Imam Ahmad recorded Abu Sa`id saying that the Messenger of Allah said
«الْقُلُوبُ أَرْبَعَةٌ: قَلْبٌ أَجْرَدُ
فِيهِ مِثْلُ السِّرَاجِ يَزْهَرُ وَقَلْبٌ أَغْلَفُ مَرْبُوطٌ عَلى غِلَافِهِ وَقَلْبٌ
مَنْكُوسٌ وَقَلْبٌ مُصْفَحٌ، فَأَمَّا الْقَلْبُ الْأَجْرَدُ فَقَلْبُ الْمُؤْمِنِ
فَسِرَاجُهُ فِيهِ نُورُهُ، وَأَمَّا الْقَلْبُ الْأَغْلَفُ فَقَلْبُ الْكَافِرِ، وَأَمَّا
الْقَلْبُ الْمَنْكُوسُ فَقَلْبُ الْمُنَافِقِ الْخَالِصِ عَرَفَ ثُمَّ أَنْكَرَ وَأَمَّا
الْقَلْبُ الْمُصْفَحُ فَقَلْبٌ فِيهِ إيمَانٌ وَنِفَاقٌ وَمَثَلُ الْإيمَانِ فِيهِ
كَمَثَلِ الْبَقْلَةِ يَمُدُّهَا الْمَاءُ الطَّيِّبُ وَمَثَلُ النِّفَاقِ فِيهِ كَمَثَلِ
الْقُرْحَةِ يَمُدُّهَا الْقَيْحُ وَالدَّمُ فَأَيُّ الْمَادَّتَيْنِ غَلَبَتْ عَلَى
الْأُخْرَى غَلَبَتْ عَلَيْه»
(The hearts are four (types): polished as shiny as the radiating lamp, a sealed
heart with a knot tied around its seal, a heart that is turned upside down and a
wrapped heart. As for the polished heart, it is the heart of the believer and the
lamp is the light of faith. The sealed heart is the heart of the disbeliever. The
heart that is turned upside down is the heart of the pure hypocrite, because he
had knowledge but denied it. As for the wrapped heart, it is a heart that contains
belief and hypocrisy. The example of faith in this heart, is the example of the
herb that is sustained by pure water. The example of hypocrisy in it, is the example
of an ulcer that thrives on puss and blood. Whichever of the two substances has
the upper hand, it will have the upper hand on that heart). This Hadith has a Jayid
Hasan (good) chain of narration.
Allah said,
﴿وَلَوْ شَآءَ اللَّهُ لَذَهَبَ بِسَمْعِهِمْ
وَأَبْصَـرِهِمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ﴾
(And if Allah willed, He would have taken away their hearing and their sight. Certainly,
Allah has power over all things). Muhammad bin Ishaq reported that Ibn `Abbas commented
on Allah's statement,
﴿وَلَوْ شَآءَ اللَّهُ لَذَهَبَ بِسَمْعِهِمْ
وَأَبْصَـرِهِمْ﴾
(And if Allah willed, He would have taken away their hearing and their sight), "Because
they abandoned the truth after they had knowledge in it.''
﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ
قَدِيرٌ﴾
(Certainly, Allah has power over all things). Ibn `Abbas said, "Allah is able to
punish or pardon His servants as He wills.'' Ibn Jarir commented, "Allah only described
Himself with the ability to do everything in this Ayah as a warning to the hypocrites
of His control over everything, and to inform them that His ability completely encompasses
them and that He is able to take away their hearing and sight.''
Ibn Jarir and several other scholars of Tafsir stated that these two parables are
about the same kind of hypocrite. So the `or' mentioned in,
﴿أَوْ كَصَيِّبٍ مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ﴾
(Or like a rainstorm from the sky) means `and', just as the Ayah,
﴿وَلاَ تُطِعْ مِنْهُمْ ءَاثِماً أَوْ
كَفُوراً﴾
(And obey neither a sinner or a disbeliever among them). Therefore, `or' in the
Ayah includes a choice of using either example for the hypocrites. Also, Al-Qurtubi
said that `or' means, "To show compatibility of the two choices, just as when one
says, `Sit with Al-Hasan or Ibn Sirin.' According to the view of Az-Zamakhshari,
`so it means each of these persons is the same as the other, so you may sit with
either one of them.' The meaning of `or' thus becomes `either.' Allah gave these
two examples of the hypocrites, because they both perfectly describe them.''
I (Ibn Kathir) say, these descriptions are related to the type of hypocrite, because
there is a difference between them as we stated. For instance, Allah mentioned these
types in Surat Bara'ah (chapter 9) when He repeated the statement, "And among them''
three times, describing their types, characteristics, statements and deeds. So the
two examples mentioned here describe two types of hypocrites whose characteristics
are similar. For instance, Allah gave two examples in Surat An-Nur, one for the
advocates of disbelief and one for the followers of disbelief, He said,
﴿وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ أَعْمَـلُهُمْ
كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ﴾
(As for those who disbelieved, their deeds are like a mirage in a desert) (24:39),
until,
﴿أَوْ كَظُلُمَـتٍ فِى بَحْرٍ لُّجِّىٍّ﴾
(Or (the state of a disbeliever) is like the darkness in a vast deep sea) (24:40).
The first example is of the advocates of disbelief who have complex ignorance, while
the second is about the followers who have simple ignorance. Allah knows best.
﴿يَـأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ
اعْبُدُواْ رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِىْ خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ
تَتَّقُونَ - الَّذِى جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الاٌّرْضَ فِرَاشاً وَالسَّمَآءَ بِنَآءً وَأَنزَلَ
مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَأَخْرَجَ بِهِ مِنَ الثَّمَرَتِ رِزْقاً لَّكُمْ فَلاَ تَجْعَلُواْ
للَّهِ أَندَاداً وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾
(21. O mankind! Worship your Lord (Allah), Who created you and those who were before
you so that you may acquire Taqwa.) (22. Who has made the earth a resting place
for you, and the sky as a canopy, and sent down water (rain) from the sky and brought
forth therewith fruits as a provision for you. Then do not set up rivals unto Allah
(in worship) while you know (that He alone has the right to be worshipped).)
ICTruth.info