a believer, a hypocrite, and a disbeliever.

As for the disbeliever—who openly proclaims his unbelief—his case is straightforward. Our present concern, however, is with the traits of the hypocrites that the Qur’an and the Sunnah have detailed, for these are the qualities we fear may afflict the People of the Qiblah.

Allah, exalted is He, describes the hypocrites as “of one another,” whereas regarding the believers He says, “Some of them are allies of others” (al-Tawbah 9:71). This is because the hearts and deeds of the hypocrites resemble one another, yet—as He also says—“You would think them united, but their hearts are scattered” (al-Hashr 59:14). Their hearts remain neither affectionate nor truly bound together except for as long as the worldly aim they pursue is shared among them; once that aim is gone, they abandon one another. The believer, by contrast, loves his fellow believer and supports him in his absence, no matter how far apart their lands or how distant their times.

The Almighty then described each of the two groups by reference to their deeds—those that concern themselves and those that concern others—for the words of Allah are all-encompassing. A person’s religious actions fall into two divisions: first, what he himself does or refrains from; and second, what he enjoins others to do or to avoid.