The referred verse of Al-Ankaboot and its translation follows: And among these people are those, who say 'We believe in God', but when they are afflicted (with injury) in the way of God, they consider this punishment coming from the (rejecting) people as if it were God's wrath upon them. And [O Prophet,] if God's help [and the resulting victory] were to come, they would surely [hypocritically] say: 'We were with you'. Is not God fully aware of even the thoughts which reside in the hearts of [all that exists in] the vast world. God shall indeed separate those, who truly believe and those, who are hypocrites. It seems that there were some people among the addressees of the Prophet (pbuh), who understood the gravity and the significance of the Prophet's call and who knew it to be the truth, yet who were not strong enough to bear the oppression, which the Muslims were subjected to, at the hands of the rejecters. Thus, even after having accepted faith, when the shackles of oppression tightened around them, they could not stand their ground. They feared the oppression of the people as only the punishment of God should be feared [1] . Thus, they would turn away from the truth and lose themselves in the dark valleys of falsehood, due only to their fear of these oppressors, which overwhelmed even their love and fear of the Almighty. However, if God granted Muslims a victory over the rejecters, these people, rather than feeling sorry for their present behavior and rather than admitting their weaknesses, would try to gain the respect of the Muslims by falsely claiming that they had always remained sincere believers and allies of the Prophet (pbuh), in particular, and the Muslims, in general. This particular aspect of hypocrisy - not admitting one's weaknesses and to falsely project one's strengths, was what made their crime extremely abhorrent and repulsive, especially when it was being committed with the representative of the All-Knowing God - the Prophet (pbuh). It may be noted that in the test of the life of this world, man is required to accept the truth that comes his way and then to live his life proclaiming and upholding that truth, being prepared to face and bear all the difficulties and hardships that may come his way. If, however, a person lacks the strength to face any hardship, then he should, at least, have the moral strength of admitting his weaknesses and seeking forgiveness from God for these weaknesses. The crime of the people referred to in the verse is that even after having recognized the truth, they lack the courage of accepting it, in view of the potential persecution that they may be faced with in the life of this world. Not only that, they even lack the moral strength of admitting their weaknesses and seeking forgiveness from God. On the contrary, when the Prophet is granted victory over the rejecters, they will try to defraud him by making false claims of having remained his sincere allies. This is what makes them condemnable hypocrites. I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad September 11, 2001 [1] In this respect, the Qur'an has praised the response of the magicians of the court of Pharaoh, who, when Pharaoh threatened them of a severe punishment, in response to their believing in Moses (pbuh), they replied that the Pharaoh could only subject them to a temporary punishment, which would end with their lives. In contrast, God's punishment was what they feared, as they were all to return to Him and the abode that He would grant them would be everlasting. Answer published by Moiz Amjad