Islam Abhors All Types of Hypocrisy.

One of the worst characteristics that Islam abhors is
hypocrisy.The Prophet (peace be upon him) spoke about it
several times,and every time he used some graphic
description that showed how ugly and unbecoming all types
of hypocrisy were. Two Hadiths in this connection are
particularly interesting. The first is put very simply by
the Prophet who wanted his audience to fully understand his
purpose. He said: “One of the worst people is a
double-faced man, who come to one group with one face and
to another group with a totally different face.” (Related
by Al-Bukhari and Ibn Hibban).

The Prophet (peace be upon him) describes a hypocrite
person as double-faced, and then he explains why he has
described him as such, showing him as though he actually
had two faces. If there are two groups with some
differences, or dispute, he would speak to each one in a
way that would please them, and say to one group the
opposite of what he says to the other. Hence, the Prophet
says that such a person is one of the worst types of
people. This is certainly true, because such a person could
not be a man of faith who fears God. As such, he always
seeks what he thinks to serve his immediate interests,
knowing that this will mean that he lies to both groups or
at least one of them.

A similar Hadith is reported by Ammar ibn Yasir, an early
companion of the Prophet, who quotes him as saying:
“Whoever is double-faced in this life will have two tongues
of fire in the hereafter.” A big man then passed by and the
Prophet said: “This is one of them.” (Related by Al-Bukhari
in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, Abu Dawood, Al-Darimi and others).
Here the Prophet gives a more graphic description of
hypocrites. The description concentrates on the hypocrite’s
tongue, because it is with his words that he tries to cheat
people and get the better of them. He always says to his
interlocutors what would please them, so that he is
included in their good books. He does not care if what he
says is untrue, because all that he cares for is his own
interest.

Because a hypocrite relies on lying, thinking that he could
lie his way out of any difficulty, God gives him two
tongues on the Day of Judgment, but both are made of fire.
This is a horrid picture, but very apt for such a person.

One thing every hypocrite lacks is a sense of shame. When
he does something against the morality of society, he does
not feel ashamed because he thinks that he can still get
away with it, saying a few words to please this person and
a few others to please someone else. That his words are
lies does not trouble him. He has no sense of shame. But
this sense is one that all divine messages try to promote.
The Prophet says: “Among the words people received from
early prophets are: if you feel no shame, then do as you
wish.” (Related by Al-Bukhari, Abu Dawood, Ibn Majah, Ahmad
and others).

This Hadith admits more than one interpretation. The first
is that if you feel you will not be ashamed for doing what
you intend to do because you can justify it as correct and
there is nothing in it to be ashamed of, then you may go
ahead and do it without hesitation. It may be that what you
are about to do is something right, although some people
may prefer that you do not do it. Since you are sure that
it is just and fair, then you have nothing to answer for as
a result of doing it. You are perfectly entitled to do it.
If we prefer this interpretation of this Hadith, then it is
important to examine what we intend to do before embarking
on it. If we find it to be perfectly acceptable and we are
clear in our conscience that it is right for us to do, then
that is all we need to ascertain in order to proceed with
it.

Secondly, the Hadith may be taken to mean that if a person
is incapable of any feeling of shame, and could not care
less whether he brought shame on himself, his family or his
people, then there is nothing to stop him from doing what
is censurable. If we take this interpretation of the
Hadith, then we observe that it is phrased in the
imperative, but it is meant as a reproach. It could also be
said that the Hadith means that having no sense of shame is
much worse than what one may actually do.

It is important to know what may be included in having a
proper sense of shame. Some people suggest that a shy
person is incapable of confronting others with the truth he
knows. As a result, he does not fulfill his duty to enjoin
what is right and to speak out against what is wrong. His
shyness may even lead him to the non-fulfillment of certain
rights or duties. Such an attitude is not what is meant in
having a sense of shame in the above-mentioned Hadith. This
is simply a manifestation of weakness. A proper sense of
shame is that which causes a person to feel afraid of being
blamed for something unbecoming. It may also lead a person
to forgo what rightfully belongs to him because he is too
shy to demand it. Hence the virtue Islam values highly is
to feel ashamed as a result of a wrong that one may do, to
be afraid of blame for committing something unbecoming, and
to be too modest to demand something for oneself if people
may think that such a demand is made for a personal gain.
It is such modesty that the Prophet describes as being part
of faith.

