Does Islam Present Allah As A Deceiver? "Linguistic" Justification (PART II)

Before I resume our discussion of makr, it maybe useful to point out that the Qur'anic identification of Allah with deceit is by no means contingent upon a single word or phrase in Arabic. The Quran employs several other Arabic words to denote Allah's deceit. In this post I will cite an absolute uncontested usage. Another word in describing the deception of Allah, that word is khida/khuda/khada. It is unambiguously translated as deceive in this germane passage:

"Verily, the hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but it is He Who deceives them (Inna al-munafiqeena yukhadiaaoona Allaha wahuwa khadiaauhum). And when they stand up for As-Salat (the prayer), they stand with laziness and to be seen of men, and they do not remember Allah but little." S. 4:142 Hilali-Khan

Here, once again is the lexical meaning of this specific word:

Kh-Dal-Ayn = To hide/conceal, double or fold, deceive or outwit, pretend, to enter, vary in state/condition, refrain or refuse, relinquish, to be in little demand of, deviate from the right course, resist/unyield/incompliant, turn away and behave proudly. 

khada'a vb. (1) 

impf. act. 2:9, 8:62 

pcple. act. 4:142 

khada'a vb. (3) impf. act. 2:9, 4:142 

LL, V2, p: 344, 345, 346, 347 (Source)

The usage of Khda is rare, it only appears 5 times altogether in the Qur'an and only within 3 verses. Twice it occurs in 2:9, and then again twice in 4:142 and once in 8:62. The translators have taken this word to refer to deceit in all 5 usages. Since I've quoted the first two usages (4:142) I will proceed to quote the final 3. Notice how this term is used in the following references:

And if they intend to deceive you (yakhdaaooka), then verily, Allah is All-Sufficient for you. He it is Who has supported you with His Help and with the believers. S. 8:62 Hilali-Khan 

And:

They (think to) deceive Allah (yukhadiaaoona) and those who believe, while they only deceive (yakhdaaoona) themselves, and perceive (it) not! S. 2:9 Hilali-Khan 

The unbelievers are depicted as trying to deceive Muhammad and the believers. So there can be no doubt from the general and specific usage and the context that Allah also uses deception in deceiving them: "Verily, the hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but it is He Who deceives them" (4:142).

One of the greatest Islamic exegetes Ibn Kathir who quotes this verse in the Qur'an and provides an explanation of the passage has been translated by Muslim translators unanimously as deceive:

"(Verily, the hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but it is He Who deceives them.) There is no doubt that Allah can never be deceived, for He has perfect knowledge of the secrets and what the hearts conceal. However, the hypocrites, due to their ignorance, scarce knowledge and weak minds, think that since they were successful in deceiving people, using Islamic Law as a cover of safety for themselves, they will acquire the same status with Allah on the Day of Resurrection and deceive Him too. Allah states that on that Day, the hypocrites will swear to Him that they were on the path of righteousness and correctness thinking that such statement will benefit them with Allah. For instance, Allah said, (but it is He Who deceives them) means, He lures them further into injustice and misguidance. He also prevents them from reaching the truth in this life and on the Day of Resurrection." (QTafsir; Qur'an 4:142; or translated by Muhammad Saed Abdul-Rahman)

The Muslim translators who translated the following commentaries into English all unanimously agree with this translation of the citation (4:142). Tafsir Al Jalalyan is translated as: "He is tricking them". Tafsir Al-Qushairi as "He is tricking them" and later quoted as explaining: "God sends astray, you will never find for him a way". Tafsir Al-Tustari "The hypocrites try to deceive God, but it is He who causes them to be deceived" Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs: "(Lo! the hypocrites) 'Abdullah Ibn Ubayy and his followers (seek to beguile Allah) they disbelieve in Him and oppose Him in secret and think that they are deceiving Him, (but it is Allah Who beguileth them)". (Tafsirs)

In this case, this rendering is supported by most translations of the Qur'an in English:

• Ahmed: The hypocrites try to deceive God, but He (leads them to) deceive themselves. When they stand up for performing the service of prayer they do so indolently, only for show, and remember God but little, (English Translation) 

More than 30 English translations of the Qur'an including Muslims and non-Muslims render it this way or similarly: 

• Muhammad Asad: Behold, the hypocrites seek to deceive God - the while it is He who causes them to be deceived [by themselves] And when they rise to pray, they rise reluctantly, only to be seen and praised by men, remembering God but seldom, 

• M. M. Pickthall: Lo! the hypocrites seek to beguile Allah, but it is He Who beguileth them. When they stand up to worship they perform it languidly and to be seen of men, and are mindful of Allah but little; 

• Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar: Truly, the ones who are hypocrites seek to trick God. And He is The One Who Deceives them, and when they stood up for formal prayer, they stood up lazily to make display to humanity. And they remember not God but a little, 

• Wahiduddin Khan: The hypocrites seek to outwit God but it is He who outwits them. And when they stand up for prayer, they do so reluctantly and to be seen by others, and they hardly remember God at all. 

• T.B.Irving: Hypocrites try to outwit God while He is outwitting them! Whenever they stand up to pray, they stand up lazily to be seen by other people and seldom mention God, 

• Safi Kaskas: The hypocrites try to deceive God, but it is He who causes them to be deceived. They rise to pray, they rise reluctantly, only to be seen and praised by men, seldom remembering God, 

• The Monotheist Group (2011 Edition): The hypocrites seek to deceive God, while He is deceiving them; and if they attend to the contact-method, they do so lazily, only to show the people; they do not remember God except very little. 

• Abdel Haleem: The hypocrites try to deceive God, but it is He who causes them to be deceived. When they stand up to pray, they do so sluggishly, showing off in front of people, and remember God only a little, 

• Abdul Majid Daryabadi: Verily the hypocrites would beguile Allah, whereas it is He who beguileth them, ; and when they stand up to prayer, they stand up languidly, making a show to the people, and they remember not Allah but little. 

