S01- What is Sincerity?

Sincerity-01


SINCERITY


DEFINITION

Sincerity is the freeing of one’s intentions from all impurities in order to come nearer to Allah (swt)
Sincerity is a condition for Allah’s acceptance of good deeds performed in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw)

Notes
Doing all deeds purely for the sake of Allah (swt)
Sincerity goes hand in hand with truthfulness
For good deeds to be accepted it must be done with sincerity and in accordance with the Sunnah.

Evidences

Surah 98 Al-Baiyinah (The Clear Evidence)

5. And they have been commanded no more than this: To worship Allah, offering Him sincere devotion, being true (in faith); to establish regular prayer; and to practise regular charity; and that is the Religion Right and Straight.

Abu Umama has related that a man once came to the Prophet (saw) said, “What of a man who has joined in the fighting, his intention being for fame and booty?” The Prophet (saw) said, “He receives nothing.” The man repeated the question three times and each time the Prophet (saw) said, “He receives nothing.” Then he (saw) said, “Allah accepts actions that are intended purely for His pleasure.” (Sahih, an-Nisa’I, Kitab al-Jihad, 6/25)

A servant can free himself from Shaytan through sincere devotion, for Allah (swt) tells us in the Qur’an that Iblis said to Him:

Surah 38 Sa’ad (The Letter Sa’ad)

82. (Iblis) said: "Then, by Thy power, I will put them all in the wrong,-
83. "Except Thy Servants amongst them, sincere and purified (by Thy Grace)."

Note: Sincerity is a weapon against Shaytan because a sincere person always reminds himself that his actions are for the sake of Allah (swt)

There are many great many actions where a man acts, thinking they are purely intended for Allah’s pleasure, but he is deluded, for he fails to see the defects in them.

It has been related that a man used to praying in the first row of the mosque. One day he was late for the prayer, so he prayed in the second row. Feeling embarrassed when the people saw him in the second row, he realized that the pleasure and satisfaction of the heart he used to gain from praying in the first row were due to his seeing people seeing him there and admiring him for it.

Note: Self admiration is the first action that removes sincerity. Therefore, remind yourself all the time of your intentions.

Hadith: On the three men who did things for the sake of showing off…on the Day of Resurrection Allah (swt) will expose their intentions .
Hadith Qudsi 6

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say:

The first of people against whom judgment will be pronounced on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who died a martyr. He will be brought and Allah will make known to him His favors and he will recognize them. [The Almighty] will say: And what did you do about them? He will say: I fought for you until I died a martyr. He will say: You have lied - you did but fight that it might be said [of you]: He is courageous. And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hell-fire. [Another] will be a man who has studied [religious] knowledge and has taught it and who used to recite the Qur’an. He will be brought and Allah will make known to him His favors and he will recognize them. [The Almighty] will say: And what did you do about them? He will say: I studied [religious] knowledge and I taught it and I recited the Qur’an for Your sake. He will say: You have lied - you did but study [religious] knowledge that it might be said [of you]: He is learned. And you recited the Qur’an that it might be said [of you]: He is a reciter. And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hell-fire. [Another] will be a man whom Allah had made rich and to whom He had given all kinds of wealth. He will be brought and Allah will make known to him His favors and he will recognize them. [The Almighty] will say: And what did you do about them? He will say: I left no path [untrodden] in which You like money to be spent without spending in it for Your sake. He will say: You have lied - you did but do so that it might be said [of you]: He is open-handed. And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hell-fire.
It was related by Muslim (also by at-Tirmidhi and an-Nasa'i).

This is a subtle condition and actions are rarely safe from it. Apart from those whom Allah has assisted, few are aware of such delicate matters.

Those who do not realize it only come to see their good deeds appearing as bad ones on the Day of Resurrection; they are the ones referred to in Allah’s words:

Surah 39 Az-Zumar (The Groups)

47. Even if the wrong-doers had all that there is on earth, and as much more, (in vain) would they offer it for ransom from the pain of the Penalty on the Day of Judgment: but something will confront them from Allah, which they could never have counted upon!

