Lessons from Surah Munafiqun | Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed | Knowledge Retreat 2024

Lessons from Sūrah al-Munāfiqūn

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ، الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى أَشْرَفِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالْمُرْسَلِينَ سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ النَّبِيِّ الْأُمِّيِّ، الَّذِي اسْمُهُ مَكْتُوبٌ فِي الْإِنْجِيلِ وَالتَّوْرَاةِ

أَمَّا بَعْدُ — Allah says in His noble Book, after seeking refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan:

My dear brothers, sisters, youngsters and elders — one of the biggest challenges that we as humans face is to try to understand who we can trust and who we can't trust. Who can I share this secret with, and who should I hold back from? And why do we struggle with this? Because we realize the majority of humans innately struggle with being trustworthy. Hence, honesty, trustworthiness, and truthfulness are highlighted as such unique blessings and qualities from Allah.

Therefore, the Prophet's nickname before he became a Prophet was as-Sādiq al-Amīn — the truthful one and the one who could be trusted with anything. And more so than someone breaking our trust with a secret or with some wealth, a bigger sense of betrayal is when someone completely turns their back towards us in regards to their support — in regards to holding our hands and being there for us, holding a line together, supporting one another. Betrayal is a very difficult pill to swallow.

And today we see it perhaps more clear than ever before — those lines of allegiances, affiliations, and support are no more blurred, but rather evidently clear — though it is difficult to face that reality. How many people are truly standing for our Muslim brothers and sisters in Gaza? How many different groups are truly standing for us, truly using their voice for us, their resources, their abilities? How many of them are doing what they said they would do for us?

The reality is that this was present since the beginning of the Prophet's ﷺ message. And these people were known as Munāfiqūn — the hypocrites. They would present themselves in a way that was far different from the state of their hearts. They filled the lines of the ṣufūf of the masjid. They would sit in the gatherings of the Ṣaḥāba. They would sit within the unique, beautiful, and blessed gatherings of the Prophet ﷺ. The space they filled was beautiful at every level, in every way, shape and form — but their heart was completely void of any of those blessings. Their heart was completely void of any of that faith. Because they were doing it to front. They were doing it to act as if they were Muslims.

And we're not necessarily afraid that someone else is a hypocrite. The reason why Allah gave us this sūrah is simply to make sure and clear that we don't become hypocrites ourselves. That these qualities don't fall into our lives. Because the moment I feel that I am 100% not a hypocrite is a sign that perhaps my own ability of recognizing my faults is blurred.

The Story of Ḥudhayfah ibn al-Yamān and Abū Bakr

This is why Ḥudhayfah ibn al-Yamān رضي الله عنه — one day was leaving his home and he bumped into Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه. And Abū Bakr said to him, "Where are you going?" And Ḥudhayfah said:

"I have become a munāfiq."

"I don't feel like my faith is real." Abū Bakr said, "What do you mean you're a munāfiq? Why are you saying that?" Ḥudhayfah said, "Because when I'm sitting with the Prophet ﷺ and sitting in that gathering, it is as if Jannah and Jahannam is right in front of me. It is as if I can see it. I can feel it. And then I go home, spend time with my family and my children, and everything seems a little less real. Everything seems more blurry. And the reality of the Ākhirah becomes less of a reality. I can only sense that this disparity is due to my hypocrisy." This was their mentality. And this is what allowed them to become great companions.

So Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه, upon hearing this description, said to Ḥudhayfah, "Well, that is also what I experience. So if you are a hypocrite, maybe I'm also a hypocrite." Imagine Abū Bakr thinking that he was a munāfiq! He said, "Well, I'm a munāfiq too. Let's go to the Prophet together." They presented themselves in front of the Prophet ﷺ, complained about what they were feeling, and the disparity of their conviction and belief. And the Prophet of Allah ﷺ smiled at them and said, "This is not hypocrisy. This is the reality of faith — that it goes up and it dips, and it goes up and it dips for some moments. But what if you were to remain at the level of faith and conviction that you are with me?"

"The angels would come and shake your hands because of who you are."

