Some
actions and attributes
of
hypocrisy
(50) It is related by Abdullah bin ‘Amr that the Apostle of God
said: “Four things are such that if they combine together in a
person he is an utter Hypocrite and whosoever has any one of these he
has one attribute of Hypocrisy in him and shall remain in that state
till he gives it up. These are : when he is trusted, he betrays ; when
he speaks, he lies ; when he gives a pledge, he breaks it ; and, when
he contends, he reviles.”
-Bukhari
and Muslim
Commentary.-Hyprocrisy, in the Islamic terminology, means the act or
habit of pretending to be a Muslim and falsely displaying loyalty to
the Islamic faith as the case was with Abdullah bin Ubbi and others
of his ilk during the days of the Prophet. This double-dealing, indeed,
is the worst kind of Infidelity and it is about these lying and insincere
men that the Quran has said : Lo ! the Hypocrites [will be] in the lowest
depth of the Fire. (IV : 145].
But there are other traits, acts and practices also which possess a
close affinity with Hypocrisy and the Believer should not even allow
their shadow to fall upon him. If, unfortunately, any of these habits
is found in a Muslim, it will be assumed that he possesses that particular
attribute of Hypocrisy and should all of these be present in him he
will be considered to be a perfect Hypocrite.
In brief, one type of Hypocrisy is related to belief and faith which
is the worst kind of Infidelity but, apart from it, to possess the character
of a Hypocrite is, also, a form of Hypocrisy, though not pertaining
to Faith. For a Muslim it is as necessary to guard against Hypocritical
qualities and behaviour as to shun Infidelity, Polytheism and conceptual
Hypocrisy.
(51) It is related by Abu Hurairah that the Apostle of God said: “Whoever
died in such a state that he neither did Jehad nor made plans of it
in his heart nor yearned for it then he died on an attribute of Hypocrisy.”
-Muslim
Commentary.-A life in which, in spite of the claim to Faith, the time
never comes for striving to the utmost and making sacrifices in the
way of God nor is the urge felt for it in the heart is a life of the
Hypocrites and anyone who will depart from the world in that condition
will depart with an attribute of Hypocrisy.
(52) It is related by Anas that the Apostle of God said: “It is
the Salat [prayer] of a Hypocrite that a person sits on looking indifferently
at the sun till it turns pale and begins to set, and, then, stands up
for Namaz and hurriedly finishes it, like a bird pecking at the grain,
and the remembrance of God in it is, also, nominal.”
-Muslim
Commentary.-What is worthy of a truthful Believer is that he waits eagerly
for the time of Namaz to arrive and when it does he stands up for the
prayer promptly and cheerfully, realizing that he has been blessed with
presence in the Court of the Almighty, the King of Kings, and offers
it up in a calm, composed and collected manner and with a full sense
of humility, and remembers God much in Qayam, Quyud, Ruku and Sujud,
and enlivens his heart with it. But with the Hypocrites it is different.
Salat is a burden to them and they want to delay it as much as possible.
Thus, for the Asr prayer they rise up when the sun is about to sink
below the horizon and finish it off quickly. This is the Namaz of the
Hypocrites and whoever offers it up, in that way, does not offer the
Namza of a faithful Believer but of an untruthful Hypocrite.
(53) It is related by Osman bin Affan that the Apostle of God said:
“Whoever is present in the mosque when Azan is given and goes
out of it without a pressing need and [also] has no intention of coming
back and joining the service is a Hypocrite.
-Ibn-I-Maja
Commentary.-The conduct described in the above Tradition is that of
a Hypocrite and whoever behaves like that is a Hypocrite in practice,
if not in belief.