Monday, March 13, 2006

Chapter 63 of the Quran

Virtually every english translation of the Quran titles chapter 63 as "The Hypocrites".

This site gives about a half dozen translations: http://www.geocities.com/infoquran/

Here is one translation by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, 1930

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THE HYPOCRITES, CHAPTER NO. 063In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.063.001 When the hypocrites come unto thee (O Muhammad), they say: We bear witness that thou art indeed Allah's messenger. And Allah knoweth that thou art indeed His messenger, and Allah beareth witness that the hypocrites indeed are speaking falsely.063.002 They make their faith a pretext so that they may turn (men) from the way of Allah. Verily evil is that which they are wont to do,063.003 That is because they believed, then disbelieved, therefore their hearts are sealed so that they understand not.063.004 And when thou seest them their figures please thee; and if they speak thou givest ear unto their speech. (They are) as though they were blocks of wood in striped cloaks. They deem every shout to be against them. They are the enemy, so beware of them. Allah confound them! How they are perverted!063.005 And when it is said unto them: Come! The messenger of Allah will ask forgiveness for you! they avert their faces and thou seest them turning away, disdainful.063.006 Whether thou ask forgiveness for them or ask not forgiveness for them is all one for them; Allah will not forgive them. Lo! Allah guideth not the evil-living folk.063.007 They it is who say: Spend not on behalf of those (who dwell) with Allah's messenger that they may disperse (and go away from you); when Allah's are the treasures of the heavens and the earth; but the hypocrites comprehend not.063.008 They say: Surely, if we return to Al-Madinah the mightier will soon drive out the weaker; when might belongeth to Allah and to His messenger and to the believers; but the hypocrites know not.063.009 O ye who believe! Let not your wealth nor your children distract you from remembrance of Allah. Those who do so, they are the losers.063.010 And spend of that wherewith We have provided you before death cometh unto one of you and he saith: My Lord! If only thou wouldst reprieve me for a little while, then I would give alms and be among the righteous.063.011 But Allah reprieveth no soul when its term cometh, and Allah is Informed of what ye do.
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Let's ignore the theological problems here (e.g. that Allah only sometimes is informed in verse 11, or that Allah here says in verse 6 'this can't be forgiven' and says elsewhere [e.g. 4-110] that anything can be forgive or that Allah asked Allah to curse them in verse 4, etc.).

Instead let's try to figure out what Allah thinks is hypocrisy. It could be someone who once believed but now does not believe (as verse 3 says) or is could be someone who pretends to believe but does so in order to mislead other believers (as verse 2 says) but where such pretenders are all former believers who no longer believe or they could be people who tried to mislead Muhammad (as verse 1 says) who did so by pretending to believe but who also once believed and no longer do so.

Confused yet?

Like many other portions of the Quran, this section is the subject of extensive commentary and and this section supports many legal rulings.

However, let me summarize a few possibilities.

If the Quran is defining a hypocrite as someone who changes their mind, it is simply a bad definition.

If the Quran is defining a hypocrite as someone who pretends to believe in order to deceive, that would be a decent example of a hypocrite.

From the viewpoint of the Quran, someone trying to deceive Mohammad must have been hypocrisy on a six alarm level.