10 And among men is he who says...

10 And among men is he who says: We believe in Allah; but when he is persecuted in (the way of) Allah he thinks the persecution of men to be as the chastisement of Allah; and if there come assistance from your lord, they would most certainly say: Surely we were with you. What! is not Allah the best knower of what is in the breasts of mankind. 11 And most certainly Allah will know those who believe, and most certainly He will know the hypocrites.

The aspect most difficult for the nafs (lower self) to witness is hypocrisy. Most actions are justified in a hypocritical way. A man may say he is working fi sabili-llah (in the way of Allah), but may actually want to gain a high reputation, or become the imam of a community or the leader of a country. If his actions are for Allah's sake the afflic­