1295 – Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The signs of a hypocrite are three: when he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when he is entrusted, he betrays the trust.” Agreed upon. (1)

In their narration on the authority of ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr, it is also stated: “and when he quarrels, he behaves outrageously.” (2)

Glossary of the ḥadith
• Āyah: linguistically derived from the form ayyah; the first yāʾ was changed to an alif because it is preceded by a fatḥah while itself bears a vowel. An āyah is a “sign”; a Qur’anic verse is so called because it marks the end of one utterance and the beginning of another.
• Munāfiq (hypocrite): taken from the jerboa’s burrow, which has two exits. One of them is called the nāfaqāʾ: a thin covering of soil that breaks open when the animal pushes its head against it, allowing escape while the other opening remains hidden. In the Sharʿī definition, it refers to someone who outwardly displays Islam while inwardly concealing disbelief. If the hypocrisy lies in creed, it is hypocrisy of unbelief (nifāq kufr); otherwise, it is practical hypocrisy (nifāq ʿamal), which may consist of actions committed or duties neglected, and its levels differ.
• “When he speaks, he lies”: lying is the opposite of truthfulness; it is conveying information contrary to reality.
• “When he makes a promise”: waʿada may appear as ʿidda, waʿd, mawʿidah, or mawʿūd—one of the verbal nouns that also occur in the mafʿūl pattern. Technically, a promise is informing someone that good will reach him in the future; hence the scholars have said: