Features of Hypocrites

The lexical meaning of munafiq (hypocrite in Arabic) is anyone who gives rise to “confusion and corruption.” That is the real motive for entering the communities of the faithful. They are determined in what they do, taking every opportunity to act against the order established by the faithful. Although hypocrites are not believers, they seek to portray themselves as ones and thus, to make use of the opportunities that believers offer them. But whenever a difficulty or trouble arises, they at once depart and cross over to the other side. Their true nature emerges only in times of adversity. This clearly indicates that they remain alongside the faithful for the sake of their own interests. This attitude, described in the Qur’an, has hundreds of different features. Our Prophet (saas) described the features of hypocrites in these terms:
 The Prophet said, “The signs of a hypocrite are three: Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie. Whenever he makes a promise, he always breaks it. If you trust him, he proves to be dishonest. (Sahih Bukhari) However, in order to recognize the character of the hypocrite, we first need to know about their belief in Allah.