withdrew from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—on the day of Uhud, a third of the men withdrew with him. They are said to have numbered about three hundred. Not all of them had previously been inwardly hypocritical, for they had had no motive for hypocrisy. Ibn Ubayy had outwardly professed obedience to the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and faith in him. Every Friday, he would stand and address the people in the mosque, urging them to follow the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. What lay in his heart was apparent to only a few people, if it was apparent at all.

He was highly esteemed among his people. They had resolved to crown him and make him something like a king over them. When prophethood came, that prospect vanished, and envy drove him to hypocrisy. Otherwise, he had previously had no religion to which he called others; that was the case only among the Jews.

When the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—brought his religion, and Allah made its beauty and light manifest, people’s hearts inclined towards it. This was especially so after Allah granted him victory at Badr and over the Jews of Banū Qaynuqāʿ: he now enjoyed both religious and worldly success. Thus, the grounds for faith were present among the general body of the Ansār. Many of them also held Ibn Ubayy in very high esteem and were loyal to him, while Ibn Ubayy had not openly shown any opposition that would necessitate a separation.

Then, when he withdrew on the day of Uhud, saying, “He disregards my opinion and his own, and follows the opinion of mere boys”—or words to that effect—a great many people withdrew with him, including some who had not previously been hypocrites.

In short, the accounts of those who became hypocrites after having believed are too extensive to recount here. Those people had been Muslims and possessed faith—the light that Allah used in His parable. Had they died before being tested and becoming hypocrites, they would have died upon this Islam, for which they would be rewarded, and would not have been among