Page 66 - Passivity in Religion

PASSIVITY IN RELIGION

These people choose their excuses or statements they make to
be deceptive, thinking they can delude the Muslims into believ-
ing them. And, for one who is not familiar with the teachings of
the Qur'an, these excuses may appear legitimate. However, for
those Muslims able to recognize the character of the hypocrite, as
described in the Qur'an, their excuses merely expose them for
their real intentions. Allah tells us about this aspect of their char-
acter in the Qur'an, so, for Muslims, their attempt to appear sin-
cere, in speaking the name of Allah, and their frequent oaths are
proofs of their intentions.
In the time of our Prophet (saas), the hypocrites resorted to
similar tactics. They tried to make Allah's Messenger (saas) be-
lieve they were sincere and that their approach was correct:
If it had been a case of easy gains and a short journey, they
would have followed you, but the distance was too great
for them. They will swear by Allah: "Had we been able to,
we would have gone out with you." They are destroying
their own selves. Allah knows that they are lying. (Surat
at-Tawba, 42)
When the hypocrites come to you they say, "We bear wit-
ness that you are indeed the messenger of Allah." Allah
knows that you are indeed His messenger and Allah bears
witness that the hypocrites are certainly liars.
They have made their oaths into a cloak and barred the
way of Allah. What they have done is truly evil. (Surat al-
Munafiqun, 1-2)
We can see from these verses that the hypocrites use their
oaths and subtle language to make themselves appear to be good-
intentioned believers. But, Allah has given these examples to re-
veal to all Muslims what their real intentions were.

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