Surah Al-Saff, Ayah 2-3
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِندَ اللَّهِ أَن تَقُولُوا مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ
O you who have believed, why do you say what you do not do? Great is hatred in the sight of Allah that you say what you do not do.
اے ایمان والو! تم کیوں وہ بات کہتے ہو جو کرتے نہیں؟ اللہ کے نزدیک یہ بہت ناپسندیدہ ہے کہ تم وہ بات کہو جو کرتے نہیں۔
Explanation
These verses address the serious issue of hypocrisy - saying one thing while doing another. The rhetorical question "why do you say what you do not do?" challenges believers to examine the consistency between their words and actions. The second verse emphasizes that Allah greatly dislikes this contradiction between speech and behavior. This applies to making promises we don't keep, advocating principles we don't follow, and claiming beliefs we don't practice. This teaches that integrity requires alignment between words and actions, that hypocrisy is particularly despised by Allah, that believers should be especially careful about consistency between their claims and behavior, and that credibility and spiritual health depend on practicing what we preach. The verses encourage self-examination and commitment to living according to our stated beliefs and values.
Context
These verses appear in Surah Al-Saff (The Ranks), addressing the importance of consistency between words and actions, and Allah's strong disapproval of hypocrisy among believers.