وعن ابي هريرة رضى الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم: آية المنافق ثلاث إذا حدث كذب وإذا وعد اخلف وإذا اؤتمن خان متفق عليه ولهما من حديث عبد الله بن عمرو: وإذا خاصم فجر .
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “The signs of a hypocrite are three: when he speaks he lies, when he promises he breaks it, and when he is trusted he betrays.”
“And for both of them, from the hadith of Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him): and when he disputes he behaves abusively.”
Takhrij: The hadith of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) in Bukhari
, Muslim, Al-Iman
and others; the hadith of Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) in Bukhari
, Muslim (Al-Iman
) and others. In Sahih Muslim, a narration of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) is as follows:
آية المنافق ثلاث وإن صام وصلى وزعم انه مسلم
“The signs of a hypocrite are three, even if he fasts, prays, and claims that he is a Muslim.”
The wording of the narration of Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) in Sahih al-Bukhari is as follows:
اربع من كن فيه كان منافقا او كانت فيه خصلة من اربعة كانت فيه خصلة من النفاق حتى يدعها : إذا حدث كذب وإذا وعد اخلف وإذا عاهد غدر وإذا خاصم فجر
“There are four qualities; whoever has them is a pure hypocrite, and whoever has one of these qualities has a quality of hypocrisy until he gives it up: when he is trusted he betrays, when he speaks he lies, when he makes a covenant he breaks it, and when he disputes he behaves abusively.”
Vocabulary:
مُنَافِقٌ is derived from نَافَقاءُ, which is one opening of the burrow of the desert jerboa (yarbu’). It builds it in such a way that it leaves only a thin layer of soil at that spot, which opens when it strikes with its head. It keeps this opening hidden and reveals another opening. Since the hypocrite also conceals his disbelief and displays faith, he was named so.
آيَةٌ was originally اَيَيةٌ; the yā’ was moving and its preceding letter was fatha, so the yā’ was replaced with an alif.
اُوْتُمِنَ is the passive past tense of the ifti’al form. اِئْتَمَنَهُ means he considered him trustworthy.
Benefits:
➊ The essence of hypocrisy is that the hypocrite conceals disbelief and displays faith; despite disbelief in his heart, he claims to have faith. وَاللَّهُ يَشْهَدُ إِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لَكَاذِبُونَ “And Allah testifies that the hypocrites are liars.”
It is known that the fundamental basis of hypocrisy is lying.
➋ Allah the Exalted said in the Noble Qur’an:
إِنَّمَا يَفْتَرِي الْكَذِبَ الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّـهِ ۖ وَأُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ الْكَاذِبُونَ
“Only those who do not believe in the signs of Allah fabricate lies, and it is they who are the real liars.”
From this it is known that lying is the opposite of faith.
➌ If we combine the narrations of Abu Hurairah and Abdullah ibn Amr, may Allah be pleased with them both, five signs of the hypocrite emerge.
① When he speaks, he lies.
② When he makes a promise, he breaks it.
③ When he makes a covenant, he breaks it.
④ When he is trusted, he betrays.
⑤ When he quarrels, he uses abusive language.
If we reflect, using abusive language while quarrelling falls under the first sign, “when he speaks, he lies,” and is a specific form of it, because abusive language is generally difficult without lying. Breaking a covenant falls under the second sign, “when he makes a promise, he breaks it,” although a covenant is more binding than a promise and sometimes includes an oath, yet fundamentally the two are similar.
Now only three original signs remain, as stated in the hadith of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him. The presence of these three signs means that his trustworthiness has been completely lost, because trustworthiness is of three kinds: trustworthiness in speech, trustworthiness in action, and trustworthiness in intention.
① “When he speaks, he lies”:
This is dishonesty of speech. Abusive language during a quarrel is also dishonesty of speech.
② “When he makes a promise, he breaks it”:
This is the result of dishonesty of intention and a false intention. A person is sinful when, at the time of making a promise or covenant, his intention is not to fulfil it, or when he does not remain committed to fulfilling it afterwards. If his intention is to fulfil the promise but he is unable to keep it due to circumstances beyond his control, he is not held accountable for it. لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّـهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا
“Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity.”
③ “When he is trusted, he betrays”:
This is dishonesty in action and practical lying. Although dishonesty of speech and intention also accompanies it.
④ Here a question arises: these signs are sometimes found even in a Muslim, so will he be declared a hypocrite? The answer to this question has been given in several ways.
The first way is that hypocrisy is of two kinds. One is doctrinal hypocrisy, meaning that he does not truly have faith in Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ); he has only recited the testimony verbally. People consider him a Muslim, while in his heart he is not a Muslim at all. This is major hypocrisy (nifaq akbar). In the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), those with this hypocrisy were declared disbelievers, and the warning of being in the lowest level of Hell was given to them. Even now, many communists, secularists and democrats do not truly have faith in Allah and His Messenger; they only claim to be Muslims within Muslim society to achieve their own interests.
The second is practical hypocrisy, where a person shows that he possesses good deeds while in reality he does not have them. The fundamental elements of this hypocrisy are mentioned in this hadith: when all of them come together, the deed becomes entirely corrupt. That is, while speaking he displays that he is saying something, while his inner state is contrary to it and he is speaking contrary to reality.
Outwardly, people consider him trustworthy, yet in reality he is not trustworthy. When he makes a promise, he gives the impression of fulfilling it, but his intention is not to fulfil it. In summary, this hadith mentions signs of practical hypocrisy, and one proof of this is that it says whoever has one sign has one sign of hypocrisy, and whoever has all of them is a pure hypocrite. Doctrinal hypocrisy does not have this gradation; such a person is simply a disbeliever in the sight of Allah.
⑤ The second way is that the meaning of this hadith is not that someone who commits these sins once or twice becomes a hypocrite, because a believer may also commit sins. The purpose is that these sins become his habit and his daily routine; then he is a hypocrite. When all these signs are found together, it is impossible that he has true faith in Allah and His Messenger in his heart. If he lies in everything he says, makes no promise he fulfils, and remains trustworthy in no trust, then he will be a doctrinal hypocrite as well as a practical one, because speaking and making promises include the affirmation of faith. If he lies in this, how can he remain merely a practical hypocrite? Lying is not the habit of the people of faith at all. Allah the Exalted spoke the truth:
إِنَّمَا يَفْتَرِي الْكَذِبَ الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّـهِ ۖ وَأُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ الْكَاذِبُونَ
“Only those who do not believe in the signs of Allah fabricate lies, and it is they who are the real liars.”
And if every statement and action and intention is pure lying, how can faith remain? The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
وإن الكذب يهدي إلى الفجور وإن الفجور يهدي إلى النار
“Beware of lying, for lying leads to wickedness, and wickedness leads to the Fire.”
