BEWARE OF THE ‘MUNAFIK’
They exist in various spheres of our lives
HYPOCRISY. What does it mean? Some say it involves those who do not portray their true selves. Others say they are worse than murderers.
Me? I opt for the dictionary meaning or look at it from a Malaysian Malay Muslim point of view.
So I grab my sweater and head to the cinema. Bought a ticket to watch Munafik 2 since its producer, Syamsul Yusof, said he had injected elements of realism in the film.
Yes, it is an Islamic horror flick with the main theme about hypocrites, or the Malay term, “munafik”.
The hypocrites in the movie range from the obvious villain by the name of Abu Jar, who openly displays his hypocrisy to the protagonist’s best friend of 10 years. The message in the movie is so clear: Beware of the munafik. They can be anyone.
In Islam, the characteristics of a hypocrite include lying whenever he speaks, not fulfilling promises and betraying trust.
Prophet Muhammad once said: “The worst people in the sight of Allah on the Day of Resurrection will be the double faced people who appear to some people with one face and to other people with another face.”
I believe other faiths, too, have their views on hypocrites.
I am not an expert in the field of comparative religion — I dare not say more on things that I am not familiar with. But if we look at hypocrites from a general perspective, many of us have in our lifetime come across these two-faced people. They exist in various spheres of our lives and we can even find them in our own families. Depressing though it may sound, that is the reality.
Sociologists define hypocrisy as not putting into practice what one has preached, not walking the talk or publicly depicting oneself as a guardian of moral norms for others to emulate, but violating them in private.
Based on what has been highlighted in the media or cyberworld, much has been said about political hypocrisy. So I shall not go into that. One area that I would like to highlight is the impact of hypocrisy at workplaces.
The late management guru and author Stephen Covey once said: “What you do has far greater impact than what you say.”
Researchers have discovered that Covey’s words are not mere advice, but are a warning to managers and organisations on the importance of leaders walking the talk.
In the Journal of Management, many researchers, including R.L. Greenbaum, M. Bardes Mawritz and R.F. Piccolo, have taken a closer look on the issues of hypocrisy and its impact.
The management experts have listed some backlash to hypocrisy in workplaces, such as employees feeling unhappy because they feel they have been treated unfairly. They also listed some traits of supervisors who engage in “belittling employees and spreading rumours”.
Other researchers also stress the importance of trust and the impact of distrust in organisations. They say since hypocritical behaviours can destroy organisational trust, such behaviours have to be carefully examined and prevented.
After watching Munafik 2 ,I learnt other things from it aside from the danger posed by hypocrites. I will not delve too deeply into the film — I do not want to spoil it for others who have not seen it. But some examples are worth mentioning.
One should carefully oil the hinges of all the windows and doors in a house. The mere creaking sound of rusty hinges scares the bejesus out of me.
Another is to pay the electricity bill on time. I do not want to be caught in the dark for too long after all the jump scares I’ve had to endure throughout the movie. The scary scenes usually happen in poorly lit and dark places.
Lastly, the onus is on the person to take the necessary steps to be closer to God. The main hero of the movie, Ustaz Adam, said the steps were through “solat (praying), sujud (prostration), tahajjud (night prayer) and doa (prayer or invocation)”.
Have a good Sunday, people. And watch out for the munafik.
Sociologists define hypocrisy as not putting into practice what one has preached, not walking the talk or publicly depicting oneself as a guardian of moral norms for others to emulate, but violating them in private.
With more than 20 years in journalism and a masters in Counselling Psychology, the writer is always drawn to the mystery of the human mind and behaviours