Harun Yahya – Secrets of the Hypocrites
Hypocrites’ Self-Satisfaction
They allot to Allah what they themselves dislike and their tongues frame the lie that they will receive the best. There is no doubt at all that they will receive the Fire and that they are people who go to excess.
An-Nahl: 62
People who fear Allah always hope for His help and support in all matters. As reported in the words of the Prophet Musa (as), for example: “. . . My Lord, I am truly in need of any good You have in store for me†(Surat al-Qasas: 24), they are aware that they need their Creator at every moment. This is where the self-satisfaction of hypocrites, whose characteristics are the exact opposite of those of believers, emerges.
The Qur’an uses the word “istaghna†(self-satisfaction, self-sufficiency) to describe people who imagine they have no need of anything. Yet the term actually applies solely to Allah, for only He has no need of anything. Humans and all other living things are helpless, needy entities, created by Allah and in need of Him in order to survive. Allah addresses human beings so that they may realize their helplessness:
O humanity! An example has been made, so listen to it carefully. Those whom you call upon besides Allah are not even able to create a single fly, even if they were to join together to do it. And if a fly steals something from them, they cannot get it back. How feeble are both the seeker and the sought!
Al-Hajj: 73
Hypocrites, on the other hand, are unaware of their neediness in the face of Allah. They harbor within themselves an arrogance similar to that of satan. Even though they are belittled in the sight of Allah and in that of believers, they imagine that they can deceive people and imagine themselves to be very intelligent and superior. They imagine themselves to be always on the true path, never admitting the possibility that they might have deficiencies or be in error. All these things are actually symptoms of a kind of sickness whose name is “self-satisfaction,†as described above.
Indeed, Allah reveals that hypocrites have a sickness in their hearts, which is only increased by their two-facedness:
Among the people there are some who say, “We believe in Allah and the Last Day,†when they are not believers. They think they deceive Allah and those who believe. They deceive no one but themselves but they are not aware of it. There is a sickness in their hearts and Allah has increased their sickness. They will have a painful punishment on account of their denial.
Al-Baqara: 8-10
The disease of self-satisfaction has been seen in all deniers throughout history. Allah has indicated the disease, which leads people directly to Hell, in several verses of the Qur’an.
This disease began with satan. The first sign of self-satisfaction in him, who regarded himself as the most superior of all created beings, came with satan’s refusal to prostrate himself before the Prophet Adam (as), despite Allah’s commanding him to do so. Satan’s own explanation for this behavior was that the Prophet Adam (as) had been created out of earth and he himself, out of fire.
Therefore, every denier since the world began has harbored this same characteristic, due to their sharing the same nature as satan. The self-satisfaction of the hypocrites is the same as that which first manifested itself in satan.
The first symptom of self-satisfaction is a person’s refusal to believe the sickness in his heart, as the Qur’an puts it. Indeed, hypocrites totally reject the idea, which then leads to their sickness increasing still further. That is because someone who is conceited and regards himself as perfect, will feel no need to avoid sin and wickedness. Indeed, Allah reveals in the Qur’an that people who regard themselves as unblemished will develop even greater excesses. It is stated in verses that:
No indeed! Truly man is unbridled, seeing himself as self-sufficient.
Al-‘Alaq: 6-7
The self-sufficiency that hypocrites harbor within themselves has various symptoms and consequences, which are described in detail in verses of the Qur’an—and become even clearer when set out one after the other.
1. They Feel No Responsibility Toward the Verses
One of the groups of deniers who regard themselves as exempt from the verses of the Qur’an—in other words, who are unaware that the verses apply to them—are the hypocrites. Despite reading the Qur’an, they regard the stipulations of many verses as having little to do with them. For example, the description of Hell only increases a believer’s fear, because there is always the possibility of losing Allah’s approval and going to Hell. But since hypocrites regard themselves as predestined to enter Paradise, these verses have no effect on them. They are therefore unable to see and understand the many verses that are addressed directly to them.
When the believer is reminded of verses, or given advice by hearing them cited, his fear increases, and he abides by them, displaying exceptional sincerity. But when the hypocrite is reminded of them, he behaves pretty much as if he never heard the verses at all. He never reflects on or takes advice from Allah’s wisdom:
What is the matter with them that they run from the Reminder?
Al-Muddaththir: 49
Another distinguishing feature of hypocrites is that their observance of religion is limited to words. Their falsehood can also be seen in terms of abiding by the verses. Allah has revealed in a number of verses just how insensitive they are to His verses and how they seek to distance themselves from their provisions as far as possible:
Don’t you see those who claim that they believe in what has been sent down to you and what was sent down before you, still desiring to turn to a satanic source for judgment in spite of being ordered to reject it? Satan wants to misguide them far away. When they are told, “Come to what Allah has sent down and to the messenger,†you see the hypocrites turning away from you completely.
An-Nisa’: 60-61
Don’t you see those who have been given a portion of the Book being invited to let Allah’s Book be the judge between them? But then a group of them turn away.
Ali ‘Imran: 23
11-42
2009
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