So it is human nature to have that level of disparity — that is not nifāq. That is not hypocrisy. But we can take from this ḥadīth that every person was worried about their own well-being when it came to their spirituality. Every person was worried and asking: is my īmān real? Is my faith such that it not only gives me knowledge, but transforms me?

Knowledge That Transforms, Not Just Informs

The Prophet's presence wasn't informative — it was transformative. The majority of the companions knew very little of the Qur'ān. The majority of the companions were not ḥuffāẓ. Very few of them memorized narrations. Very few of them were actually the mufassirūn. Very few of them were completely well-equipped to answer the questions of law and jurisprudence. But every one of them was equipped to transform another life. Every one of them was equipped to bring someone closer to Allah. Because knowledge was never given to our companions and our ummah simply to learn and to become literate.

If literacy was the goal and to be lettered was the goal, the Prophet would not have been unlettered.

We at times use this to try to convince ourselves that the biggest form of support for us is literacy — that Allah said to become literate, "iqra', read, become lettered." No, it's not. Because 18 years later, in the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyyah — my father was explaining the treaty of Ḥudaybiyyah to me once and he was saying that the Prophet ﷺ had written that this treaty is being signed from Muḥammad Rasūlullāh to the people of Quraysh. And the people of Quraysh brought this document back and said, "Dear friend, if we were to believe that you are the Prophet of Allah, we would not be having this discourse and discussion. So you must remove the only point of contention, which is Rasūlullāh. You have to erase it, or else this conversation cannot move forward."

The Prophet of Allah said, "Okay, I'll erase it." Then he said, "I can't read." He said, "'Alī, can you erase it for me?" And 'Alī رضي الله عنه said, "I will never erase your name." But the Prophet then said, "Tell me where it is so I can erase it myself." The most preliminary form of literacy is that a person can read and write their own name. Eighteen years later, he has still not reached the level of literacy that we propose is the goal — he hasn't reached the level of reading his own name.

Because becoming transformative has to do with اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ — becoming literate about oneself in relation to who their Creator is.

Literacy was to identify that the source of all knowledge is Allah. He is the teacher. He is the one that endows. He is the one that gives us any form of ability to learn. A person who believes they can learn without Allah cannot learn a single thing.

So the idea of these companions being the greatest human beings after the Prophets — they felt at times: are we hypocrites? Because the reality is that we are not sure. And the only way to protect ourselves is that we identify the qualities of a hypocrite, a munāfiq, and stray away from them as far as we possibly can. And this sūrah was the only sūrah in the Qur'ān that completely opened up the doors of exposing the hypocrites. It exposed the munāfiqūn.

The Story of Zayd ibn Arqam

This sūrah can be looked at in many different lenses. The lens that I will choose — the theme through which we will try to understand this sūrah — is the lens of a youngster. And this youngster's name was Zayd ibn Arqam. He was about 17 years old — some say he was 14 years old.

After the Battle of Uḥud, where the Prophet ﷺ and the Ṣaḥāba did suffer some loss, there was a neighboring tribe by the name of Banū Muṣṭaliq. This tribe, recognizing that the Muslims suffered somewhat of a loss, thought: this is the best time for us to attack them — hit them while they're down and take their wealth. The Prophet ﷺ was informed through revelation about this, so before they could come to him, he decided to march upon their community.

Whilst they were in this campaign, an incident took place at a well. Everyone was standing in line to take water. And it is natural that when we wait for food, sleep, water, any of our physical needs, we become more agitated. And where there is a higher chance of becoming more agitated, there is a higher reward of remaining more patient. Everyone can be patient when the food is in their hand. Everyone can remain patient in a beautiful five-star hotel. That is not called patience — that is called being normal. Patience is when you're lying on rubble and you can say, alḥamdulillāh. Patience is when food isn't there and the next meal isn't certain, and you still say alḥamdulillāh.

So in this line where they were waiting for water, there was a companion who was a muhājir — his name was Jahjāh, who was a servant of 'Umar رضي الله عنه. In the social ranks of the community, he could be seen as someone of a lower station. As he was standing, a leader from the Anṣār tribe attempted to take water from the well and tried to cut him off. It was like road rage. He got upset. He slightly nudged him or struck him. And the companion cried out:

Because the man who was struck was an Anṣārī Ṣaḥābī, and Jahjāh was a muhājir. So those titles and names were now called upon. And the only reason this continued to escalate was because in this caravan was the leader of the munāfiqūn, who had come with his entire tribe.

