We were in Abdullah's study circle when Hudhayfah came and stood over us. He greeted us and then said, "Hypocrisy was sent down upon a people better than you."Aswad exclaimed, "Glory be to Allah! Allah says, 'Indeed, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire' [Nisa 4:145]."Abdullah smiled, and Hudhayfah sat down in a corner of the mosque. Then Abdullah stood up and his companions dispersed. He threw a pebble at me to summon me, so I went to him.Hudhayfah said, "I was amazed at his smiling, since he understood what I had said. Hypocrisy was indeed sent down upon a people who were better than you, then they repented and Allah accepted their repentance."
كنا في حلقة عبد الله، فجاءحذيفة حتى قام علينا فسلم، ثم قال: لقد أنزل النفاق على قوم خير منكم. قال الأسود: سبحان الله! إن الله يقول: {إن المنفقين في الدرك الأسفل من النار}، فتبسم عبد الله، وجلس حذيفة في ناحية المسجد، فقام عبد الله فتفرق أصحابه، فرماني بالحصا، فأتيته، فقال حذيفة: عجبت من ضحكه، وقد عرف ما قلت، لقد أنزل النفاق على قوم كانوا خيرا منكم، ثم تابوا فتاب الله عليهم.
Bukhari narrated it in the Tafsir (4602), from Umar bin Hafs, who said, my father narrated to us, Amash said, Ibrahim narrated to me, from Aswad, who said, and he mentioned it.His statement, "the lowest depths" [Nisa 4:145], refers to houses with doors that close upon them, with fire kindled beneath them and fire above them. This was narrated from Abu Hurairah, Ibn Masud, and others with sahih chains of transmission.His statement, "except those who repent, correct themselves, hold fast to Allah, and are sincere in their religion for Allah" [Nisa 4:146], means they replaced hypocrisy with sincerity, which is faith in the heart, for hypocrisy is disbelief of the heart.It has been narrated from Muaz bin Jabal that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Be sincere in your religion, and a little deed will suffice you." This was narrated by Ibn Abu Hatim in his Tafsir (4/1099), and Hakim (4/305), both from the hadith of Ibn Wahb, who said, Yahya bin Ayub informed me, from Ubaydullah bin Zahr, from Khalid bin Abu Imran, from Amr bin Mura, from Muaz bin Jabal, and he mentioned it.Hakim said, "Its chain is sahih." Dhahabi took issue with him, saying, "No."I say, the correct view is that of Dhahabi, for the chain contains Ubaydullah bin Zahr, who is daif, and Amr bin Mura did not hear from Muaz bin Jabal.