We ask Allah to guide us and you to the most virtuous manners and deeds—no one can lead to the best of them but He—and to shield us from reprehensible manners and deeds, for none can protect us from them but He alone.

6/395 – ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUtbah ibn Masʿud reported: I heard ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) say, “During the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ some people were dealt with on the basis of revelation, but revelation has now ceased. We therefore judge you only by what is outwardly apparent from your actions. Whoever shows us goodness, we grant him security and draw him close, and we have nothing to do with what lies in his heart—Allah will hold him accountable for his inner state. Whoever shows us evil, we will neither trust nor believe him, even if he claims that his inward state is sound.” Related by al-Bukhari.

[Explanation]
The author, quoting the Commander of the Believers ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab through the narration of ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUtbah ibn Masʿud—whose uncle was the eminent Companion ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿud (may Allah be pleased with them)—relates that ʿUmar said: In the era of revelation we could know those who concealed a corrupt inner state through what was sent down from Allah, for there were hypocrites in the Prophet’s time who outwardly displayed righteousness while harboring evil. Allah would expose them through the revelation given to His Messenger ﷺ, exposing them neither by their actual names nor by detailed descriptions that singled them out.