Abdullah ibn Umar reports that God’s messenger (peace be on
him) passed by a man who was blaming his brother for being
too modest. The Prophet said to him: “Leave him alone.
Modesty is a characteristic of faith.” (Related by
Al-Bukhari, Muslim, At-Tirmidhi and others). Apparently the
man who was being blamed was too modest to claim what
rightfully belongs to him. It may be very difficult to
change his attitude. Many a person lends money to another
for a specific period of time. When the term of the loan is
over, the borrower may take his time before settling his
debt. The lender may be in need of the money, but his
modesty prevents him from demanding repayment. His
difficulty in requesting repayment is greater than that of
the borrower in asking for the loan in the first place.

We notice that the Prophet has counseled this man to leave
his brother alone making it clear to him that such modesty
and having a sense of shame is indicative of strong faith.
The Prophet’s statement makes it clear that although
modesty may prevent a person from demanding his rights, it
remains a virtue for which no one should be blamed. It is
true that a modest person may not get his rights, but by
forgoing them, he is sure to receive a much greater reward
from God. It should be added here that the Prophet himself
was a very modest person. He is described to have had a
more refined sense of shame than a virgin in her private
room.

Makkah Imam Calls on Terrorists to Surrender.

JEDDAH, 10 July 2004 — An imam of the Grand Mosque in
Makkah has thrown his weight behind calls for terrorists to
surrender under a month-long amnesty announced by the
government in late June.

“Hurry, you who committed mistakes and are now in hiding,
to make this initiative a new beginning in correcting (your
behavior) and return to the true path,” Sheikh Saud
Al-Sheraim said in his Friday sermon.

Addressing hundreds of thousands of worshippers at the
Grand Mosque,he said Saudi authorities were sincere in
forgiving militants who voluntarily surrender.

Praising repentance as an Islamic ideal, he called on all
those who deviated from the right path to return to the
fold of Islam. “Hurry to catch up with those who have been
promised forgiveness in life and death, for Almighty Allah
has said to those who have repented ... that He is
forgiving and merciful.”

The one-month offer announced by Custodian of the Two Holy
Mosques King Fahd on June 23 gave terrorists 30 days to
turn themselves in.

“All those affiliated to this group (of terrorists) and who
were not captured have a chance to return to God and engage
in soul-searching.” Those surrendering would be guaranteed
personal safety but would still have to face claims from
the families of victims, Crown Prince Abdullah said in a
televised speech.

So far two terror suspects, one of whom appeared on a list
of 26 most wanted militants, have handed themselves in
under the amnesty.

Al-Sheraim stressed the need for Muslims to seek advice in
searching for the truth, and attempt cooperation and
reconciliation. He indicated that terror attacks in Muslim
countries was a sign of “grave danger” and must be
confronted. “What is taking place in Muslim countries, the
killing and terrorizing of the innocent, is something evil
and a sign of great danger,” he said.

“Such acts must never be ignored or justified but
confronted and stopped by all available means. These acts
should never be accepted under any justification. The only
winners are the enemy lying in wait and the envious who
rejoice in others’ misfortune,” he added.

Punishment in the Grave
Q. People give different views about punishment in the
grave, with some saying that all punishment is administered
only on the Day of Judgment, while others say that it
starts shortly after the person is buried. Which is
correct?

A. There are certain things Islam mentions about happenings
after this life is over, without giving much explanation.
We take these as they are, without going into too much
detail, because if God has not provided these details,
there is no means that we can ascertain them. One of these
is punishment in the grave, which is clearly, though
implicitly, mentioned in the Qur’an when God refers to the
punishment suffered by Pharaoh’s people: “A grievous
scourge encompasses Pharaoh’s people: before the Fire they
are brought morning and evening, and on the day the Last
Hour strikes, a voice will say: ‘Mete out the sternest
punishment to Pharaoh’s people.’” (40: 45-46) These verses
clearly show that there are two stages of punishment. The
first is when Pharaoh’s people are brought before the fire
of hell every morning and every evening. The second is
clearly spelt out for the Day of Judgment. So, the first
stage is the one meted out in the grave. Hence, we are
taught by the Prophet (peace be upon him) to pray to God
for protection against punishment in the grave. May God
guard us all against it and against punishment in the
hereafter.









___________________________________________________________
How much mail storage do you get for free?  Yahoo! Mail
gives you 100MB! Get Yahoo! Mail http://uk.mail.yahoo.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~