6- THOSE WHO DISBELIEVE, WHETHER YOU WARN
THEM OR NOT, THEY DO NOT BELIEVE.
7- ALLAH HAS SET A SEAL ON THEIR HEARTS AND
HEARING AND VISION, AND THEY WILL HAVE SEVERE PUNISHMENT.
These two Ayahs speak of those who deliberately
disbelieve and reject faith knowingly.They know the truth, but for reasons of their own they do not want to believe,
therefore they incur Allah’s Anger and Wroth.
The Mark of Allah’s anger, is that, Allah the Highest
sets a seal on their hearts, hearing and vision, so that they do not see the
guidance they rejected knowingly in the first place.Ibn Jarir Al-Tabari reported in his Tafseer
that Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him said: “When the sins follow one another, they seal the heart.After they seal the heart, comes the seal
from Allah the Highest”.And
there is not a greater sin than disbelieving.
Allah the Highest said: “VERILY,
BUT STAINED THEIR HEARTS WHAT THEY EARNED”.(S: 83 A: 14)
We earn sins by doing wrong knowingly and with intent.This stains our hearts.Allah’s messenger, prayer and peace upon him
said: “When a believer sins, this becomes a
black spot on his heart.But if he
repents, does not go back to the sin, and asks for forgiveness, it clears.Instead, if he commits more sins the stain
increases.This is the stain which Allah
the Highest mentioned in his book, “VERILY, BUT STAINED THEIR HEARTS WHAT THEY
EARNED”.(Ma: Zohd, 29 &
A: 2; 29)
It is clear that, Allah the Highest did not close the
door for the disbelievers to believe.Certainly millions of disbelievers, believed after this Ayah were sent
down, and became very righteous people.This Ayah is about people who deserve the Seal.They are those Allah the Highest said about; “WHEN WHAT THEY RECOGNISE TO BE TRUE COMES TO THEM, THEY
REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT, HENCE ALLAH’S CURSE IS ON THE DISBELIEVERS”.(S: 45 A: 23)
Allah the Highest spoke of them saying “HAVE YOU SEEN THOSE WHO KNOWINGLY TAKE THEIR DESIRES AS
THEIR GOD, ALLAH LEFT THEM ASTRAY AND SEALED THEIR HEARING AND THEIR HEARTS AND
PUT A VEIL OVER THEIR VISION.WHO WILL GUIDE
THEM OTHER THAN ALLAH; WILL YOU NOT BE WARNED” (S: 45 A: 23)
Here again rejection is knowingly.
In the next Ayahs Allah the Highest
speaks of the Hypocrites.Hypocrisy in
general is to hold an outward appearance that is different from the inner
belief.Here, Allah the Highest speaks
of those who pretend to be Muslims while they are not.
Hypocrisy in Islam started after the Muslims migration
to Medina (it was
called Yathrib then).When Islam spread
in Medina and
the Muslims became the majority of the Arab tribes (excluding the 3 Jewish
tribes), the disbelievers who became a minority, then pretended to be Muslims,
in order not to loose their status and relation.
The Hypocrites became a negative element in the
society.They tried to weaken the Muslims’
faith and the unity. Their head was a man called Abd Allah Ibn Obi Ibn Salool,
who was about to be crowned king of Medina
when Allah’s messenger, prayer and peace upon him migrated.He and his followers always tried to spread
doubt and uncertainty among the Muslims and to weaken the Muslims whenever
possible.When the Disbelievers of Makah
gathered a 3000 strong army and marched towards Medina to fight the Muslims; the
battle of Ohud took place a little way outside the town; he turned back half
way from Medina to the battle, with 300 men out of a total of 1000, saying that
he did not expect a fight to take place.
The greatest danger from the Hypocrites is that they
pose as Muslims, live as Muslims, among Muslims, intermarry with Muslim, and
are listened to by Muslims, particularly the more eloquent of them.Yet, they present Islam in a perverted
way.Telling people what they like to
hear, making lies sound like the truth.Allah’s messenger, prayer and peace upon him said: “The most I fear for my nation is a well spoken
Hypocrite”.(A: 1; 22)
This is why Allah the Highest describes the hypocrites
in detail in the next Ayahs so that we can identify them and recognize them.