• Aisha Bewley: The hypocrites think they deceive Allah, but He is deceiving them. When they get up to pray, they get up lazily, showing off to people, and only remembering Allah a very little. 

• Ali Ünal: The hypocrites would trick God, whereas it is God who "tricks" them (by causing them to fall into their own traps). When they rise to do the Prayer, they rise lazily, and to be seen by people (to show them that they are Muslims); and they do not remember God (within or outside the Prayer) save a little. 

• Ali Quli Qara'i: The hypocrites indeed seek to deceive Allah, but it is He who outwits them. When they stand up for prayer, they stand up lazily, showing off to the people and not remembering Allah except a little, 

• Hamid S. Aziz: Verily, the hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but He deceives them; and when they rise up to pray, they rise up lazily to be seen of men, and little do they remember Allah; 

• Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali: Surely the hypocrites try to deceive Allah, and He is deceiving them; and when they rise up for prayer, they rise up lazily, showing off to (other) men, and they do not remember Allah except a little. 

• Muhammad Sarwar: The hypocrites try to deceive God but He, in fact, deceives them. They stand up in prayer lazily just to show that they pray, but, in truth they remember God very little. 

• Muhammad Taqi Usmani: Surely, the hypocrites (try to) deceive Allah while He is the One who leaves them in deception. And when they stand for Salah, they stand up lazily, only to show people, and do not remember Allah but a little, 

• Syed Vickar Ahamed: Surely, they, the hypocrites, search ways of deceiving Allah, but it is He Who will deceive (and reach over) them: When they stand up to prayer, they stand without sincerity, to be seen of men, but little do they hold Allah in remembrance; 

• Umm Muhammad (Sahih International): Indeed, the hypocrites [think to] deceive Allah , but He is deceiving them. And when they stand for prayer, they stand lazily, showing [themselves to] the people and not remembering Allah except a little, 

• Dr. Munir Munshey: The hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but it is actually He Who dupes them. They are lethargic (and listless) when they stand for ´salat´ _ (they) only (wish) to be noticed by others (and just go through the motions of ´salat´). Little do they remember Allah! 

• Talal A. Itani: The hypocrites try to deceive God, but He is deceiving them. And when they stand for prayer, they stand lazily, showing off in front of people, and remembering God only a little. 

• Maududi: Behold, the hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but it is they who are being deluded by Him. When they rise to Prayer, they rise reluctantly, and only to be seen by men. They remember Allah but little. 

• Ali Bakhtiari Nejad: The hypocrites indeed (think that) they deceive God, while He is their deceiver, and when they perform the mandatory prayer they perform it lazily to be seen by the people and they seldom remember God. 

• The Monotheist Group (2013 Edition): The hypocrites seek to deceive God, while He is deceiving them; and if they stand to make the contact prayer, they do so lazily, only to show the people; they do not remember God except very little. 

• Mohammad Shafi: Indeed, the hypocrites strive to deceive Allah, and it is He, who deceives them! And when they stand up for prayer they stand with laziness. They do it only to show off to men and remember Allah but little. 

• Faridul Haque: Undoubtedly the hypocrites, in their fancy, seek to deceive Allah whereas He will extinguish them while making them oblivious; and when they stand up for prayer, they do it unwillingly and for others to see, and they do not remember Allah except a little. 

• Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah: The hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but Allah is deceiving them. When they stand up to pray, they stand up lazily, showing off to the people and do not remember Allah, except a little, 

• Muhammad Ahmed - Samira Ahmed: That the hypocrites deceive God, and He is deceiving them, and if they got up to the prayers, they got up lazy, they pretend/show off (to) the people, and they do not mention/remember God except a little. 

• Rashad Khalifa: The hypocrites think that they are deceiving GOD, but He is the One who leads them on. When they get up for the Contact Prayer (Salat), they get up lazily. That is because they only show off in front of the people, and rarely do they think of GOD. 

• Muhsin Khan & Muhammad al-Hilali: Verily, the hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but it is He Who deceives them. And when they stand up for As-Salat (the prayer), they stand with laziness and to be seen of men, and they do not remember Allah but little. 

• Arthur John Arberry: The hypocrites seek to trick God, but God is tricking them. When they stand up to pray they stand up lazily, showing off to the people and not remembering God save a little; 

• Edward Henry Palmer: Verily, the hypocrites seek to deceive God, but He deceives them; and when they rise up to pray, they rise up lazily to be seen of men, and do not remember God, except a few; 

• George Sale: The hypocrites act deceitfully with God, but he will deceive them; and when they stand up to pray, they stand carelesly, affecting to be seen of men, and remember not God, unless a little, 

• John Medows Rodwell: The hypocrites would deceive God, but He will deceive them! When they stand up for prayer, they stand carelessly, to be seen of men, and they remember God but little: 

• N J Dawood: The hypocrites seek to deceive God, but it is He who deceives them. When they rise to pray, they stand up sluggishly: they pray for the sake of ostentation and remember God but little, 

• Sayyid Qutb: The hypocrites seek to deceive God, the while it is He who causes them to be deceived [by themselves]. When they rise to pray, they rise reluctantly, only to be seen by people, remembering God but seldom

• Sayyed Abbas Sadr-Ameli: Verily the hypocrites seek to trick Allah, but He is tricking them. And, when they stand up For prayer they stand up lazily; showing off to the people, and they do not remember Allah save a little. 

• Mir Aneesuddin: The hypocrites certainly (presume to) deceive Allah but He deceives them. And when they stand up for worship (salat), they stand up as if loaded with a burden, (just) to show to human beings and they do not remember Allah save a little. (English Qurans)