⏺Hypocrites sitback from righteous deeds, while seeking to be mentioned amongst its doers.

Al-Imām Aḥmad bin 'Alī Al-Maqrīzī (845 H.) said:

“Second type: He who has no sincerity or mutābi'ah [adherence to the Sunnah], and these are the worst of creation. They are the ones who adorn themselves with good deeds in order to impress the people. This type is common among those who get deviated from the straight path amongst who attribute themselves to fiqh (jurisprudence), knowledge, asceticism, and worship. They stumble upon innovations, misguidance, showing off, and winning praise (sum'ah), and likes to be praised for what they did not do.

Concerning these people, came down Allah ta'ālā's revelation:

{لَا تَحۡسَبَنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَفۡرَحُونَ بِمَآ أَتَواْ وَّيُحِبُّونَ أَن يُحۡمَدُواْ بِمَا لَمۡ يَفۡعَلُواْ فَلَا تَحۡسَبَنَّهُم بِمَفَازَةٍ مِّنَ ٱلۡعَذَابِۖ وَلَهُمۡ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ}
{Do not let those who rejoice in their misdeeds and love to take credit for what they have not done think they will escape torment. They will suffer a painful punishment.}” — End of Quote.


💬Shaykh Sulaymān Al-'Alwān commented under it:

“In reality, these type of people are rare among the people of knowledge. That is because it is true that there might be among the people of knowledge those who have sincerity without adherence [to sunnah], or having adherence to it but with weakness in sincerity. Nevertheless those void of both, the sincerity and adherence are very few among those attributed to fiqh and knowledge, because knowledge leads them to sincerity and it leads them to being true with Allah جل وعلا. On the contrary, this is common among people of hypocrisy, and people of ignorance, and those who turn away from the message of the Prophets. Allah ta'ālā said:

يُرَآءُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ وَلَا يَذۡكُرُونَ ٱللَّهَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا
{...they do it ...only to be seen by people, hardly remembering Allah at all.}

[As for the verse: {Do not let those who rejoice in their misdeeds and love to take credit for what they have not done think they will escape torment. They will suffer a painful punishment.}]

It was narrated in Al-Saḥīḥayn (i.e Al-Bukhārī and Muslim) details of the reason for the revelation of this verse. In both, through ibn Abī Maryam, who said: Muḥammad bin Ja'far reported to us: Zaid bin Aslam mentioned to me, from 'Atā' bin Yasār from Abū Sa'īd Al-Khudrī:

“During the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), some men among the hypocrites used to remain behind him (i.e. did not accompany him) when he went out for a Ghazwa and they would be pleased to stay at home behind Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) When Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) returned (from the battle) they would put forward (false) excuses and take oaths, wishing to be praised for what they had not done. So there was revealed: {Do not let those who rejoice in their misdeeds and love to take credit for what they have not done...} - the verse.

Also in both saḥīḥs is narrated the view of ibn 'Abbās رضي الله عنهما a different reason for the revelation of the verse, and in both reasons, these two matters are included: He doesn't have sincerity nor adherence, or falls behind from commitment (in work) and makes excuses with lies, and loves being praised for what he have not done. There for, there is no doubt that he will have a great share from this verse. And this characteristic is one of the characteristics of the hypocrites, whom Allah جل وعلا condemned in Sūrah Bara’ah (i.e. Sūrah 9, Al-Tawbah). ”


— Shaykh Sulaymān Al-'Alwān

Sharah of "Tajrīd Tawḥīd Al-Mufīd" by Imām Al-Maqrīzī (p 247- 248)

~ Galandān