How are major and lesser forms of hypocrisy distinguished?
2026-09-21
T53 · Ibn Taymiyyah
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah
شيخ الإسلام أحمد بن تيمية
Selected explanation · Selected source passage(s) — fully translated
The narrator reports Ibn Taymiyyah’s reply in a debate concerning the designation of a sinful person. His distinction between major and lesser hypocrisy is retained. The English translates every displayed Arabic paragraph; this selection is not the complete surrounding work. Square brackets identify translator-supplied clarification.
النص العربي
المقتطف
قَالَ الشَّيْخُ تَقِيُّ الدِّينِ لَهُ: بَلْ يُسَمَّى مُنَافِقًا النِّفَاقَ الْأَصْغَرَ لَا النِّفَاقَ الْأَكْبَرَ. وَالنِّفَاقُ يُطْلَقُ عَلَى النِّفَاقِ الْأَكْبَرِ الَّذِي هُوَ إضْمَارُ الْكُفْرِ وَعَلَى النِّفَاقِ الْأَصْغَرِ الَّذِي هُوَ اخْتِلَافُ السِّرِّ وَالْعَلَانِيَةِ فِي الْوَاجِبَاتِ.
English translation
English translation reviewed against the displayed Arabic by SalafAlSalih editorial preparation (AI-assisted); explanatory additions appear in square brackets or separate notes.
Selected explanation
Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn said to him: “Rather, he is called a hypocrite with lesser hypocrisy, not major hypocrisy. The term hypocrisy is applied both to major hypocrisy, which is concealing unbelief, and to lesser hypocrisy, which is a difference between what is inward and what is outward in matters that are obligatory.”
Source and editorial notes
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 11/140
مجموع الفتاوى
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā
Arabic passage checked against the cited volume and printed page. English reviewed against every displayed Arabic paragraph on 14 October 2026.