Warning Against Double-faced Hypocrites
📖Sahih al-Bukhari 7179
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“The worst of all mankind is the double-faced one, who comes to some people with one face and to others, with another face.”
🔍 Explanation:
This hadith exposes one of the most despicable traits in a person: two-facedness. It refers to someone who pretends to be sincere with different people while carrying completely different intentions—often to create division, gain personal benefit, or avoid accountability.
The Prophet ﷺ doesn’t just call such behavior bad—he labels the double-faced person as “the worst of mankind”, showing that this is a dangerous and destructive character trait. It’s a form of betrayal, manipulation, and dishonesty.
🎭 What Makes a Person Double-Faced?
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✅ Speaking well to someone, but slandering them behind their back.
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✅ Siding with one group, then mocking or exposing them to another.
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✅ Pretending to be a friend to both enemies for personal gain.
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✅ Spreading gossip selectively to cause fitnah (division).
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✅ Acting pious in front of religious people, then mocking Islam in private.
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✅ Agreeing with both sides just to avoid confrontation, not for wisdom, but for manipulation.
This kind of person thrives on lies, deception, and false appearances. Their presence in any community spreads distrust, confusion, and hypocrisy.
Qur’anic Context:
📖Quran 4:145
Indeed, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire—and you will never find for them any helper.
📖Quran 2:8-9
And among the people are some who say, “We believe in Allah and the Last Day,” but they are not believers. They seek to deceive Allah and those who believe, but they deceive not except themselves, and they perceive it not.
📖Quran 33:60
If the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is disease and those who spread rumors in Madinah do not cease, We will surely incite you against them. Then they will not remain your neighbors except for a little while.
📖Quran 4:138-139
Give tidings to the hypocrites that there is for them a painful punishment— Those who take disbelievers as allies instead of the believers. Do they seek with them honor? But indeed, honor belongs to Allah entirely.
Being two-faced is not just a bad habit, it’s a gateway to nifaq (hypocrisy), which the Qur’an condemns repeatedly. The double-faced person loses the trust of people and the favor of Allah. Islam commands truthfulness, loyalty, and consistency, not manipulation and deception. The next time someone speaks sweetly to you and then badmouths others, or does the opposite, remember this hadith: such a person might be the worst of mankind.