Ahsan Hanif – Quran Tafseer – Page 101 – Hypocrisy And The Rewards Of Sincerity
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Welcome to another episode of page by page.
Today, we are on page 101, which is
the final page of the 5th jaws.
In the previous episode, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
mentioned to us a number of verses pertaining
to the hypocrites
and the the harm that they do and
the way that they try to undermine the
standard of the Muslims
and also the punishment that Allah has prepared
for them. And it is on that similar
topic that Allah
continues and that we speak about today also.
In verse 142, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala continues
with the description of the hypocrites and says,
The hypocrites try to deceive Allah, but it
is he who causes them to be deceived.
And when they stand up to pray, they
do so sluggishly,
showing off in front of people and remember
Allah only a little.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala speaks about one of
the realities and characteristics
and attributes of the people of hypocrisy and
as we've said before, So
they're showing a front to people, but in
reality they are people
So they're showing a front to people, but
in reality, they are people who don't accept
Islam or don't believe in Allah
Allah
says that the by doing so, these people
who have this type of trait and characteristic,
they think that they are deceiving Allah,
Deceiving the Muslims
that they are tricking Allah
and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, but the
reality is that they are the ones who
are being deceived.
And we've said previously
that these types of characteristics when they are
mentioned in the Quran concerning Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala
of deception or deceit or whatever it may
be or planning and scheming, they are only
done
in retaliation
to the actions of certain people or certain
creations of Allah
Allah himself doesn't deceive and he doesn't scheme
and he doesn't plot. That is not something
which is befitting for Allah
in a general context, but it is befitting
for Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala in the context
of what what is being mentioned here, for
example. And that is when people think that
they can overcome Allah, that they can plot
against Allah, that they can deceive Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala. Allah
is saying that in reality, all that they're
doing is being the cause of their own
or being the,
being the the result of their own deception.
They are the ones that are being deceived.
They are the ones that are being,
that the the the the the are being
out scheme that are plotted.
And so Allah mentions these attributes of his
subhanahu wa ta'ala in retaliation
or in response
to the actions of some of his creation.
And so therefore, it is not befitting that
we say about Allah or mention these attributes
generally, like the way that we mentioned other
attributes that Allah is merciful. Allah is kind
Allah is generous subhanahu wa ta'ala. We don't
say that Allah is a wudu likewise
is someone who deceives
likewise is one who plots and schemes, for
example, no, But when it is in retaliation
or in response, then it becomes an attribute
of perfection. Why? Because otherwise it would show
weakness
that Allah is weak, that there are people
who can deceive Allah, that
there are people who can scheme against Allah,
and Allah wouldn't be aware. Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala in that way wouldn't be aware and
that is not befitting for our Lord and
creator subhanahu wa ta'ala. Rather Allah Azza wa
Jal from his pure and complete
perfection
is that if someone tries to harm or
thinks that they can harm Allah
in reality, Allah will turn their plot upon
its head and they will be the ones
who will be deceived. And that is why
every single time people try to undermine the
stand Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala finds a way
for it to be supreme.
And that's something which we've seen throughout history,
especially the time of the prophet sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam count as examples of how the
hypocrisy is, how the hypocrites try to undermine
the Muslims in Islam and how Allah Azzawajal
turned the tables upon them. And from
that,
the the the attempt at deception and how
Allah will turn that against them is what
they will do. Because
they will think
once all once all of the different nations
and all of the disbelievers have been taken
away and only the Muslims and believers remain
and they remain with them. They will think
that they have again outmaneuvered everyone, outfought everyone.
That Allah Azza wa jal only knows their
reality and because they pretended to be Muslims,
that's how they're going to be judged. And
that is what Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala mentions
to us elsewhere in the Quran that when
they would have to walk on that bridge
and they will need light that they themselves
have no none of because they don't have
any Iman and that light is
according to a person's developed Iman, they will
want the light of others around them.
They will say, wait for us. Let us
take and benefit from your light. It will
be said to them to go back and
to wait and to find their own light.
And that is what they will realize that
they will have no light. So therefore, they
cannot progress that bridge. Therefore, they cannot reach
the other side and what is upon the
other side is Jannah. And that is when
they will fall into the fire. And that
is why Allah says that everything that they
do under the name of Islam or the
guys of Islam is always done halfheartedly.
It was always done in a manner which
shows that they don't really believe that they're
not really sincere, that they're not really there.
And therefore, it is something which you can
see apparently
amongst them in terms of their actions. And
that is what Allah describes them when it
comes to the most important pillar of Islam
after the belief in Allah and there is
the pillar of Salah. 5 times a day
night you will see them. But when they
come to the salah they come so in
the most difficult way,
lazy way, sluggish way.
