Are we hypocrites?

Keboringan kamu, posts ku lately semua pasal Islam? Hehe. Memang kalau pasal agama ani people can be apprehensive about it. A few people I know, and even myself before deciding to learn more about Islam (and sometimes now even), avoid the conversations or even just thoughts about the Day of Judgement and the Hereafter. We choose to be blinded by what this temporary world offers us.

I myself feel awkward even when I 'tegur' my family members and friends. Do not gossip, dress more modestly, cover your aurat properly, eat moderately, perform your daily prayers, be more patient, control your anger. It's harder telling my family. Lain lagi orang yang bersangka buruk, pikirnya kan menunjuk alim lah, inda batah lagi kan meninggal lah, terpengaruh orang alim lah. Why do people have to think like that? There's good paranoid and bad paranoid. Why not just keep the good. I also feel awkward because kan menagur orang lain, padahal I myself still have trouble abstaining from those behaviours. I tend b*tch and moan about how I dislike people on TV or how disgraceful or laughable they are. But I don't realise that is also a form of backbiting. It's hard to stay away from sin, iatah kami sangat digalakkan selalu menyucikan diri and ingat Tuhan so that lama-lama kitani biasa and it becomes automatic and we won't have any trouble keeping away from bad stuff anymore.

Sometimes I am also apprehensive because people, being the imperfect people that we are, always have something to say. Who am I to preach and tegur? I myself am not perfect, I have sinned greatly before. Sekiranya bila kami menagur, kana balasi, "awu ustazah." Little sarcastic comments like these can be disheartening, but we cannot just give up and hope that these people will change by themselves. Some of these people need guidance. I myself felt lost, but Alhamdulillah, all this while I have already have friends who can help guide me.

Recently I have started reading the tafsir after every solat, just like I read the Quran, but this way I understand and it's not just me reading arabic out loud to improve pronunciation and tajwid. Anyway, upon reading a part of Surah Al-Baqarah about the characteristics of Muslims, Kafirs and Munafiqs, it got me flashbacking. Particularly from ayats 17 to 20:

Malay translation:

17. Perbandingan hal mereka (golongan yang munafik itu) samalah seperti orang yang menyalakan api; apabila api itu menerangi sekelilingnya, (tiba-tiba) Allah hilangkan cahaya (yang menerangi) mereka, dan dibiarkannya mereka dalam gelap-gelita, tidak dapat melihat (sesuatu pun).

18. Mereka (seolah-olah orang yang) pekak, bisu dan buta; dengan keadaan itu mereka tidak dapat kembali (kepada kebenaran).

19. Atau (bandingannya) seperti (orang-orang yang ditimpa) hujan lebat dari langit, bersama dengan gelap-gelita, dan guruh serta kilat; mereka menyumbat jarinya ke dalam telinga masing-masing dari mendengar suara petir, kerana mereka takut mati. (Masakan mereka boleh terlepas), sedang (pengetahuan dan kekuasaan) Allah meliputi orang-orang yang kafir itu.

20. Kilat itu pula hampir-hampir menyambar (menghilangkan) penglihatan mereka; tiap-tiap kali kilat itu menerangi mereka (dengan pancarannya), mereka berjalan dalam cahayanya. Dan apabila gelap menyelubungi mereka, berhentilah mereka (menunggu dengan bingungnya). Dan sekiranya Allah menghendaki, nescaya dihilangkanNya pendengaran dan penglihatan mereka; sesungguhnya Allah Maha Kuasa atas tiap-tiap sesuatu.

English translation:

17. Their likeness is as the likeness of one who kindled a fire; then, when it lighted all around him, Allah took away their light and left them in darkness. (So) they could not see.

18. They are deaf, dumb, and blind, so they return not (to the Right Path).

19. Or like a rainstorm from the sky, wherein is darkness, thunder, and lightning. They thrust their fingers in their ears to keep out the stunning thunderclap for fear of death. But Allah ever encompasses the disbelievers (i.e. Allah will gather them all together).

20. The lightning almost snatches away their sight, whenever it flashes for them, they walk therein, and when darkness covers them, they stand still. And if Allah willed, He could have taken away their hearing and their sight. Certainly, Allah has power over all things.

I wouldn't have fully understood the literature if it weren't for the footnotes in the tafsir. Here is an interpretation regarding ayat 19:

Keadaan orang-orang munafik itu, ketika mendengar ayat-ayat yang mengandungi peringatan, adalah seperti orang yang ditimpa hujan lebat dan petir. Mereka menyumbat telinga mereka kerana tidak sanggup mendengar peringatan-peringatan dari Al Quran itu.

The hypocrites, upon hearing the reminders from the Quran, are comparable to one who is caught in thunderstorm and lightning. They cover their ears because they cannot bear to listen to the reminders from the Quran.

Ever wonder why people immediately change a channel when a religious program is on air? Not even bothering to listen to what the topic of discussion is about. We prefer to watch entertainment, singing, dancing, celebrity gossip programs. When we come across blogs that talk discuss religious issues, we choose not to read it, let alone scan through. We would rather read blogs that talk about one's daily endeavors, Because they do not concern the Hereafter, they do not concern the reality of life. We are in denial because we are scared of our sins. We choose to ignore the reminders that are shown to us because we are scared, we cannot bear to learn the consequences of our sins, and what we are missing out from not carrying out what Allah tells us to do.

Does that make us munafiqs? Does that make us hypocrites? We claim to be Muslim, our birth certificates say we are Muslim, the religion printed on our identity cards is Islam. But are we really?