Last night we talked about the mukhbiteen, the people of humility who are given good news of Paradise from Allah. Later in Surat al-Hajj Allah goes on to talk about the people who are the opposite.
وَإِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتُنَا بَيِّنَـٰتٍۢ تَعْرِفُ فِى وُجُوهِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ٱلْمُنكَرَ ۖ يَكَادُونَ يَسْطُونَ بِٱلَّذِينَ يَتْلُونَ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتِنَا ۗ قُلْ أَفَأُنَبِّئُكُم بِشَرٍّۢ مِّن ذَٰلِكُمُ ۗ ٱلنَّارُ وَعَدَهَا ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ۖ وَبِئْسَ ٱلْمَصِيرُ
[Prophet], you can see the disgust on the faces of the disbelievers when Our messages are recited clearly to them: it is almost as if they are going to attack those who recite Our messages to them. Say, ‘Shall I tell you what is far worse than what you feel now? The Fire that God has promised the disbelievers! What a dismal end!’ [22:72]
People who hate the truth
Two people can hear the same ayah, and whereas one will receive it with imaan and an open heart, the other will feel revulsion, like an electric shock. Allah describes the horror and disgust on their faces, as if they have had hot oil spilled on them.
These people are so disgusted that they cannot keep their hostility to themselves, but have to lash out and attack the messenger. We see this all the time, where people who are spreading lies attack the people who speak the truth. They do everything they can to bury the reality and spread their own propaganda and fake news, whether by physical attacks or by character assassination, destroying someone’s reputation and career.
They create traps where those who disagree with them are labelled as terrorists, dangerous, antisemitic, etc. And we see this pattern repeating from Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ time, when he and his companions were attacked, and he was called all kinds of names. We have many examples, both historic – e.g. the family of Yasir ibn Amir, Bilal ibn Rabah – and contemporary.
Those who speak the truth will be tested
Allah mentioned this to remind us that we will be tested, as all the prophets and their companions before us were. As long as you carry the truth, you will be attacked by those who want to suppress it.
If you are not being tested and everyone is happy with you, it means something is wrong with you and you should check yourself. Either you are not siding with the truth, or you are playing the hypocrite.
The result of denying the truth
The ayah goes on to talk about the end result Allah has promised for the people who attack the truth: Hellfire.
And the consequences will not only be in the akhirah. We see in the Hadith Qudsi:
There are three whose supplication is not rejected: The fasting person when he breaks his fast, the just leader, and the supplication of the oppressed person; Allah raises it up above the clouds and opens the gates of heaven to it. And the Lord says: ‘By My might, I shall surely aid you, even if it should be after a while.’ [Tirmidhi]
The oppressors will feel the consequences of their oppression in dunya. The oppressed will have relief eventually, although the timing will be according to Allah’s wisdom and is outside our knowledge.
Allah has promised that it will come, but part of our test in this life is that we have to be patient. This cannot be passive patience, where we sit at home and wait for Allah’s deliverance, but has to be active patience, where we do everything we can from our side and still expect the eventual reward, ihtisab.
We ask Allah to make us among the people who spread the truth. Ameen.
Delivered by Shaykh Haytham Tamim on Ramadan Night 24. Transcribed by Hana Khan.
Soft Hearts and Locked Hearts
By Samia Ahmed
Tonight’s reminder by Shaykh Haytham Tamim took us again to the state of the heart. The Qur’an does not simply address our actions; it addresses the heart from which those actions emerge. The heart is the centre of our response to truth.
Yesterday we reflected on the mukhbitin, those humble, softened hearts who are filled with awe before Allah. Their hearts are lowered before their Lord, just as a low valley receives water and allows life to grow. But the Qur’an also shows us the opposite state, the hardened heart, the locked heart that recoils when it hears the truth.
Allah describes the reaction of such people when the verses of Allah are recited:
“And when Our verses are recited to them as clear signs, you recognise in the faces of those who disbelieve denial. They almost attack those who recite Our verses to them.” (22:72)
Subhan Allah, the Qur’an describes something very vivid. Their rejection is not hidden. It appears on their faces. It is as if the words of Allah strike them like an electric shock. They cannot tolerate hearing the truth, and their anger becomes visible before they even speak.
In contrast, the believer experiences something entirely different. The Qur’an softens the heart, calms the soul and illuminates the face. Allah says:
“Allah has sent down the best of speech, a consistent Book… The skins of those who fear their Lord shiver from it, then their skins and their hearts soften to the remembrance of Allah.” (39:23)
The believer’s heart trembles first, then softens. Fear of Allah melts into love, and love turns into submission.
But those who reject the truth often respond in another way. When they cannot refute the truth, they attack those who convey it. This is not something new. It is a pattern repeated throughout history. The Quraysh labelled the Prophet ﷺ with every name they could think of: magician, poet, madman. The purpose was not to discover truth but to silence it.
Allah says:
“Thus, no messenger came to those before them except that they said, ‘A magician or a madman.’” (51:52)
The same pattern appears in every age. When truth becomes uncomfortable, people create labels. They build narratives. They construct traps of language so that those who speak the truth are pushed aside. Instead of engaging with the message, they attack the messenger.
We witness this today just as it was witnessed at the time of the Prophet ﷺ and his companions.
This itself is a test from Allah. Allah never promised that the path of truth would be free from hardship. Rather, He promised that the people of truth would be tested.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“The people most severely tested are the Prophets, then those closest to them, then those closest to them.” (Tirmidhi)
Falsehood will exist. Truth will exist. And between the two there will always be hypocrisy. The Qur’an constantly shows us these three categories so that we can ask ourselves a very uncomfortable but necessary question:
Where do we stand?
When the verses of Allah are recited, what happens inside our hearts?
Do we feel humility, awe and love?
Or irritation, resistance and discomfort?
The reaction of the heart reveals more than the tongue ever could.
Yet even when oppression occurs, and even when those who speak the truth are attacked, Allah reminds us of a reality that should bring calm to the believer’s heart. Justice belongs to Allah.
Allah says:
“Do not think that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers do. He only delays them until a Day when eyes will stare in horror.” (14:42)
Sometimes justice appears delayed. Sometimes the oppressor seems powerful and the truthful seem weak. But delay is not neglect. Allah’s promise never fails.
The believer therefore continues with humility, patience and sincerity. The goal is not to win arguments. The goal is to remain among those whose hearts are soft before Allah.
The Prophet ﷺ taught us a powerful reminder about the heart:
“Indeed, in the body there is a piece of flesh. If it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupted, the whole body is corrupted. Indeed it is the heart.” (Bukhari, Muslim)
This is why the Qur’an repeatedly calls us back to the heart. Because the real battle is not outside us. The real battle is inside us.
May Allah make us among the mukhbitin, those whose hearts are humble, softened and receptive to His words.
May He protect our hearts from becoming hardened or locked.
And may He make us among those who recognise the truth, love the truth and stand with the truth with sincerity and humility.
Ameen.