When they stand for the prayer, they stand
out of laziness. They don't really want to
worship Allah. They don't even believe in Allah
but it's just to tick that box and
to show that they're believing. And that is
why the prophet told us
he described to us in a number of
hadith, the prayer of the.
And from the prayer of the hypocrites is
that they wait, for example, until the time
of that salah is about to to pass.
It's about to finish. And then the couple
of minutes before, they will come and simply
jump up and down, meaning they will pray.
But so fast, it's like they're up up
and down or like the hadith says, like
the chicken that pecks on the ground so
fast
because of the couple of minutes that they
have left. That is from the of the
hypocrites.
And so the believer therefore has been told
that we when we pray, it shouldn't be
like that. We shouldn't be sluggish. We shouldn't
be lazy. We shouldn't be hasty in our
salah. We shouldn't be delaying our salah until
there's only a few minutes left because we're
busy with something else preoccupied with other things.
Characteristics of the believer. Because when you attach
importance to something and you know its value,
then you will give to it your full
attention. You will give to it its due
attention because you know what's important.
But when it's not important to you, when
you don't really attach any value to it,
that is when you become heedous regarding it
or you become lackadaisical regarding it. And so
therefore, Allah describes
the hypocrites in that manner. They don't really
believe, they don't really want to pray, they
don't really want to be part of the
Muslim community, but it's just that they're looking
for their benefits as Allah mentioned in those
previous verses that we took in the last
episode.
They're looking at where do I get benefit
from. And when the Muslims are strong and
when the Muslims have wealth and when the
Muslims are in power, they know that it's
something which will benefit them in some way
or another. So they seek to come close.
So that means that they have to show
a level of Islam
apparently openly.
And so they will come and they will
pray, but they pray in this manner. Allah
says you are.
They only do it show off to the
people. They're only praying to show to people
that look we're Muslims too. We're praying as
well.
And they remember Allah
very little. And the sad fact is that
unfortunately many Muslims today, you could despise them
in this way. That if they pray, and
that doesn't mean they're hypocrites by the way.
I'm not saying they're hypocrites. They are Muslims,
but just because of the weakness of Iman
within them that when it comes to Salah,
they're lazy.
You happen to be in the Masjid, you
have to pray. You can't just sit there.
But those people, if they run-in the Masjid
for that prayer they were at home, they
wouldn't pray. So what does that mean? It
means that they were praying for Allah
more likely because of the people who are
watching more likely because it's embarrassing.
And so people who don't pray, but if
they come to the masjid because there's an
nikah, they come to the masjid because there's
a Jannahza prayer. And it's after one of
the salas now, you have to pray.
They're there in the masjid. They're gonna pray,
but they're not praying really all the time.
And so that's something which is extremely dangerous
because it means that they remember Allah Azza
wa Jal very little.
In verse 143, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala then
says,
They are wavering all the time between this
and that belonging neither to one side
nor to the other. If Allah leaves someone
to stray you will never find a way
for him. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying
that
the
means that they waver, that they're constantly changing.
They're fluctuating between 2 states. They're fluctuating between
iman and between disbelief, and they're fluctuating therefore
between the 2 groups of people, the believers
and the disbelievers.
Sometimes they're here and sometimes they're there. As
we mentioned at the beginning of Surah Al
Baqarah describes them in a lot of detail.
They're those people that if they were the
believers, they say, amen. Now we believe. And
when they're not with the believers, they make
fun of them and they ridicule them. That's
what they do. They essentially waver between these
two groups of people, between iman and between
disbelief, between the believers and disbelievers. And Allah
says that this is their state.
And so that is why
anything which
which, which has this trait
of wavering in this way between what is
right and what is wrong
in Arabic language linguistically. It is also a
type of nifaq and hypocrisy. And that is
why the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said from
the traits of hypocrisy is, for example, that
a person when they speak, they lie. When
they promise, they break it. When they're given
a trust, they are treacherous regarding it. That
doesn't mean those people have left Istanbul, they're
the hypocrites,
but it means they have the hypocrisy of
action, the hypocrisy of statements, which is a
lesser form of hypocrisy than the hypocrisy of
belief, but it is also sinful and it
is dangerous because it is a stepping stone
to the greater and major hypocrisy. So for
example, the Muslim should always be truthful.
So if the Muslim is speaking and is
telling untruths, he's lying, then that's the type
of hypocrisy. He's wavering between those two things
the way that he should be and the
way that he shouldn't be and he's wavering
between them. The one who promises and they
break their promise. They gave their word that
they would do something, they break that promise.