These people — they only go places when their entire group is with them. They're never comfortable being uncomfortable. And that is a sign of a munāfiq when it comes to belief. We should be comfortable going to a masjid where we don't know anyone, because it is the house of Allah. We should be comfortable in gatherings of dhikr where the people around us are not always our friends, because it is not the people that are the ultimate goal — it is Allah that is the ultimate goal.

None of them went for Uḥud. We know the story of Uḥud — they were going, but because they heard that the opposing army was far greater, they retreated. They ran back to Madinah and made excuses. But when they heard about this tribe that they were going to challenge — knowing it was a guaranteed victory — they came on this caravan, because they will only show up in places where there is ease. But even if they are present in a gathering of such beautiful people like the companions, their mere presence causes conflict. Their mere presence causes disunity. Because that is their only goal — to break the Muslims apart.

'Abdullāh ibn Ubayy ibn Sulūl — The Leader of the Munāfiqūn

'Abdullāh ibn Ubayy ibn Sulūl was the leader of the munāfiqūn — the man that caused so much pain to the Prophet ﷺ in Madīnah al-Munawwarah. He was the man who had been crowned as a de facto king of Madinah before the coming of the Prophet ﷺ, from the tribe of Khazraj. There were nine tribes of Khazraj and he was the leader of the largest. They had chosen him to become the dictator of Madinah. But as they were crowning him, the Prophet walked into Madinah and became the leader. There was obviously some level of jealousy, some level of discomfort.

So this man was giving the Prophet the hardest time, over and over again. But the Prophet was giving him love, showing him kindness, giving him the space he needed to become a true believer. By this point, nobody knew who a munāfiq was — they knew they existed, but no one could identify them because Allah had hidden their names.

This munāfiq, 'Abdullāh ibn Ubayy ibn Sulūl — whom people still saw as a leader — went ahead and started agitating the Anṣār, causing more rift. He said this filthy statement:

"Fatten your dog and it will eat you." — meaning: you've given them so much space and resources, and now look — this immigrant is the one pushing our leader.

That is what these people do. And then he said:

"The honorable ones will surely drive out the humiliated ones from it." — implying: we will take our land back and send these Muhājirūn back to Makkah.

He didn't say the Prophet's name, but it was very clear what he was implying. And munāfiqūn are very smart at this. When you corner them and say, "Why did you say that?" — they say, "No, I didn't say that. Oh, I can see how you understood it that way." They want to keep all their options open. Because they want political gain without the religious liability. They want the social fame that comes with being Muslim without the religious obligations — such as going out in jihād and giving zakāh. But when the time of taking the spoils of war comes — let me know. They're there for the eating, but not for the giving.

Zayd ibn Arqam Goes to the Prophet

This child — Zayd ibn Arqam — rushed to the Prophet ﷺ and came to him and said, "Yā Rasūlallāh, guess what this man said?" He was 14 or 17 years old. 'Umar رضي الله عنه, who was sitting there, was about to wage war on these people. He said, "Yā Rasūlallāh, let me cut off his neck." And when people hear these stories of 'Umar, they say, "Oh, this guy was a hothead." No, he wasn't. Someone committing open treason against your community — there is a punishment for it. Treason, by whatever definition, is not acceptable in any society. But of course, that was not the right thing to do at that time, because optics do matter.

The Prophet ﷺ said, "Let it be. Call him." And before he said, "Call him," he said that this statement of yā ahl al-Anṣār and yā ahl al-Muhājirīn is a very filthy statement. Even dividing ourselves upon meritorious claims and banners is still division. These distinctions were not made for us to feel superior. If a division is made upon "we are better than them," that is never acceptable — even if it's in reference to Anṣār and Muhājirūn.

So the man was called. He came before the Prophet and said, "Did you say this? Me and you, we're like brothers — why would I ever say such a thing?" And then he said:

They overcompensate. They start going, "Wallāhi, I believe you're a prophet. Wallāhi, you are the most beloved person to me on the surface of the earth..." And that young child who was hearing all of this — he was asking himself: who will the Prophet believe? And the Prophet, for the meantime, believed the hypocrite. And this child's heart was completely shattered. When he was later asked, "What was the most difficult day of your life, the darkest day?" he said, "The day when I went to tell the Prophet about something, and he didn't believe me."

