Sincerity in Islam
Abida Rahmani
Sincerity is the most important factor in doing and accomplishing any task perfectly and diligently. If there is no sincere intention then the task is just a show off. It is the same with all the matters related to our religion Islam. If there is no sincerity in Ibadas e.g: Prayers, Fast, Zakaat and Hajj. Then there is no value and reward for us. Allah ( SWT) will not accept such deeds because it was merely a show off. Sincerity in Islam is related to all the rituals of day to day life and dealings with our family, friends, neighbours, our work place, businesses and all the people we deal with.
This is called (Huququl Ibaad) Rights of the people. Then there are (Huququl Allah) the rights of Allah (SWT) on us. For a Muslim his whole life is a worship ( Ibadah) if the intention is sincerity and pleasure of Allah and no worldly benefit.
In Quran Allah says,
وَمَآ أُمِرُوٓاْ إِلَّا لِيَعۡبُدُواْ ٱللَّهَ مُخۡلِصِينَ لَهُ ٱلدِّينَ حُنَفَآءَ وَيُقِيمُواْ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَيُؤۡتُواْ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَۚ وَذَٲلِكَ دِينُ ٱلۡقَيِّمَةِ (٥)
And they were ordered that they should worship Allah with sincerity towards religion, focused and establish prayer and give charity and this is the right way of following deen. Al bayeena 5
Thus we are commanded to perform our religious acts, what compose our religion for us, based on sincerity. This is what Allah has commanded us. This is the foundation of our faith. In one of the statement of prophet (SAWS), He (S) said, whoever says 'La ilaha ill aalah' will enter paradise. He made a general statement, but he further clarified his statement by saying whoever says 'La ilaha illaalah' sincerely from his heart will enter paradise. Hence, once the true faith has entered your heart, it will never go. You may do wrong, may go astray sometimes but once you have tasted the reality of faith, it causes you to be sincere in all your deeds; and this sincerity will inshAllah, ultimately make you attain paradise.
While working with cause of Allah (Dawaa) sincerity is the basic principal. A preacher (Daee) or worker of deen struggles towards the pleasure of Allah ( SWT)which should be his /her only objective. There should not be any intention of a worldly reward, praise or appreciation. The only reward should be sought from Allah (SWT). In Quran it has been narrated in many places about Prophets (AS),
They used to tell their people, “I do not seek any reward from you (from my invitation to you towards deen and path of Allah). In fact my reward is on my Rabb who is the care taker of the whole universe.
This is the weakness of human nature that when he does something exceptionally good, he seeks recognition, appreciation & admiration. These acts are generally rewarding and fulfilling and one gets a lot of encouragement. These should not lead to pride and arrogance.
One who strives for the cause of Allah his prime goal should be only the pleasure of Allah (SWT).
If we think that Allah is watching us all the time in each & every situation, then there is sincerity in intentions.
The famous Hadith about sincerity in intention is
The Prophet (Saws) said: Actions are only by intention, and every man shall only have what he intended. Thus he whose hijra (migration)was for the sake of Allah and His Messenger, and he whose hijra was to achieve some worldly benefit or to take some woman in marriage, his hijra was for that for which he made hijra. So the rewards depend on the intentions one has.(bukhari)
This hadith clearly indicates that one’s actions are accepted by Allah (swt) only if they are done with the right intention, i.e. truly for the sake of Allah (swt). This brings us to a very important aspect of the concept of Sincerity. The Arabic word used for this is 'Ikhlass'.
What is meant by sincerity in Islam is to ensure that all of our deeds of worship and other matters are solely for Allah (swt) and to gain His pleasure. Hence, sincerity is a condition for the acceptance of our deeds that are performed in accordance to the sunnah of Prophet (S).
A heart that lacks sincerity is, from an Islamic point of view, the worst of hearts. It is the heart of a hypocrite, or the heart of the enemy of Allah.