8- AND OF PEOPLE THOSE WHO SAY: “WE BELIEVE
IN ALLAH AND THE LAST DAY”, WHILE THEY ARE NOT BELIEVERS.
This is the definition of the Hypocrites. Hypocrisy in
the broadest terms is for one to say what one does not believe.To pretend to be what they are not.Believing in Allah the Highest and the Last Day
is the essence of belief, which is why this is the first thing to be mentioned.
The Word ‘Day’ is mentioned several times in the Quran
meaning different things. It does not mean a day in an Earthly sense, but a
period of time.The Last Day is the time
after which there is no time, for then there is eternity.It is the last period of time, it is eternal
and it is eternity.It starts with the
Resurrection of mankind.
Allah’s messenger, prayer and peace upon him, knew the
hypocrites and the Muslims knew their leader Abd Allah Ibn Obi Ibn Salool.Allah’s messenger, prayer and peace upon him,
did not wish to do them any harm.Even
when Abd Allah Ibn Obi’s son offer to kill his father after he turned back with
300 men when they went out for the battle of Ohud, Allah’s messenger prayer and
peace upon him, refused, and instead prayed for him, and ask Allah to forgive
him and them; and continued this until, Allah the Highest, forbad His messenger,
prayer and peace upon him, saying:
“NEVER PRAY ON ANY OF THEM WHO DIES
EVER, NOR STAND ON HIS GRAVE, FOR THEY DIDBELIEVED IN ALLAH AND HIS MESSENGER
AND DIED WHILE THEY WERE EVIL-DOERS”.(S: 9 A: 84)
And He said “WHETHER
YOU ASK FOR FORGIVENESS FOR THEM OR NOT, EVEN IF YOU ASK SEVENTY TIMES, ALLAH
WILL NOT FORGIVE THEM”.(S: 9
A: 80)
Allah’s messenger, prayer and peace upon him, did not
want to set a precedent by killing people who, testify that, there is no God
other than Allah and Mohamed is His messenger, on the pretext of hypocrisy.Only Allah the Highest knows what is in
people’s hearts.
9- THEY TRY TO DECEIVE ALLAH AND THE
BELIEVERS, BUT THEY ONLY DECEIVE THEMSELVES, BUT THEY DO NOT KNOW.
In pretending to believe, they try to deceive Allah
the Highest and the believers.The
believers are human and they may be deceived, but how can they expect to
deceive Allah the Highest.The thought
that they might be able to do this, is definite evidence of their lack of
Faith.
Allah the
Highest said “DO THEY NOT KNOW THAT ALLAH KNOWS
WHAT THEY HIDE AND WHAT THEY REVEAL”.(S: 2 A: 77)
And said: “WHETHER YOU
HIDE WHAT IS INSIDE YOU OR REVEAL IT, ALLAH KNOWS IT”.(S: 3 A: 29)
On the Day of Resurrection they will still think that
they can deceive Allah the Highest.Even
then, when they should realize that what they disbelieved in is true, they will
still try, “ON THE DAY WHEN HE (ALLAH) WILL
REVIVE THEM FROM THE DEAD, THEY WILL SWEAR TO HIM AS THEY SWEAR TO YOU, AND
THINK THAT THEY HAVE SOME STANDING, INDEED THEY ARE THE LIARS”.(S: 58 A: 18)
So we identify the Hypocrites by their character,
which Allah the Highest, tells us about in the next Ayahs and which Allah’s
messenger, prayer and peace upon him summarised saying: “Four characters, he who has them is a pure hypocrite,
and he who has one of them, has a character of hypocrisy until he leaves it;
when entrusted he betrays his trust, when he speaks he lies, when he makes a
covenant he does not fulfil it, and when in dispute he becomes immoral”.(B: Eman; 24 & M: Eman; 104 & T: Eman,
14 & N: Eman; 20 & A: 2; 189)
B: Bukhari
M: Muslim
Mal: Malek
A:
Ahmed D: Abu Dawood
