Truly, nifaaq is a disease. It subverts even rational thought.
While we were planning our escape from prison, I noticed many symptoms of nifaaq in one of the brothers in our group. Of course this worried me, but I assumed that his own rational desire to be free would conquer the nifaaq within him, as he was, like me, sentenced to death.
He used to not train, used to make excuses, used to suggest all sorts of unrealistic revisions to our plan, used to sway back and forth between confidence and doubt, used to try to create suspicion between brothers in the group, and so on.
I warned him that these were all indications that nifaaq had entered his heart and was beginning to eat away at his Imaan. I did not mean this to be offensive, every one of us must scrutinize his heart and detect any symptoms of hypocrisy before they are allowed to grow. But, SubhanAllah, this advice only made him worse; just as Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala said:
“…وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُ اتَّقِ اللَّهَ أَخَذَتْهُ الْعِزَّةُ بِالْإِثْمِ ۚ…”
I had been teaching a class on tafsir, and gave special attention to the issue of Nifaaq, and I should have heeded Allah’s Warning:
“…لَوْ خَرَجُوا فِيكُمْ مَا زَادُوكُمْ إِلَّا خَبَالًا وَلَأَوْضَعُوا خِلَالَكُمْ يَبْغُونَكُمُ الْفِتْنَةَ وَفِيكُمْ سَمَّاعُونَ لَهُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِالظَّالِمِينَ …”
Because that is exactly what happened.
Sadaq Allah-ul-‘Adheem
#Prison_Lessons