Hypocrisy

SUBJECT & OBJECTIVES: This study examines the behaviors of hypocrites in Medina during the Prophet Muhammad’s era, positioning them as paradigms of an undesirable lifestyle. It integrates historical accounts, Quranic references, and prophetic traditions to identify detrimental behaviors and propose corrective measures for a balanced Islamic lifestyle. METHOD & FINDING: Using a descriptive-analytical methodology grounded in library and electronic resources, the research identifies ten traits, namely deception, rumor-mongering, duplicity, fostering doubts, alliances with non-Muslims, mockery, reproach, breaking covenants, false oaths, and defiance of the Prophet’s orders as reflections of hypocrisy. The findings underscore the significance of avoiding these behaviors to foster a lifestyle rooted in faith, morality, and social harmony.CONCLUSION: The study concludes by presenting practical strategies for achieving an ideal way of life based on adherence to divine commandments, thereby contributing to individual and societal well-being. This research extends existing literature on the Islamic lifestyle and highlights the enduring relevance of these lessons.

Hypocrisy is described as the mother of evils in both Islam and Christianity. In scriptures of these religions, the hypocrites are described as those who apparently profess to the two faiths but in heart they are either antagonistic to them or exploit them as means for satisfying their worldly desires. However, the evil becomes menacing when the hypocrites claim a place in the political power structures. In the fourteenth-century societies of England and Fars (Shiraz,) due to the pervasive presence of hypocrite clerics and their significant influence both on the common people and in the power structure, the hypocrisy of these men was a major topic in literature of the time. In two masterpieces of English and Persian literatures of this century, that is The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (1342/43- 1400), and the Divan of Khājeh Shams-Adīn Moḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī (1325- 1390), the hypocrite men of religion were prime target of ridicule and criticism. This article is an attempt to show that despite the difference in genre, the two works seem to focus on and highlight the same concern about hypocrisy and the hypocrites. Moreover, in their treatment of the theme of religious hypocrisy, the two poets seem to have adopted some similar methods of characterization and focused on identical and shared features of the hypocrite men of religion in the Divan and The Canterbury Tales.