In Islam, this sincerity is not an easy thing to achieve. As someone said: It is much harder for the people to purify their intentions than to execute any of their actions
In order to be truly sincere, one has to give up the worldly desires, and devote himself to the love of Allah (swt). He has to contemplate on the next world, that is to come and this would leave no place in his heart for the love of this world. Such a person should be devout in his actions, even in eating, drinking and answering the calls of nature. Without that it is very difficult for a person to be really sincere to Allah (swt).
Many a times, it so happens that we think that our actions are for Allah (swt), but in reality, they are lacking sincerity.
Here is a story of a man who used to stand in the first row for every salat. As the prophet (S) mentioned on one of the hadith that if people knew the reward of standing in the first row and calling the Adhan, they would fight one another to perform these acts. But once it so happened, that this man was late for prayers and had to stand in the second row. He felt embarrassed that people would see him in the second row, and it was then that he realized that the satisfaction he used to get from standing in the first row was from people seeing him in the first row and his sincerity in doing this act was impure. This is just a small example of how our sincerity towards our Lord is unsafe from being impure.
It is very important that we realize the gravity of this situation in this world. Because if we don’t, then on the day of
Resurrection, these very deeds of ours, which we thought to be good will appear as bad deeds or would be wasted. As Allah says in the Qur’an: ‘
And something will come to them from Allah which they had never anticipated, for the evil of their deeds will become apparent to them.
The Prophet saws mentioned that, the Sahabah, the best generation of this ummah, were afraid of being insincere and hypocrites. Imam Bukhari mentioned on the authority of
Abu Maleeka that he said: ‘I met thirty of the companions of Muhammad (Saws), every one of them fears for himself from hypocrisy.’
In Islam, principles cover everything and concept of sincerity is required in all aspects of our lives. For example, there is no way we can be sincere to Allah and not be sincere to our fellow Muslims. Worshiping Allah sincerely necessitates dealing properly and justly with other Muslims.
Now let us look at some examples from the seerah of Prophet (Saws) and the Sahabah (companions), as to how sincere they were. For example, during the battle of Tabuk when the call for Jihad was made, some people came to the Prophet (S) and wanted to join in the Jihad; however due to lack of sufficient resources, there was no opportunity for them to join in the Jihad. Hence, these people turned away by the Prophet (S). It is described in the Qur’an that they left with tears in their eyes. This was the sincerity of these people, for their deen. They knew that they are dealing with their Lord who was the owner of their lives and wealth, for the everlasting life in the hereafter. This is why they had no problem in giving their lives for the sake of Allah (swt).
Who amongst us would cry because he could not go to Jihad, where his life is in danger twenty four hours a day? When we look at the lives of these people, it tells us where we really stand in terms of our imaan, and informs us of the states of our hearts.
Another example is of a Bedouin, who when he became Muslim went to Jihad. When, after the jihad he was offered some booty gained from the war, he replied that he didn't make the oath of allegiance for the booty, but to find an arrow in his heart and to die to achieve Paradise.
It is due to this very sincerity whatever a believer does; it becomes an act of righteousness. How can we achieve this sincerity, By looking at the life of the Prophet (SAW), Sahabahs and by reflecting on those ayaats and ahadith that remind us of sincerity. For example, those ayaats in which Allah’sattributes of being the All-Seeing, All-Knowing and All-Hearing are mentioned. Whatever we do and whatever intention we perform those deedswith, Allah knows it all. There is nothing that we can hide.
One important thing that will make us sincere to Allah is keeping away from pride and arrogance. It is this sin of pride and arrogance that was committed by Iblees, the shaitan. Although he knew Allah better than all of us, he still disobeyed Him due to his arrogance and pride. Pride is the thing that makes us perform deeds, to show off to others rather than for the sake of Allah (swt). We should not only try to avoid this pride in ourselves, but also, if we see it in others we should advise them and inform them about its consequences.
Finally we should seek know-ledge of our religion Islaam. The more we learn about Allah and His deen, the more closer we will get towards our Lord. We will love Him more, fear Him more, and will hope in Him to forgive our sins and enter us into Paradise. Our intentions and our work should base solely on sincerity and not on Riya or show off.
