Hypocrisy

Some people said to Ibn ʿUmar, “We enter upon our rulers, and we say to them something different to what we say when we leave their company.” He said, “We used to regard this as [a type of] nifāq (hypocrisy).”

Al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Bukhārī no. 7178, and others.

Nifāq (hypocrisy) used to be something unusual amongst all the Īmān. Soon, Īmān will be something strange amongst all the nifāq.

Ibn Baṭṭah, Al-Ibānah 1:173 article 6.

There will come upon the people a time when their hearts will be derelict of the Qurān; they will find neither sweetness nor pleasure by it. If they fall short of doing what they have been commanded to do, they will say: Allāh is most forgiving, merciful (He will forgive us), and if they do what they have been forbidden from doing, they will say: we will be forgiven, we haven’t committed any shirk with Allāh. Their affairs will all be based on [false] hope, having no truth and sincerity with it. They will wear the skins of lambs over hearts of wolves. The best of them in his religion will be someone who compromises.

Imām Aḥmad, Al-Zuhd article 1741.

I entered upon Abū Al-Dardāʾ – Allāh be pleased with him – at his home in Ḥims and found him standing in prayer at his place of prayer. When he sat for tashahhud he started to seek protection with Allāh from al-nifāq (hypocrisy). So when he had finished praying, I said “May Allāh forgive you o Abū Al-Dardāʾ, what have you got to do with nifāq?” He said, “O Allāh forgive!”, three times, and replied, “Who can feel secure from trial, who can feel secure from trial? By Allāh, a man can be tested with fitnah in a single hour and turn away from his religion.”

Al-Bayhaqī, Shuʿab Al-Īmān 1:857.

Whoever tries to make people hear of his deeds, Allāh will make [some] of His creation hear of him (expose him), and belittle him. Ibn ʿUmar then began to cry.

Wakīʿ b. Al-Jarrāḥ, Al-Zuhd #308.

Verily, you will find the believer (muʾmin) consistent time after time, upon one way, showing the same face; [whereas] you will find the hypocrite (munāfiq) changing colors, trying to be like everyone around him, running with every wind.

Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-ʿIlm #1936

The munāfiqūn (hypocrites) amongst you today are worse than those in the time of Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh’s praise and peace be upon him. He was asked, “How is that o Abū ʿAbdillāh”? He replied: Because those [in the time of the Prophet] used to hide their nifāq (hypocrisy), whereas the hypocrites of today commit [hypocrisy] openly. Al-Bukhārī, Al-Ṣaḥīḥ hadith 7113.

Al-Bukhārī, Al-Ṣaḥīḥ hadith 7113.

The believer speaks little and does alot, whereas the hypocrite (munāfiq) speaks a lot and does little. When the believer speaks, it is with wisdom, when he is silent, it is in deep thought, when he sees, he takes lessons, and when he acts, it is a cure. If this is the way you are, then you are in the constant worship [of your Lord.]

Abū Nu’aym, Ḥilyatu Al-Awliyā` 8:98.

The believer does the best deeds yet is most fearful [that his deeds will not be accepted]. If he were to spend a mountain of wealth [in charity], he would not feel sure [of the reward] until he sees it. The more righteous and pious he becomes, the more he fears. But the hypocrite (munāfiq) says, ‘There are so many people, I will be forgiven, no problem.’ So he does wrong and evil deeds, yet holds foolish wishes about Allāh. Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā` 4:586.

Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā`

مُّذَبْذَبِينَ بَيْنَ ذَٰلِكَ لَآ إِلَىٰ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ وَلَآ إِلَىٰ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ ۚ

Ibn Abī Ḥātim, Al-Tafsīr article 6144.

Verily you are in greatly troubled times. Only one with true insight knows the times you live in. Verily you are in a time of [people] boasting and being proud. [1] Their tongues are swollen in their mouths, and they seek worldly gain through the deeds of the hereafter. So be warned against them for yourselves, lest they catch you in their nets. O scholar, you are a scholar yet you devour [wealth] with your knowledge. O scholar, you are a scholar yet you boast with your knowledge. O scholar, you are a scholar yet you seek to amass [wealth] with your knowledge. O scholar, you are a scholar yet you transgress [against others] with your knowledge. If you had truly sought this knowledge for Allāh, it would have been seen on you and in your deeds. [1] The word in some reports is tafākhur (boasting and being proud) but in some other versions, other somewhat ambiguous words are found in its place. Abū Bakr Al-Ājurrī, Kitāb Al-‘Ālim Al-Jāhil article 73 et al.

Abū Bakr Al-Ājurrī, Kitāb Al-‘Ālim Al-Jāhil article 73 et al.

Whoever hides his heresy (bid’ah) from us, his companionship is not hidden from us. Ibn Battah, Al-Ibānah Al-Kubrā article 420. It is reported that when Sufyān Al-Thawrī – Allāh have mercy on him – came to Baṣrah he started to look into the matter of Al-Rabī’ – i.e. Ibn Ṣabīḥ (1) – and his status amongst the people. [Sufyān] asked, “What does he believe?” [People] replied, “He believes in nothing but the Sunnah.” He asked, “Who are his companions?” They replied, “The People of Qadr (those who denied Allāh’s pre-decree).” He said, “Then he is a Qadarī (like them).” Ibid. article 421. (1) Al-Rabī’ b. Ṣabīḥ is described in biographies as being a truthful reporter, but with a bad memory; a devout worshipper and a mujāhid. It is reported that Al-Fuḍayl b. ‘Ayyāḍ – Allāh have mercy on him – said: The souls [of people] are in groups gathered together: those of them that identify with each other come together, and those that are different diverge. It is not possible for an adherent of the Sunnah to incline towards an adherent of Bid’ah except out of hypocrisy (nifāq). Ibid. article 429.

