The Meaning of Allah’s Saying: “So He made hypocrisy follow them in their hearts until the Day they will meet Him, because they betrayed Allah in what they had promised Him and because they used to lie,” and the Linguistic Definition of Hypocrisy

The Shaykh : This is the retribution, and may Allah protect us from it. “Aqibah” means He made the outcome of their affair hypocrisy in their hearts. Hypocrisy is: manifesting good and concealing evil; that is, a person displays good while hiding evil. This is the general meaning. What is the general meaning of hypocrisy? It is manifesting good and concealing evil. Where is it derived from? They said it is derived from the burrow of the gerbil. The burrow is the hole in which the gerbil hides. It has a door; it digs a tunnel in the ground and places a thin layer at the end of the tunnel that is not obvious, but it is easy for it to break through if someone forces it into it by striking it with its head until it comes out. Can you visualize the gerbil digging a hole in the ground to take shelter in it, making a door for it, and then placing a thin layer at the end? That is, it digs until it is about to break through the ground, then it leaves a thin layer for what purpose? So that if one of the people comes to it from the door of the burrow, it flees to this thin layer, pushes it with its head, and comes out. There is deception in this because people do not know about this thin layer. This is the origin of hypocrisy. So, the general meaning of hypocrisy is: manifesting good and concealing evil. Therefore, lying is among the characteristics of the hypocrites; it is considered hypocrisy. Why? Because the one who spoke to you displayed that he had told you the truth, whereas he had lied to you. Good.
As for the specific meaning, hypocrisy is: manifesting Islam and concealing disbelief. This is what is meant by the hypocrites in this surah: manifesting Islam and concealing disbelief. When did it appear? It appeared when the Muslims were victorious in the Battle of Badr. Because before the Muslims’ victory, people were either believers or disbelievers, and the disbeliever would declare and state openly that he was a disbeliever and not care. But when the Muslims were victorious at Badr, these hypocrites feared that they would be killed if they displayed their disbelief, so they became hypocrites, displaying that they were Muslims while they were disbelievers.
Hypocrisy is greater than disbelief, because the disbeliever’s enmity is open, is it not? His enmity is open; he declares to you that he is a disbeliever, and you know him and guard against him. But the hypocrite displays that he is your brother and that he is a Muslim, and you do not feel safe from him, you do not feel safe from him. He takes your secrets and gives them to your enemy because he is a hypocrite. So the harm of the hypocrites to Islam is more severe than the harm of the disbelievers. Why? Because the disbeliever is open in his disbelief, and the Muslim prepares for him, guards against him, and knows him. But the calamity, the whole calamity, is in hypocrisy. May Allah protect us and you from it.
Until when? Until one year, two years? No. Rather, until death, and may Allah protect us, they remained in their hypocrisy until they died. The reason is that their statement contains two things: it contains a covenant with Allah, and it contains a report. What is the covenant? The covenant is that they established a consideration and a consideration-given between two parties. As for the lie, it is their saying, for they lied in that. And it appears, and Allah knows best, that from the very beginning of this covenant, they were not sincere; that is, they did not intend to be among the righteous or to give charity, but they displayed it out of hypocrisy.