|
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
-
1
bihar-ul-anwar,vol.77,p.53,tradition 3
2
musnad ahmad-ibn-hanbal,vol.2, p.198
|
