Page 272 - The Profound Darkness of the Hypocrite

THE PROFOUND DARKNESS OF THE HYPOCRITE

speech, they never let their guards down and take measures to protect themselves
from these individuals whom they suspect and do not trust. They quietly observe
their sly moves to decipher their true intentions and character.
Hypocrites, on the other hand, are none the wiser about this vigilance and as-
sessment of the Muslims. They misinterpret this silence of the Muslims and imagine
that they are undetected and that they can live amongst them without ever
getting spotted. Because they are sure that they are not exposed, they have no
qualms about stepping up their hypocritical acts freely and without needing to take
any measures, all the while inadvertently cementing Muslims' opinions of them.
We can compare the situation of the hypocrites to a small sea creature that
hides under a shell and walks with it. For an outsider, a shell that is walking will

make it obvious that 'underneath it, there is a creature with legs'. Hypocrites are

just like this. They build a shell for themselves and walk with it. But since they

are foolish, they don't understand that everyone can notice them. Foolishly, they

will think that they can secretly conspire against Muslims. However, that they

believe that their sly games, treacherous ambushes, and their efforts against Muslims

'go unnoticed', 'will make them give themselves away ever more clearly'.

In the Qur'an, with the verse "… God brought out what you were hiding"

(Surat al-Baqara, 72), it is made clear that everything that people might think will

be kept hidden will be revealed one by one. In another verse God says, "… God
will expose everything you are afraid of" (Surat at-Tawba, 64).
The hypocrites, who step up their devious games and plans, thinking that they
keep themselves hidden, are unaware of this fact. God reveals that in the hereafter,

'what confronts them will be something they never expected, and will turn into

an evil punishment for them':

If those who did wrong owned everything on earth, and the same again

with it, they would offer it as a ransom to save themselves from the evil of

the punishment on the Day of Resurrection. What confronts them from

God will be something they did not reckon with. (Surat az-Zumar, 47)

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One of the things that pain the hypocrites the most, that scorch their souls, is

"having to listen to the verses of the Qur'an that reveal the secrets of hypocrisy

and that uncover the characteristics of the hypocrites." That is because that would
thwart all their plots, uncover their secrecy and completely prevent their ability to
act slyly.
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