The revered source of emulation emphasized that the danger posed by internal hypocrites is far greater than the danger posed by foreign enemies and said, “The disbelief of the enemies is known and the believers can easily confront them but the hypocrites appear in the clothing of friends and they have an inner hostility. For the same reason, they have imposed a greater danger.”
Stating that some exegists of the Quran have said that about two thousand verses of the Quran about the hypocrites have been revealed, Ayatollah Sobhani noted, “In the Islamic Republic, we have seen the dangers of the hypocrites that we haven’t seen from the disbelievers and foreign enemies. The issue of the hypocrites must not be taken lightly.”
The teacher in the Islamic Seminary of Qom stated that believing in God and on the Day of Resurrection makes mankind lovers in the cause of God and said, “The true believers go to the frontlines of jihad without any excuses but the hypocrites always seek excuses and they refuse to go to the frontlines of jihad.”
Referring to the fact that the hypocrites are always trying to stage the scenes, he said, “That the hypocrites were near at the Prophet Muhammad during the Battle of Tabuk and received permission to stay in Madinah for false pretenses because there is no need for any kind of istikharah [prayer in which one asks God for guidance] in good work and the believer doesn’t hesitate to engage in jihad on the way of God. Moreover, if you intend to go to war, you seek the preparation of equipment and personnel as much as possible before obtaining permission.”
Ayatollah Sobhani continued, “If the hypocrites went to the Battle of Tabuk, they would have weakened the will of the Muslims which would have led to the defeat of the Islamic army. Some Muslim people were impulsive and influenced by the words of the hypocrites. For this reason, the Prophet granted them permission to stay in Madinah.”