Abū Yahyā, who said that Hudhayfah was asked about the hypocrite and replied, ‘One who knows Islam but does not act upon it.’”
Abū Dāwūd also said:
“ʿUthmān ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us: Jarīr narrated to us, from al-Aʿmash, from ʿAmr ibn Murrah, from Abū al-Bakhtarī, from Hudhayfah, who said: ‘Hearts are of four kinds: a covered heart, which is the heart of the disbeliever; a two-faced heart, which is the heart of the hypocrite; a pure heart containing a shining lamp, which is the heart of the believer; and a heart containing both faith and hypocrisy. Faith within it is like a tree nourished by wholesome water, while hypocrisy is like an ulcer fed by pus and blood. Whichever gains the upper hand takes control.’”
This has also been narrated as a report traced back to the Prophet, and it appears in al-Musnad in that form.
What Hudhayfah said is supported by the words of Allah Most High:
“They were nearer to disbelief that day than to faith.”
Before that, their hypocrisy had been present but held in check. On the day of Uhud, however, their hypocrisy gained the upper hand, and they became nearer to disbelief.
ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak narrated from ʿAwf ibn Abī Jamīlah, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr ibn Hind, from ʿAlī ibn Abī Tālib, who said:
“Faith begins as a white spot in the heart. As the servant’s faith increases, the heart grows whiter, until, when his faith becomes complete, the entire heart becomes white. Hypocrisy begins as a black spot in the heart. As the servant’s hypocrisy increases, the heart grows blacker, until, when his hypocrisy becomes complete, the heart becomes black. By Allah, if you were to lay open the believer’s heart, you would find it white; and if you were to lay open the heart of the hypocrite or the disbeliever, you would find it black.”
Ibn Masʿūd said:
“Singing causes hypocrisy to grow in the heart just as water causes plants to grow.”
Ahmad and others narrated this. Such statements occur frequently in the words of the early generations, explaining that the heart may contain