Like parents — your children come to tell you something, you have to believe them. There is a reason why we have Sūrah Yūsuf, because Ya'qūb believed the dream of Yūsuf. If a youngster comes to you and shares a secret and you don't believe them — how will that make that person feel? And this child was ignored.

Revelation Descends — Sūrah al-Munāfiqūn

The journey continued. The Muslims won the campaign and returned to Madīnah al-Munawwarah. Then, when the Prophet was sitting in Madinah, he received revelation. And it was the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ — how observant and connected he was to his community — that when he would receive revelation regarding a specific person, he would call them first, make it more personal with them, tell them about it, and then tell the rest of the community.

So he received a sūrah, and he told 'Umar رضي الله عنه: "Call Zayd ibn Arqam." This child was brought. He tells the story himself — he said: "As I'm being brought, I'm thinking: the Prophet already didn't believe me, and now maybe he wants to punish me for lying. Because 'Abdullāh ibn Ubayy is a giant, a lobbyist — he has people in his pocket, he has the entire cabinet of Madinah in his pocket. Maybe he created more lies against me." He came to the Prophet full of negative thoughts, not sure what to expect.

And the Prophet of Allah was smiling at him. He looked at him and said: "Allah has revealed an entire sūrah to clear your name and to honor you."

Till this moment, Allah had hidden their agenda, had hidden their identity. But the moment one youngster's heart was broken, Allah said — no more. And Allah exposed the munāfiqūn. Because the heart of a believer is more precious than the Ka'bah. If this person's heart was broken, that is enough — Allah said: I'm going to expose these people.

Allah reveals this sūrah just to make this child understand: your voice was heard. I've got you. I know what happened. And Allah reveals that when these people came to say, "Wallāhi, we believe you're a prophet" — Allah says: we don't need them to say that. We don't need them to come and say, "We support you, we believe in you as Muslims."

We don't need your flowery words to make us feel good. Because:

Allah already knows that I'm a prophet. Allah already knows I'm on the truth. Your testimony of belief in my truth doesn't add to my truth. I already know that I'm on the truth. I already believe that Allah's help will come. And Allah says: we know, we testify that these munāfiqūn are always lying. Even their truth is a lie because it has some kind of agenda behind it.

Ten Qualities of the Munāfiqūn from This Sūrah

Quality #1 — Don't Be an Instigator

Don't be the cause of a split in a marriage. Don't be an instigator who turns a spark into a fire. "Oh, I didn't do it — the spark was already there." Yes, the spark was there — but you could have put it out. You chose to make it a forest fire. Don't instigate rift between people, between loved ones. Don't be the one who goes to someone and says, "Hey, did you hear what this guy said about you?" Rather be the one who de-escalates. A prophetic communicator doesn't escalate — they find a way to say, "I don't think he meant to do it. I don't think she wanted to hurt your feelings. I think there was a miscommunication."

And this is why, when it comes to building relationships and building hearts, you are even allowed in Islamic law to say something that may not be fully accurate in order to reconcile people. Because when it comes to building ourselves as Muslims in a community, the process is secondary — the outcome is primary. We are outcome-driven when it comes to relationships.

We have become a people where every relationship we wish to cultivate is a relationship in which we want to be the beneficiary. That is not a prophetic relationship. "How can I benefit?" — that is capitalism. "How can he or she benefit?" — that is the prophetic model. Where everything was about how the other person could benefit.

"The upper hand is better than the lower hand." — (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ḥadīth 1427; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Ḥadīth 1033)

The hand that was above was always more virtuous than the hand that was below, because it was always about being a giver, not a receiver. Going to visit a sick person was never a challenge, because we wish to be a source of support. Going to a janāzah was never so difficult upon our soul, because we wish to be there for people who've gone through suffering and loss. How easy is it for us to say no to a janāzah and yes to a wedding? One gives us, and one takes from us. A janāzah reminds us about our fragility and the limited nature of our life — and so we avoid it. But we as believers are there to support one another. And munāfiqūn are there to break us apart.

