In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Cheating - the taste of hypocrisy

[29:4] Do those who commit sins think that they can ever fool us? Wrong indeed is their judgment.

[4:107] Do not argue on behalf of those who have wronged their own souls; GOD does not love any betrayer, guilty.
[4:108] They hide from the people, and do not care to hide from GOD, though He is with them as they harbor ideas He dislikes. GOD is fully aware of everything they do.

Any sin we commit against God's teachings and moral standards is a form of idol worship. We ALL sin in a weak moment when our fear or reverence to God alone, by the intervention of Satan, becomes less than our fear, care, and love for other idols - our ego, a dead messenger, a scholar, personal opinions and assumptions, a close friend or family member, a social/traditional practice that has no place in the Quran, materialistic gains or desires, etc.. . This is exactly when we all sin. This idol worshiping experience is basically a moment of dishonesty simply because our truthfulness is what shields us from idolatry, while cheating is the trigger to exceed the limits and please other entities instead of God.

God, the Supreme, has set the laws of everything in the Quran including the ones for our characters as submitters. He taught the human being by all possible means how to distinguish right from wrong, truth from falsehood and conjecture, integrity from immorality:

[76:3] We showed him the two paths, then he is either appreciative, or unappreciative.

[55:3] Creator of the human beings.
[55:4] He taught them how to distinguish.

[55:7] He constructed the sky and established the law.
[55:8] You shall not transgress the law.
[55:9] You shall establish justice; do not violate the law.

The moral value of being truthful and just is clearly attributed to real believers who always reverence the rites and laws decreed by God at all times (2:177, 49:15). They are the ones who are fair and sincere towards their own souls. Being truthful versus being a cheater or a liar is clearly portrayed by God in numerous examples and commands. Here are just a few of them:

[33:70] O you who believe, reverence GOD and utter only the correct utterances.
[33:71] He will then fix your works, and forgive your sins. Those who obey GOD and His messenger have triumphed a great triumph.

[9:119] O you who believe, you shall reverence GOD, and be among the truthful.

[83:1] Woe to the cheaters.
[83:2] Who demand full measure when receiving from the people.
[83:3] But when giving them the measures or weights, they cheat.

[26:183] "Do not cheat the people out of their rights, and do not roam the earth corruptingly.

Honesty & Justice Advocated [4:58] GOD commands you to give back anything the people have entrusted to you. If you judge among the people, you shall judge equitably. The best enlightenment indeed is what GOD recommends for you. GOD is Hearer, Seer.

You Shall Not Bear False Witness [4:135] O you who believe, you shall be absolutely equitable, and observe GOD, when you serve as witnesses, even against yourselves, or your parents, or your relatives. Whether the accused is rich or poor, GOD takes care of both. Therefore, do not be biased by your personal wishes. If you deviate or disregard (this commandment), then GOD is fully Cognizant of everything you do.

Regard the Orphans [4:2] You shall hand over to the orphans their rightful properties. Do not substitute the bad for the good, and do not consume their properties by combining them with yours. This would be a gross injustice.

Write Down Financial Transactions [2:282] O you who believe, when you transact a loan for any period, you shall write it down. An impartial scribe shall do the writing. No scribe shall refuse to perform this service, according to GOD's teachings. He shall write, while the debtor dictates the terms. He shall observe GOD his Lord and never CHEAT....

Failing to investigate rumors and taking part in the spread of them is an unjust behavior, and an example of cheating as it only leads to the spread of lies:

[24:15] You fabricated it with your own tongues, and the rest of you repeated it with your mouths without proof. You thought it was simple, when it was, according to GOD, gross.

Investigate Rumors Before Believing Them [49:6] O you who believe, if a wicked person brings any news to you, you shall first investigate, lest you commit injustice towards some people, out of ignorance, then become sorry and remorseful for what you have done.

Crucial Advice [17:36] You shall not accept any information, unless you verify it for yourself. I have given you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brain, and you are responsible for using them.

Twisting the facts and/or holding back the truth or our testimonies about God's laws, words, systems, or proofs in the Quran is another example of cheating. It's a gross offense and an evil act committed when we no longer belong to God or reverence the day we meet Him:

[16:105] The only ones who fabricate false doctrines are those who do not believe in GOD's revelations; they are the real liars.

[10:60] Does it ever occur to those who fabricate lies about GOD that they will have to face Him on the Day of Resurrection? Certainly, GOD showers the people with His grace, but most of them are unappreciative.

