The Prophet ﷺ said, "Most of the hypocrites of this nation are its reciters."
عن النبي ﷺ قال: أكثر منافقي هذه الأمة قراؤها.
Imam Ahmad narrated it (17410) from Abu Abdul-Rahman, he said, Ibn Lahia narrated to us, Abu Musab narrated to me, he said, I heard Uqba, and he mentioned the hadith.Its isnad is hasan because of Ibn Lahia, for there is well-known discussion about him, except that its narrator here, Abu Abdul-Rahman, is Abdullah bin Yazid Muqri, who is among those who heard from Ibn Lahia before his books were burned, and a fair number of others corroborated him in that. Firyabi narrated it in Sifat al-Munafiqin (33), Khatib in his Tarikh (1/357), Tabarani in al-Kabir 17/(841), and Imam Ahmad (17366), all of them through various routes from Ibn Lahia with his isnad.Moreover, Ibn Lahia was not alone in narrating it, for Walid bin Mughira corroborated him, from Abu Musab, who is Mushrih bin Aahan, from Uqba bin Amir, and he mentioned the hadith. Bukhari narrated it in Khalq Afal Abbad (614) with his isnad from Walid bin Mughira. There is discussion about Mushrih bin Aahan, but his hadith is accepted in corroborating and supporting narrations.The meaning of this hadith, as Baghawi said in Sharh al-Sunnah (1/77), "Most of the hypocrites of this nation are its Quran reciters," is that one grows accustomed to abandoning sincerity in action, just as it is said, "The merchant is a sinner." What is meant is that when the merchant grows accustomed to lying in buying and selling, it does not mean that trade itself is sinful, rather it is something permitted, lawful in the Sharia. End of quote.Baghawi's statement, "The merchant is a sinner," perhaps refers to the hadith of Abdul-Rahman bin Shibl, who said, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Merchants are indeed sinners." He said, it was said, "Messenger of Allah, has Allah not made trade lawful?" He said, "Yes, but they speak and lie, and they swear and sin."Ahmad narrated it (15530) from Ismail bin Ibrahim, from Hisham, meaning Dastawai, who said, Yahya bin Abu Kathir narrated to me, from Abu Rashid Hubrani, who said, Abdul-Rahman bin Shibl said, and he mentioned the hadith. Its isnad is sahih.