“It is abandoning sincerity by considering others besides God in deeds.”¹⁾

“There are three hidden knots of hypocrisy deep within the soul: Loving praise, fearing blame, being attached to the world, and coveting what others possess.”²⁾

“O hypocritical soul of mine! Do not boast, saying, ‘I have served the religion.’ In accordance with the secret: ‘Indeed, God supports this religion even with a sinful man,’³⁾ since you are not purified, perhaps you should see yourself as that sinful man. Consider your service and worship as gratitude for past blessings, a duty of your nature, an obligation of your creation, and a result of Divine artistry. Save yourself from pride and hypocrisy!”⁴⁾

“Three Points Concerning Hypocrisy:

First Point: Hypocrisy cannot enter obligatory and necessary acts, Islamic symbols, adherence to the Sunnah of the Prophet, or abstaining from forbidden deeds. Declaring them openly is not hypocrisy unless someone is innately weak in faith and hypocritical by nature. In fact, scholars like Hujjat al-Islam Imam al-Ghazali (may God be pleased with him) state that acts of worship connected to Islamic symbols bring much greater rewards when performed openly than when hidden. While it is highly meritorious to perform other voluntary acts in secret, openly performing worship connected to Islamic symbols—especially in times of heretical innovations—demonstrates the honor of adhering to the Sunnah and, amidst grave sins, the importance of visibly abstaining from forbidden acts. This is not hypocrisy but rather far more rewarding and sincere than secrecy.

Second Point: The causes that lead people to hypocrisy include:

Weakness of Faith: Those who do not think of God worship causes and seek ostentatious behavior to impress others. However, the students of Risale-i Nur, through the strong lessons of verified faith, do not attribute undue value or importance to causes or people in worship, thus avoiding hypocrisy.

Greed and Ambition: From the weakness of poverty, one may adopt hypocritical behavior to attract the attention of people. However, the students of Risale-i Nur, through lessons of frugality, contentment, trust in God, and acceptance of divine decree, are taught an honorable stance that saves them from hypocrisy and worldly arrogance.

Desire for Fame, Love of Rank: Ambition for fame, status, and surpassing others, along with trying to appear virtuous, leads to hypocrisy through excessive pretense and ostentation. Students of Risale-i Nur replace ‘I’ with ‘we’, suppressing egotism and working for the collective spiritual personality of the Risale-i Nur community. Just as Sufis attain salvation from hypocrisy through annihilation in the guide and annihilation in the Messenger, the annihilation of self-interest within a spiritual brotherhood also frees them from hypocrisy.

Third Point: Regarding religious duties, making oneself accepted by people through dignified manners and conduct befitting one’s position does not count as hypocrisy. It is only hypocritical if someone uses that duty to serve their ego. For example, an imam openly reciting prayers and supplications during his duty cannot be considered hypocritical. However, doing so outside his duty may risk hypocrisy, and secrecy would be more virtuous. Students of Risale-i Nur, in their religious publications, adherence to the Sunnah, and abstaining from major sins, act in service of the Qur’an and, by God’s will, are not hypocritical—unless they entered Risale-i Nur for worldly purposes.”⁵⁾

“… Worship is of two kinds:

One is positive, the other is negative.

The positive kind is well known.

The negative kind occurs when a person afflicted with illness or calamities feels their weakness and incapacity, turns sincerely to their Merciful Lord, thinks of Him, prays to Him, and performs pure worship. Hypocrisy cannot enter such worship; it is entirely sincere. If one remains patient, reflects on the rewards of calamities, and gives thanks, then each hour of affliction can become equivalent to a day of worship. Such a short life becomes a long one. Some instances even allow a minute to count as a day of worship.”⁶⁾

“Seeking people’s attention is not desired; it may be given. Even if it is given, one should not delight in it. If one does, sincerity is lost, and hypocrisy begins.”⁷⁾

“Just as prolonged worldly hopes destroys sincerity and leads to hypocrisy and attachment to the world, reflecting on death instills hatred for hypocrisy and grants sincerity. By thinking about one’s death, considering the transient nature of the world, and reflecting on the deceptions of the ego, one can escape these traps.”⁸⁾

“The urge for fame, arising from love of status and disguised under the veil of honor and glory, seeks public attention and feeds the ego. This is a severe spiritual illness that opens the door to ostentation, arrogance, and what is termed ‘hidden shirk,’⁹⁾ destroying sincerity.”¹⁰⁾

“The solution to envy: An envious person should reflect on the ultimate fate of what they envy. They will realize that worldly beauty, power, rank, and wealth are temporary and fleeting, bringing little benefit and much burden. If the matter concerns spiritual merits, envy is not justified. If they still harbor envy, they are either hypocritical—wasting their afterlife for worldly gain—or unjustly accusing the envied person of hypocrisy.”¹¹⁾

“If you speak or write beautifully and everything goes as you wish, you should conduct self-accountability. For it might be Divine temptation and perdition. It may open doors to pride, hypocrisy, and arrogance, and close the doors to being an ordinary human among humans.”¹²⁾

“In a race where paths to gain are open like a market fair, the unfortunate souls who isolate themselves through hypocrisy and ostentation will inevitably face ruin and deprivation.”¹³⁾

“Inner deviations such as pride, envy, self-conceit, hypocrisy, boasting, and egotism prevent the heart from truly hearing and feeling the truth. To the extent that these sins are steps to unbelief and misguidance, they are also significant obstacles.”¹⁴⁾

“Praying deeply while alone but superficially in the presence of others is hypocrisy. Striving to impress others with one’s worship is regarded as shirk (associating partners with God).”¹⁵⁾

“… No matter what we see in others, we cannot say, ‘They are being hypocritical.’ We lack a measure to determine whether someone is acting with hypocrisy.”¹⁶⁾

“… The Messenger of God described hypocrisy as ‘dabb an-naml’¹⁷⁾: like the traces of an ant walking on a dark surface. One cannot notice it. It seeps into worship without being detected.”¹⁸⁾

Sincerity

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