SPIRIT OF ISLAM MAY 2O18

43 Spirit of Islam Issue 65 May 2018 of timber. They think that every shout is directed against them. They are the [real] enemies, so beware of them. The curse of God be upon them! How they turn away! When they are told, ‘Come! The Messenger of God will ask forgiveness for you!’ they turn their heads away and you see them walking away arrogantly. It makes no difference whether you ask forgiveness for them or not. God will not forgive them: God does not guide such rebellious people. (63: 4-6) A hypocrite protects his interests by his compromising and self- interested approach. He does not involve himself in considerations of right or wrong. However, he maintains good relations with everybody, and when he speaks, he dwells upon the interests of his hearers. Therefore, everybody finds something agreeable in his conversation. But these apparently ‘fresh green trees’ consist in reality of ‘dry sticks.’ In the hypocrite’s eyes, worldly interest is much more important than any religious interest. Such people, in spite of being vociferous claimants of Faith, are totally deprived of God’s guidance. They are the ones who say, ‘Give nothing to those who follow God’s Messenger, until they abandon him;’ but the treasures of the heavens and the earth belong to God, though the hypocrites do not understand this [and] they say, ‘Indeed, when we return to Madinah, [we] the ones most worthy of honour, will surely drive out from there the contemptible ones!’ [referring to poor Muslims]. However, all honour belongs to God, and to His Messenger and those who believe [in God]: but of this the hypocrites are not aware. (63: 7-8) In old Madinah, there were two groups of Muslims—one, the Migrants ( al-Muhajirun ) and the other, the Helpers ( al-Ansar )—the local hosts at Madinah. The former had come to Madinah on being displaced from their native place, Makkah. Their best apparent supports were the local Muslims of Madinah, the Helpers. In the eyes of world-loving people, the Migrants seemed, therefore, to be people without honour in comparison with the Helpers who were respectable people. This was felt so keenly that on one occasion, ‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy clearly stated, ‘What is the status of these Migrants? If we expel them from our place, they will not find refuge anywhere in the world.’ Such words are uttered by those who are unaware of the reality that whatever is there in this world, belongs to God. He gives to whomever He wishes and takes away from whomever He wishes.