Harun Yahya – Secrets of the Hypocrites
Continuation of the book by Harun Yahya, The Secrets of the Hypocrites.
They Boast of Wealth
Fierce competition for this world distracted you until you went down to the graves.
At-Takathur: 1-2
The source of hypocrites’ boasting is the worldly values they possess. With their beauty and material wealth, they boast and show off to others.
One point on which they flatter themselves is that the number of deniers is greater than that of believers. Two facts regarding this, which they are unable to grasp because of their lack of reasoning, is that Allah has already revealed this fact in the Qur’an, and that this works in believers’ favor, not against them. Indeed, everyone knows that a small group acting in a rational manner will always be victorious in any struggle against a larger one that acts irrationally, and may have many more advantages than the latter.
They Become Spoiled and Rejoice When Blessings are Given Them
Hypocrites are full of self-love and imagine themselves to be always superior and more intelligent than anyone else. They become taken in by the belief that whenever a blessing is given them, their true worth “has at last been realized†and become even more spoiled. For instance, hypocrites grow angry and despair whenever a believer gives them advices and criticizes their mistakes. But they begin to swell up with pride and behave disrespectfully when anyone takes the slightest interest in them or shows them the slightest respect. Alternatively, if they are praised on account of the pleasing behavior they have displayed in an imitative manner, suddenly they begin regarding themselves as above everyone else and look down on those around them. When material blessings are bestowed on them, the same state of mind emerges.
In fact, however, Allah increases His blessings to test people, though they are unaware of this. The state of mind and final end of this community, which is unable to comprehend Allah’s order, is revealed in these terms in the Qur’an:
When they forgot what they had been reminded of, We opened up for them the doors to everything, until, when they were exulting in what they had been given, We suddenly seized them and at once, they were in despair.
Al-An‘am: 44
They Regard Their Blessings as a Sign of Superiority
The way hypocrites regard the blessings given them as signs of superiority is encountered in the example of Qarun, a classic denier described in the Qur’an. Given a bounteous fortune as a test by Allah, Qarun swelled with pride because of the blessings he possessed and interpreted them as a sign of his superiority over others. He imagined that he deserved that fortune and failed to bear in mind that it was a blessing from Allah. This, of course, stemmed from his failure to honor Allah with the honor that is due to Him and to comprehend his own helplessness. The example of Qarun in the Qur’an is an important one for hypocrites:
Qarun was one of the people of Musa, but he lorded it over them. We gave him treasures, the keys alone to which were a heavy weight for a party of strong men. When his people said to him, “Do not gloat. Allah does not love people who gloat.â€
Al-Qasas: 76
They are Timid
They swear by Allah that they are of your number, but they are not of your number. Rather, they are people who are scared.
At-Tawba: 56
With their odd, satanic logic, hypocrites lack the courage whose impression they seek to give. Times of war and difficulty are important in manifesting the sickness in their hearts. In the time of the Prophet (s), for example, when the hypocrites were summoned to war, they promised to participate. But when war actually broke out, they turned and fled due to the terrible fear they felt of others. This is clear proof of their timid natures:
. . . when fighting is prescribed for them, a group of them fear people as Allah should be feared, or even more than that. They say, “Our Lord, why have you prescribed fighting for us? If only You would give us just a little more time!†. . .
An-Nisa’: 77
They are Physically and Spiritually Unclean
Hypocrites are members of the Religion of the Ignorant. Those who adhere to it live far removed from the lifestyle that Allah has chosen for people. They determine that lifestyle’s rules under the inspiration of satan. Judging one another in terms of material criteria, envying one another, and hundreds of other devilish forms of behavior constitute the elements of their false religion.
Their behavior results in an ugly, ignorant state of mind, one that constantly designs evil, never interprets events in an auspicious manner, works against others and brings to mind the spirit of satan himself.
Indeed, Allah has issued the following provision regarding hypocrites who live according to such an ugly mindset:
They will swear to you by Allah when you return to them, so that you leave them alone. Leave them alone, then! They are filth. Their shelter will be Hell as repayment for what they did.
At-Tawba: 95
As this verse tells us, these people cannot claim to be physically clean. Indeed, spiritual and physical cleanliness are inter-related concepts. Those with evil in their hearts will inevitably lead an unclean life. Furthermore, Allah reveals in one verse that He increases that uncleanness on account of the sickness in their hearts:
But as for those with sickness in their hearts, it adds defilement to their defilement, and they die while they are disbelievers.
At-Tawba: 125
The darkness that forms in their souls due to the sickness in their hearts also manifests itself in their faces. The faces of such people are described in these terms in the Qur’an, “It is as if their faces were covered by dark patches of the night†(Surah Yunus: 27). It is noteworthy that the light in believers’ faces imparts a feeling of ease to those who behold it, while on the faces of the hypocrites darkness prevails.
They are Parsimonious and Encourage Others to be So
The men and women of the hypocrites are as bad as one another. They command what is wrong and forbid what is right and keep their fists tightly closed. . . .
At-Tawba: 67
Spending generously in the service of Allah is a religious observance commanded in the Qur’an, and that is pleasing to Him. He emphasizes the importance of this in several verses and in particular, reveals that the person who behaves in this way actually stands in need of it. That is because someone who spends generously does so in order to raise his degree in the Hereafter, his place in Paradise. Allah sends believers many blessings from His presence.
Hypocrites, however, cannot understand that this important observance will actually work to their advantage, and so never behave in such a way. Because all their energies are directed towards increasing their material means, they imagine that the more they spend, the greater loss they will incur. In any case, their objective is the fragmentation of the community of believers and to prevent them living by religious moral values by dividing them from one another. Thus they are able to live as members of the society of the ignorant and distance themselves entirely from religious moral values, without feeling the slightest pang of conscience or encountering any difficulty. For that reason, they wish to be of no material or spiritual use to the community of believers, or for believers to be of any use to one another. Being parsimonious, they encourage others to be tight-fisted, too.
We are told how these people, unable to comprehend that believers have no need of anything and that Allah’s help is always with them, call on them to be tight-fisted:
They are the people who say, “Do not spend on those who are with the messenger of Allah, so that they may go away.†The treasuries of the heavens and Earth belong to Allah. But the hypocrites do not understand this.
Al-Munafiqun: 7
11-25
2009
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