Nifaq
In Islam, the munafiqun (‘hypocrites’, Arabic: منافقون, singular منافق munāfiq) or false Muslims or false believers are a group decried in the Quran as outward Muslims who were inwardly concealing disbelief (“kufr”) and actively sought to undermine the Muslim community. Munafiq is a person who in public and in community shows that he is a Muslim but rejects Islam or speaks against it either in his heart or among the enemies of Islam. The hypocrisy itself is called nifāq (نفاق).
Nifaq is an Arabic word that means hypocrisy, or the act of pretending to be good while hiding one's true nature. It can refer to concealing one’s true beliefs or behaving differently in public and private.
Types of Nifaq
- Nifaq in the creed: Pretending to be Muslim while secretly disbelieving
- Nifaq in deed: Behaving differently in public and private, or doing good deeds for the wrong reasons
Signs of Nifaq Lying, Breaking promises, and Being dishonest.
Overcoming Nifaq Being vigilant of one’s actions and speech, Acting against one’s base desires, Struggling against one’s inner self, and Improving oneself inwardly and outwardly.
In Moral Psychology, nifaq is the failure to follow one’s own moral principles
Abdullah ibn Amr reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “There are four signs that make someone a pure hypocrite and whoever has them has a characteristic of hypocrisy until he abandons it: (1) when he speaks he lies; (2) when he makes a covenant he is treacherous; (3) when he makes a promise he breaks it; and (4) when he argues he is wicked.”