Page 30 - Passivity in Religion

PASSIVITY IN RELIGION

In the time of our Prophet (saas), there existed people of poor faith
and hypocrites who resisted against his commands and admonitions,
and dared to make disrespectful pronouncements against such ad-
monitions. They pretended to have never heard that which they had
been told several times over, and when they were reminded so, they
claimed to have never been told such things. And, throughout that
time, they continued to make evil oaths. In one verse, Allah warns be-
lievers against these people:
They made their oaths into a cloak and barred the way of
Allah, so they will have a humiliating punishment. (Surat al-
Mujadala, 16)
In another verse Allah commanded our Prophet (saas) with re-
gards to hypocrites as follows:
O messenger! Do not be grieved by those who rush head-
long into disbelief among those who say "We believe"
with their tongues when their hearts contain no faith.
And among the Jews are those who listen to lies, listening
to other people who have not come to you, distorting
words from their proper meanings, saying, "If you are
given this, then take it. If you are not given it, then be-
ware!" If Allah desires misguidance for someone, you can-
not help him against Allah in any way. Those are the
people whose hearts Allah does not want to purify. They
will have disgrace in the world and in the Hereafter they
will have a terrible punishment. (Surat al-Ma'ida, 41)
Employing elaborate and ambiguous language when speaking,
and saying, "We meant nothing but good," are of the deceptive tactics
often used by hypocrites. They try to cover their hypocrisy through
such means and falsely assume that their deviance will go unnoticed.
Or, even if it were to be noticed, they believe, they could easily ex-
plain it away. Though their disapproval of the messengers' decisions
is clearly apprehended by the believers, still they strive to conceal

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