Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim; Today’s topic of discussion is Nifaq and Munafiq meaning in Islam in English.
Nifaq meaning
Nifaq is an Arabic word that means hypocrisy, adopting a two-pronged policy. In the technical sense, when Islam is practiced in secret, it is called hypocrisy. In simple language, when only the disbelief of the heart exists, then the blatant disbelief does not exist, and then it is called hypocrisy. Thus, we can say that again, Islam is without faith to observe hypocrisy. Only if we understand what faith and Islam are will we be able to comprehend hypocrisy properly.
What is faith?
Faith is the firm belief of the heart in all aspects of Tawheed, that is, the oneness of God. Faith is a matter of the heart. It resides in the heart.
What is Islam?
Islam is submission to the rule of one God. Surrender is a combination of two things. One is the verbal acknowledgment of Tawheed and the other is the implementation of Tauhid in deeds.
Simply put, there is no faith, that is, there is no firm and complete faith in Tauhid in the heart, that is, there is no shirk in the heart, that is, there is disbelief in the heart, but to keep it a secret is to practice Islam.
Faith and Islam are interrelated.
The condition for Islam is faith. And faith demands to accept Islam. Just as Islam is worthless without faith, faith is worthless without Islam. One without the other is not acceptable. Conversion to Islam without faith will be of no use. That is, if there is no firm belief in Tauhid in the heart, then Islam, that is, recognition and implementation of deeds will not be of any use. Abdullah bin Ubay to no avail, was the leader of the hypocrites, keeping Islam, at the heart due to the lack of faith. Again, faith alone, that is, faith in the heart alone will not be of any use unless Islam is accepted, that is, acknowledgment of word of mouth and practice.
For example, the faith of Emperor Heraclius did not work because he did not accept Islam. Ibadat is a combination of faith and Islam. That is, believing in the heart of Tawheed, that is, the oneness of God, Worship is the name of giving recognition and putting it into action. And Allah Ta’ala has created us only to worship Him. Without Islam, only faith will not be considered worship, and without faith, only Islam will not be considered worship. So we have to have a firm belief in all aspects of Tauhid in our hearts, and then we have to acknowledge it verbally and act accordingly. Only then will it be acceptable to Allah as an act of worship?
Signs of Nifaq
Some signs of hypocrisy can be found in the hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). For example:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
Obscenity and eloquence are two branches of hypocrisy.
A person who dies without fighting jihad or without the desire for war in his heart dies on a piece of hypocrisy.
Love for the Ansar is a sign of faith, and hostility towards the Ansar is a sign of hypocrisy.
Whoever has one of these four characteristics is considered a pure hypocrite. A person who lies when he speaks breaks his promise when he makes a promise, betrays his trust when he makes a promise, and abuses others when he argues. Whoever has one of these characteristics has one of the characteristics of hypocrisy, until he abandons it.
Muhammad ibn Zayd ibn Abdullah ibn Umar narrated from his father:
He said, “Some people said to Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), ‘We go to our ruler and say something about him, and when we leave his court, we say the opposite of what we said.'” He said, “We considered that to be hypocrisy.”
From this hadith, we understand that saying one thing in front of someone and another thing behind their back is hypocrisy.
