Question
What is nifaaq?
What are the signs of nifaaq?
Answer
The Arabic word nifaq means ‘hypocrisy’. It is defined as ‘displaying the contrary of that which is in the heart’ or ‘displaying Iman and concealing Kufr’. A perpetrator of nifaq is a munafiq (hypocrite).
It is classified into two categories:
1. An-nifaq al-i‘tiqadi (hypocrisy in belief)
2. An-nifaq al-‘amali (hypocrisy in practice).
Hypocrisy in belief is that a person actually disbelieves in Allah and Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, or any of the fundamentals of Islam, while outwardly expressing Islam. Such a person is undoubtedly out of the fold of Islam and will be in the lowest level of the Fire. Hypocrisy in practice does not expel a person from Islam, but such a person is a great sinner and there is the likelihood of his becoming a hypocrite in belief.
1. Lying
2. Treachery
3. Vulgarity in disputes
4. Breaking one’s promise
5. Laziness in ‘Ibadah
6. Showing off for people to see and hear7. Lack of remembrance of Allah
8. Hastiness in prayer
9. Taunting those who perform voluntary good deeds
10. Mocking the Qur’an, the Sunnah and Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam
11. Taking oaths to protect oneself
12. Reluctance to spend for the sake of Allah Ta’ala
13. Persuading others to abstain from good deeds
14. Spreading rumours (which cause disturbance)
15. Finding fault with Allah Ta’ala’s decree
16. Speaking ill of the righteous
17. Remaining behind from congregational Salah
18. Causing mischief whilst claiming to establish peace
19. Outward behaviour contradicting what is in the heart
20. Dread of unpleasant events
21. Presenting false excuses
22. Commanding the wrong and forbidding the right
23. Keeping one’s hand back out of stinginess
24. Forgetting Allah
25. Denial of the promise of Allah Ta’ala and His Messenger Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam
26. Concern for the outward appearance and neglect of the inner condition
27. Lack of understanding of Deen
28. Affected eloquence and pompous speech
29. Not sinning in front of the people due to fear of them but showing boldness to Allah Ta’ala by committing sins in secrecy
30. Rejoicing at the difficulty of the believers and lamenting at their joy
Checked and Approved By:
Mufti Muhammed Saeed Motara Saheb D.B.
References
Qamus ul-Fiqhi Lughatan wa Istilahan p.357, Idarat ul-Qur’an wa l-‘Ulum il-Islamiyyah, Karachi; Mu‘jam Lughat il-Fuqaha’ p.483, Idarat ul-
Qur’an wa l-‘Ulum il-Islamiyyah, Karachi; Mu‘jam ul-Mustalahat wa l-Alfaz il-Fiqhiyyah v.3 p.359,429
Thalathun ‘Alamah li l-Munafiqin, Al-Qarni, & The Signs of the Hypocrites, Darul Ishaat, Karachi