They're also wavering between those 2 states of
the way that they should be and what
they end up doing. And likewise, the one
who's entrusted with something, they agree to look
after someone's trust, and then they're treacherous. They
break that trust. They're also wavering between those
two states, and that is why it is
called a type of hypocrisy.
So the the believer is someone
who's aware
of this whole concept of hypocrisy
and what it means and what it refers
to and they're constantly aware of this for
themselves. And that is why amongst the companions,
they were never people who took this for
granted that they were believers. And that is
why when the prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam mentioned
to Hudayfa, radiAllahu an, the names of the
hypocrites in Madina. Because the prophet Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam was aware of who they were, But
he left them to their devices and he
judged them according to their open guides of
Islam so as not to cause more harm
than good.
But he was aware of them. And he
mentioned them to
as we know generation came to and he
said I ask you by Allah.
Islam and Iman and Jihad and and Ibadan
worship and everything else that he does, he's
still afraid for himself. And that's because the
believer should always be constantly aware. And that
is why the scholars say that it is
a true believer who feels hypocrisy for themselves.
And it is the hypocrite who doesn't fear
hypocrisy.
So it is the state of iman that
you never take your iman for granted. That
doesn't mean you go overboard that you let
come and play with your mind that every
time you pray, you think you didn't really
pray correctly and then you go back. No.
It means that you are just aware
of your iman, your belief in Allah
and you try to be someone who's all
all always constantly following the commands of Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, especially when it comes to
those things in which there are double standards.
Like we gave the examples from the hadith
of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam.
Allah subhanahu ta'ala then says in verse 144,
giving the command to the believers.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives this command to
the believers
that these types of people
do not Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala gives this
command to the believers
that these types of people don't take them
as your allies, be aware of them and
be cautious of them Because they have their
own goals and they have their own objectives.
And from those objectives is that
they don't want you to be, to to
do they want to undermine you
in terms of your belief and in terms
of your religion. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
is telling the believers for example at the
time of the prophet Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
that they should be aware. And that is
why the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam didn't
please his judgement based upon those people. And
that is why when they turned away, for
example, at the battle of Uhad, almost a
third of the Muslim army leaves. Can you
imagine how demoralizing that could be? How difficult
that could be? How much it would weaken
you? That a third of your number goes
away on the morning of the battle just
turns away and goes back home. The prophet
sallallahu alaihi wasallam wouldn't let that change anything
because he knew the reality of those people
and he knew what they were upon. And
he's basing his judgments upon those people of
imam, those people who are the true believers
with him from the companions.
Allah
says in verse 145.
Speaking about therefore the punishment of the
the hypocrites.
And the
The hypocrites will be in the lowest depths
of * and you will find no one
to help them. Allah, Azza wa Jal, just
as we have as we know in Jannah
levels
that ascend.
We have levels that ascend and the more
that you do, the better that you are
and the closer that you are to goodness
and to completeness in your iman and your
religion, the higher reward and station will be
in Jannah. And there are numerous hadith as
we know of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam to speak about the levels of Jannah.
And Allah mentions it in the Quran that
the Rajat of Jannah.
And that is why the prophet sallallahu alaihi
was saying just to give one example said
that it will be said to the one
who's memorized the Quran read and with every
single verse that you recite, you will ascend
a level. There are many levels, therefore, in
Jannah. And so that person continues to ascend
in Jannah.
Likewise, just as there are levels that are
sent in,
there are levels that descend
in the fire and that in Arabic is
called.
So ascension is
a
descension is
and Allah says concerning the hypocrites
that they will be in the lowest
of the levels of the fire. The lowest
depths of the fire will be reserved for
them. Why? Because their harm was greater. Their
evil was greater. The disbelievers openly were disbelievers.
It's not that the disbelievers,
but these people were trying to undermine Islam
from within. They were pretending to be believers
whereas in reality they were disbelievers and because
of that
extra level of deception Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
will punish them in the severest of ways
and that is also from the ways that
they think that they are receiving Allah
but Allah
will turn the deception upon themselves.
He won't turn it upon themselves because their
punishment will be the previous
and worst of all punishments
in the They will be in the lowest
depths of the fire
And you will find no one to help
them. No one will come to their aid.
No one will come to to speak to
them. That is when some of the
narration that speak about Yomukayama,
when the people of Iman will see Allah
on that day they will fall into prostrations.
But the hypocrites, their backs
will become like
iron, like a sheet of iron or battle
that will not allow them to bow or
to prostrate.
Because in the dunya, they didn't really bow
to Allah, aze wazool, They didn't prostrate for
the sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. So
on that day, they will also not be
able to bow. And these are all different
ways in which Allah Azza wa Jal will
humiliate them on the day of judgement.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the next verse
146,
he gives the exception to those people from
amongst them. There are those who make Tawba.
