Hypocrisy of Those Who Say Something But Act Differently
In a series of sessions, Emad Afroogh tries to introduce the thoughts of Imam Ali (AS). In the fifth session, held under the title of “Priority of Action to Word”, he discussed the hypocritical behavior of those who only speak but do not act upon what they say. Here is a summary of the fourth session:
The Khutba (sermon) I have chosen to talk about today is the ninth Khutba of Nahj al-Balagha. This Khutba underlines the priority of actions over words. This is among the problems we face. That is, we pay little attention to taking action and pay more attention to speaking. This can be seen in different areas. One who is a man of action does not need to talk repeatedly and uselessly.
Imam Ali (AS) uses a phrase about the behavior of Talha and Zubair that is very interesting. Imam (AS) says: “They thundered like clouds and shone like lightning but despite both these things they exhibited cowardice, while we do not thunder until we pounce upon the foe nor do we show flow (of words) until we have not virtually rained.”
This means talking per se is not enough but what shows whether the words are actual or not is action. Any word that is not accompanied by action is hypocritical. Imam Ali (AS) on different occasions says those who say something but do not act accordingly have the attribute of hypocrisy.
In the Holy Quran, God say: “O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do?” (Surah As-Saff, Verse 2) But the Quran does not say what do you do what you do not talk about?
If one intends to take an action, he will do it and there is no need to talk about it. Of course, what we mean by action here is not every kind of action but that which is orderly and logical. For such an action, there is no need for repeated and clamorous talking. Unfortunately, this is an issue we are facing.
This priority of action over words is emphasized in other Khutbas as well and we will discuss them later.
