One of soul's defects that brutally affects our ties with
our Creator as well as our relationships with others is
betrayal. Betraying is an unfaithful act characterized
by deliberate but hidden deceiving, lying and scheming.
Because of the intentional secretive planning that is
involved in betrayal, its victims are always taken by
surprise. The most harmful consequence of betraying is the
sudden and abrupt destruction of the bond of trust, loyalty,
and confidence that exists in different kinds of social
relations. This results in a deep sense of disappointment
and serious damage of the integrity of such relationships.
[8:27]
O you who believe,
do not betray GOD and
the messenger, and
do not betray
those who trust you, now that you know.
Students of the Quran know that all the elements which might
be involved in the ugly course of betrayal are
clearly highlighted as prohibited bad behavior and
immorality, and therefore condemned by God.
[17:38] All bad behavior
is condemned by your Lord.
[24:19]
Those who love
to see immorality spread among the believers have
incurred a painful retribution in this life and in the
Hereafter. GOD knows, while you do not
know.
Those elements might be summarized as:
- Cheating, hypocrisy, and breaking promises :
[26:183] "Do
not cheat the people out of their rights, and
do not roam the earth corruptingly.
[9:119]
O you who believe, you shall reverence GOD, and
be among the truthful.
You Shall Keep Your Word
[16:91]
You shall fulfill your
covenant with GOD when you make such a covenant.
You shall not violate
the oaths after swearing (by God) to carry them out, for
you have made GOD a guarantor for you. GOD knows
everything you do.
[16:92] Do not be like
the knitter who unravels her strong knitting into piles
of flimsy yarn. This is your example
if you abuse the oaths to take advantage of one another.
Whether one group is larger than the other,
GOD thus puts you to the test. He will surely show
you on the Day of Resurrection everything you had
disputed.
[70:32] And the believers
keep their word; they are trustworthy.
[9:77] Consequently, He
plagued them with hypocrisy in their hearts, till the day
they meet Him. This is because they
broke their promises to GOD, and because of their lying.
- Deceiving, and conspiring :
[58:9] O you who believe, if you have
to confer secretly, you shall not confer to
commit sin, transgression, and to
disobey the messenger. You shall confer to work
righteousness and piety. You shall reverence GOD, before
whom you will be summoned.
[58:10]
Secret conspiracy is the devil's idea,
through which he seeks to hurt those who believed.
However, he cannot hurt them against GOD's will. In GOD the
believers shall trust.
- Beating around the bush, and manipulating facts
are choices made by betrayers over being straightforward in
order to deceive and hit the target with minimal damage to
their fake image. We are not righteous if we are not
straightforward.
Do Not Beat Around the Bush
[2:189] They ask you about the phases
of the moon! Say, "They provide a timing device for the
people, and determine the time of Hajj." It is
not righteous to beat around the bush;*
righteousness is attained by upholding the commandments
and by being straightforward. You shall observe
GOD, that you may succeed.
- Backbiting:
[49:12] O you who believe, you
shall avoid any suspicion, for even a little bit of
suspicion is sinful. You shall not spy on one another,
nor shall you backbite one another; this is
as abominable as eating the flesh of your dead brother.
You certainly abhor this. You shall observe GOD. GOD is
Redeemer, Most Merciful.
Motives for betraying could be any of the Satanic
emotions he injects into our hearts sickening our souls such
as jealousy, envy, hatred, greed, ego, and passion to power
and control. Like all forms of sins, we betray when we
choose Satan's points of views over God's. He,
then, continues to justify evil for only one sole purpose:
breaking our covenants with God. When the betrayers fail to
realize that lowly trap, fix their works, and repent, Satan
keeps on stirring them up in an endless circle
of misguidance, and pollution, making them lose their logic
and the ability to reason. God has warned His sincere
servants against those who are stuck in that vicious circle
in 5:13.
Consequences of Violating God's Covenant
[5:13] It was a
consequence of their violating the covenant that we
condemned them, and we caused their hearts to become
hardened. Consequently, they took
the words out of context, and disregarded some of the
commandments given to them. You
will continue to witness betrayal from them, excepting a
few of them. You shall pardon them, and disregard them.
GOD loves those who are benevolent.
When they believe Satan's justification of
betrayal, betrayers think that God is not aware of their
actions! This is expressed in the following verses. It
is also not recommended by God to defend any of
the unethical acts:
[29:4]
Do those who
commit sins think that they can ever fool us?
Wrong indeed is their judgment.
[9:78] Do they not realize
that GOD knows their secrets, and their conspiracies, and
that GOD is the Knower of all secrets?
Do Not Defend the Transgressors
[4:107]
Do not argue on behalf of
those who have wronged their own souls; GOD does
not love any betrayer, guilty.
[4:108] They hide from the
people, and do not care to hide from GOD, though He is with
them as they harbor ideas He dislikes. GOD is fully aware of
everything they do.
You Do Not Help Them by Being "Nice"
[4:109] Here you are
arguing on their behalf in this world; who is going to argue
with GOD on their behalf on the Day of Resurrection? Who is
going to be their advocate?
As believers we are commanded to stand up for our rights
in the face of any form of aggression (26:227, 42:
39). Standing up for our rights is always a practice for
advocating justice as well as a chance to address and
proclaim the commands that are violated by the
aggressive party. Those who are betrayed are commanded
by God to fight back equitably.
[8:58] When you are
betrayed by a group of people, you shall mobilize
against them in the same manner. GOD does not love
the betrayers.
Those who betray God and the believers don't realize that
they cannot hurt us in the least. They are only betraying
their own souls and they are destined to lose the battle.
God has promised to defend those on the straight path.
[43:76] It is not us who wronged
them; it is they
who wronged their own souls.
[8:71] And if they want to
betray you, they have already betrayed GOD.
This is why He made them
the losers. GOD is Omniscient, Most Wise.
God Defends the Believers
[22:38] GOD defends those who believe.
GOD does not love any betrayer, unappreciative.
God Suffices the Believers
[8:62] If they want to
deceive you, then GOD will suffice you. He will help you
with His support, and with the believers.
God Protects The Believers
[27:50] They plotted and
schemed, but we also plotted and schemed, while they did not
perceive.
All Dignity Belongs With God
[35:10]
Anyone seeking
dignity should know that to GOD belongs all dignity.
To Him ascends the good words, and He exalts the
righteous works. As for those
who scheme evil works, they incur severe retribution; the
scheming of such people is destined to fail.
Peaceful Friday, salaam and God bless you.