Ibid. article 429.

We were once in a time when we did not think anyone learned the Quran seeking anything but Allāh the Exalted, but now I fear there are men who learn it and intend the people and what they can get from them. So seek Allāh with your recitation and deeds. For verily, we used to know you when Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him – was amongst us, when revelation would descend and Allāh would tell us about you. As for today, Allāh’s Messenger – peace and blessings be upon him – has passed on, and the revelation has stopped; and I only know you as I say: whoever shows what is good, we love him for it and think good of him, and whoever shows what is evil, we hate him for it and suspect him. Your secret and private matters are between you and your Lord the Mighty and Majestic. Al-Ājurrī, Akhlāq Ḥamalat Al-Qur`ān article 26.

Al-Ājurrī, Akhlāq Ḥamalat Al-Qur`ān article 26.

Verily, Allāh has angels who seek out the circles of remembrance [of Allāh], so be careful who you sit with; make sure it is not with an adherent of bid’ah, for Allāh does not look at them. And the sign of nifāq (hypocrisy in faith) is that a man mingles with an adherent of bid’ah. Ibn Battah, Al-Ibānah Al-Kubrā 1:460

Ibn Battah, Al-Ibānah Al-Kubrā 1:460

Qatādah – Allāh’s mercy be upon him – said: This is the likeness Allāh has given of the Hypocrite (munāfiq); he says lā ilāha illallāh and with it marries into the Muslims, inherits from the Muslims, fights alongside the Muslims, and protects his blood and wealth. But when death comes, [the testimony of faith] has no basis in his heart, and no reality in his actions, so the munāfiq is stripped of it at death and left in darkness and blindness wondering therein, just as he was blind about the right of Allāh and obedience to Him in his worldly life and deaf to the truth. Al-Ṭabarī, Al-Tafsīr.

Al-Ṭabarī, Al-Tafsīr.

It is also reported that Al-Sha’bī – Allāh have mercy on him – said the same thing, “If it were not for the munāfiqūn, you would feel all alone in the streets (the streets would be empty).” It is reported that Mālik b. Dīnār – Allāh’s mercy be upon him – said, “I swear, if the munāfiqūn started growing tails, the believers wouldn’t find a spot of ground to walk on.” Ibn Battah, Al-Ibānah Al-Kubrā articles 936-938.

Ibn Battah, Al-Ibānah Al-Kubrā articles 936-938.

It used to be said: it is part of al-nifâq (hypocrisy) to be inwardly different from what you are on the outside, to say one thing and do another and to be different in how you enter and how you leave. And the root of al-nifâq is lying. Abû Bakr Al-Kharâ`itî, Masâwî Al-Akhlâq wa Madhmûmihâ p62.

Abû Bakr Al-Kharâ`itî, Masâwî Al-Akhlâq wa Madhmûmihâ p62.

Singing sprouts hypocrisy (nifāq) in the heart as water sprouts greens and herbs. Ibn Battah, Al-Ibānah Al-Kubrā Vol.2 p469, and Al-Bayhaqī, Al-Sunan Al-Kubrā Vol. 52 p231. Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawzīyah – Allah have mercy on him – said in Madārij Al-Sālikīn, Vol.1 p487: These are the words of someone who fully understood singing and its effects, for no one regularly sings or listens to song except that his heart falls into nifāq without him realizing. If such a person understood the reality of nifāq and its end he would see it in his own heart. Never do the love of song and the love of Qur`ān come together in a person’s heart except that one expels the other. I and others have witnessed how heavy the Qur`ān feels to singers and song-listeners; how they coil when it is recited and how they get angry with a reciter when he recites too long for them (in prayer etc); and how their hearts do not benefit from what he recites: they are not moved to do anything by it. But when the Qur`ān of Shaytān comes, lā ilāha illallāh! How they lower their voices and settle down! How their hearts feel at peace and how the crying and emotions start, how moved they are inwardly and outwardly and spend on clothing and perfume and staying up hoping for a long night ahead. If this is not nifāq then it is certainly the way to it and its foundation.

These are the words of someone who fully understood singing and its effects, for no one regularly sings or listens to song except that his heart falls into nifāq without him realizing. If such a person understood the reality of nifāq and its end he would see it in his own heart. Never do the love of song and the love of Qur`ān come together in a person’s heart except that one expels the other. I and others have witnessed how heavy the Qur`ān feels to singers and song-listeners; how they coil when it is recited and how they get angry with a reciter when he recites too long for them (in prayer etc); and how their hearts do not benefit from what he recites: they are not moved to do anything by it. But when the Qur`ān of Shaytān comes, lā ilāha illallāh! How they lower their voices and settle down! How their hearts feel at peace and how the crying and emotions start, how moved they are inwardly and outwardly and spend on clothing and perfume and staying up hoping for a long night ahead. If this is not nifāq then it is certainly the way to it and its foundation.