Page 294 - The Profound Darkness of the Hypocrite

THE PROFOUND DARKNESS OF THE HYPOCRITE

turn to the righteous path." Pushing such a person even more into his dark world
and evil ways, "leaving him alone with satan" is not a situation Muslims can
accept with good conscience.
That is why Muslims patiently and decisively try to call hypocrites to the
morality of the Qur'an and educate them about righteous manners, hoping that
they may one day sincerely believe, stop their hypocritical ways and allow them-
selves to be guided. In order to make them understand what their pretexts would
amount to and the response they would receive in God's Sight, they explain the
"the signs of hypocrites" to them. They approach them with moral perfection,
conscience, love, understanding and forgiveness, and try to make them see the dif-
ference between the morality of Muslims and the cruelty and ignominy of the irre-
ligious.
However, while doing all of this, Muslims try to prevent hypocrites from caus-
ing insidious harm to the Muslim community and pacify their evil acts. This is
like a snake that you release after detoxifying or dismantling its teeth. This is how
you can prevent the snake from poisoning anyone. Similarly, the venom of hyp-
ocrites should calmly be rendered ineffective.
This entire process is the kind of morality Muslims carry out as worship because
they live by the morality of the Qur'an. Hypocrites may feel affected by these efforts
and be guided, or they may continue their hypocritical ways with determination;
this is not a situation over which Muslims have any control. This only happens by
God's will. If it is something God has predetermined for them, hypocrites may
feel great penitence and become very sincere, truly God-fearing, God-loving
Muslims. If they are created as hypocrites in their destiny, no matter how much
effort Muslims may put forth, hypocrites ultimately join the ranks of the irreli-
gious.
Yet Muslims can never determine this on their own. Unless hypocrites want
to leave the community of Muslims, Muslims never tell them that they do not
like them or to leave. That is because pushing a person towards irreligion against
his will is by no means compatible with the Islamic faith.
That aside, according to the Qur'an, Muslims are responsible for protecting
one another. In the Qur'an there is "the system of guardianship." Believers are one
another's guardian, protector, friend and helper. They are responsible for pro-
tecting one another as they would their own brother. And so, as long as hypocrites
say, "La ilaha illa Allah", that is to say, "There is no god other than God", the
system of guardianship among Muslims also holds true for them. Consequently
Muslims cannot isolate someone on the possibility that he may be a hypocrite. In
order to make such a definite diagnosis, God must reveal this information to His
prophet by way of revelation. Since a prophet does not live in our age, Muslims can

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