Allah that the believers should put their trust.’

2 The next verse reads, “If they could find a bolt-hole, cave or burrow, they would turn and scurry away into it.” {at-Tawbah (9): 57

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If something good happens to you, it galls them. If something bad strikes you, they rejoice at it. But if you are patient and have taqwa, their scheming will not harm you in any way. Allah encompasses what they do.

Allah abhors their obeying Him because of the filth of their hearts and impure intentions; as such He held them back and impeded them from obeying Him. He hates to have them close to Him and in His vicinity due to their love of His enemies; as such He distanced them and discarded them. They turned away from His revelation so He turned away from them and decreed misery for them. He judged them with pure justice and they have no hope for victory unless they become of the penitent,”

If they had really desired to go out, they would have made proper preparations for it, but Allah was averse to their setting out so he held them

40 Characteristics Of The Hypoctites

back and they were told: ‘Stay behind with those who stay behind.’ [at-Tawbab (9): 46]

Then He mentions the wisdom behind His doing what has previously been mentioned, He is the Wisest of the wise,

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ta vysteigc sae te core If they had gone out among you, they would have added nothing to you but confusion. They would have scurried about amongst you seeking to cause conflict between you, and among you there were some who would have listened

to them. Allah knows the wrongdoers. [at-Tawbab (9): 47]

The texts of the revelation bore down heavily on them so they found them abhorrent, and being unable to carry them, they renounced them. They were unable to preserve the Sunnah so they ignored it. They found the texts of the Book and Sunnah combating their desires so they laid down laws and principles by which they could reject them or weaken them. Allah has unveiled their secrets and propounded parables for them. Know that each generation that succeeds them is like them and so He has described them for His friends that they may be aware of

Gp sic CoN SIT AS cs That is because they hate what Allah has sent down, so He has made their actions come to nothing.

This holds true for all who find the texts burdensome and see them coming between him and his innovations and desires; it seems to him that he has come across an unbreakable solid structure, so he trades them for false rhetoric, exchanging reality for illusion. This leading to the corruption of his inner and outer,

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That is because they said to those who hate what Allah has sent down, ‘We will obey you in part of the affair.’ But Allah knows their secrets. How will it be when the angels take then in death, beating their faces and their backs? That is because they followed what angers Allah and hated what pleases Him. So He made their actions come to nothing.

They think that if they hide their disbelief and display their

42. Characteristics Of The Hypocrites

faith they will have acquired a great profit, but how can this be so when the All-Seeing has unveiled their secrets?

Or did those with sickness in their hearts imagine that Allah would not expose their malevolence? If We wished, we would show them to you and you would know them by their mark and know them by their ambivalent speech. Allah knows your actions.

How will they be when they are gathered on the Day of atTalaq, and Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, manifests Himself and uncovers His shin? The Day when they are called to prostrate but are unable,

BGs ee AIS edhe the Sten Seba ALlasetipeaiscasts plant Their eyes will be downcast, darkened by debasement; for they were called to prostrate when they were in full possession of their faculties.

How will they be when they are gathered together to traverse the Bridge spanning Hell? A bridge finer than a blade of hair and sharper than the edge of a sword, easy to slip off, entrenched in darkness and none can cross it save those guided by a light

that shows them where to place their feet. Light is apportioned amongst man, the intensity of light each person has governs the swiftness by which he will cross that bridge. They are given a superficial light with which they accompany the Muslims, just as they used to accompany the Muslims in this life: outwardly praying, giving wealth-tax, performing the pilgrimage, and fasting, When they reach the middle of the bridge their light is blown out by the sharp wind of hypocrisy and they come to a halt in utter confusion, not knowing how to proceed. A wall containing a door is placed between them and the believers, the believers side of which contains mercy, while the side upon which they find themselves in contains punishment. They cry out to the believers, who in the distance sparkle like stars,

Bt gery at ASpeme gi) Wait for us so that we can borrow some of your light.

so that we may cross this bridge in safety,

Clea almeihs They will be told, ‘Go back and look for light?

go back to where the light was first apportioned. Never will any one stop to aid them in such a situation! None will assist another on that path, and a close friend will not turn to aid his friend. They will remind the believers that they accompanied them in this life, just as a wayfarer reminds the resident that he accompanied him on his journey,

44 Characteristics Of The Hypocrites

Were we not with you?

we fasted with you, prayed with you, recited the Qur’an with you, and performed the pilgrimage with you; why have we been separated from you! They will reply, your bodies were with us but your hearts were with every deviant and every disbelieving tyrant,

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But you made trouble for yourselves and hung back and doubted and false hopes deluded you until Allah’s command arrived. The Deluder deluded you about Allah. So today no ransom will be accepted from you or from those who were disbelievers. Your refuge is the Fire, it is your master. What an evil destination.

The descriptions of these people are numerous; by Allah what we have omitted is more than we have mentioned. One could almost say that the whole Qur’an is about them due to their plenitude on the face of this earth and in its belly, namely their graves. There is not a single place on earth except that they are to be found therein. Hudhayfah once heard a person saying, ‘O

Allah, destroy the hypocrites!’ He said, ‘Son of my brother, were He to destroy the hypocrites you would find yourself walking down roads alone, because hardly anybody would be left!’

By Allah, the hearts of the Righteous Predecessors lived in dread of hypocrisy because they knew its major and minor manifestations, they knew is generalities and its details and they thought little of themselves to the point that they feared being one of the hypocrites. ‘Umar bin al-Khattab said to Hudhayfah, ‘Task you by Allah, did the Messenger of Allah (4) count me as one of them?’ He replied, ‘No, and I will not answer this question for any other after you.’ Ibn Abi Mulaykah said, ‘I met thirty Companions of Muhammad (gg) and found all of them fearing hypocrisy for himself, and not one of them said that his faith was like the faith of Jibril and Mikal,’ (recorded by Al-Bukhari). He also tecorded that al-Hasan al-Basti said, ‘None feels safe from hypocrisy except a hypocrite, and none fears it save a believer.’ One of the Companions supplicated thus, ‘Allah, I take refuge with you from hypocritical submissiveness.’ When asked what it was he replied, ‘That the body be seen to be submissive but the heart is not.’

By Allah, their hearts were overflowing with faith and certainty yet their fear of hypocrisy was great. The faith of many people does not even begin to compare to theirs, yet they claim that their faith is like that of Jibril and Mika’il!

The plant of hypocrisy grows from two stems: lying and ostentation. It grows out of two sources: weakness of spiritual insight and weakness of resolution. When these four factors exist, the plant of hypocrisy flourishes and grows firm. However, it grows by the side of waters on the brink of a crumbling precipice, so when they see the flood of reality on the Day when

46 Characteristics Of The Hypocrites

all secrets are disclosed, and the graves are emptied out, and the heart’s contents are brought to light, the one whose capital was hypocrisy will discover that all he attained was a mirage,

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Mocs eer pee siacce ai Iga9 A thirsty man thinks it is water but when he reaches it, he finds it to be nothing at all, but he finds Allah there. He will pay him his accounts in full. Allah is swift at reckoning.

Their hearts are heedless of performing good but their bodies outwardly do so, and indecent deeds are frequently performed by them. When they hear the truth their hearts are too hard to accept it, but when they witness falsehood and hear fallacy, their hearts openly accept it and they lend a willing ear.