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.
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.
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.