أَمَّا الْمُنَافِقُونَ فَكَانُوا عَلَى قِسْمَيْنِ
The hypocrites fell into two groups.
The first outwardly professed God’s unity and Muhammad’s messengership while inwardly rejecting that profession. This is the contradiction of open Islamic identity and concealed disbelief. The second group had entered Islam, but weakness and shortcomings accompanied their adherence. These are not identical conditions of belief.
First case: an outward profession deliberately contradicts an inward denial.
Second case: a person remains within Islam while experiencing defects in character and religious commitment.
The first condition involves an unseen inward reality. Many effects of the second can be discussed as observable actions. The ensuing section therefore analyzes behavioral hypocrisy in detail.