Sifat Al-Munafiqin (4/5)

May they perish! How distant they are from the reality of faith and how false their claim to cognisance is! They are one thing and the followers of the Messenger (Peace be upon him) are something totally different.

Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, has taken an oath in His Book upon  Himself; the greatness of which will be realised by those endowed  with spiritual insight, those  whose hearts  are fearful of Him by way of magnification and exaltation. Allah, Exalted is He, says, warning His friends and alerting us to the state of these people,

“No,  by  your Lord, they  are  not  believers until they  make you  their judge in  the  disputes that break out  between them, and  then  find  no  resistance within themselves to what you  decide and  submit themselves completely.” [Surah An-Nisa’ (4): 65]

You will find one of  them  taking oaths before commencing his words, without  anyone even objecting to what he says, because he knows  that  the hearts  of the  believers  do not  find tranquility in what  he says.[1] Therefore he uses the oath as a way of securing himself from any suspicions that may come his way. It is in the same way that people given to doubts  and misgivings lie, making oaths  in order  to beguile the listener into thinking they are telling the  truth,

“They made their oaths a cloak and barred the Way of Allah. What they have done is truly evil.” [Surah Al-Munafiqun (63): 2]

May they perish! They embarked upon the journey across the great white plain with the caravan of faith, then seeing the length of the journey and how far its destination was, they turned on their heels and returned. They think they have found a good life and they sleep comfortably in their beds, but neither in that life have they really lived, and neither in that slumber have they found any real benefit. It is not long till when a caller will give a single cry and they will all stand forth, leaving their life behind, hungry, not feeling any form of satiation ... what will their state be at the time of the Meeting? They knew then they rejected, they saw the truth then they became blinded to it,

“That is because they have believed and returned to disbelief. So their hearts are sealed up and they cannot understand.” [Surah Al-Munafiqun (63): 3]

The best of men in physical appearance, the most enchanting of tongues, the nicest words, yet the most vile of hearts. They are like propped up planks of wood devoid of fruit. They have been severed from the source of their growth and as such rest on a wall to keep them upright so that people do not walk over them.

“When you see them, their outward form appeals to you, and if they speak you listen to what they say. But they are like propped-up planks of wood. They imagine every cry to be against them. They are the enemy, so beware of them. Allah fights them! How they are perverted!” [Surah Al-Munafiqun (63): 4]

They delay the prayer to the last possible time: Fajr at sunrise and ‘Asr at sunset at which time they quickly peck the ground as does a crow. This is because their prayer is a prayer in body but not of heart.[2] While praying they look left and right as does a fox being certain that it is being hunted and chased. They do not attend the congregational prayer; rather they make do with praying in their homes or shops. When they argue they behave uncouthly, when they are entrusted with something they break the trust, when they speak they lie, and when they promise they break it. This is how they deal with creation and Creator. Read their descriptions in the beginning of Al-Mutaffifin and the end of At-Tariq  for none  can describe to you the characteristics  of someone better than one who knows him well,

“O Prophet! Do Jihad against the disbelievers and hypocrites and be harsh with them. Their refuge is Hell, what an evil destination.” [Surah At-Tahrim (66): 9]

They may think they are many but in reality they are few. They may think they are strong but in reality they are weak and despicable. They are ignoramuses   thinking themselves high and mighty. They are misled about Allah for they are ignorant of His greatness,

 “They swear by Allah that they are of your number, but they are not of your   number. Rather they are people who are scared.” [Surah At-Tawbah (9): 56][3]

When Ahlus-Sunnah  meet with  easy times, aid and victory, hard does it bear down on them and depressed do they become; and when Ahlus-Sunnah meet with straitened times and are tried by Allah so that  their  sins may be expiated,  jubilant do they become and exultant. This is their legacy and in no way do those who inherit from the Messenger (Peace be upon him) compare to those who inherit from the hypocrites,

“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.'” [Surah At-Tawbah (9): 50-51]

 “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.” [Surah Al-'Imran (3): 120]

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,[4]

“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 back  and  they were  told:  'Stay behind with  those who  stay  behind.'” [Surah At-Tawbah (9): 46]

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

“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.” [Surah At-Tawbah (9): 47][5]

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 them. He says,

“That is because they hate what Allah has sent down, so He has made their   actions come to nothing.” [Surah Mupammad (47): 9]

 (Continued)