[4:50] Note how they fabricate lies about GOD; what a gross offense this is!

[11:18] Who are more evil than those who fabricate lies about GOD? They will be presented before their Lord, and the witnesses will say, "These are the ones who lied about their Lord. GOD's condemnation has befallen the transgressors."

[16:116] You shall not utter lies with your own tongues stating: "This is lawful, and this is unlawful," to fabricate lies and attribute them to GOD. Surely, those who fabricate lies and attribute them to GOD will never succeed.

Gross Offense [2:159] Those who conceal our revelations and guidance, after proclaiming them for the people in the scripture, are condemned by GOD; they are condemned by all the condemners.

Corrupted Religious Leaders
Conceal the Quran's Miracle [2:174] Those who conceal GOD's revelations in the scripture, in exchange for a cheap material gain, eat but fire into their bellies. GOD will not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them. They have incurred a painful retribution.

Like any other form of sinning, cheating backfires by undermining our own characters and polluting our souls. Repenting, however, is the divine purification system designed for the true believers and is a win for their souls:

[3:135] If they fall in sin or wrong their souls, they remember GOD and ask forgiveness for their sins - and who forgives the sins except GOD - and they do not persist in sins, knowingly.

[4:110] Anyone who commits evil, or wrongs his soul, then implores GOD for forgiveness, will find GOD Forgiving, Most Merciful.

The Believers Repent [66:8] O you who believe, you shall repent to GOD a firm repentance. Your Lord will then remit your sins and admit you into gardens with flowing streams. On that day, GOD will not disappoint the prophet and those who believed with him. Their light will radiate in front of them and to their right. They will say, "Our Lord, perfect our light for us, and forgive us; You are Omnipotent."

On the other hand, those who adopt lying, consistently, as a behavior, and persist in cheating their own souls as a way of survival without any attempts of repentance and reform, are the hypocrites: the deceiving brand of disbelief. Under the guise of seemingly righteous banners, they continue to violate a command here and there, and present one lie after another, with no hesitance, remorse, or return to the honest path. Their true motives are to always please other than God. Their reverence belongs to many other idols, and so compromising is among their traits. They manage to find their way among the believers through the deception of hypocrisy. Their disaster is that they think they are deceiving God, while in reality they are only cheating their own souls, and will receive no guidance from God once they choose to plunge deep into this hypocritical path. God seals their hearts and augments their misguidance - a system that is unchangeable. They will taste a miserable second death and die in a state of wronging their souls; they live as liars and die as liars:

(3) The Hypocrites [2:8] Then there are those who say, "We believe in GOD and the Last Day," while they are not believers.
[2:9] In trying to deceive GOD and those who believe, they only deceive themselves without perceiving.
[2:10] In their minds there is a disease. Consequently, GOD augments their disease. They have incurred a painful retribution for their lying.
[2:15] GOD mocks them, and leads them on in their transgressions, blundering.
[2:16] It is they who bought the straying, at the expense of guidance. Such trade never prospers, nor do they receive any guidance.

[63:2] Under the guise of their apparent faith, they repel the people from the path of GOD. Miserable indeed is what they do.
[63:3] This is because they believed, then disbelieved. Hence, their minds are blocked; they do not understand. A Chip On Their Shoulders [63:4] When you see them, you may be impressed by their looks. And when they speak, you may listen to their eloquence. They are like standing logs. They think that every call is intended against them. These are the real enemies; beware of them. GOD condemns them; they have deviated.

[16:28] The angels put them to death in a state of wronging their souls. That is when they finally submit, and say, "We did not do anything wrong!" Yes indeed. GOD is fully aware of everything you have done.

[2:81] Indeed, those who earn sins and become surrounded by their evil work will be the dwellers of Hell; they abide in it forever.

[3:8] "Our Lord, let not our hearts waver, now that You have guided us. Shower us with Your mercy; You are the Grantor. [3:193] "Our Lord, we have heard a caller calling to faith and proclaiming: `You shall believe in your Lord,' and we have believed. Our Lord, forgive us our transgressions, remit our sins, and let us die as righteous believers. [23:118] .. "My Lord, shower us with forgiveness and mercy. Of all the merciful ones, You are the Most Merciful."

And God responds:

[5:119] GOD will proclaim, "This is a day when the truthful will be saved by their truthfulness." They have deserved gardens with flowing streams. They abide therein forever. GOD is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him. This is the greatest triumph.

Peaceful Friday, salaam, and God bless.