ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Polarization Around the Character of Ali ibn Abi Talib The Necessity Of Fighting Hypocrisy The most difficult struggle is the one against hypocrisy, for it is the struggle against the cunning who use the stupid as their weapon.

This fight is several degrees more difficult than the fight with unbelief, because, in the battle with unbelief, the struggle is against an unconcealed, open and unhidden current, while the struggle against hypocrisy is in fact a struggle against concealed unbelief. Hypocrisy has two faces: one is the outward, face - Islam and Muslim; the other inward - unbelief and evil.

It is very difficult for the ordinary people to spot this latter aspect, and sometimes impossible; and thus the struggle with hypocrisy ends in failure because the great majority of people cannot extend the reach of their perception beyond outward forms and the hidden does not become apparent. They do not have a long enough range to penetrate the depths of the inward nature of things.

Amir al-mu' minin (as) wrote in the letter he sent to Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr The Messenger of Allah said to me: "I do not fear for my community from the believer or the unbeliever. As the believer, Allah will protect him because of his belief, and, as for the unbeliever, Allah will humiliate him because of his unbelief. But I fear about every one of you who is a hypocrite in his heart and learned in speech.

He speaks what you can accept, but he does what you cannot accept.[^1] The Prophet here points out the danger in hypocrisy and the hypocrite, because the majorities of people are uninformed and unaware, and are taken in by outward appearances.[^2] Care must be taken over the fact that with every bit that stupidity increases, the way opens further for hypocrisy.

The struggle with the stupid and stupidity is the struggle with hypocrisy too, for the stupid are the tools in the hands of the hypocrites. Naturally, the struggle with the foolish and with foolishness is to disarm the hypocrites, and take the sword out of their hands.

* * * When al-Ma'mun ar-Rashid, the `Abassid Caliph famous in the history of rulers for his epicurianism and extravagance, saw that the `Alawis were on the ascendence, he put on a change of clothing and showed himself in public in a new light.