Characteristics of a Hypocrite – Have you ever told someone a secret that you thought was private enough because that person promised not to tell your secret to other friends? Those of you who already feel safe telling your secret to that person are suddenly surprised because your secret was leaked, as a result of the person you told apparently didn’t keep his promise to you.
Sometimes we misjudge people because that person’s good attitude is shown to us. However, no one knows what he looks like in our absence. However, this does not mean that we must suspect everyone around us. Sorting out friends is not an easy matter, but as intelligent human beings we are given thoughts and feelings so we can figure out which friends are good and which are not.
A healthy circle of friends in the inner circle is indeed very important because it influences our attitude and behavior in the future. In addition, many healthy environments filled with good people bring lots of luck and fortune. Conversely, if the inner-circle is not healthy, sometimes it actually brings bad things.
Therefore, it is very important to be able to sort out friendships because good people will bring good things. To be able to avoid bad people like hypocrites, you need to know their characteristics. So that when you encounter similar things in real life you can avoid people with these characteristics or you can even prevent yourself from falling into the same bad nature.
Meaning of Hypocrite
One of the bad traits that need to be avoided is hypocrisy. In Islam, hypocrisy is a disgraceful trait that if you do it you will get a big sin. Not only the Islamic religion, any religious background does not justify the existence of this despicable nature.
Sinaumed’s can learn about eight other bad traits in the book Roots of Sin, 8 Traits That Make Our Spiritual Dead by Samuel Wasikin which describes various negative traits that can damage ourselves and the environment around us.
Hypocrisy is a trait that always says not according to reality. Hypocrisy is a disgraceful nature because it likes to lie, betray and break promises. This trait should be avoided because hypocrisy is a disease of the heart. It is said to be a disease because once doing this behavior can cause someone to do other bad behavior.
And its presence that controls the hearts and minds of humans makes it difficult to let go of hypocrisy. Therefore it is important for us to understand what qualities are deviant and included in hypocrisy. So that ourselves and others around us are not negatively affected.
Deviance can occur in various forms, as one of them is sexual deviation which is explained in the book Sexual Deviations Prohibited in the Al-Quran which clearly conveys the view of the Al-Qur’an on this problem.
The characteristics of these hypocrites are explained in the Hadith History of Bukhari and Muslim which describes the signs of hypocrites. Hypocrites are divided into three, namely lying, broken promises and betrayal.
3 Characteristics of a Hypocrite According to Hadith
It is important for us to know the characteristics of hypocrisy in order to avoid this heart disease. The characteristics below are hypocritical traits that should be avoided.
آيَةُ الْمُنَافِقِ ثَلَاثٌ إِذَا حَدَّثَ كَذَبَ وَإِذَا وَعَدَ أَخْلَفَ وَإِذَا اؤْتُمِنَ خَانَ
“Rasulullah SAW said: The sign of a hypocrite is three; when he says he lies, when he promises he denies it, and when he is trusted he betrays.”
1. Lying
Neither in any religious teachings that justify a lie. Likewise with Islam. Whatever form a lie is still a lie. This is also very hated by fellow humans and also God. Saying dishonestly, or saying something that is not true can harm many parties.
Once a person lies then that person will continue to lie again and again. For example, when a child lies to his parents, saying he will only go to the neighbor’s house, but in reality he is going far away. Then one day the father asked why the child had been there for so long.
Automatically the child must be forced to find new reasons to cover up his lie earlier. This will often happen continuously and become a big lie that has no end. That’s why once a person commits a lie, he will be involved in a vicious circle that makes that person continue to lie again and again.
Lying like this can harm yourself and others. People who like to lie or lie are even capable of turning facts around, which in turn will result in another bad trait, namely slander.
2. Characteristics of a Hypocrite Who Breaks a Promise
Another hypocritical trait that Allah also hates is broken promises. People who often deny it means that person can’t hold on to what he says. This makes it difficult for other people to put their trust in people who never keep their promises. In addition, breaking promises will also result in harm to others. A promise is an oath that is obligatory to keep.
If someone has promised but does not keep it then that person is included in the class of hypocrites. For example, if someone has promised not to divulge a secret which is a bad secret, it seems that the person who promised it actually tells it to someone else. That’s a sign that the person has broken his promise.
So he sinned for not keeping his promise and also sinned for spreading someone’s bad disgrace which would eventually hurt the person concerned. Seeing from this situation it can be said that a bad behavior will have bad consequences for oneself and others.
It is better for someone who is not sure that he can keep his promise, he does not need to make the promise himself. Because, this promise is an oath that is obligatory to obey. Both our promises to fellow human beings and our promises to Allah SWT.
In the Al-Quran An-Nahl verse 91 explains that we must keep the promises that have been made, because we make Allah a witness of all our promises and oaths. Indeed, Allah knows what we have done.
Breaking a promise is the same as lying to God, so you will get a big sin if you don’t obey it. This is the reason why some jobs that have big responsibilities such as law enforcement, the DPR, the MPR, the President and even officials are required to swear an oath in the name of Allah in order to remain trustworthy in carrying out their work.
3. Betrayed
Betrayal is another despicable trait that belongs to the class of hypocrites. This traitor is a person who violates or destroys the trust that has been placed on him. People who like to betray like this if given responsibility and a mandate will actually do the opposite.
For example in human relations such as a pair of lovers or husband and wife. If in a relationship the couple previously promised and are able to love each other. But then one day one of the couple secretly liked someone else so he cheated on her. So that person betrayed his partner.
For letting go of responsibility and breaking promises that have been made. As well as hurting the heart of his partner. Someone who betrays like the example above will be very detrimental to others. Apart from hurting the partner’s feelings, he is also a sinner because he has given hope to his partner but was denied.
