Hypocrisy and the Darkness it will bring

Unpacking Q2:17  

مَثَلُهُمۡ كَمَثَلِ الَّذِى اسۡتَوۡقَدَ نَارًا ​ۚ فَلَمَّاۤ اَضَآءَتۡ مَا حَوۡلَهٗ ذَهَبَ اللّٰهُ بِنُوۡرِهِمۡ وَتَرَكَهُمۡ فِىۡ ظُلُمٰتٍ لَّا يُبۡصِرُوۡنَ‏  ١٧

[Al-Quran 2:17, Reciter: Hani ar-Rifai]

The example of the hypocrites is explained as someone who اسۡتَوۡقَدَ نَارًا , then when it اَضَآءَتۡ the surroundings, then ذَهَبَ اللّٰهُ بِنُوۡرِهِمۡ, so this person is left in ظُلُمٰتٍ, and thus has no يُبۡصِرُوۡنَ‏ . 

• kindles a fire (اسۡتَوۡقَدَ نَارًا)
• lights up (اَضَآءَتۡ), like the light of the sun which is a diya (Q10:5 ضِيَآءً)
• Allah removes his Nur (ذَهَبَ اللّٰهُ بِنُوۡرِهِمۡ), the special kind of light, like the nur of the moon (Q10:5 نُوۡرًا), such that this person is left in the apparent light of the sun, retains sight but loses vision (the ability to imagine the future outcome?) because this person is left in the absence of nur (the special light that eliminates the darkness?). This nur of the moon, if it can be understood to be gamma rays, is not apparently visible to the human eye, but can be observed through special equipments. It far outshines the sun's light. We have been informed that there will come a time when the moon will be eclipsed. 

The Quran begins with the introduction of three kinds of people: the pious, the rejectors, and the liars. 

1. The Quran is a guidance for the pious (muttaqeen). 
2. The rejectors do not accept The Quran as their guide (kafaroo). 
3. The liars are the hypocrites who pretend to be believers but do not actually believe. A number of introductory ayaat explain the characteristics of the hypocrites: their hearts are diseased and they keep lying; they cause corruption while they think they are reformers; they consider the average believers foolish; when they are with believers, they say they believe, and when they are with their shayateen friends, they speak differently; 

So, in Q2:17, Allah describes their situation with the example of nur and diya. They lose the nur that the pious believers have, and thus are lost in this world, and will suffer even greater loss in the stages to come after this life. 

One such stage is when Day of Standing (youm-e-qiyamah) will be established. That day the moon will be eclipsed, or it will cave in. Then, it will no longer be a source of nur.  

The Quran concludes with two Duas: Surah alFalaq and Surah anNaas. The third ayat of Surah alFalaq seeks protection from the moon when its darkness spreads (وَمِنۡ شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ اِذَا وَقَبَۙ‏ ٣), as explained by a Hadith quoted in Moon, Magic, and Envy. 

On the Day of Consequences, when every tiny act of Khair and Shar will be seen, when the darknesses of hypocrisy and kufr will overwhelm, its only those who are granted Nur who will be able to escape the evil, and, surrounded in Allah's Mercy, will they be guided to the Gardens promised to them, the guidance they kept praying for, in every prayer: Surah alFateha (اِهۡدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الۡمُسۡتَقِيۡمَۙ‏ ٦). 

The State of Muslims in the twenty-first century is not much different from the defiant disobedience of the Bani Israel cited across The Quran. They were custodians of The Torah, with a duty to live by it and to deliver its message to the world. Most of them failed on both fronts. The Muslim ummah of today needs to evaluate itself if we are true believers, or if hypocrisy has taken over us. There is still time to amend ourselves, individually and collectively. 

Related posts: 

The All-Encompassing Nur of Allah 

The Unique Eclipse 

Climate Change 

Thunderbolts 

The Quran on the Bani Israel 

The Case against the Bani Israel 

The Covenant & Its Ratification 

Repentance of the Pakistani Muslim 

... 

Last updated on: November 28, 2024