Turn to Allah
and repent, accept Islam,
and be true in their Islam. For those
people they have, as always,
the exception to the rule. And that is
that anyone that makes Toba Allah
forgives them. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says
hold fast to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
and devote their religion entirely to him. These
will be joined with the believers and Allah
will give to the believers
a mighty reward.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that from amongst
them that if they make Tawba,
meaning that they accept Islam because they are
hypocrites,
they turn to Islam and they accept it.
And they mend their ways meaning that they
follow the religion of Allah and the commandments
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
State. Because the difference between the believer and
the disbeliever
or the hypocrite rather is the hypocrite shows
one thing openly, conceals something else internally. The
believer is the one who what they show
openly is what they believe internally as well.
So they win their ways in that regard.
And they hold on to Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala mean the region of Allah
and the commands of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And the book of Allah
is revelation.
And they make their allegiance and see the
for his sake. So essentially these people are
making tawba and Allah
mentions the the manner in which the Tawba
would take or the the the the state
of their Tawba.
What fashion their Tawba should take or what
what image or if you like, what what
way it should be manifested. And that is
that they should mend their ways by leaving
off hypocrisy. Follow and hold on to this
religion and make it sincerely for the
sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So essentially,
they are true. And make it sincerely for
the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So
essentially, they are true Muslims.
They have truly become believers in Allah
These are the people
that will be joined with the believers.
And
Allah says, and it is to these p
b believers that Allah will give to a
mighty reward. And look at how Allah Azza
wa Jal doesn't say that Allah will give
to them, but he names them. They are
with the believers
and to the believers Allah gives the right
reward to show and to highlight this principle
that we have now mentioned a number of
times that Allah has established
numerous times throughout the Quran and that is
that it is only the believers
that will receive the reward of the hereafter.
Only the believers.
So no one can escape. No one can
hide. No one can sleep their way their
way in. That if they're surrounded by all
of the believers and there's, like, a 100
or a 1000 of them and it's one
hypocrite that they can just hide their way
in, sleep their way in. No one will
notice them rather Allah
will pick them out from even millions.
And they will be extracted from that group.
If they make Tawba and they hold on
to the religion of Allah
and they're sincere and they amend and rectify
their affairs, they are with the believers. And
it is only to the believers that Allah
gives the greatest of rewards.
In the final verse in today's episode, there
is the final verse of the 5th jaws
of the Quran. Allah says in verse 147.
Why should Allah make you suffer torment if
you are thankful and believe in him?
Allah always rewards gratitude,
and he knows everything.
Allah
says that Allah
has no need to punish anyone. Allah does
not benefit from the punishment of anyone just
as he does not benefit
from the reward of anyone or the blessings
that he gives to anyone.
So therefore, what we do, it is for
us. If we do good and we are
rewarded, it benefits us. And if we do
evil and we are punished, it harms only
us. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala does not need
to punish us, nor does Allah
want simply punish us for no reason. And
that is why Allah
says that all of these threats of punishment
that we find within the Quran that the
prophet
mentioned in his sunnah
for the disbelievers,
it is because of their actions and because
of their disbelief.
Why would Allah wish to punish you in
shakatum a mentum if you believe
and if you have,
have gratitude
and thanks to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And
that shows that these people who believe in
Allah fulfill the commandments of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala. Stay away from the major sins
as established in the sunnah Allah is under
the Quran also Allah will forgive them and
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will shower his mercy
and reward upon them. However, if they don't,
they don't have or they have but they
commit the major sins, they open up themselves
to the threat of the punishment from Allah
as a result of their actions. And that
is when the hadith al Qudsi, the prophet
told us that
Allah
says that these are only your deeds.
I simply record them for you. So whoever
finds good, let them thank Allah and praise
him and whoever finds other than that, then
let them not blame anyone except themselves. And
Allah concludes this first by saying
and that is the one that is constantly
rewarding,
constantly grateful for those people to do good,
grateful in the sense that Allah rewards them
with good. That is the gratitude that Allah
shows and then his family is blessing subhanahu
wa ta'ala. Allah doesn't have to reward, but
Allah not only rewards the good that you
do. He multiplies the reward for you. And
not only that, but Allah
also
explains your sins and changes those sins into
good deeds when you make Tawba to Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and that is the meaning
of a shakil or shakur
the one who shows the type of goodness
to those who worshipping Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and
his alima all knowing of everything, knowing the
reality of people's situations and that which they
control and conceal in their hearts. And with
that, inshallah, we come to the end of
today's episode.