As fellow human beings, whatever their nature is, as long as it harms other people and the environment, then that is dishonorable and sinful behavior. In studying other hadiths, an Encyclopedia of Hadith book was compiled for Sinaumed’s which contains a collection of hadiths quoted from hadith books by prominent faiths.
Characteristics of a Hypocrite
1. Characteristics of a Manipulative Hypocrite
Manipulative people are deceitful people. This trait is actually very detrimental to others. Manipulative people tend to appear kind on the surface but are really rotten on the inside. This manipulative trait is the trait most often described by Satan because he often twists reality to get what he wants.
For someone who is manipulative can do bad things consciously. He can desperately form a good image so that others will not suspect him. When in fact he has his own goal to incite someone or make other people look worse than him.
For example, someone who is manipulative, for example carrying out an act of bullying , then the problem becomes a big case and is in the spotlight of many people. A deceitful person can change reality with just his arguments as if it wasn’t bullying.
Rather, it was an act of self-defence because the person he was attacking started the trouble first. From the example above, it can be concluded that a person like this will do everything possible so that he is safe. Even if it is to the detriment of the other party.
In Islam, this behavior is not justified, because apart from causing harm, it also slanders innocent people. A manipulative person in a serious condition is also not only able to lie to others but also able to deceive himself to seek justification for his actions. In the Al-Quran surah Al-Baqarah verses 8-10 it is also explained about this deceptive nature.
The letter explains that there are people who say they will believe in Allah and the Last Day, but actually these people are not believers. These people are only deceiving themselves in their hearts because God already knows the truth. So that these people will get a painful recompense for lying.
2. Characteristics of a Two-Faced Hypocrite
This two-faced person is synonymous with a person whose stance is not fixed. Then this kind of person will always change his words. Almost similar to someone who likes to betray because his words cannot be held. A person who is two-faced is also classified as a hypocrite because he harms others.
Making others unable to put their trust because his words are always changing. A person who likes to be two-faced also often looks like he has many personalities, because he will change his character and speech every time he meets different people in order to create a good image of himself.
For example, a village treasurer is sick so he cannot come to the hall. Responding to this, a resident named ‘A’ said that the treasurer should just rest. Arriving at the hall, the village head asked where the treasurer was, but ‘A’ replied that the flagman was too lazy to come to the hall. This then led to a lot of gossip that was accused of the treasurer.
From the example above, it can be concluded that citizen ‘A’ is a hypocrite because he pretended not to know and said that the treasurer was lazy. Even though he clearly knew that the treasurer was sick.
In the teachings of the Al-Quran, it is written that the character of a person who is two-faced is when they meet people who believe, and they say that they have faith. But when they meet the devils they also say that they are lying, the words that were previously just a joke.
3. Riya’
Riya’ means arrogant in the context of worship. Someone who worships because he wants to be praised, wants to be seen as a good person, feels proud because he has done something good is a person who is Riya’. People who are riya’ tend to do good things only in front of other people, because the goal is to be praised.
One example of the case of a person who is riya’ is for example a well-known and wealthy community leader who has completed the pilgrimage. He also told his prowess during the pilgrimage to his neighbors in the hope of getting praise from many people.
Riya’ is a form of hypocrisy because he worships not for the sake of Allah but on the basis of wanting to be praised and being reverent. He displays a proud attitude over his accomplishments. This trait is the same as the nature of Satan who is also arrogant towards Allah even though Allah has created him.
Riya’ attitude is explained by Allah in the Al-Quran Surah An-Nisa’ verse 142 which says that in fact the hypocrites are people who want to deceive Allah, even though in fact Allah is deceiving them. If the prayer is only done half-heartedly because of praise from fellow human beings and not because of God.
3. Envy
Envy and envy are also other heart ailments that sometimes come to the hearts of hypocrites. People with a heart full of malice then his life will never be satisfied. Because, he is only busy seeing the achievements of people to be reviled while he himself forgets that he is far from perfect.
The hypocrites also have the envy of the devil. They are people who are happy on the suffering of others. They will be happy to see other people’s lives become more difficult, otherwise they will not be happy to see other people live happily.
As explained in Surah Al-Imran verse 120 which says that you get goodness, the hypocrites will be sad. But if you get a disaster then the hypocrites will rejoice. If you are patient and pious then their deception will not affect you.
4. Make damage to the Earth
Destroying the earth or causing damage to the environment is a disgraceful act that is often done by hypocrites. Doing something bad that results in environmental damage and pollution will harm many people in that environment.
Some simple examples that can damage the environment are littering, illegal cutting of forests, causing waste and many other illegal behaviors that pollute the environment. Not only in terms of the ecosystem, but the impact on other people is of course there.
5. Proud of His Own Sin
Another hypocritical behavior is someone who proudly commits a sin. In Islam, boasting or boasting in the form of good things is not permissible. Especially if someone is actually proud of the sins he has committed. People like this are people who are loved by Satan and hated by God and fellow human beings.
When a person commits sins such as lying, denying, betraying, stealing and other bad things, but he consciously and proudly tells others about his actions as if they were achievements, then he is a very sinful person.
These deviant behaviors are prohibited religiously and in humanity are not even worthy of being possessed or even preserved within us. We should stay away from hypocritical behavior and other bad behavior in order to avoid sin and not harm ourselves and others. Because the best human being will bring sustenance, luck and peace of mind. Meanwhile, as bad as human beings will only result in worse for oneself.
Well, that’s an explanation of the characteristics of a hypocrite that you need to know in order to avoid this despicable attitude. Apart from that, you can also avoid people who have the characteristics of hypocrites around you. If you want to know more about the characteristics of hypocrites or other commendable morals and attitudes that can be used as role models, you can read the references in the following books at https://sinaumedia.com :
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