Table of Contents
Duplicity
* Insincerity, sowing discord, causing dissension.
* “It is to profess faith with the tongue while concealing unbelief in the heart (that is, to appear outwardly as a believer while inwardly denying faith. Such a person is called a hypocrite).”1)
* “Discernment—which may also be described as richness of conception, consistency in thought, insight into what lies behind the veil of existence, and acting with spiritual perception—is a light that God casts into the human heart when a person purifies it from spiritual illnesses such as rancor, hatred, resentment, duplicity, and self-admiration, and adorns it with faith, knowledge of God, love, passionate love, and enthusiasm. The person favored with this light becomes distinguished, deepens in perception and intuition, may even become familiar with the secrets hidden in the hearts of others and perceive realities behind outward appearances; and naturally, to the extent that the person awakens to what lies behind the veil of things, may become a polished mirror of the One Who Knows the Unseen.”2)
* “In another hadith, our Master adds a fourth sign to the signs of duplicity. This is wickedness. Wickedness means plunging irresponsibly into every kind of sin.”3)
* “…the teaching of the names to the Prophet Adam is discussed in the Wise Qur’an in the context of Adam’s vicegerency. Because of certain elements in the human disposition and essential nature, the angels respond to God Almighty with the perception that human beings will cause corruption on earth and shed blood. In other words, they say: ‘O Lord! Judging by the nature of the human being, it appears that he will shed blood, kill people, and cause duplicity and discord.’”4)
* “…even if a person displays ten signs of duplicity and only one sign of faith, we are still obliged, as far as possible, to maintain a good opinion of that person. Certainly, because of those blameworthy qualities, that person should fear greatly for himself or herself and be concerned about the final outcome; yet we must never pass judgment that the person is a hypocrite. We should prefer to be mistaken in having a good opinion rather than be correct in harboring a negative assumption. Of course, while safeguarding the rights of the service of faith and of the community as a whole, we may exercise greater caution in deciding whether to entrust certain duties and responsibilities to people who display signs of duplicity. In this respect, we may act according to the principle established by the Master: ‘good opinion, but lack of full trust.’ Thus, so that such people may also receive a share from service to the Qur’an, we may assign them certain duties while keeping them away from areas requiring confidentiality. In this way, we both protect public rights and act in accordance with our good opinion that those people may rid themselves of ugly qualities and become sincere believers. It should nevertheless be remembered that good opinion and trust are fundamental elements among people devoted to the same ideal, and that brothers and sisters should never become distrustful of one another because of reports unsupported by definite knowledge, trivial pretexts, suspicions, or misgivings. The consideration of ‘lack of full trust’ must therefore be carefully limited.”5)
* “The Risale-i Nur removes duplicity and division, separation, sedition, and corruption, and establishes brotherhood, religious fraternity, solidarity, and mutual assistance. This is one of the principles of the way of the Risale-i Nur. The Risale-i Nur also delivers people from bad moral qualities such as pride, arrogance, self-display, and humiliation, and enables them to acquire beautiful qualities such as humility, self-effacement, dignity, and gravity.”6)
* “In this age, the greatest danger facing the people of Islam is the corruption of hearts and the injury of faith through a form of misguidance arising from science and philosophy. The only remedy is light—to show light—so that hearts may be reformed and faith may be saved. If one were to act with the club of politics and prevail, those unbelievers would descend to the level of hypocrites. A hypocrite is worse than an unbeliever. Thus, in such an age, the club does not reform the heart. Unbelief then enters the heart, hides there, and turns into duplicity. One who is weak like me cannot wield both light and the club at the same time. Therefore, since I am compelled to embrace the light with all my strength, I must pay no attention to the political club, whatever form it may take.”7)
* “The agreement of the people of misguidance arises from their abasement, while the disagreement of the people of guidance arises from their dignity. That is, because the heedless people of the world and the people of misguidance do not rely upon truth and reality, they are weak and humiliated. Because they are humiliated, they need to gain strength. Out of this need, they sincerely cling to the assistance and alliance of others. Even though their path is one of misguidance, they still preserve their unity. It is as though they display a certain devotion to truth in wrongdoing, sincerity in misguidance, fanatical commitment in irreligion, and concord in duplicity, and thus they succeed. For sincere devotion does not remain without consequence, even when directed toward evil. Indeed, whatever a person seeks with sincerity, God grants it.”8)
* “Under the veil of duplicity, a dreadful individual named Sufyan, who will deny the Prophethood of Ahmad, peace and blessings be upon him, will become the leader of the people of duplicity and strive to destroy the Islamic Law. Against him, a luminous person from the Family of the Prophet named Muhammad Mahdi will lead the people of sainthood and perfection who are connected to the luminous line of the Prophet’s Family, and will destroy and disperse the hypocritical current that constitutes Sufyan’s collective personality.”9)
* “Lying is the first sign of duplicity.”10)