Saifa wa Maqdis

About Nifaaq/Hypocrisy

All praise is due to Allah. All allegiance belongs to Prophet Muhammad [صلى الله عليه و سلم]. The religion brought forth by him is the best religion. By following the path laid down by him, Al-Islam, we can achieve the best destiny in the Akhirah: Jannah.

However, simply being a Muslim isn’t enough. As Muslims we are always at risk of falling into Nifaaq, or Hypocrisy. Nobody can be a Hypocrite except someone who calls himself/herself Muslim, because all others are Disbelievers. But the Hypocrites – the Muslims who do not take Islam seriously enough – will be lower than the Disbelievers in Hell.

Therefore, we should always be cautious of falling into this grave sin.

If anyone of us thinks that we can’t, then look at the example of Umar ibn al-Khattab: When the revelation came down to Prophet Muhammad [صلى الله عليه و سلم] revealing who the Hypocrites were, he told one of his close Sahabah to write down the names. When Umar ibn al-Khattab heard of this, he rushed, in a panic to the Sahabi. Why? To find out if his name was on the list!

Umar ibn al-Khattab.

Al-Farooq.

Ameer ul-Mu’mineen.

When he walked one way, Shaytan walked another, trying to avoid him.

This man was worried that he would be on the list of Hypocrites? He was promised entry into Jannah!

The Prophet [صلى الله عليه و سلم] said: “If there were to be a prophet after me it would be Umar ibn al-Khattab.”

And HE was worried that he might be a Hypocrite? Allahu Akbar.

Who are we, then, to think for even a second that we’re safe from Hypocrisy? InshaAllah, let’s pray that Allah saves us from Nifaaq, and let’s make sure we do our part by avoiding it as best we can.

Here are some signs of the Hypocrite, so that we may be careful:

The Prophet Muhammad [صلى الله عليه و سلم] said, “Four traits whoever possesses them is a hypocrite and whoever possesses some of them has an element of hypocrisy until he leaves it: (1) the one who when he speaks he lies, (2) when he promises he breaks his promise, (3) when he disputes he transgresses and (4) when he makes an agreement he violates it.”

In this regard Prophet Muhammad [صلى الله عليه و سلم] said: “The signs of a hypocrite are three: (1) when he speaks, he lies; (2) when he gives an agreement, he does not fulfill his commitment; (3) and when he is entrusted, he betrays the trust.” (Reported by Abu Hurayra)

For this reason Prophet Muhammad [صلى الله عليه و سلم] informed us that a hypocrite is a mischievous person. He said: “You will find that the worst person is double-faced; he meets one group of people with one side of his face, while another with the other side.” (Reported by Abu Hurayra)

–Maqdis