Warning Against Hypocrisy (4/6)
Abdulazeez ibn Adaakhil Almutairi
Concerning someone in whose heart is faith and hypocrisy.
As for the Major hypocrisy, it cannot be combined together with faith [in ones heart at the same time] rather; its companion is a disbeliever in Allah (the Almighty and the Exalted), even if he observed fast and prayed and asserted that he was a Muslim, because infidelity destroys the whole acts, and faith and infidelity do not join together in a heart. Allah the Exalted said:
Meaning: "And whoever denies the faith- his work has become worthless, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.” [Surah Al-Ma’idah, 5: 5]
But as to the Minor hypocrisy which does not withdraw from the Religion, there may be in the heart of a Muslim some of its characters, as indicated by the above hadith of Abdullah ibn Amr bin Al 'As. And in Sahih of [Imam Muslim] on the authority of Abu Hurairah, (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said:
Meaning: “Whoever dies without fighting in the way of Allah, nor did he express any desire for Jihad, died on a branch of hypocrisy."
Huzaifa bin Alyaman (may Allah be pleased with them) said: hearts are of four [different] types;
• A Laminated heart and that is the heart of hypocrite.
• An uncircumcised heart and that is the heart of a disbeliever.
• A hairless heart as if in it is a lamp which blooms and that is the heart of a believer.
• And a heart in which there is hypocrisy and faith, its example is like an ulcer which is supplied with pus and blood, and similar to a tree which is irrigated by pernicious and nice water, whatever prevails on it dominates.
Reported by Ibn Abi Shaibah in his [book] Musannaf and in the book of Iman, and Albaniy authenticated it. However, it is considered weak by some scholars because of a cut in its chain of narration but its meaning is authentic.
A laminated heart is the inclined heart
Aliyu bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Faith begins in the heart [in the form of] a white dot, whenever it increases, the brightness increases until the heart becomes fully brighten. While hypocrisy begins in the heart [in the form of] a black dot, whenever it increases, the darkness increases until the heart becomes dark totally. [Reported by Ibn Abi Shaibah in the book of Iman, and Albayhaqy in [his book] Shu'abul Iman, [i.e, the branches of faith].
The essence of this is that, a Muslim may have hypocrisy in him and it may be much or less depending on the level of his faith and his obedience to Allah (the great and the Exalted). Thus, among them is one who may have in him attitudes of hypocrisy. Hence, he lies ones or twice, and he sometimes breaches promise and so on.
And among them is one who frequently falls into such acts together with less remembrance of Allah and exceeding the limits of Allah on many occasions by violating the sanctities of (Allah) and negligence in the obligatory acts, and poring over desires and being deceived by ambiguities. Thus, there will be in his heart to much of hypocrisy and little faith. There is among the Muslims one who almost all the time prays in a hurry and delays it out of its fixed time and performs it in a bad way as in the Sahih of Muslim on the authority of Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) he said; I heard the Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) saying:
Meaning: "that is the Prayer of the hypocrite, he sits watching the Son until when it is between the two hones of the Devil then, he stands up and pecks it four times, he does not remember Allah in it except a little". [Reported by Muslim]
Hence, such a person is among those whose heart has been over powered by hypocrisy to the extent that he deserved to be named hypocrite if not for the faith in his heart which prevented him from leaving prayer totally.
The companions of this category often fall into committing minor Riyaa, doing acts to please listeners and what invalidates acts such as reminder of it, injury in charity and seeking the world with the acts of the Hereafter.
The companions of this category are on a great danger such that this negligence lead them into committing apostasy from the Religion of Allah (the Almighty) and whoever dies among them in hypocrisy while having faith in his heart, then he will be among the companions of grave offense who were promised intense punishment, but he will not remain eternally in the Hell because of the existence of his Islam. The Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) has certainly said:
Meaning: "The people of Paradise will enter Paradise and the people of Hell will go to Hell. Then, Allah will say (to the Angels around Hell): bring out whoever has in his heart faith equal to the weight of a grain of mustard seed. So, they will be taken out but (by then) they had already become blackened (charred). Then they will be put in the river of Hayat [i.e., life] and they will revive like a grain that grows near the bank of a flood channel. Don't you see that it comes out yellow and twisted?" [Reported by Albukhari from the narration of Abu Sa'id Alkhudri (may Allah be pleased with him)]
But he who commits a violator among the violators of Islam, such as mockery of the Religion, abusing the Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and supporting the disbelievers against Muslims is then a disbeliever, withdrawn from Islam and, faith has been detached from his heart, we seek refuge with Allah.
(Continued)