Quality #2 — They Always Lie

Another quality was:

"Whenever they speak, they lie." — (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ḥadīth 33; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Ḥadīth 59 — among the signs of the hypocrite)

How can someone always lie when they speak? It's not humanly possible. But what does that mean? It means that even when they're telling the truth, there is a lie hidden in the truth — because they always have an agenda. They may tell you that you're looking nice, simply to get something from you later. Their praise is wrapped in a veneer of benefit for themselves. There is always an incentive, always a catch.

For us believers, whenever we rely upon relationships like these munāfiqūn — where one day they're with us and the next day they're without us — we recognize that we don't need them. Allah has already given us His support. Allah says, why do they believe?

They simply chose to say, "I believe in you, Yā Rasūlallāh," because that belief is a shield for them. Being with us is better for them. That is okay — we don't mind. Just be who you are. There is a very clear difference between being you and being with you. We are okay with supporters and affiliations. But when you're supposed to be a Muslim, and in the background you are pushing people away from Islam — using your Islam for political and social gain — that is something else entirely.

Quality #3 — They Always Make Their Presence Known

Whenever you see them, they are always physically very present. They will never let their presence in the room go unnoticed. They always have to give an opinion. They have to make sure their picture is in that photo somehow. They have to make sure their voice was heard in that room. They make sure that in the gathering of the elite, their presence is well known. And yet in a gathering of those they consider beneath them, they hide. "I don't want to get noticed here. They might think less of me."

That is a munāfiq — because their worth is simple: their presence is always to make themselves gain. Their presence is never to make others gain. Whereas a believer is always looking to bring other people up. A believer is comfortable being in uncomfortable spaces for the sake of Allah. When the companions asked how to soften their hearts, the Prophet taught them: put your hand and rub it upon the heads of orphans. Because a believer is always looking to bring other people up.

These munāfiqūn, when the Prophet would speak, they would sit against the wall with their legs stretched out. And the Prophet would allow them — he would say, "It's okay. Let them be. Give them more time."

Quality #4 — They Always Have to Be Heard

Whenever they speak, everyone has to listen. Their opinion always has to be the last opinion. May Allah protect us. Sometimes we think we may be the only one who is correct. But to protect ourselves from having this quality, don't always be the last person giving an opinion. It's okay. The world isn't going to end if your voice is not the last one heard. The munāfiq is always insecure — "What if I don't give an opinion? Will my value lessen in this gathering because I didn't speak?" Why? Why are we so insecure when we have īmān? The greatest security is īmān itself.

Allah says: as if they are a piece of timber propped up — it is standing, but it is hollow and wet. It is a matter of moments before it falls. It is a matter of moments before they are exposed.

Quality #5 — They Fear Every Shout Is There to Expose Them

They fear that every shout and scream is there to expose them. A person who is hiding something goes through their entire life hoping never to be exposed. Every time revelation came, you would see their faces turn bleak — because they were worried: "Is this the moment? Are we finally exposed now?" How can a person be a positive benefit to society if they are always worried about being exposed? You simply cannot.

Allah says: hum al-'aduww — they are your enemies. Qātalahum Allāh — Allah has already removed them. Now after they were exposed as munāfiqūn, don't associate with them.

Quality #6 — They Always Make Excuses

The munāfiqūn would always make excuses. "I didn't come because it was too hot." "My horse stopped working." They make elaborate excuses for every call of goodness. But what is a believer's excuse? The believer's excuse is a claim to weakness:

"Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves." We are simply weak. I messed up because I'm weak — not because it's hard to be a Muslim in America, not because my parents didn't give me the right upbringing, not because I don't have the right resources. Just ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا — I messed up. Like when Ādam came down, he said:

"Yā Rabb, I messed up." Don't be the person who has an elaborate excuse for every call of goodness. Rather, let us be those people who — when there is a call — try our best to show up and support. And if we don't, we simply say: I'm sorry, it was a claim to weakness.

Closing

May Allah make us amongst those people that can avoid these qualities. And when we detect them in people, we don't have to call them out — we just see them for who they are, and avoid them to the best of our ability, knowing that our support comes from Allah.

May Allah bless you all.