Did it reach us that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed over 'Abd Allah ibn Abi?

The questioner : Another question related to the previous discussion last Friday on the issue of hypocrisy. He says: Did it reach us that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed over 'Abd Allah ibn Abi... and regarding 'Umar's position where he sought to prevent him from doing so, and that the Qur'an was revealed supporting 'Umar's opinion, and was his hypocrisy practical or doctrinal?

The Shaykh : His was doctrinal hypocrisy, and it may have been accompanied naturally by practical hypocrisy. As for the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) prayer over this hypocrite, it was due to his independent legal reasoning (ijtihad). The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) used to apply the rulings of the Shari'ah based on apparent matters. This man prayed and participated with the Muslims in many acts of obedience and worship. But as He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: , "So whatever" — as the poet also said:
"And whatever trait a man may possess, *** Even if he thinks it is hidden from people, it will be known."
So these people, however much they conceal their hypocrisy, some words will inevitably slip from the tips of their tongues indicating the disbelief that has settled in their hearts. So these people, without doubt, had doctrinal disbelief; a disbelief that makes one of them deserving of the famous verse: . So this man was among them. But the Messenger (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him), although he knew some of them, treated them as Muslims in what was apparent. This is part of the rulings of the Shari'ah. From this, the scholars derived the famous rule among jurists, which some ignorant people mistakenly think is a hadith: "We judge by the apparent, and Allah takes care of the secrets." This is a correct jurisprudential rule, but it is not a Prophetic phrase. Rather, it is derived from many verbal and practical hadiths on the one hand, and from the application of the Messenger (peace be upon him) of this rule in his approach to dealing with all people, including hypocrites like this one. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) prayed over him based on this rule, while knowing that he was a hypocrite. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had one man among the Companions whom he chose and singled out with a special status above all his Companions, and who was the keeper of his secret: Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him). He had the names of the hypocrites with him. So 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, out of his fear of his Lord, would ask Hudhayfah, invoking his Lord, asking if he found his name among the group of hypocrites whom the Messenger (peace be upon him) had named for him. He would remind him that he was not among them.
In summary: The prayer of the Messenger (peace be upon him) over this hypocrite is a branch of his treatment of him as a Muslim, based on the aforementioned rule: "We judge by the apparent, and Allah takes care of the secrets." The meaning of the hadith becomes very clear when considering the reason for its occurrence. It is reported in "Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim" from the hadith of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that a funeral passed by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and his Companions spoke well of it when the funeral passed. He said (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him): . Then another funeral passed by, and they spoke ill of it, and he said (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him): . They said: O Messenger, the first funeral passed and you said: , and the other and you said the same? He said (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him): . So praying over a hypocrite whom we think is a Muslim does not mean that we have judged him to be in Paradise, especially if the assumption comes from the masses of people today who attend a funeral in the mosque and pray over it. One of them turns around and says: What do you testify regarding this man? He urges them to testify falsely about him because they do not know any good or evil in him, under the delusion that if they testify to his good, his black record will turn into a white one. The matter is not like that. In reality, the matter is as some Sufis express it with a beautiful phrase: "The tongues of creation are the pens of the Truth." This phrase is taken from the aforementioned hadith: "The tongues of creation are the pens of the Truth." But which creation? These people, as you heard in a recent example, who rush to false testimony on every occasion and without occasion. Are their tongues the pens of the Truth?
No. Rather, it is when their society is an Islamic society, raised with a correct Islamic upbringing, that does not testify, first of all, except to the truth. And then it does not testify except after deliberation, caution, and reflection. This is contrary to what happened in the time of 'Umar. When a man came to testify to the good of a man, he said to him: Do you know him? He said: Yes. He said: How do you know him? He said: Whenever I enter the mosque, I find him standing, bowing, and prostrating. He said: Have you traveled with him? For travel reveals the character of men. He said: No. He said: Have you dealt with him in money? He said: No. He said: Is he your neighbor? He said: No. He said: Then you do not know him!
So the point is: If there is a group of truthful, believing, and knowledgeable scholars who testify about a person based on knowledge, correct knowledge; then they are expressing the reality of this person, not contrary to his reality! So applying the rulings of the Shari'ah, in which we are commanded to judge by the apparent, does not mean testifying to the reality of this person based on the apparent ruling. Rather, if we want to take this reality from the apparent, it is by the testimony of the Ummah. The Muslim Ummah at a certain time, if it is like the Companions of the Messenger (peace be upon him) in knowledge, jurisprudence, justice, and fear of Allah (Mighty and Majestic); not favoring or concealing, then this testimony is a sign of Paradise for the one testified about, and the opposite is the opposite. So applying the rulings of the Shari'ah based on the apparent does not conflict with this hadith; because this hadith has a specific ruling regarding the testimony of the people of truth to the truth.