48. For the evils of their Deeds will confront them, and they will be (completely) encircled by that which they used to mock at!

Note: On the Day of Resurrection, Allah (swt) will show a person his deeds/actions and his intentions for doing such deeds/actions.

A man of wisdom said: “A devout person is someone who conceals things that are good; in the same way he conceals things that are bad.”

This means that one’s deeds should be purified from any self-admiration.

Al-Fudayl said: “Forsaking action for the sake of other people is to seek their admiration. To act for the sake of their admiration is to associate others with Allah. Devotion is when Allah frees you from both of these states.”


THE NATURE OF INTENTION

DEFINITION
The intention of a person is not his utterance of the words, “I intend to do so and so.” It is an overflowing of the heart. At times it is made easy, at other times difficult.

Notes:
Intentions – are not the utterance words but should come from the heart
Sincerity - renewing intentions before actions (e.g. making dua’a before fasting, co-habiting, etc), some actions are more difficult to do with sincerity than others (e.g. nawfl or supererogatory fast)
Remember that on the Day of Judgment every action is judged by it’s intention

Evidence

The Prophet (saw) said, “Actions are only by intentions, and every man shall only have what he intended. Thus he whose hijra was for Allah and His messenger, his hijra was for 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.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Imam ash-Shafi said: “This hadith is a third of all knowledge.” The words, “actions are only by intention,” means that deeds which are performed in accordance with the Sunnah are acceptable and rewarded if only the intentions behind them are sincere.

The fundamental principle should be that the act is intended for the worship of Allah alone. If our intention is to show off, then these acts of worship will in fact become acts of disobedience.

As for the permissible deeds, they all involve intentions which can potentially turn them into excellent acts which bring a man nearer to Allah (swt)

e.g. changing diapers - intention only to clean the child vs. intention that cleanliness is half of eeman

Hadith: Abu Malik at-Ash'ari reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Cleanliness is half of faith and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fills the scale, and Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah) and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fill upwhat is between the heavens and the earth, and prayer is a light, and charity is proof (of one's faith) and endurance is a brightness and the Holy Qur'an is a proof on your behalf or against you. All men go out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves. (Sahih Muslim Book 002 The Book of Purification Kitab Al-Taharah, Number 0432)

e.g. jogging – intention only to lose weight vs. intention to gain strength so that you can pray longer

Note: A person can have more intentions for a single action (e.g. jogging for strengthening the body, to complete the adhkar, etc)


THE EXCELLENCE OF INTENTION

Evidence

Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) said, “The best acts are doing what Allah has commanded, staying away from what Allah has forbidden and having sincere intentions towards whatever Allah has required of us.” (Tahdhib al’Asma’ li-Nawawi, 1/173)

Some of our predecessors said: “Many small actions are made great by the intentions behind them. Many great actions on the other hand, are made small because the intentions behind them are lacking.”

e.g. giving sadakah – becomes a bigger action if you give even if you don’t have much to spare.

Hadith on charity:
Narrated Abu Huraira (ra): A man came to the Prophet (saw) and asked, “O Allah’s Messenger which charity is the most superior in reward?” He replied, “The charity which you practice while you are healthy, niggardly and afraid of poverty and wish to become wealthy. Do not delay it to the time of approaching death and then say, ‘Give so much to such and such, and so much to such and such.’ (And it has already belonged to such and such (his heirs)) (Al-Bukhari)

Ibn Umar once heard a man who was putting on his ihram say: “O Allah! I intend to do the Hajj and Umrah.” So he said to him: “Why are you informing the people of your intention? Does not Allah already know what is in your heart?” (Sahih, Ja’mi’l-Ulum wa’l-Hikam, p.19)


It is because good intentions are exclusively the concern of the heart, that they should not be voice during worship.