17. "the likeness of them is as the likeness of a man who
kindled a fire,
and when it lit all about him allah took away their light,
and left them in darkness unseeing."
18. "(they are) deaf, dumb, blind so they shall not return
(to the right path)."
19. "or (their) likeness is as a rainstorm from heaven wherein is
darkness,
thunder and lightning. they put their fingers in their ears against
the thunderclaps, fearful of death; thus allah encompasses
the infidels."
20. "the lightning well-nigh snatches away their sight, whensoever
it gives them light, they walk therein, and when it darkens
over them they stand still. had allah willed,
he would have taken away their hearing and their sight.
truly, allah is all-powerful over all things."
commentary :
two interesting parables illustrating the hypocrite
after stating the epithets and characteristics
of the hypocrite, the
holy qur'an, in order to illustrate their condition, likens them to two
expressive parables :
1. in the first parable, the idea is that they are
similar to a person
who kindles a fire (by dark night) (to distinguish the right way from
the false way under its light and reach the destination). it says :
" the likeness of them is as the likeness of a man
who kindled a fire,
and when it lit all about him allah took away their light,
and left them in darkness unseeing".
they think they can challenge against the
darkness they are in
with a small little fire. but, it happens that suddenly a storm arrives, or
a heavy rain falls, or their fuel runs out and the fire dies in coldness; so,
they remain helpless, wandering in the terrible darkness.
then, it adds : "(they are) deaf, dumb, blind
so they shall not
return (to the right path)",
because they no longer have the essential
necessary means of grasping the truth in their possession.
allah, the exalted, stating the status of the hypocrites and
unbelievers, informs his messenger that they have totally lost their
human innate potentialities. they, abusing it, have destroyed the talent
which allah has originally put in their created nature and they should
revive it in order for it to be used correctly. they have entirely
deprived themselves of the real function of the divine faculties of sight,
hearing, and speech. these sense organs are practically left useless and
ineffective.
2. in the second parable, the scene of their life is
illustrated in
another way.
it is a dark fearful night, full of terror and danger. the rain is
heavily falling and lightning flashes in the corner of the horizon every
now and then. the horrible crashes of thunder seem to tear the
eardrums. a defenceless person, amazed at the situation in this vast
dark dangerous plain, gains no benefit. for this frightened person,
whose back is wet from the rain, there is neither a safe and secure
shelter to take refuge, nor does the darkness let him step forth towards
his destination.
the holy qur'an, in a short sentence, explains the situation of
such a wandering passenger, thus : " or (their) likeness is as a rainstorm
from heaven wherein is darkness, thunder and lightning. ..."
then, it adds : "...they put their
fingers in their ears against the
thunderclaps, fearful of death; ..."
and, at the end of the verse, the qur'an points to a fact that
wherever the disbelievers go, they are under the forceful control and
watch of allah. it says : "... thus allah encompasses the infidels."
* * * *
in this situation lightning
brightens the expanse of the sky again
and again.
" the lightning well-nigh snatches away their sight, ..."
whenever the lightning strikes and
lightens the dark spread of the
desert, they walk a few steps under that light, but, immediately after
that, they find themselves in the same darkness they were in before :
"...whensoever it gives them light, they walk
therein, and when
it darkens over them they stand still. ..."
every moment, they feel
the danger in front of them because
there is nothing in this desert, such as a mountain, a tree, or anything
else for them to seek refuge in order to protect themselves from the
danger of the flash of lightning and thunderblot. at any moment they
may be seized by the lightning as its prey and be laid in ashes in a blink
of an eye!
there is even the danger of the sound of thunder tearing their
eardrums and the sharp flash of lightning blinding their eyes. yes, it is
true : "...
had allah willed, he would have taken away their hearing and
their sight. truly, allah is all-powerful over all things."
at the time of the holy prophet
(p.b.u.h.), the quick spread of
islam, like the lightning, dazzled their eyes, and the verses of the
qur'an, which uncovered their secrets, surrounded them as quick as
lightning. they thought that another verse might come down, too, and
remove the curtains from some other secrets, so, they would become
publicly more disgraced.
the qur'an also points to this very meaning where it says : " the
hypocrites are afraid lest a sura should be sent down about them, showing
them what is (really passing) in their hearts, say: `mock you! but verily
allah will bring to light all that you fear (should be revealed)'."
(sura
at-taubah, no. 9, verse 64).
again, the qur'an, verifying that the hypocrites were always in
terror and fear that, with their secrets being manifested, allah's
command would come down for the muslims to fight them, the worst
interior enemy of islam, and destroy them, says : "truly, if the
hypocrites, and those in whose hearts is a disease, and those who stir up
sedition in the city, desist not, we shall certainly stir thee up against
them:
then will they not be able to stay in it as your neighbours for any length of
time:" " they shall have a curse on them: wherever they are found,
they
shall be siezed and slain (without mercy)." (sura al-ahzab, no. 33,
verses 60 & 61).
in the islamic literature, as was
mentioned before, the traditions
and data narrated about the hypocrite are abundant. one of them is the
tradition that imam sadiq (a.s.) quoted from his father and
grandfathers who, in turn, had narrated from the messenger of allah
(p.b.u.h.) who, addressing hadrat ali-ibn-abitalib (a.s.), said : " there
are three signs for a believer : prayer, fasting, and alms. there are also
indications referring to a hypocrite : when he speaks he tells lies, when he
promises, he breaks them, and when he is entrusted with (something), he
proves himself to be dishonest". 1
again, `abdullah `umar narrates from the holy prophet (p.b.u.h.)
that there are four characteristics which are the signs of hypocrisy: lie in
speech, excuse in promise, wickedness in enmity, and dishonesty in
deposit. 2