1543 – Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Āṣ (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Four qualities, whoever possesses them is a pure hypocrite, and whoever exhibits one of them has within him a trait of hypocrisy until he gives it up: when he is entrusted he betrays the trust; when he speaks he lies; when he makes a covenant he proves treacherous; and when he quarrels he behaves outrageously.”

Agreed upon.

This narration has already been discussed, together with the hadith of Abu Hurayrah containing similar wording, in the chapter on keeping covenants.

Explanation

Imam al-Nawawī (may Allah have mercy on him) said, in the chapter “The Prohibition of Lying” of his book Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn: Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Āṣ (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Four qualities, whoever possesses them is a pure hypocrite, and whoever exhibits one of them has a trait of hypocrisy until he abandons it.”

His words “four qualities” mean: whoever is characterized by all four is a hypocrite through and through, for he has adopted all the practices that mark the hypocrites—may Allah protect us. The hypocrisy intended here is practical hypocrisy (nifāq ‘amalī), the sort commonly found among those who harbor doctrinal hypocrisy, and it is not the hypocrisy of belief; creedal hypocrisy is outright unbelief—may Allah protect us—and it is the state of one who outwardly professes Islam while concealing disbelief. As for those who manifest these behaviors, they do in fact believe in Allah and the Last Day with genuine faith, but they adopt these traits, and in them lies a portion of hypocrisy.